Looking at a 6" lift, pro VS cons

[Droid2]

G'day all,

Im looking at doing a 6" lift on our 89 GQ,

what a desent shock these days.
im looking a touch dogs?

30% daily, rest hard ass.

will be doing full lift from 2" ,brakes etc.

looking at only doing caster plates, and welded rear rod+diff wedges.
a mate that experienced, in it will be doing it.

But just want to know if any1 has done it this way? and what did it drive like.
I have 2 kids, with 1 one way, want to make sure she's safe( the GQ) ! lol

Cheers

[roverrat]

http://72.34.32.141/~snakerac/product_i ... 158b88cac9

[nastytroll]

where do the wedges go on a coil sprung?

Caster plates drive ok but drop boxes drive better n are not much more to buy.

do not extend the rear panhard, replace the whole length of pipe with a heavier wall.

The front can be extended if done right, use a peise of 35mm diametre steel 138long, turn a spigot on it 120mm long at 24mm diameter and a 45 degree weld prep at the shoulder.

drill and counter sink both sides of a 13mm diameter through hole 100mm from the end of the panhard where the bush in welded on.

cut the bush off at the weld point with a 1mm wheel and weld prep the panhaard pipe, you can then push the extension spigot into the panhard pipe n plug weld through the 13mm hole and weld the extension around the panhard join and the bush to the extension.

I pre heated mine with the oxy to be sure of a good weld n cooled it slowly with the oxy also, but I also used chrome moly for the new bush and extension so suit your self.

front panhard will be 18mm longer then standard n rear 28mm longer approx.

Any mods you do yourself are on your head, I take no responsability for anyone elses workmanship or do I sugest these mods are leagal.

[nastytroll]

dont forget the longer brake lines, and stronger lowwer arms are a good idea, 16mm longer then standard is fine.

pm 2dextreme or oondy for drop arms if you want to go that way.

[roverrat]

ask me why i did this emoticon .....

[bogged]

I have 2 kids, with 1 one way

Well unless your missus is a giant, she will leave you tryin to lift a kid in a capsule into a high GQ and fit child seatbelts. Have had 2 mates have to lower theirs due to this issue.. 35's + 6in lift, etc = unhappy wench....

Why do you need such a high lift? When 2in body and 2in sus or 4in sus will do 36in tires... More and more people are doing less lift, for better stability too.

[roverrat]

I have 2 kids, with 1 one way

Well unless your missus is a giant, she will leave you tryin to lift a kid in a capsule into a high GQ and fit child seatbelts. Have had 2 mates have to lower theirs due to this issue.. 35's + 6in lift, etc = unhappy wench....

Why do you need such a high lift? When 2in body and 2in sus or 4in sus will do 36in tires... More and more people are doing less lift, for better stability too.

x (by one of bruce's ridiculous numbers) sq'd

My missus hates the height of my truck ... and then she whinges the ss is too low no pleasing some woman

[cooki_monsta]

have a drop out rope ladder! that will fix her and the kids will love it.

however if i was you i would be doing everything i can to be keeping the car as safe as possible if you are going the home made option and planning on taking your family in it.

i for one know i would not like to be responsible for building the rear panhard that snapped and sent the gqs ass into the ground which ignited the fuel tank which destroyd a family, but thats just me.

if i was doing it how ever i would stick with a 2" body lift and 4" susp, it will give you plenty of drop down and a heck of a lot of room to clear 37" tyres

[Nelso]

G'day all,

Im looking at doing a 6" lift on our 89 GQ,

what a desent shock these days.
im looking a touch dogs?

30% daily, rest hard ass.

will be doing full lift from 2" ,brakes etc.

looking at only doing caster plates, and welded rear rod+diff wedges.
a mate that experienced, in it will be doing it.

But just want to know if any1 has done it this way? and what did it drive like.
I have 2 kids, with 1 one way, want to make sure she's safe( the GQ) ! lol

Cheers

I wouldn't go over 4 inch spring and don't even think about a body lift. The only reason to go that high is for the pose factor as they are less stable offroad and it will create havoc with your steering and vibrations, especially with a car so old, which you will end up forking out a stack of money to fix. For those that want to advise against this and tell the poor bloke to build it like a sky scraper, I'm coming from a position where I progressively got bigger until I had a 7 inch spring and 2 inch body lift and now only run a 4 inch lift with no bodylift running 37 inch tyres AND IT IS MUCH MORE CAPABLE WITH THE SMALLER LIFT! The only reason I am not dropping it to a 3 inch lift is that I plan to run 39 inch tyres at some time so might need the extra inch of clearance.

[Droid2]

yes , my fear exactly, its the reason ive been looking around for a while.
i have a 2" spring already, and have a 2" body lift still in the box,

Yep,handbrake,will find it harder..much harder.getting in and out.

roverrat : Yer, i just sold our SS, cause that reason...she loves the 4b as well as kids.
we have 3 other cars she can drive, would only be using it, were they would have to get in, say, on a holiday etc.

i hate taking it shopping.

Mate will be making the caster plates also,

I personaly would like a 4" in their, but i have already got the 6" spring.

Thanks all guys, she's a biggy for me, 1st lift.

[bogged]

I personaly would like a 4" in their, but i have already got the 6" spring..

then flog the 6inch and go 4inch. you will be much happier.
remember it will probably go up 5-6in with the 4inch kit if your old springs are flogged out.

[j-top paj]

keep the 2" and just cut the guards

[cooki_monsta]

id go 2 or 4, six just causes alot of problems, and also is harder to engineer to keep john law off your hide! altho still doesnt take much to engineer them if you do it properly.

[Droid2]

6" has a lot of cons so far. ..
but, the engineer thing make full sense.
im thinking i might swap the 6" springs for some 4" along the way.

thinking about it, if i put on the roof rack, this may also cause probs.

But the guys that i go out with, all run GU's and 6"+ lift,
i spose if i put a 6" in, and it suks, then swapping the springs to a 4-5" is ok,
or will i need to make new caster plates and front and rear rods?

has any1 driven a Gq with a 6" lift in it before, if so how'd it go?

[j-top paj]

But the guys that i go out with, all run GU's and 6"+ lift,

so you dont want to feel inadequate?

leave it lower, trim your guards, extend your bumpstops etc... and drive everything they do and more.

once i went wheeling with some guys that had 6+2 and 8+2
and they couldnt even get to the hard part of the track without nearly falling over.

if you really want to go high then you must go wide also or your GQ will just want to fall over everywhere.

[Jimbo]

I wouldnt go above 4 if its going to be used on the road.

I have 4" springs in the front and around 5 in the back but when i have gear in the back its around 4. You might as well get heavy duty adjustable panards as they are not that expensive. I think i paid around $180ea from bursons (Vic). I also use castor plates but i hear boxes are better. On the road it drives great with 33's and offroad i try anything except the real hard stuff when out with forum members. The tyres let me down not the lift. I could fit 35's but until these dam bf's wear out i'm stuck with them!

Have fun

[John H]

I have had a six inch lift in my GQ for the past 7 or so years and it isnt too bad to drive on or off road. In addition to plenty of hard stuff, it has seen the Simpson twice as well as Cape York. Its driveability was mainly due to the very firm coil rate that I went with, which limits the body roll (still gets full shock travel during flex though). It also took a lot of fiddeling and mods to get it right (tailshaft mods etc).
While it has served me well, I am going to lower it soon. There arnt too many places left around here to drive and I'm kind of over it - going to do more touring instead.
I am going back to a 3-4 inch lift as it will make it easier for my wife to drive (we just have a new bub)
While it went ok with the big lift, the main issue came with the bump steer; you get a jolt through the steering wheel when you hit a it bump on the road.
It sounds like plenty of forum members reccomend 4 inch lifts, so how noticable is the bump steer on GQ's with a 4 inch coils?

[Suspension Stuff]

If anyone is running 6" coils because of flex. The 4-5" coils I sell have the same flex as a the 6-7" lift. The bigger tyres will give you another inch lift. I rarely sell 6" coils these days although I sold a set last week because his mate had an 8" lift; not because he tried the 4-5" lift and it wasn't enough.

Shane

[coxy321]

If you factor in the 6" lift, plus most likely 35 or 37" tyres, that'll be a 8-10" lift over standard. Something that high becomes a pain in the @rse for anybody to get in/out of.

If you REALLY want it, go to a workshop like Snake or Superior, buy a WHOLE kit, and have it put on. That way you know if anything fails it fall back onto the supplier/manufacturer.

Coxy

[bogged]

But the guys that i go out with, all run GU's and 6"+ lift,

so you dont want to feel inadequate?

have a lower rig and outdrive them.. just cause you have a 10inch lift doesnt mean you can drive or will get everywhere. Theres a bit more to it than that.

[mavzilla]

pros --- hell ya goes good (done properly)
cons--- transport department
have had mine at 6 inch lift and love it ,drives well when set up properly

[Droid2]

But the guys that i go out with, all run GU's and 6"+ lift,

so you dont want to feel inadequate?

have a lower rig and outdrive them.. just cause you have a 10inch lift doesnt mean you can drive or will get everywhere. Theres a bit more to it than that.

.. i was just saying these guys havent had any dramas, ive had the 2" in for a while, and yes, have done yalwal,vic highcountry and neriga, and it performs unreal, these guys are impressed, but 1 thing that lets it down is the approch and departure angles,
I was goint o fit a 2" body lift and have the hassle of raising the fnt and rear bars. but to me, the lift was a std thing to do.

so now i have a new, unused 2" body lift....

also the place id vic that sells the adj rods for $180? are they on the web?

[bogged]

bursons are in the phonebook.

[Rogue Patrol]

You can do other stuff to improve ur approach and departure angles.
Mines got 4"+2" on 33's and goes most places much larger cars go.
It's not always what you have but how you use it.

I also like th Drop boxes over castor plates.
I haven't fitted longer lower arms (no bad vibes) but am currently getting the lower spring and shock mounts (rear) adjusted so th angles are right and adjusting bump stops for correct compressed position with longer shocks for better droop.

Flick th 6" springs and maybe even the bodylift, go for something more stable and enjoy kickin bigger rigs to th curb.