Feroza Suspension Lift

[Rb25sil80]

Hey guys, I've searched through the FAQ and Bible and can't really find any solid information on suspension lifts, only body lifts.

I understand how the body lift is done and i'm not keen on going down this route due to messing around with radiators, fuel tank fillers ect ect..

Now I know for a fact all 4 of my shocks are fubared so I might as well replace them with something decent and do a suspension lift at the same time. Just wondering what parts I need to replace.

As far as I could gather all I would need is 4 shocks and a new set of leaf springs for the rear. After speaking to several suspension shops they all said the stock torsion bars are fine and mine are in good condition. They all said the TJM bar is solid steal out of India, and way to stiff. Funnily enough 2 or the 3 stocked TJM stuff. So if I get 4 shocks, wind up the front torsion bars and get some raised leafs for the rear is there anything else?

One of these places was saying $1600 drive in drive out like it was a good price, seemed like a poke in the ar$e to me That was with EMS shocks at $140 each, so thats $560 in shocks and $1000 for other bits + labor? When I asked what these other bits were I didnt get a very straight answer so I left to find out for myself!

Im only chasing 1-1.5 inches of lift and then plan to fit some 31 inch tyres, not keen on an overall lift of more then 2.5 inches.

Are longer shocks required? Shackles? Help!!

Hopefully we get some nice thorough answers and maybe this could be added to the bible as a comprehensive suspension lift thread!

Cheers
Brad

[senergy]

longer shackles although are a very cheap option to lift are illegal in all of Aus i think.
For a legal option longer leaf springs, new bushes, longer throw shocks, wind up the torsion bars. You might want to shave the bump stops on the front a bit to give a bit more articulation.
I went the illegal route and didnt need new shocks and cost me $50 ( this was mostly for the Bushes) for a 2inch raise.

[Rb25sil80]

Ahh ok thanks Senergy!

I had read that longer shackles could be fitted to the rear to provide lift along with simply winding up the torsion bars. Sounded a bit too easy, anythin too easy is normally illegal

So longer shocks are the go then hey? Are you running a suspension lift senergy? What shocks did you go for?

Sounds like plenty of stuff for me to stuff up but definately not $1600 worth !

Cheers
Brad

[senergy]

Im actually not running longer shocks, not too sure whats in the front but the back are monroe's (were there when i bought the car). I havent noticed any bottoming out due to the shocks but if i was in need of new ones i would get longer ones (it cant hurt).
David (Murcod) did a fair bit of research into what other shocks fit into his Feroza, think he actually has some for sale.
If you shop around you should be able to save a lot on the hardware.

And it is sooo easy todo.. just do it yourself and save yourself a lot of money.

[Rb25sil80]

Yes I have msg'd murcod for some details on his bilsteins, i noticed he said the rears were longer then standard, just waiting to hear back about the fronts.

I know what you mean about fitting, I did all the work on the sil80 that I just sold, engine conversions, suspension and hub swaps ect and know what i'm doing but I must say I was slightly bodgi in my methods. Im thinking I wont touch this car and hopefully it will remain uncursed

TJM quoted up $150 to fit a pair of front shocks and torsion bars so maybe I should rethink my stance and just try and do things properly !

Still if I could get 4 shocks and the leafs fitted for $200-$250 i'd gladly pay it, especially since its in the mid 30s and above for the rest of the year and beyond!!

Cheers
Brad

[murcod]

Brad, check your PMs.

First of all have you got a wide or narrow track? Rear springs and shocks are different for both; front is the same.

I doubt you'll find a 1-1.5" lift- that's what I wanted and nobody makes anything except 45mm -50mm. Be very careful or else you'll end up with extremely stiff rear springs and a stuffed ride.

[Rb25sil80]

Yeah cheers mate, I'm a bit concerned with ending up with stiff as springs.

I've got the widetrack model. I can deal with 45mm lift.

What im not understanding is this, you said most places won't do a 1-1.5 inch lift but if a suspension lift is only made up of winding up the front torsion bars and resetting the rear leafs, whats so hard about it?

Obviously im missing something, never realised it was so bloody difficult to raise a car! Much easier to lower one, just get the angle grinder out

Cheers
Brad

[-Mick-]

Yeah cheers mate, I'm a bit concerned with ending up with stiff as springs.

I've got the widetrack model. I can deal with 45mm lift.

What im not understanding is this, you said most places won't do a 1-1.5 inch lift but if a suspension lift is only made up of winding up the front torsion bars and resetting the rear leafs, whats so hard about it?

Obviously im missing something, never realised it was so bloody difficult to raise a car! Much easier to lower one, just get the angle grinder out

Cheers
Brad

probably just no market for 1 or 1.5 inch lifts nothing hard about it though.

Avoid reset springs too they sag like an old housewife after a while. Buy new, buy a brand others have recommended you'll get good soft springs then

If your suspension is old you might end up with more than 2" anyway. In the end its 2" over standard

[Rb25sil80]

Yeah I wasn't to sure on whether resetting would be any chop, seen guys talking about adding leafs and whats not, in the end I wanted to buy new but am having alot of trouble finding out whats a good spring.

What leafs do people run in the back, i've got no idea on what a decent brand is. Most people just seem to be taking it somewhere and say lift it

Im quite happy to end up with a 2 inch lift, just want to make sure I get the right parts first time!

What are you running in yours Mick?

Cheers
Brad

[-Mick-]

I used to have a feroza mate... now my gf's

played with plenty of leaf setups on different vehcles but never the feroza. There's plenty of guys who know ferozas here, they'll recommend a good spring.

[murcod]

TJM and Lovells are two companies that spring to mind for wide tracks.

Dangerous Dave has the TJM and IIRC they were fairly hard from what he said? I think Lovells might do a HD and normal- try their website listing. You may have to wait a while for them, I was told two months!!

[Rb25sil80]

Yeah if the TJM leaf springs are anything like their Torsion bar's I should probably steer clear. Even the places that stock them say they are way to stiff !

I shall look into the lovell spring/bilstein shock combo I think.

Murcod: Have you got a suspension lift on yours with the bilsteins? Hows the wheel travel on it?

Cheers
Brad

[murcod]

I did have the Dobinson crap lifted rear leafs in with the Bilsteins. They didn't appear to be quite long enough and the launching effect over bumps was lessened with the longer Monroes I bought. I have since removed a leaf and swapped the overload leaf with the standard Daihatsu one. The height has dropped down to just above standard, but the ride is a lot better (but still a lot firmer than stock!?!)

I refitted the Bilsteins two weeks ago as they give better handling than the Monroes (plus I don't need the extra length any more.)

If you had a narrow track you could buy Commodore wagon rear Bilsteins that would fit. Or you could try contacting Quadrant Suspension in Melbourne and see if they can make something up to suit.

[Rb25sil80]

Crikey!

All this leaf swapping and changing is making me dizzy!

What I wouldnt give to be able to fit a set of coilovers with adjustable dampers. Would be so much easier :(

Tried sending an enquiry through lovells website but the link was dead, shall call one of their local dealers on monday and see what they can do. A little concerning that they're standard height leaf and raised height leaf set are the same part number. Doesnt exactly fill me with confidence

Cheers
Brad

[murcod]

A little concerning that they're standard height leaf and raised height leaf set are the same part number. Doesnt exactly fill me with confidence

Ahhh.... Kings listing is even better- they list the same part number for both the Feroza and Aussie Rocky!? The guy was also trying to tell me one of the part numbers was for the FRONT leafs in a Feroza!

[Rb25sil80]

**UPDATE**

Heres' the latest.

Dropped into ARB on Nudgee Rd, they dont do anything at all suspension wise to suit the Feroza but the guy there sent me down to Opposite Lock in Newstead.

Tony at Opposite Lock was very helpful, he answered all my questions and showed me exactly what would be fitted and how they do it all. The guys over at Ontrack 4wd could take a real lesson from the customer service shown by these guys!!!

In the end they recommended a set of 4 35mm Tough Dog Gas Shocks, ($250/pair), Tough Dog 40mm Raised Leaf set ($570), New bushings/bearings ($130) and just $145 to fit it all up! Works out to be around $1300 all up and i'd say ill get that cheaper for cash.

Anyone heard anything about Tough Dog's? Seems they advertise quite a bit, havnt heard anything though.... Those prices seem quite reasonable to me, opinions?

Cheers
Brad

[murcod]

Brad, be aware Tough Dog a couple of different grades of shocks. They'll most likely be another brand spring rebadged too

[Rb25sil80]

for $250 a pair i'd be hoping whatever grade it is is of a very reasonable quality. Thats double what the shitty shocks go for !

Their bottom of the line gas shock is a 35mm bore, looks reasonable so fingers crossed.

And as for the false advertising, I hope not. From what the guy said they seem like a good reputable brand thats been around quite a while. And since I cant seem to find any other springs that fit them i'd love to know what they are rebadged from?

Cheers
Brad

[Rb25sil80]

http://www.toughdog.com.au/pdf/daihatsu.pdf

Thats their catalogure for Daihatsu.

[murcod]

And as for the false advertising, I hope not. From what the guy said they seem like a good reputable brand thats been around quite a while. And since I cant seem to find any other springs that fit them i'd love to know what they are rebadged from?

False advertising? Huh? Who mentioned that? I was hinting that they have standard and adjustable model shocks to suit- check what the price you got includes....

There are plenty of places that makes springs to suit. eg. Lovells. A lot of companies get other spring manufacturers to supply them; I think you'll find that's the case with Tough Dog and they don't make the springs themselves.

Did you try enquiring about the Bilsteins?

[Rb25sil80]

False advertising to me means advertising a product under a certain name whens its just a rebadged version of something else.

If all they are doing is rebadging some shitty leafs thats a pretty poor business practice. I highly doubt it though.

And yeah I tried lovel and was told they do not make anything to suit the feroza. I told him there are part numbers to suit listed on the website and was told they dont make them, and never made them. Apparently the catalogue is written first and then they try and make the parts to suit. He said they couldnt make feroza stuff due to the weird leaf design.

Are you just guessing here about Toughdog rebadging another company or do you actually know for sure?
If your guessing I aint impressed

Cheers
Brad

[HeathGQ]

Are you just guessing here about Toughdog rebadging another company or do you actually know for sure?
If your guessing I aint impressed

happens all the time.Only a certain number of manufacturers... so each seperate 'brand' has specific requirements for manufacture. Pro-comps are Explorer brand. OME are Monroe. Dobinsons shocks are Ironman. So on. You will get what you pay for, cause each are manufactered to the requirements of the brand... get it??

[Suspension Stuff]

Dobinsons shocks are made in Tunisia while Ironman are made in China.
Definitely not the same.
Dobinsons good Ironman However Ironman do really good steering dampers and good add a leaf thingos
Lovells shocks are the same as EFS shocks except EFS has EFS on them.

Quite often even though stuff is made by the same company the shocks are valved differently or the coils are painted a different colour or made to different specs.

Sometimes they don't even bother changing the part numbers.

Some of the companies will just buy the opponents coils/Leafs and copy them.

My supplier will design coils for a vehicle and throw out 5 sets of coils getting it right and a major company will just buy a pair and copy them.

Tough dog have longevity issues with their shocks. But for a Feroza you don't get much of a choice. Surely they aren't too hard on shocks.

Shane

[murcod]

Brad, I could have got Lovells leafs for the rear of my Feroza. I got a price for them and everything- the only problem was they didn't have any in stock and I would have had a two month wait! I actually had them on order and cancelled when I found out I could get Dobinsons in a couple of days.

As has been said there are a limited number of spring manufacturers in Australia and a lot of the smaller brands (eg OME, TJM etc etc) get other companies to make their suspension products. It's not false advertising; however often if you can work out who makes the product you will be able to buy the same thing directly for a lot less.

[murcod]

BTW have you read this from the FAQ?

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... hp?t=37500

[HeathGQ]

However Ironman do really good steering dampers

didnt mean a blanket Dobinson / Ironman. The Dobinson steering damper I have has Ironamn stamped into it. I was merely pointing out that the re-badging of things happens.

[Suspension Stuff]

No worries HeathGQ.

About the availability of these leafs for the widetrack Feroza.
Has anybody actually have raised leafs made by Lovells or Ironman or anyone because I have been told that manufacturers just put a part number in their catalogue and when the first person orders a set they make them up and no probs. Except they jumped the gun with the Feroza because they found it too difficult to do the tapered springs so they get thrown into the too hard basket.

Shane

[Rb25sil80]

Yep thats exactly what the 2 distributors told me when I went to order them.

Apparently murcod has a shop somewhere down the rabbit hole that will hook you up though

Im thinking i'll still go with Toughdog, after all the reading i've done through the bible I cant really find anyone thats happy with there suspension setup so I see no reason to follow in the footsteps of anything others have done !

Unless I find out Toughdogs are monroe's with $200 added onto the price tag heheh.

Cheers
Brad

[murcod]

Apparently murcod has a shop somewhere down the rabbit hole that will hook you up though

Mine's a narrow track- different springs...

Go your hardest - hope you end up happy!

[Rb25sil80]

Ahh thats right, they have the 60mm leafs on the Narrow track.

I guess one of us has to test out these Toughdogs and see if they are any chop!

cheers
Brad