Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey fellas,

I have a friend who has a LWB pajero, but he doesnt use it much offroad mnaily for road and for show anyway lastnight we were at a party and de drank a bit and i had to drive the paj home. it was a NITEMARE! handled like a boat in in every big or smooth bump the body went right left right left......
The point is it was really shity to drive.... on the other hand today we had a barbecue at mine and he came with his paj and i mesaured it and in the front he had 17cm!!!!!! of body lift. Now as much as i know about 4wds, i think thats just pointless also will be crap offroad. But the question he as me how can he get his ride to be more stable. told him to take out a few CM's but he wants to keep it.

Anyone have any tips?

Thanks

Mud tyres? Mine waves around like a boat over 60mph!! What tyres he got? Stiffer suspension helps, and if hes put bigger tyres on then it sounds like what they call 'bump steer', upgraded steering stabilizers help this, usually unneccessary on standard tyre sizes, its when bigger tyres are fitted this is a factor!! Hope thats some help. Chris

My last Pajero (mk2 swb) had mud tyres, standard (crap) shocks, and it handled terrible, especially over bumpy country roads, it loved pulling towards the ditch!!

My new Pajero (mk2 swb) has the same mud tyres, a 40mm body lift, fully working electronic shocks (set to hard on motorways), and it handles ten times better!! It feels (and many of my mates have commented) like a completely different 4x4, some people even think its a newer model than the last, when in fact, its not!! Its just the firm shocks offer a much nicer ride!!

4x4boi wrote:Hey fellas,

I have a friend who has a LWB pajero, but he doesnt use it much offroad mnaily for road and for show anyway lastnight we were at a party and de drank a bit and i had to drive the paj home. it was a NITEMARE! handled like a boat in in every big or smooth bump the body went right left right left......
The point is it was really shity to drive.... on the other hand today we had a barbecue at mine and he came with his paj and i mesaured it and in the front he had 17cm!!!!!! of body lift. Now as much as i know about 4wds, i think thats just pointless also will be crap offroad. But the question he as me how can he get his ride to be more stable. told him to take out a few CM's but he wants to keep it.

Anyone have any tips?

Thanks

please post a pic of said ghetto POS

Have the fropnt torsion bars been wound up fully? By this, I mean is there any downward movement left before the bump stops come into play. It sounds as if the front bars are fully wound up. Try going over a smallish bump and hte affected wheel will probably be in the air. This could cause some instability.

Yea he has 33's and has a the torsion bars wound up but not all the way.

Heres the pic bakerboy:

I found winding torsion bars up really high made it handle like a pig, do a ball joint flip at the front and you will be able to wind it down a little but still retain lift, then use a hacksaw and take a cm or so off the rubber bump stops, but make sure to leave at least 1cm or so of rubber on them. Like I said before though them standard shocks are pretty poor, unless they're the electronic ones, which are suprisingly good!!

That much body lift and especially what you showed on that picture scares me, thank goodness it is along way from NZ. And I wouldn't be hopping into it!

Have seen what 50mm body lift has done to body mounts in an accident - ripped them out of the floor, with all the leverage of this I hope he never has an accident.

The body lift alone won't cause handling problems like that. If the car is actually steering left and right of the bumps it's probably a worn steering component such as tie rod ends, bent links (throwing out the alignment).

If its a rocking left right, as if you're in a riot and people are trying to overturn your car, I would probably look at the sway/stabiliser bars. It's possible they were removed all together (pointless with IFS) or the bushes are really flogged out. If there is some lift in the suspension, it would also be worth extending the sway bar links (if it uses them) to compensate.

oldmate wrote:The body lift alone won't cause handling problems like that. If the car is actually steering left and right of the bumps it's probably a worn steering component such as tie rod ends, bent links (throwing out the alignment).

It depends on how it's done. Looking at the pic showing the leaning tower of front body lift, it looks like he's used a series of flexible bushes. During weight transfer it's possible the blocks under compression compress to the point that the bolt is no longer under tension. It would be hard to predict the outcome.

oldmate wrote:If its a rocking left right, as if you're in a riot and people are trying to overturn your car, I would probably look at the sway/stabiliser bars. It's possible they were removed all together (pointless with IFS) or the bushes are really flogged out.

What makes you say this?

I removed my rear sway bar years ago, and had my IFS Paj engineered without it. Passed the handling test with flying colours - 2" body lift, 2" suspension lift, large tyres and no rear sway bar. It also performs much better off-road, as the rear flexes significantly better, so it can keep 4 tyres on the ground for longer.

I'm very happy that I removed my rear sway bar, and there is no way that I would consider the modification pointless. So I'd like to know what leads you to your opinion.