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Hilux IFS, Should i go with this suspension or not?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:51 pm
by xplot
HI all

I got a 2003 hilux well just bought it, and i am getting next tuesday a 3" body lift and 2.5" suspension lift with aftermarket torsion bars and apparently that won't be at its max when done up. Will i notice a big difference on-road? second will it have good wheel travel?

What i want is something that will be able to go on some rough tracks and still handle on-road pretty good?

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:33 pm
by greenhilux
2.5'' in the torsion bars will be very close to sitting on the bumpstops. Cv's and boots will wear alot quicker, and you will lose a shite load of wheel travel, not that IFS luxes have alot in the first place. Also the after market heavy duty torsion bars will sap the rest of the travel.

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:56 pm
by Beastmavster
Ut would have better wheel travel if you didnt do a 2 1/2" torsion bar lift.

Why are you lifting it 5 1/2" how big rubber do you plan on running?

Seems excessive for the sorta use most 2 year old cars are gonna get.

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:15 pm
by bigpat
My Surf has the bars cranked up 2" already. What you lose out on is downtravel, which makes it easier to pick up wheels, which stops you if you don't have a front locker....

You can get more downward travel by cutting tye bumpstops in half, which will give yo 12mm or so, and make a set of 1" thick top balljoint spacers. This will give you a lot more downtravel. Might be an idea to fit freewheeling hubs to the front, so that the CV's & boots don't chew out on road ( where you'll spend most of your'e time), and reduces wear in the front end.

With the set-up above, 2 of my friends have got close to 4" from the front end, to fit 35's , with no mechanical dramas.

Or if you have $1350, get a Megalift kit for the front, which lowers the hole front 4", keeping standard suspension & steering geometry. Then you can crank up the bars 1-1.5" no problems.

For the balljoint spacers, check out www.toyotasurf.asn.au & go the TECHSITE, and you'll see the write up & pics under suspension mods.

Cheers,

Pat

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:53 pm
by Mad Cruiser
Grab yourself a copy of the latest 4wd monthly magazine, there is an article about a 5inch lifted hilux

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:01 am
by grimbo
Why are getting the lift straight away? Have you taken it for a drive yet. Got a feel for what you want the car to do? Have you researched what is out there? Seen what others have done and asked why?

Seems like you are going to be shelling out a bit of $$$ without actually knowing what the result and repercussions could be. Maybe hold off a bit until you know why and what you want. nothing worse than spening a lot of $$$ only to discover it was the wrong choice

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:01 pm
by Mad Cruiser
It all comes down to learning experience Grimbo ! Everybody has their own preferrences on different combos so there is no bad or good product.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 12:17 pm
by grimbo
Mad Cruiser wrote:It all comes down to learning experience Grimbo ! Everybody has their own preferrences on different combos so there is no bad or good product.
yeah which is why I reckon he should maybe learn what his car can and cannot do before forking out $$$ for a lift that may not be thhe best solution

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:32 pm
by Madmac
i put ball joint spacers in my IFS lux, not a good idea in my opinion, they make it harder to change cv axles when you bust em, i also had problems with tie rods and idler arms snapping due to the wicked angle they run at with 3 and a bit inches of lift, IFS front diffs are weak too and are not really suited to hardcore wheeling, mine had lockers front and rear and over a 3 year period i destroyed 2 cvs, 6 crown wheels, 2 tie rods and 2 idler arms. looking back i wish i had just spent the money on a solid axle conversion from the start, what i spent repairing weak IFS components would of easily covered the SAS conversion. ive given it the boot now and use a GQ for my hard wheelin now, i just got sick of repairing the thing. what you are asking is easily achievable, wheel travel will be crap, but if you fit lockers it will be capable if you can afford to keep fixing it. mine conquered the rut at jenolan, most of the hard tracks at appin and menai including prado hill and numerous other extreme tracks. i would advise you to look into a SAS conversion, it will be cheaper in the long run if you want to do hardcore wheelin. overkill engineering do it for about $3200

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:18 pm
by Matt_88
pm chris_02 he has done sumfin like that on his 02 lux he will tell u how to go.

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:27 pm
by xplot
How can i get in contact with overkill engineering to get a kit?

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 10:44 pm
by Beastmavster
grimbo wrote:Why are getting the lift straight away? Have you taken it for a drive yet. Got a feel for what you want the car to do? Have you researched what is out there? Seen what others have done and asked why?

Hmmm... we have a character or two here who buy and sell a shitload of 4bys thinking a model is perfect then crap and buy the next "better" model.


I personally recommend research before shelling out $20k on a car and $10k worth of mods, but different strokes for different folks you know.


As a general rule of thumb most ifs trucks with a front locker alone will convincingly beat a solid axle truck with no front locker in pretty much any circumstance (so long as the IFS doesnt break).

Lifting it up another inch is gonna give far less performance than a front locker... throw your money there instead.

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 8:55 pm
by xplot
Just thought i would let you know i am getting a solid axle swap conversion done as we speak, and would like to thank you all. All of the kit is coming from ORI which is ADR approved.

Also i spoke to one bloke who has had it done and says he reckons its the best thing he has done, and also looked at it which really turned me on when i saw it.

Now what is it getting is SAS conversion with 3" lift and tough dog adjustables and springs and 2" body lift all for $5000 which is a good price well to me it is

Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:29 am
by Madmac
xplot wrote:Just thought i would let you know i am getting a solid axle swap conversion done as we speak, and would like to thank you all. All of the kit is coming from ORI which is ADR approved.

Also i spoke to one bloke who has had it done and says he reckons its the best thing he has done, and also looked at it which really turned me on when i saw it.

Now what is it getting is SAS conversion with 3" lift and tough dog adjustables and springs and 2" body lift all for $5000 which is a good price well to me it is
good desicion dude, i think you will be more than happy with it, hope it all goes well for you

Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 2:08 pm
by cj
xplot wrote:Just thought i would let you know i am getting a solid axle swap conversion done as we speak, and would like to thank you all.
What are you doing with the old parts as I could be interested in your CV's and freewheeling hubs?

Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 2:28 pm
by xplot
Well i was just going to chuck the whole thing in the bin hahaha

Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 2:33 pm
by cj
xplot wrote:Well i was just going to chuck the whole thing in the bin hahaha
How about chucking it in my bin then? :D