Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Guys does anyone have experience with poly air bags

I need to make the 4 Runner more capable of carrying touring loads.

It handles and sits quite well on weekend runs but when we load it up for a week long trip she sits too low in the rear.

I am worried that changing the coils may result in a harsh ride when the trucks not loaded.

Poly springs seem a good idea, are they

Cheers Struth.

Got them in the shorty, they are ok. Can get spiked if you go harsh offroading. But they are an expensive way to solve your problem but comfort will stay the same.

They work a treat on the LWB GQ.

Why not grab another pair of coils (heavier rate) and just swap those in when you are going camping etc.? They don't take long to swap and coils are pretty cheap.

I had the same problem with my 4runner, and ended up fitting a set of std. 80 series coils.....these have been great so far!! They do give about 3.5-4" lift, but hardly even settle down when loaded full of camping and the ride is still great!!

Heres a link to a thread on the Surf site which has some more details about it all.
http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/view ... oils#76717

I will be still looking into putting some poly air bags in mine but, as with a decent load inside the vehicle, and the zook on a car trailer behind, it still sags down more than I'd like. (But nowhere near as bad as the old dobinson 2" lift medium duty coils)

Its a little different, but my dad runs Polyair bags in the rear of his VS Commodore with IRS.
We tow a real heavy caravan and it doesn't sag at all when pumped up.

Any heavier duty coils with make the car rough under light loads.

My Rocky is fairly bouncey when light, but with 2 people in the rear and some gear, it rides very nice on road.. this is due to the HD coils i fitted.

Twisty I don't want to have the rear end 2" taller than the front.
New springs are about half the price of poly bags.
But I couldn't be rooted changing springs as well as fitting the big wheels and the spare wheel carrier whenever I go camping.

If I fitted stiffer springs how much does it affect the 4 Runner ride when unloaded

Also for those blokes with poly bags, my assumption is that you inflate them to a suitable pressure and they effectively prevent the springs from sagging when loaded. is this correct

For me the poly bags fitted at $400 is not too bad an option provided they don't get punctured every second trip. Because for me touring is in the high country with some pretty gnarly tracks.

Cheers Struth.

Struth wrote:Twisty I don't want to have the rear end 2" taller than the front.
Cheers Struth.

Yeah thats the only problem, as then you either need BJ spacers like I've got (which I'm not a fan of), or an expensive IFS kit, or SAS for the front to keep it up to a similar height.

$400 doesn't sound too bad for the polyairs but......I've never looked into what they are worth...

A kit for my Rocky rrp is $299, though TJM have them at the moment for $269.

I thought Rocky parts are always dearer...

*edit* - that would not be fitted.. thats say $100 for fitment, not too bad in th end, due to taking springs out, fitting the bags and routing the lines into the mudguards...

Well the Surf site has some pretty hards core info re springs and some pretty hard core sounding Surfs.
Given the grief those blokes have suffered with buying springs I am tending toward keeping my Konis and fitting bags.

I will go to TJM next week and seek their advice regarding my rear springs as they would appear to be slightly sagged evan without load.

Cheers Struth.

I bought mine at a swap meet for $200 brand new still in box about 3 years ago. Ive had these things in some pretty harsh places (Toolangi, Gembrook, Labertouche etc) and never had a drama with them. It would be a freak of bad luck to pop them in the high country. I have used them for stability, as my 80 is lifted 5in with no sway bars, and it helps it handle better on road. They are a piece of piss to set up, and if you can throw a spanner, you wouldnt have any dramas fitting them yourself. I would recommend them for sure!

Thanks Jeff80, wish I had a centurion as well
I dragged some irish folk out of Cockpit Creek track in toolangi just last week. They took a standar Pajero (old square type) with A/Ts in.
I slid all the way down from Blowhard road with 33" claws. God knows what they were thinking. Took me 3Hrs to drag and hand winch them about 1km up and out of the track.

Any way, still keen to here feedback on Poly airs.

Cheers Struth

If I was you I would find out what model of Firestone Coilrite you needed and order them from here. http://www.truckspring.com/
I ordered a set for a rangie and they were here in less than a week for around $175 au delivered.

Ian

Well I am going some King Springs and shocks supplied and fitted by Ironman.

The poly air bags seem like a good idea if you are towing or hauling long distances on road. But better springs would appear to be better for big loads off road. All up I anticipate adding 200kg worth of gear for a long trip, Big haul, recovery gear and spare 33" approx 80kg, tents, camping gear, tarps etc approx 50 kg, that only leaves 70kg for the food, fridge, clothes, etc.

I went to ARB and to TJM and they could make no promises on wether or not I would get the extra 25mm rear lift I wanted. ironman on the other hand invited me into the workshop to compare the existing springs with the new ones prior to fitting, and after all they are primarily a suspension company.

Hope their product is good.

I was amazed at just how much extra weight you add for a long trip.

Cheers Struth.

A mate of mine had them fitted to his Pajero. They worked fine(did the Simpson) except on one trip to Vic high country a stick pushed the air line up against the exhaust and it melted letting the air out.
I use a second set of springs which take me about 30 minutes to change.

DONT DO IT. Buy Polyairs, I mean. I had a set in my Rocky, to help carry extra load, and to help correct the notorious Rocky lean. I got the leaf spring kit, with the auxilary coils spring to contain the bags. I had to modify the mounts to make it fit, even though it was the correct kit, I kept the minimum air pressure (5psi) in them at all times, even bought a low pressure gauge for the purpose. The first bag chaffed through after a month or so, from mud and stones getting caught between the coils and the bags. The Qld distributor didnt want to play ball with a replacement, claiming they wernt designed for those types of conditions in mind. I reminded him it was a 4WD, and the kit, although needing to be modified, was sold as being for a 4WD, and that 4WD's tend to get mud and rocks, ect, up under neath them. They finally relented, after a threat to take them to consumer affairs. When the second bag did a couple of months later, of the same cause, I gave up, and binned the lot. Worst mod ever on my 4wd's, and a big waste of money. Closely rivaled by shit Kumho tyres.