180sx Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 OK, so I've been doing all kinds of research to get ready to lift my bad boy. Now, an issue I always read is topping out the struts. So I was talking to a friend who just lifted his tundra. He has a spacer in between the spring and top mount. Now, thats now what I cared about. To achieve the actual lift his strut has a 'stud extender' at the end of it to add length to the shaft. Wow. Now, if we could use a stud extender on ours, say like a 1.5" extender, wouldn't that be enough to prevent the topping out issue? Or would this just cause more headache with over extending the CV's? Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vengeful Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Topping out the struts isn't a big issue. It's more of a minor annoyance. You're not going to cause any premature wear/damage to the struts by topping them out, provided you get quality struts. However, if you overextend the CVs, you're going to bind them up, could break a CV or bind up your front diff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I say B. Until we can put some cornay joints or something, the fragile point of the r50 will be the cv. I say, to fix the top out, you buy a bull/bar / custom bumper and install a 80-100 LBS winch. Not only you will not top out anymore, but you'll be an instant star among your trail friends :-) Just having fun here ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Stupid CV's...What about installing longer control arms, extending the CV shafts, and lifting 4"? Would the longer axle provide less of an angle? Man, wonder how much it would cost to do all of that! Haha. Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vengeful Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 An OEM fitmet strut has 8" of travel. At OEM ride height, that's 4" up-travel and 4" downtravel. When you lift the truck, you're increasing your available down-travel, but decreasing the available up-travel, which is what causes the struts to top out more easily once lifted. If you were to lift 4" by the method you propose, your struts would be topped out all the time. The only safe way to achieve more than 2-3" of lift, would be a drop kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 so when you lift it you end up with over six inches of up-travel and less than 2 inches of down travel.... that sucks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfinQX4 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 so when you lift it you end up with over six inches of up-travel and less than 2 inches of down travel.... that sucks!!! Depends on how much of the lift is based on spring compression vs spacer. The higher the spring compression, the more the struts are forced into minimal down travel. A spacer only, however, will not affect the travel range of the strut. That is one of the reasons I went with the Medium OME springs because the strut still maintains a fair balance of travel over the Heavy. If I ever get a bar in the front, I will most likely upgrade to Heavy to add support. Yes, I'm aware of the CV issues, but have yet to have any problems with them or struts topping out. Planning on manual hubs and possibly slight front diff drop if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 An OEM fitmet strut has 8" of travel. At OEM ride height, that's 4" up-travel and 4" downtravel. When you lift the truck, you're increasing your available down-travel, but decreasing the available up-travel, which is what causes the struts to top out more easily once lifted. If you were to lift 4" by the method you propose, your struts would be topped out all the time. The only safe way to achieve more than 2-3" of lift, would be a drop kit. I wasn't talking about lifting it 4" that way. All I was saying was that if you get the AC springs it extends the shock at rest more than stock. If you add the stud extender, it pushes the shaft down more so it's not so extended, thus bringing the shaft to a more stock-like posistion. using this would hopefully stop the topping out. the only issue I saw here was over-extending since in a way it would increase the overall length the strut can extend. But reading your post also made me think about when it is compressed if it would actually lose up travel because of it. Hmm... Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 (edited) That is one of the reasons I went with the Medium OME springs because the strut still maintains a fair balance of travel over the Heavy. If I ever get a bar in the front, I will most likely upgrade to Heavy to add support. And thats a very good reason. This shows that you understand that a good suspension needs both downtravel and uptravel. This is why i dont like the idea of the AC lift - just sitting on the ground its already close to maximum extension. Now drive 120 mph down a desert road and watch what happens. OME is made in australia where they understand this concept. Edited April 13, 2009 by FUELER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleurys Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 when you're doing 120mph in the straights of the desert, the last thing you want is your wheels coming off the ground I think everyone has a good reason for either the ac or the OME...120mph on the dunes..... I want a video of that ..! On my part, it will be slow crawling kinda trails... so ac will do fine.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfinQX4 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 And thats a very good reason. This shows that you understand that a good suspension needs both downtravel and uptravel. This is why i dont like the idea of the AC lift - just sitting on the ground its already close to maximum extension. Now drive 120 mph down a desert road and watch what happens. OME is made in australia where they understand this concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 120mph on the dunes..... my 3.3L is too weak to do that on the dunes, hahha. Im talking about dirt road like you see in the Baja 1000 and i agree there are pros and cons to both kits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zibi Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I think everyone has a good reason for either the ac or the OME...120mph on the dunes..... I want a video of that ..! On my part, it will be slow crawling kinda trails... so ac will do fine.... Same problem applies to crawling...articulation is good. Look at a buggy, they ride low and most of their suspension travel comes in the form of down travel so they can keep all four tires in contact with something and providing traction. But its a bit of a redundant argument...it's only a couple inches either way. When you compare it to the 12"+ you get with the big boys it seems silly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Zibi's got the right idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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