Starting to get really frustrated with AC 2" lift!

[Splish]

I also bought the same lift kit from 4x4 parts. I ended up with a ton of rake on my truck. I called them and they told me I was wrong. I sent them photos, and they still argued with me. I got the kit that had the Rs9000XL rear shocks and the KYB struts. The struts have the same extension as the OEM and therefore does not give you any lift. I think it was a half inch at most. After a month of phone calls and no solutions from 4x4 parts, I got extremely fed up and just put the OEM springs back on the rear. I will get longer struts on my next purchase and fix it all up then. But even with the little bit of lift, I was able to get a larger tire on, 265/70 R16 but had to use 2" wheel spacers. Or you can alternatively purchase new wheels with a 3.5" backspace.

[theexbrit]

My kit came with the Bilstein shocks so I can't comment on your amount of rake. My Pathy still has the slight front down rake that it had with OEM shocks, it's just higher. As for the "lift" it depends on how shot your stock springs were, If you look at the before & after photos of my Pathy, you'll see that it definitely went up a good 2-3" so my old springs must have been way fee-ucked!. I don't think you can get longer struts, unless there's some custom made ones or you can adapt another models struts to fit. Do you have a photo of your rake? I'd like to compare it to mine. Some folks add a 1" spacer to the front to level it up a little, just depends what look you want. I think a slight rake looks cool, as long as it's not so pronounced that you slide out of the seat! :laugh: It's interesting what you said about the 30 degree CV angle in the other thread, I'll have to check mine out.

 

XPLORx4 gave a good explanation of an R50 "lift" in another thread...... "Here's one way to think about how the 2 ways a strut-based IFS lift can be achieved (other than completely dropping ALL of the front suspension components with a subframe drop):

 

1. Replace the stock coil spring with a stiffer coil spring that is harder to compress

 

Let's say the strut has an 8" range of travel from fully extended to fully compressed, and on level ground, you lift the vehicle (using a jack or hydraulic lift) until the tires are off the ground. At this point, the strut is fully extended, having 8" of compression available, but 0" of extension. Now, let's also assume that before you started jacking up the vehicle, you measured the distance between the tire and fender, and came up with 5". And after the tires were in the air, you measured and came up with 9". (9-5=4) This means that, if your strut has a range of 8", the stock springs provide for 4" of extension and 4" of compression, on level ground.

 

Next, you remove the struts and replace the stock springs with ones that are harder to compress. After you put the strut back on the vehicle, you measure the distance between the tire and fender, and find that it's still 9"! Well, that's because you only changed the spring, you didn't change how far the strut extends. However, when you remove the vehicle from the hydraulic lift, you now discover that the tire is now 7" from the fender (instead of 5"). There's your 2" of lift! (9-7=2)

 

This means that your 8" long strut can now compress 6" but only extend 2" on level ground. One of the problems with having only 2" of available extension is that there's not enough range to allow the strut to compensate for most paved road surfaces, and it "tops out" (reaches maximum extension) more frequently.

 

2. Insert a spacer between the top of the strut and the body.

 

With this approach, you still haven't changed the travel range of the strut, and you haven't changed the spring rate, either. So, you still have 4" of compression and 4" of extension. However, since you have relocated the top mount of the strut, you've pushed the tire further from the body. Instead of the 9" of distance between the tire and fender (when the tires are off the ground), you add to this measurement the thickness of the spacer.

 

The problem with doing this is that the suspension is allowed to drop potentially too far for other components (tie rods, brake lines, ABS wires, axles, etc.) to safely handle. For example, if you wanted a 6" lift, why not just insert a 6" spacer above the strut? Well, the answer should be obvious. Your CV axles would be making near right-angles at both the inner and outer joints. CV joints aren't designed to operate well at very extreme angles. Fortunately, the brake lines, tie rods, and other stuff attached to the knuckle aren't as sensitive to dropping the suspension as the CV joints are.

 

So, the question is: What is the thickest spacer I could insert between the top of the strut and body, and still not exceed the safest operating angle of the CV axle? I personally do not know. As I mentioned earlier, some people haven't had any problems with a 1" spacer, but others have. I do know that about 10 years ago, when lifting an R50 was an alien concept, one R50 owner made his own 2" spacers and grenaded both CV axles on his first off-road trip with them."

[Splish]

Yeah, I understand how they call it a 2" lift. Basically all they have done is changed the ride height.

However, they gave me 4 springs that are 2" higher than stock.

The front ones I compressed to all hell to get them on, then the weight of my engine, ARB bumper, skids and Winch still pressed them down a little.

 

However, in the rear of the truck, there is little to know extra weight to compress the springs. It was riding at the full height of the springs. I sat in the drivers seat and slid forward out of it, I kid you not! I had 2.5" to 3" of rake. It looked like a drag car.

 

So I left the ridiculously compressed springs on the front, put the OEM springs back in on the rear, and now, it looks factory again. I have gained some ride height in the front, no doubt, and with the Rancho 9000s in the rear, I have much more travel in my system. Currently, with this setup, I have about an inch of rake, and I will fix that problem with a 1" spacer.

 

I think that AC should inform people that it is not a lift kit, just a stiffer spring to change ride height, or supply OEM springs for the front with a 2" strut spacer! At least that way, I would still have the full travel down in the front.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Splish

[theexbrit]

I had a similar issue with the rake but mine wasn't nearly as bad. I got the 1" spacers just to eliminate the slight rake that I had, but I'm such an ass! Me & a buddy put the spacers on yesterday but now my camber is about 6 degrees positive!! The front wheels are only riding on about the outer 3 inches of tire I was in a hurry & must have put the struts back on wrong. I forgot to mark the isolator bracket & the body so that I could put the struts back in the correct position. One of them has the notch on the isolator pointing towards the rear not the engine as it should be & the other one has the "R" & the "L" on the isolator in the wrong place as well. Does anyone have a photo of top of their strut so that I can see where the letters are or does anyone know the correct way to put the strut back on? I thought they only fit in one position but I guess not.

[rocky2]

The topping out will soften over time, however you can add limiting straps to the front so it doesnt go bang. I am fairly certain I saw this done on Fleury's rig.

SFD is the answer!!

[rocky2]

The topping out will soften over time, however you can add limiting straps to the front so it doesnt go bang. I am fairly certain I saw this done on Fleury's rig.

SFD is the answer!!

[theexbrit]

Update: I never got rid of the positive camber by using the camber adjustment bolts so I removed the spacer. I did think about elongating the top strut hole but didn't want to be the "guinea pig"!!! :laugh: :laugh:

 

I'm going to go the Koni & SFD route next year. Thanks for that informative write up rocky2.

[rocky2]

Let me know if you want some strut collars