Ride Height - what is yours? (L300)

PinkPig · Post by **PinkPig** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 1:43 am

Hi All - apologies for cross posting from UK, but L300s are getting rare, so more opinions welcome.

Just trying to work out how much lift I have got on mine with new springs - I didn't measure before, but my old springs were shot so the van is now a lot higher, but was lower than standard due to sag before I started.

So measuring from hub centre to lip of wheel arch mine is currently:
Rear 58cm / Front 50cm (after a bit of torsion bar winding)

After searching I found
Bruce (Mystery Machine) had 58.5cm rear and 57cm front (after 2 inch lift on mud monkey)
BFG had 57cm (after list) rear and 48cm front (before lifting front)

So what is yours? (lifted or not) so I can see where I am

I need to get the front up a bit higher, but also expect the new rear leaf springs to settle a bit over the next month or two

BTW I have fitted new KYB 343226 gas shocks tonight with 2 inch box steel spacers and it really is riding well at the rear.

One reason for asking is if the rear lift is too high the prop will need looking at - it is now giving a bit of vibration at some speeds, but might not have gone back on same way as it came off (I think there are alignment notches, but couldn't find them).

Thanks All
Roger

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 12:05 pm

Well, to start with ~ feel free to post on this site any old time you wish ~ the more the merrier.

I had my leaf pack all re-arced and added an extra leaf. This pretty much gave me a one and an half, to two inch lift in the rear. Then I re-indexed my torsion bars to match the rear in lift.

One thing I've found is that having an uber high lift is not always the best for really off road situations ~ and no matter how high your lift is you're still only as high as your axle. Another point is it's not always about getting over things, it's also about getting under things, as well, such as branches. I'd say two inches is the optimum lift. If you're trying to get over a fallen tree... that's where chainsaws, winches and ropes come in.

Falco.

yojimbo · Post by **yojimbo** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:32 pm

Also Piglet, its worth noting that a lift on leaf springs wont be a bad thing for the propshaft per se, unless it exceeds the articulation angle of the UJ's, its the act of lifting by longer shackles which causes problems. Since one end of the spring is now much lower than the other, the angle of the diff is incorrect and is no longer parallel with the gearbox output shaft, this and the nature of UJ's is where the vibration comes from. That being said the rear prop in a 300 is really short, so angles could be an issue....

PinkPig · Post by **PinkPig** » Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:41 pm

Many thanks.

These are new leaf springs with standard shackles. But they are (I think) overrated and I also don't have standard seats due to camper conversion so lighter at the back so have got about 2 inch lift. This has increased the angle for the UJ.

Springs may settle over time or I need to put some sacks of sand in the back

Lapprentis · Post by **Lapprentis** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:03 am

I went to the re-arcing adding leaf springs process and now I can confirm the L300, with its short DriveShaft is VERY sensitive to excess of height: I will have to replace my bearing on it....I did aks the garage about NOT lifting the rear to high but on my way back to house I can feel vibrations and noises never eard before :(

So, for UNLIFTED_MODIFIED L300, NOT knowing what is stock height from an out of factory Starwagon, it would be VERY helpfull for the comunity to specify what is the distance from the middle of the wheel hud-cap to the fender wheel arch. In my case, when it was definitly too high after re-arcing it showed 55.5cm. After I did put some sand bags in order to try low lower it (I know the damage is done for me but...) I went down to 53cm. Now can you guys that went trough re-arccing-addind a rear leaf springs AND running without problems, can share their measurement here ? That will be very helpfull :)

Falco, I know you are out there

please be the first to share yours !

Lapprentis

PinkPig · Post by **PinkPig** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:20 am

All I can offer is 56cm doesn't vibrate. 57cm gives slight vibration at 20mph/30kph and 58cm is worse!

Have a search on the UK www.mdocuk.co.uk/forums as I started a similar thread there (on a mobile so difficult to find and paste links).

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 12:07 pm

Lapprentis wrote:Falco, I know you are out there please be the first to share yours !

D'accord!
You know... there is the reference library, where you will find things like this:

The X on the lower image is roughly the centre of gravity. Since adding the extra leaf and re-arcing my leaf packs in 2008 (or was it 09?) I have not noticed any real change to stability. The lift incurred by such an operation is roughly an inch and an half to two inches, which is really all you need in my humble opinion. Since then I have driven my wagon at a forty-five degree angle on the Whipsaw Trail, I've gone into a sideways skid at fifty kliks on Georgia Street beside Lost Lagoon in order to avoid a collision* ~ she's pretty stable. I think what gets people is being on the right side of the vehicle, which also puts you on the low side of the road's camber ~ which is particularly unnerving when you make your first left hand turn, especially going down a hill! The first time I climbed a twenty-five degree lateral list I felt myself shift in the saddle and I thought for sure I was going to roll..... OMG.... then I didn't. Weird.

You really have to consider the logic, the wagon weighs two long tonnes and the majority of that weight is located between the axles and beneath the rub rail.

Falco.
P.S.: * Had I hit a pothole in that skid it may have been a different story. Angle of approach is paramount, as well.

Post by **Big-Bird** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:47 pm

Increasing ride height of any 4x4 is a delicate balance between suspension travel and driveline angles.

The flatter the profile of the driveshaft between output point and input point the smoother the rotation will be. (simple mechanics)

When the angle of the drive lines are pushed beyond their factory design tolerance there are other things that must be done to account for the change.

When it comes to drive shafts installing a CARDON joint is aneffective way to handle high degree driveline angles. Sometimes changing the angle of the differential is also feasible with metal wedge shims between the leafs and the perch/diff mount plate....but this has its own risks in the form of possible oil starvation at the pinion bearing due to too much angle.

Sometimes dropping the angle of the engine/transmission by 1 or 2 degrees can also help compensate for that high drive line angle.

Finally there are some u-joints out there that have high angle rotation built in to the design so they can't bind and able to handle the higher angle. Most of these are cryo treated units and are not cheap (AKA likely a custom unit for the Delicas)

sealica · Post by **sealica** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:29 am

FalcoColumbarius wrote:... and no matter how high your lift is you're still only as high as your axle ...

To clarify when adding a leaf to the rear leaf springs this DOES NOT raise the axle?

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:11 pm

Bigger springs move the body away from the axle, but the axle remains the same distance from the ground because it's supported by the wheels. The only way to raise the stock axle is to fit bigger wheels.

sealica · Post by **sealica** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:01 pm

Growlerbearnz wrote:Bigger springs move the body away from the axle, but the axle remains the same distance from the ground because it's supported by the wheels. The only way to raise the stock axle is to fit bigger wheels.

Right, and more distance between body and axle = room for bigger wheels. It's all about the wheels ;)

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