OME Supension Lift vs Standard Height

[jubozy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close jubozy]

Hi fellow Prado'ers

10 days ago had ARB install new OME shocks & springs replacing the original Toyota suspension (with 29k on the clock) on my 2012 Altitude having a ARB Delux Winch bar (winch to be installed shortly), dual batteries (installed), Drifta Drawers will also shortly go in and I tow a Lifestyle Extenda Elite C/T.

After the install, the front has been raised 75mm (745 to 820mm Rim to Guard) and 85mm left rear (780 to 865mm) and 80mm right rear (785 to 865mm) which is basically a 3 inch lift compared to the 2 inch I was expecting. OME 2887 & 2898 heavy duty coils went in along with 90010 heavy nitro sport shocks in the front & 60080 medium nitro sport shocks in the rear

Living in beautiful Brissy, the max lift without an expensive certification test is 50mm suspension plus 25 mm wheels & tyres - or under the old code, an additional 1/3 shock travel is allowed. ARB have told me that the lift is ok because it is based on the vehicle standard when new without being able to tell me what the standard actually is.

Simple solution me thinks... go to Toyota and check with them what the standard rim to guard height is, however disappointed to find out both from local Toyota service & Toyota Customer Service Team that they do not have this information

I did mange to measure a new 2013 GXL on the showroom floor, and based on its measurements, my front has been raised 55mm left front, 53mm right front, 65mm left rear & 60mm right rear which is still above the legal limits. Once I put the winch on, my front should be ok, but I suspect the back once the drawers goes in will still be over based on putting about 120kg worth of people in the rear.

All this is driving me nuts as I need to replace my original tyres with some AT's (either BFG's AT's or General Grabber AT2's) and cant' decide whether to go up to a 265/70/17 (raising it another 27mm), 275/65/17 (raising it about 10mm) or stay standard 265/65/17.

Can anyone please shed some light on the standard rim to guard heights, as if I need to go back to ARB I will need some ammunition to fight with.

Cheers
Geoff

[Guest Close Guest]

Have you let it settle yet? It will take a few weeks of driving to settle in.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

There is a thread here http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...n-measurements all about suspension measurements that you should be able to get the info you want from. Yours does sound a little high but as Piggy said it may settle over a week or 2 and the addition of a few more accessories will also make it drop a bit.

Cheers Andrew

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

They may also have allowed for the winch so it will drop another few mm when you install that.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I assume ARB have installed a setup that will cater for your final loadings. Front is a touch high but once the winch goes in and the coils settle it won't be too bad. Aim for around 800 rim to guard. Plus or minus 10. I think you will be fine. Go to the thread AJ referred to and have a read.

[SuperDavid Member Find all posts View Profile Close SuperDavid]

My 2013 prado with less than 10,000km on it and stock suspension was 770mm in the front and 790mm in the back. That is measuring from the bottom of the rim to the edge of the guard.

When I got my TJM suspension the back lifted straight to 840, which is 50mm from standard. But the front after all mucking around I had getting them to put in the correct spacers took me to 790mm in the front. When they put in too many spacers my front suspension went to 810mm and people were saying that was too high. What confuses me is these kits are meant to be 50mm but they either dont actually lift 50mm or if they do its deemed too high for keeping the handling dynamics correct.

[Richoson Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Richoson]

Hi Geoff

I have a 150 with the same setup that has done 65000k's and live at Thornlands if you would like to check mine out send me a pm and you can do the numbers. Tip here is stay away from the local Toyota dealer worst service from any dealer whatever brand I have had.

See ya on the tracks, Richo.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Hi fellow Prado'ers

10 days ago had ARB install new OME shocks & springs replacing the original Toyota suspension (with 29k on the clock) on my 2012 Altitude having a ARB Delux Winch bar (winch to be installed shortly), dual batteries (installed), Drifta Drawers will also shortly go in and I tow a Lifestyle Extenda Elite C/T.

After the install, the front has been raised 75mm (745 to 820mm Rim to Guard) and 85mm left rear (780 to 865mm) and 80mm right rear (785 to 865mm) which is basically a 3 inch lift compared to the 2 inch I was expecting. OME 2887 & 2898 heavy duty coils went in along with 90010 heavy nitro sport shocks in the front & 60080 medium nitro sport shocks in the rear

Living in beautiful Brissy, the max lift without an expensive certification test is 50mm suspension plus 25 mm wheels & tyres - or under the old code, an additional 1/3 shock travel is allowed. ARB have told me that the lift is ok because it is based on the vehicle standard when new without being able to tell me what the standard actually is.

Simple solution me thinks... go to Toyota and check with them what the standard rim to guard height is, however disappointed to find out both from local Toyota service & Toyota Customer Service Team that they do not have this information

I did mange to measure a new 2013 GXL on the showroom floor, and based on its measurements, my front has been raised 55mm left front, 53mm right front, 65mm left rear & 60mm right rear which is still above the legal limits. Once I put the winch on, my front should be ok, but I suspect the back once the drawers goes in will still be over based on putting about 120kg worth of people in the rear.

All this is driving me nuts as I need to replace my original tyres with some AT's (either BFG's AT's or General Grabber AT2's) and cant' decide whether to go up to a 265/70/17 (raising it another 27mm), 275/65/17 (raising it about 10mm) or stay standard 265/65/17.

Can anyone please shed some light on the standard rim to guard heights, as if I need to go back to ARB I will need some ammunition to fight with.

Cheers
Geoff

So based on a new standard Prado your vehicle height is perfect!

It will always settle a little, you still need to add your winch which will take you under 50mm!
Put the rear drawers in & what you leave in there will sort it to about 50mm, but it ll varies with load, once your fully loaded you might have 10-20-30-40mm lift in rear, that's coil springs!

Conclusion? Don't worry, it's close to perfect height if you wanted 50mm.

[Guest Close Guest]

Just make sure that you have enough droop on all 4 shocks and that the rear is about 20mm higher than the front.

Suspension is usually the last thing to get done so that you will know what the weights are going to be so that the correct springs are chosen. If you choose the HD springs for accessories that are yet to be put on, then I would put on those accessories ASAP. Because if the accessories aren't weighing down on the suspension, then you won't have enough droop and you end up topping out the shocks and slowly destroying them.

[vxcruiser08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vxcruiser08]

I have a 3" lift and I think from memory my measurements were similar to yours however i have a heap of weight from mods being completed already and i've always noticed with OME lifts the vehicle is always seriously higher than other 2" lifts. Mine also settled a fair bit, at least 10mm.

Personally I wouldn't be concerned about any legalities - it's a HD lift and you have the extra height there to take any weight in a sensible manner. I'd be more concerned about your drivetrain and tyre wear. Obviously add the mods and see what happens.

Drifta drawers didn't do anything to my rear, especially if you have rear seats and they come out, the drawers weigh less. A winch will definitely drop it from experience and dual batteries etc...

Will be interesting to see how this goes...

[jubozy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close jubozy]

Thanks guys for your feedback and it's comforting to hear that it shouldn't be a problem.

Drawers & winch will both arrive at the end of the week, and now it's just the decision on the tyres - 265/70/17 (raising it another 27mm), 275/65/17 (raising it about 10mm) or stay standard 265/65/17

[rwo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close rwo]

As others have said, get that winch on! I ran my car for nearly a year without one (and HD springs) so the front was riding high and ride was a bit harsh, but after putting the winch in the front dropped a further 10mm and is now at 795 +/- a bit each side (as AMTS said, I probably wrecked my shocks but I'll deal with that in due course with longer shocks, that I regret not getting in the first place...).

I went looking for the "official" specs when I installed my lift as all the research I did said the police go off the official specs release by the manufacturer. I gave up in the end because nobody (including the manufacturer) could tell me the "official" specs for a standard 150. I also asked a family member who is a police officer, their response was that it's basically at the discretion of the officer and this person was not aware of any handbook the officers carry that list official vehicle specs (doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just they or none of their colleagues used it). They also said if you keep it sensible and don't give the police a reason to be looking for you, you will never have problems. That was good enough for me since the law is stacked far enough against the police that they have to jump through hoops to get a conviction for an obvious crime, I'm sure none of them are going to worry about my lift that is 51mm instead of 49mm!

I also measured a brand new vehicle for comparison, but you need to remember that the new springs in a new vehicle will settle slightly in the same way as your new springs put in an old vehicle, and how they settle will also depend on the individual vehicle, accessories fitted and no doubt how the vehicle is used, so those specs are relatively useless anyway because ALL vehicles are different.

At the end of the day, while a modest 50mm lift is permitted in most states, until we all have to carry an official document in our vehicle (for the purposes of being provided to a vehicle inspection center or police officer when requested) that lists pre-lift height specifications, I don't know how anyone (police officer or not) can make the judgement that your vehicle is a few mm over the allowed height when noone knows what the allowed height is.

As long as I never end up on the wrong side of a vehicular manslaughter or serious crash investigation, I can't see that I will have any issues.

One thing I did do when I installed my lift was notify the insurance company and get it listed on your policy!

EDIT: And go the 265/70's, you will have more options to choose from. IMHO QLD has the best laws in this regard, as I think they are the only ones that allow 50mm lift AND 25mm tyres (if it's permitted on a vehicle with ESC or not, that's a whole new can of worms...), AFAIK all other states are 50mm COMBINED!

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Most stick with 265/70. That's a wise decision if you do.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

now it's just the decision on the tyres - 265/70/17 (raising it another 27mm)

No, that's the increase in diameter, the lift achieved is only half the increase in diameter.

Cheers Andrew

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

If you are concerned about being strictly legal get advice from an automotive engineer about the 265/70 17 fitment on a 150 in Queensland.