80 Series springs & ride height

[Jon_Tallis]

Hi, I hope someone can help with spring selection on my '97 80 Series VX Petrol.
Truck was lifted by the previous owner but sits a bit lower at the back than the front. I don't know if that's due to an un-matched spring set or just because the rears have sagged. I suspect the latter because the rest of the mods he did were very well executed.
Ride height measurements unladen are as follows:-
FRONT - Tyre to wheel arch = 6". Axle to bump stop 4"
REAR - Tyre to wheel arch = 3". Axle to bump stop 4.5"
Tyres are 265/75*16 MTs (so a tad bigger than standard)
Rear springs are OME2862's Front Springs have no markings
Truck is gas converted and has a 90 Litre rear mounted gas tank - weight around 80kg when full
Truck also occasionally carries a roof tent (75kg) and does a fair but of towing (boats & horsetrailers)

Questions are:-
1) How does the front ride height compare with standard? How much is the truck actually lifted by?
2) In order to get the truck to sit nicely (level or just slightly "nose down") What should I replace the rear springs with?

Thanks
Photos below

 

[IRLGW]

Check the tails of the coils top and bottom in case they have broken. Maybe remove the lower suspension strut and check it still has resistance. Look up pedders suspension/ roughtrax 4x4 for ride heights. I have found them to be quite accurate.

Take your measurement from the top of the wheel rim, not the tyre.

Perhaps jack the body up from the towbar until it sits level or on the OEM measurement. If your springs are sagged try a set of spacers. They won't cure bad suspension but will level it out.

 

[Shayne]

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I'm guessing the front being a fixed load gave springs an easy life while the towing worked the rears hard , depends on how old they are i suppose . If your happy with how it feels just put coil spacers on top which makes life easy because you can then choose exactly how you want it to sit .

 

[Jon_Tallis]

IRLGW - thanks for this. Have checked wheel rim to bottom of arch. Front 13", Rear 10.5"
Have looked on Pedders and Roughtrax but can't find any info on what standard ride height measurements are. Maybe I missed something? Do you have a link?
Not sure what you mean by checking resistance on lower suspension strut?
Will check for broken coils

 

[frank rabbets]

Strut= Shock absorber in my book. They don't affect the ride height on the 80 but weak ones may cause the spring to overwork and weaken thus causing a sag.

 

[Jon_Tallis]

Thanks - that makes sense now

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Standard suspension standard tyres

2" lift and 285's.

 

[Jake the Peg]

Mine has a fresh set of EFS +3“ on 285 65 16s

 

[Dave_S]

We're running Pedders +2" Springs, generally light load - been on for a couple of years now. Distance from the wheel rim to the arch (16" wheels) is 13" at the front and 14.5" at the rear. Does that help at all?

 

[Chris]

Just for fun. Unloaded Cruiser sitting on a 4" lift (at 6") with EFS set up. On 35" rubber 17" rims. Ahh those early days ..

 

[Jon_Tallis]

We're running Pedders +2" Springs, generally light load - been on for a couple of years now. Distance from the wheel rim to the arch (16" wheels) is 13" at the front and 14.5" at the rear. Does that help at all?

That's a great help - it gives me a definite datum to work against and work out what lift I've got - at the front at least! I can then match at the rear.
From the photos posted my guess is I've got a 2"lift
Ride is still good so might go down the spacer route unless correction I need is greater than the largest spacer I can get, or if I find any broken coils.

 

[Michael Montgomery]

OME 2 inch lift about 10 plus years old. 100KG roof accessories and rear draws etc. When accessories are off the roof the rear is 1 inch higher.

 

[frank rabbets]

A spacer will give an accurate and predictable outcome. Changing springs might be ify.