Castor correction on 2" Ironman lift

[Neil Stone]

Hi guys
Just a quick question.
Does a 2" lift (ironman) require castor correction.
Anyone on here fitted the Ironman 2" lift?
If so how do you rate it, what difference did it make to the road handling?

I'm about to make my first modification to my 80 series and get the springs, shocks and bushes all done at Westcoast.

Would love to do the intercooler too, anyone got the safari (or another) intercooler kit, was it a worthwhile upgrade (got any figures for a stats nerd?).

As an afterthought, anyone know of a UK distributor for KAYMAR ?

 

[Chris]

2" is just at the edge for correction. I didn't do mine at first and it was fine. I love the IM B set up, it's a lovely ride on and off road. But is it a full off road kit? No, I don't think so. It's a perfect replacement for std suspension in my view. I then added some 30mm top spacers and at that point really needed to do a minor CC mod. I didn't use plates or bushes, I just dropped the front bolt holes by 10mm. Look at the angle that the prop makes as it enters the front diff. That should be as straight as possible.

Alisport are the big name in coolers but they don't come cheap.

Chris

 

[Julian T]

I have a slight lift with Old Man Emu springs, no caster correction, no problems that I have experienced.
I also have the Alisport inter cooler and I am very satisfied with it, Thirsty is a different car compared with before it was fitted.

Julian

 

[frank rabbets]

Do you meam more thirsty or less thirsty re; intercooler?

Frank

 

[silvercruiser]

Thirsty is the nick name of his car so would say that its slightly better but il let him confirm.


Joe

 

[Andrew Prince]

I have the Ironman kit fitted and no CC - bought the bushes when I bought the kit and the truck has been fine without it. Road handling - well if you'r eon original shocks and springs, they'll be pretty tired, so most new suspension would seem great I have no complaints about my Ironman set-up and would recommend it.

Have a look on the Safari site for a lot of details on increased torque and power output. Yes, it's a worthwhile mod but not a cheap one Allisport is a significantly cheaper option

 

[Julian T]

thanks Joe, and economy is all in how you use the right foot, but I find that the economy is better after the inter cooler installation than it was before and the torque is improved, pulls better, holds speed on the hills better.

Driving around Milton Keynes before the cooler conversion I was averaging 17/18 mpg, now its 20/22.
but if I am heavy footed its easy to drop to 18 or so mpg

Couple of weekends ago I did 327.5 miles used 85.84 litres of diesel towing a Rav4 on a largish trailer, used cruise control for 59 mph in 5th gear most of the time. my maths makes that 17.1 mpg.
That's from leaving home to getting back because I did not fill up when I loaded the Rav.



Sorry the pic is a little large but she is a big girl

And just in case I forget to say it, I don't drive a cruiser because I like the mpg but because I enjoy the vehicle and what it is.

 

[mike54]

Mine has 2" Iron Man, no CC and will basically go pretty much anywhere (and has). Handles like a DREAM on the road too. But you can alter the handling pretty radically with varying the tyre pressures for whatever you're doing so I don't agree that its not "full offroad kit". If Moab was just outside Preston then sure, I might have the 4" lift and 37" tyres but it isn't. Besides, spring choice is a big deal handling wise and you have a pretty wide choice of Iron Man springs to suit the intended purpose of the vehicle. Mine has "C" springs for load carrying - without load it is nose down a little but it handles brilliantly both with and without load.

Kaymar - I guess you're talking about rear tyre carrier? It's a lot of weight hanging off the arse of the vehicle; not great for handling or suspension.

I'd say give Paul a ring and have a chat with him about what you'll be doing with the vehicle. With respect to the posters above, the internet is too full of procrastinators to form an accurate view - speak to the guy who knows.

 

[Neil Stone]

Many thanks for your responses gentlemen, all very much appreciated.

I had this response from Roger Fairclough on another site that's quite interesting:

The following figures relate to the 70 series, but the 80 will probably be similar.

Standard caster is 4 degrees 5 minutes, plus or minus 1 degree, i.e. between 3 deg. 5mins and 5 deg. 5 mins. A 50mm/2" lift will reduce these figures by 2 deg. If your original set-up was 5 deg.---I will ignore the mins. from now on---your new reading will be 3 deg. i.e. just inside tolerance. With this set-up, steering will be marginally acceptable, but nothing to write home about. If your original reading was 3 deg., your new reading will be 1 deg. i.e. well outside tolerance.

As you approach zero, the steering will appear vague and sloppy. You will need to correct for seemingly minor road surface bumps and ruts. The sharpness that you once had will vanish.


I'll have a chat with the Ironman experts nearer the time, but Tom did say that he didn't think it was needed for a 2" lift and that the castor correction bushes wear quicker due to the off centre design.

Mike.......spot on, I am thinking about a spare carrier. My spare had to get refurbed as it wasn't holding air any longer due in part to the state of the wheel (I hate storing a spare in a spot that catches all the sh*t of the day). However, I can't bring myself to spend so much on a device to store my spare. I'll probably make bracket to go inside and store it upright in the rear where the rear most seats are.
Seen a few comments on tyre pressure and have played around with mine quite a bit too. I'll be putting on 285/75/16 BFG AT's. I've had them on a few vehicles in the past and got on really well with them. What do you find to be the 'magic numbers'?

 

[Neil Stone]

I have a slight lift with Old Man Emu springs, no caster correction, no problems that I have experienced.
I also have the Alisport inter cooler and I am very satisfied with it, Thirsty is a different car compared with before it was fitted.

Julian

Hi Julian
I'm interested to hear a little more about your Alisport inter cooler.
I had a look at their website, all their products seemed to be LandRover related.
Which one was used for your cruiser?
And of course what was the cost involved and where did you get the work done or did you do it yourself?

Cheers

Neil

 

[Gav Peter]

Way OT but have you got some pics of your old 60 for us Neil

Just to add, I got my 4" lift kit from Paul at West Coast - great guy, vay helpful & knows his onions; Ironman - IMHO good functional kit at a good price. Castor correction for 2" seems unnecessary whoever you talk to

Cheers

 

[Neil Stone]

Hi Gav
I have some old photos of the 60 somewhere, i'll have a peek through the old hard drive at the weekend.
How do I post them on the forum though?

 

[Gav Peter]

Nice one Neil - gerrem posted in the 60 section if you do as its a bit thin on content over there!!!

There's a bit of a 'how to' in the FAQ section HERE although I believe that you can just insert them these days using the box below this one... New fangled rubbish - I use photofnckit to host me pics & generally find it easy to use.

Good luck whichever way though!!!

Cheers

 

[Julian T]

[quote="Julian T":1yu2fymc]I have a slight lift with Old Man Emu springs, no caster correction, no problems that I have experienced.
I also have the Alisport inter cooler and I am very satisfied with it, Thirsty is a different car compared with before it was fitted.

Julian

Hi Julian
I'm interested to hear a little more about your Alisport inter cooler.
I had a look at their website, all their products seemed to be LandRover related.
Which one was used for your cruiser?
And of course what was the cost involved and where did you get the work done or did you do it yourself?

Cheers

Neil[/quote:1yu2fymc]


Hi Neil.

Yes his website does list all landy parts but if you email Andrew with your questions he will let you know what it will set you back and your options. Mine cost me £700.00 installed by Allisport. pump was adjusted as was the turbo boost via a trick pressure relief valve.

I believe he sells most of his cruiser kit to Europe as they are popular over the water, you could buy the kit and fit it your self or have a local garage you trust do that, I was quoted £600.00 for the kit or installed in a day for £700.00, with the loan of a car so I could go do my thing as they don't have a waiting room and it is a all day job, Andrew is very friendly and helpful guy.

Allisport are usually at the landy shows and that can be a good time time to meet and talk with Andrew, we have a member here on the forum who can probably give you more info as he fits the conversion, Julian Voelcker of Overland Cruisers.
Speaking for my self I think the Allisport cooler is better than the Safari version, I was not too impressed with the Safari one I saw in South Africa. Also a cooler that is not fitted where it can get the benefit of cool airflow will struggle to cool the charge air I think.

I have had no problems or issues with the conversion which has surprised me because modifying usually leads to reliability issues but one could say that it is an indication of just how strong the 80 is or that Allisport have done their homework and the mod compliments the vehicle.

Best

Julian

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

strange, forum posted my reply in the wrong thread, ignore me

 

[Gav Peter]

strange, forum posted my reply in the wrong thread, ignore me

Go on shoo, away with you...

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

must remember to only have one window at a time open on the forum in future, save confusing myself