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lift kit +6 stability problem
- Thread starter bobo2
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Tel Boy
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- Dec 19, 2019
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Thanks for the feedback, Bobo. It's great to hear you fixed your problem and the car is good again.
No, you don't need any correction at the back. The rear wheels don't steer and they don't have any castor angle to correct. They have toe-in and camber, but that's not affected to any significant degree by the lift.
Enjoy the truck without worries now!
No, you don't need any correction at the back. The rear wheels don't steer and they don't have any castor angle to correct. They have toe-in and camber, but that's not affected to any significant degree by the lift.
Enjoy the truck without worries now!
I’ve been through all this myself on my 80 and conclude there’s no one solution that suits all vehicles across the board. I had a 6” lift and caster correction bushes were not enough. I then tried dropper boxes and they were too much. Settled on correction plates in the end, they were just right for mine.
All that aside, IMO spring stiffness is an often overlooked factor. When I lifted mine, I had longer and stiffer springs all round as part of the kit, and had no stability issues. The 80 is a different vehicle so it may not be relevant on your truck, just thought I’d throw it into the ‘variables’ pot.
All that aside, IMO spring stiffness is an often overlooked factor. When I lifted mine, I had longer and stiffer springs all round as part of the kit, and had no stability issues. The 80 is a different vehicle so it may not be relevant on your truck, just thought I’d throw it into the ‘variables’ pot.
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Tel Boy
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- Dec 19, 2019
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Interesting input, Clive. Looking back at that old thread of yours from 2012 I see that you really did go through the mill on sorting out your steering set up and I bow to your experience on this. You are absolutely right about different variables. Specs I have for the 70 series say that caster angle should be 3.25 degrees (plus or minus one degree) and it looks like the 80 series is similar. Theory says that even 2 inch longer springs reduce that to almost zero and in fact my own experience from behind the steering wheel confirms that. The steering felt weirdly light even on full lock and there was almost no self centering. Let go of the wheel and it stayed where you left it, even in corners. Freaky stuff. And the back wanted to get round to the front all the time. It was horrible to drive, and scary at speed. Very unstable. Your 6 inch lift is pretty big and I'm not surprised correction bushes alone couldn't sort it.
Also, as you say, stiff springs certainly help. Mine are heavy duty too and there's hardly any body lean in corners so it feels like its on rails. Certainly makes it feel more stable. It's a complex business, all of these factors play their part.
I'm wondering if another reason my experience was so bad is that my car is SWB. A longer wheelbase would reduce the effect somewhat, maybe that's a contributory factor also. Driving fast over bad corrugations, skipping from crest to crest to make life bearable is nerve wracking on my SWB, even with the caster sorted, like driving on ice, but isn't nearly as bad on a LWB. Same factor at play, I guess.Also, as you say, stiff springs certainly help. Mine are heavy duty too and there's hardly any body lean in corners so it feels like its on rails. Certainly makes it feel more stable. It's a complex business, all of these factors play their part.
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