R

RizzleKicks

Active Member
Happy New Year ....

Evening folks ,

I'm looking at getting a 2 " lift for my 5dr Freelander 2005. Now I have a few questions to ask & would appreciate any feedback. I won't be going off-road with it.

1. I have heard getting lift kits fitted can shorten the life of certain components ? If this is true what parts fail prematurely ?

2. What must I take in to account before i consider doing this .

3. Where best to purchase a lift kit in the UK or any links you can lead me too ?

4. If I buy the kit will i need to buy anything else as don't want to know later that I need X ,Y & Z ?

5. Any photos out there showing the difference between a standard and a lifted Freelander ?

6. does the effect the fuel consumption as read a post months ago that it does ?

7. Lastly how long does a kit take to fit ?

Hope to hear from you guys soon :)

RizzleKicks.
 
Why would you want to lift a Freelander if you don't plan going off road?
It raises the center of gravity, reducing on road ability and agility.
There are components that will wear faster.
Drive shafts are the obvious one.
Tyres wear faster due to increased roll angles.
All the suspension bushes need re-centering or they have a shortened life.
Obviously the suspension would need to be properly set up after it's lifted.
I've also hear of ball joints lasting less time when lifted.
Theoretically it could well use more fuel due to increased drag.
Fitting only takes a couple of hours, provided the brake flexy pipes come off ok.
If it were me, I'd leave it alone and just enjoy using it as is.
 
'Conventional' lift kits where you place spacers above the coils alter the geometry essentially lowering the wheels in relation to the chassis. It will raise the ride height, allow taller tyres and (presumably) still give full suspension travel. The increased height though gives poorer road handling characteristics, requires alteration to the chassis to allow the lower movement, requires alteration to brake/ABS lines for the lower travel and due to the 'unnatural' angles increases wear on the CVs etc. Basically all what Nodge says above!

Is an alternative to use a air suspension to increase height? Something like these....

http://www.jcwhitney.com/air-lift-air-suspension-compressor-systems/p3043028.jcwx

http://www.jcwhitney.com/air-lift-1000-air-springs/p3038428.jcwx?skuId=4371842&&mc=1&filterid=u0

Would this allow normal road going handling, whilst increasing the height when needed? It would not allow larger tyres and it would reduce suspension travel when lifted, but presumably would increase clearance for fording, ruts etc. Its a lot more cash that a normal lift kit, and obviously increases the number of components that could fail, but would not stress components of the suspension.
 
I agonised over fitting a lift kit. Eventually I opted for some after market springs - Dobinsons from Australia. I took out and refitted my own struts but had a w'shop remove and fit the new springs. Not a hard job. The springs are thicker and the FL1 sits about 20 mm higher and could handle heavier loads if I wished. My next move is a second set of 'taller MT' tyres on my spare set of rims so should get another 15 to 20 mm - maybe!

Advantages - Hopefully none of the issues mentioned above and can handle heavier loads if needed [eg winch to front ...]
Cost: approx £200 plus fitting as opposed to a lift kit [ from SES88] @ £140 [hope I got correct - apologies if not] plus fitting unless you do it yourself. Fitting process is essentially the same for both options.
 
You've given the car a 1" lift there - so wear on the driveshafts etc will presumably be a lot lower than a 2" lift, but it is altering the suspension angles from standard. Are the springs designed to allow more travel than standard springs? If they are it may not be advisable to fit taller tyres as the suspension may compress 'up' to the levels of standard springs.
 
Good point - they are taller springs and thicker metal so I enjoy a slightly raised ride height. Re tyres, the original tyres [195 80 15 ] have a diameter of 693mm. The current tyres [ 205 70 15 ] have a diameter of 668 mm [hence why my speedo reads fast] and the Mts I'm looking at [ 215 75 15 ] are approx' 703 mm in diameter. That's only 10 mm larger then factory st'd. Would that cause a problem re suspension compression? Have to admit I'm somewhat ignorant in this area!
 
Fitting longer/stronger springs does not mean you can carry heavier loads than standard suspension, unless you get the car replated for higher gvw and axle weights like they did for the 2006MY Td4 andV6.
 
Looking at your pics from new year's day - some taller tyres would go well on the car - and give you some better clearance in those ruts on your video!

I've got my 4WD IRD and VCU to recon now - so will be back 4WD shortly. I'm thinking I'll have to replace the tyres as well. I'm running GT Radial Maxmilers at the mo and they're pumped to 39/40 psi. They're fine on-road, but ride on the gravel tracks down the Mak is really harsh - not doing me or the car any good - need something that's going to give a bit.
 
GrumpyGel said:
You've given the car a 1" lift there - so wear on the driveshafts etc will presumably be a lot lower than a 2" lift, but it is altering the suspension angles from standard. Are the springs designed to allow more travel than standard springs? If they are it may not be advisable to fit taller tyres as the suspension may compress 'up' to the levels of standard springs.
Click to expand...

I've trawled back to my days of studying physics and nowhere can I find reference to raising an item increasing the pull of gravity, nor can I see where increasing unsprung weight makes the sprung weight greater.

In other words no, increasing the height of your tyres won't compress the springs more. Unless you've parked under a low roof. ;)
 
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NoDosh said:
I've trawled back to my days of studying physics and nowhere can I find reference to raising an item increasing the pull of gravity, nor can I see where increasing unsprung weight makes the sprung weight greater.

In other words no, increasing the height of your tyres won't compress the springs more. Unless you've parked under a low roof. ;)
Click to expand...

Not sure what your on about but increasing suspension travel isn't a good idea if you decrease tyre clearance
 
Dobinson's springs have the same coil count as OE but use a heavier gauge steel and a more progressive spring rate, so they start hard and get harder as they compress (at a greater rate than OE). I can't find the original specs I got when I looked into getting longer springs for mine, but reaching the compressed length on a Dobinson's spring takes a hell of a lot more weight/moment than OE and the compressed length was greater than OE compressed length, certainly more than enough to accommodate taller tyres, so tyre clearance not an issue.

I decided against longer springs and went with a 40mm kit plus spring assisters to provide for that firming up under full load, rather than have the car sat with it's bum on the ground when fully loaded. Gave a nicer ride and better handling than the longer, stiffer springs. Not to say that longer springs aren't right for some applications, just in my case I either travel completely unladen or loaded to the gunnels, so the OE spring rate with something to prevent full compression works better for me.
 
NoDosh said:
Dobinson's springs have the same coil count as OE but use a heavier gauge steel and a more progressive spring rate, so they start hard and get harder as they compress (at a greater rate than OE). I can't find the original specs I got when I looked into getting longer springs for mine, but reaching the compressed length on a Dobinson's spring takes a hell of a lot more weight/moment than OE and the compressed length was greater than OE compressed length, certainly more than enough to accommodate taller tyres, so tyre clearance not an issue.

I decided against longer springs and went with a 40mm kit plus spring assisters to provide for that firming up under full load, rather than have the car sat with it's bum on the ground when fully loaded. Gave a nicer ride and better handling than the longer, stiffer springs. Not to say that longer springs aren't right for some applications, just in my case I either travel completely unladen or loaded to the gunnels, so the OE spring rate with something to prevent full compression works better for me.
Click to expand...
As you conveniently failed to highlight - I didn't know the characteristics of the springs.. I had a quick look on the Dobinson's website, but they don't list Freelander as a vehicle they make springs for (through their vehicle selection drop downs) - so didn't look any further. I presumed they would be offering different types of springs - so stuck that comment up as a thought.

I've already replied to a clever thread of yours this morning - now I'm replying to a 'clever' one!
 
Sorry, somewhat off my game today after 48 hours without solids due to a rather nasty gastric infection. I should probably step away from the keyboard until I stop seeing double. :oops:
 
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