Extended shackles

[slowlux]

Just a few questions about these, are they legal for road use? how much are they? what are their main advantages/disadvantages? Where could i get some in SA?

cheers,

Hilux, they are not legal and cannot be engineered, mine are extended 2 1/2" front and 2" rear, it has changed the front pinion angle dramatically and wasted two set of brandnew springs in three months. I had mine fabricated by the company I was working for at the time.

End result is I am going to drop the front mounts by two inches and run ifs rear springs in front and rear. Probaly will buy the dropped mount of snake racing so that I don't put anything out in my steering ;D

Give it a go but don't extend them dramatically(by this I mean that mine seem dramatic considering my problem), it can be a cheap fix, if you do it try to keep it as a short term thing, an don't let mr plod see them. They will give you a little more height and better flex but its not worth the gaol time if you run a kid over and your vehicle is found to not be roadworthy. Thats just my opinion.

like these chrome moly units?

http://www.the-shed.net/images/RearShackle.jpg

[slowlux]

yeah sort of sheddy, well if theyre not road legal i wont bother as P-platers tend to get pulled over more often than not by Mr plods whove got nothing better to do than search extremely hard for defects on our cars. Plus if it's gonna cost me money in the long term-replacing springs etc dont think i'll bother especially if theyre gonna change pinion angles

It doesn't really have to cost you more money on springs, just don't go overboard with lengths, but defects and possible damage to diff components are not cheap

[slowlux]

anything thats gonna cost big time $$$$ in repair bills, i'd kinda like to avoid cause i like have my car on the road, not in a shop being fixed for 6 months whilst i cant go out cause i have no money!

And wheres my truck been for the last 3 months then, rofl ;D

[Twisty]

And wheres my truck been for the last 3 months then, rofl ;D


You off the road too HnM? I actually noticed some spiders have moved into my truck recently. Mudders must make a good home for them?? Mine broke new years day (gearbox) was back on the road for a day (alternator) in Feb some time, and has been in pieces since. Jeez I'm looking foward to getting behind the wheel of my truck again, the handling of my girlfriends Mirage doesn't take long to wear off !!!

[grimbo]

I don't think the statement they are illegal and an't be engineered is entirely true. In some states yes but not all states. You might want to check with your state traffic authority. From what I can gather they are illegal in NSW and QLD but in Vic they are ok, I think.

I have run with 1.5' extended shackles on my Zuk for about 8 years and have had no adverse effects at all. Remember you are only lifting the vehicle half the height of the extension. Also anything over about 1.5 - 2" may start causing problems with steering and spring life.

If you are doing it for a cheap lift probably better off saving for some decent springs but if used in conjunction with a well thought out and setup suspension they are a great part in the overall result

Posted by: twisty_toy94 Posted on: Today at 02:23:35pm

Quote from: High N Mighty on Today at 12:25:04pm
And wheres my truck been for the last 3 months then, rofl


You off the road too HnM? I actually noticed some spiders have moved into my truck recently. Mudders must make a good home for them?? Mine broke new years day (gearbox) was back on the road for a day (alternator) in Feb some time, and has been in pieces since. Jeez I'm looking foward to getting behind the wheel of my truck again, the handling of my girlfriends Mirage doesn't take long to wear off !!!


You don't know half the story mate, had my engine rebuilt and received it back 15/12 and got stranded with a ceazed piston in Darwin on new years. Just bought second hand engine off Guts and will have car by end of the week hopefully?

[Twisty]

[
You don't know half the story mate, had my engine rebuilt and received it back 15/12 and got stranded with a ceazed piston in Darwin on new years. Just bought second hand engine off Guts and will have car by end of the week hopefully?


Bugger. Good Luck with it All !!

i'm going to try to get 2" out of my shackles with some home made shackles......... not all of us can afford chrome moly ::) not entirely legal...... but the mechanic who inspects my car has one the same as mine ;) and he is rather keen to see how i go with the shackles and the fiddle with the torsion bars ;D All i need is some good quality steel *looks at HnM* :P

2" lift out of the shackle will need a 4" extension, and winding up the torsion bars will change the ride height, but it wont change the spring rate.

Poor people cant afford cheap things.... ;)

The reason given to me by the engineer was that an extended shackle places more leverage on its mounts so obviously it makes a weak point for the shackle mount to snap off. Not a huge problem on the front of a hilux as the bolt goes through the chassis but on the rear it is just a welded mount and the rear should be deamed more important on a ute because you will likely carry a decent every once in a while making it more prone to cracking and snapping ;)

2" lift out of the shackle will need a 4" extension, and winding up the torsion bars will change the ride height, but it wont change the spring rate.

Poor people cant afford cheap things.... ;)

Why would i need to change the srping rate on the front?? it has fairly soft suspension and i like it that way. TB's are already wound all the way down.........by resetting them and winding them back down again, i can get another 2" out of them. The rear won't be a huge problem because it rarely carries any more than a spare tyre and tools when i go off-road, and if i break a shackle, then so be it. Considering it would cost me almost a thousand bux to just lift the rear, it's an easier option for me...... not everybody has a stack of cash to throw at our fourbys....... i managed to get the cash together for a thermo fan..... and if i get a little extra work after hours this weekend, i might be able to buy a snorkel......
Poor people can't afford cheap things......... sometimes shed dude thats all we can afford.

[Nath]

I put the Snakeracing extended shackles on my lux, they where 4in longer that standard on the front, and just over 2in on the rear. They were fine for the rear, but the angle of the frond diff caused a problem.
Price was $195 a pair, and they are greaseable.

[slowlux]

Posted by: twisty_toy94 Posted on: Today at 02:23:35pm


You don't know half the story mate, had my engine rebuilt and received it back 15/12 and got stranded with a ceazed piston in Darwin on new years. Just bought second hand engine off Guts and will have car by end of the week hopefully?


how much did you spend rebuilding it? dont diesels cost about 7 grand to rebuild? that must have really sucksd being stranderd in darwin! how did you get it and yourself home?

[Humpy]

Why would i need to change the srping rate on the front?? it has fairly soft suspension and i like it that way. TB's are already wound all the way down.........by resetting them and winding them back down again, i can get another 2" out of them. The rear won't be a huge problem because it rarely carries any more than a spare tyre and tools when i go off-road, and if i break a shackle, then so be it. Considering it would cost me almost a thousand bux to just lift the rear, it's an easier option for me...... not everybody has a stack of cash to throw at our fourbys....... i managed to get the cash together for a thermo fan..... and if i get a little extra work after hours this weekend, i might be able to buy a snorkel......
Poor people can't afford cheap things......... sometimes shed dude thats all we can afford.

Winding the torsion bars up too far may cause the springs to run out of droop, so even when driving over smallish bumps they can run out of travel and the ride will be crap.

You only need a snorkel if your doing deep water crossings.

Hilux, flew home costing $550 for the two of us and got the 4b chucked on a road train to sydney costing $990, the car floated it from sydney with a *cough* *cough* nissan of my friend. All in all it sucked big time and I will be seeing the turbo/engine rebuilder in court soon with a huge bill all added up at around $14,000 which includes 2 engines, 2 turbo rebuilds, transport, accomidation, tow's between mechanic's and home, etc. One mechanic that I will never recomend(though I can't tell you his name, I can get in alot of trouble for that)

you do indeed run out of droop... thats why you flip the top ball joints and put spacers in them :) gives you back your camber and gives you more down travel, and it's legal.

[slowlux]

thatsure is a dodgy mechanic, i think i'd be going to court aswell if i had spent that money on getting the engine running. And then it didnt even run, that would have sucked so muchbeing stuck in Darwin