What can be done?

[Aussie Bloke]

Hey guys

Just wondering what can be done to our rodeo?
As in suspension wise, we just chucked some OME's on.
But thinking in getting 2inch lift..
This a good idea? Also body lift?
I havent heard many good points bout body lifts..
What are you thoughts for those that have had rodeos.?



Anyway

Take it easy..

[Baldricks_Mate]

Heaps, if you have some imagination. What model/configuration/budget do you have? What terrain/type of 4wding do you have in mind? Is the Wifey onboard with the doing of some mods? Vehicle is an R9 something by the look of your avatar.

[Aussie Bloke]

Yeah, its Holden rodeo turbo diesel 4wd..

Just something basic for now..
Like lift kit would be the next thing. Pretty much all types of terrain..

But yeah i see it all comes down to $$$

[Baldricks_Mate]

OK, to answer your question properly I can't put in a short post, so here it goes. There are no short cuts that stand up long term.

Lifting is most commonly done by winding the torsions. Yeah it lifts it but takes away some travel and can stuff the ride up. I've XGS torsions in the front and even they are not wound up, the fatter bars relate to load carrying, not lift. Then there are ball joint flips but I dont recommend that either. Extended rear shackles are technically a no no too and dont work that well unless you replace the springs with longer ones.

The trouble arises because most all of us want to lift the easiest way but not neccesarly the legal and most functional outcome way. There is a minefield of "we have always done it this way" opinions, engineering, legal and poor end results to negotiate. I 've modified the daylights out of mine and I been through all this crap. Two show 'n' shine 1st places as Best Modified Tourer, a mag feature on the truck as well as long term ownership and modding of the Rodeo are my credentials

Here in my experience is the correct way:

You WILL need an engineering report to keep the end result legal. Or you can shut your eyes and hope for the best and pray the RTA, Insurance co etc don't find out and nothing bad happens.

Calmini 3" kit, $2100 from Snake Racing, Chuck the rear shackles though. Not legal. The front drop arms are the key to the lift. Chuck your existing shocks (yeah I know, I did exactly what you did when I started) and if funds permit add the Rancho adjustables to the kit ($2600). :thumb:

I also added Airbag Man Firestone airbags with in cab control kit 'cos I carry a lot of weight when touring. Don't forget to get the rear brake porportioning valve set to suit your new ride height.

Body lift - about 40mm. This means you definately won't run into issues with steering shafts and wont need an extender. Then you can fit sliders with minimum loss of height to ground. Also later on if you want to get creative there is more room for some HD bash plates. Helps the ramp over angle too.

Buy some quality grabby/chunky tyres. Don't go much bigger than 31", I have 245/75/16. Your gradability will suffer, 1st gear high range when fully loaded will be the limiting thing with tyre size. As it is with 245's the speedo will be out about 8kph.

Fit a diff lock or two if you want to do some rock hopping. Air locker preferably. I also fitted oversized heavy duty tie rod ends and 3.00 (Vs standard 2.02 ratio) transfer case gears that I imported from the US. There are also lower diff ratios available if you want to really gear it down, 4.5's 5.08's etc. I stuck with my standard ratios because i prefer to tour.

So you have read all this and gone bloody hell, I just wanted to do a lift? There is more, lots more but I reckon this will be a starting point. One of the reasons the harder core guys look down on Rodeos is they reckon they are not much chop but too many ppl have done it the wrong way for so long that the story of Rodeos not being much good have now become folk lore. But we know better, eh? ;)

Why the heck do you think we are stuck down here in Other Makes section of the forum? Cos most ppl don't know better and frankly they don't care. You mod your truck based on their advice but they don't have to live with the outcome.

[Aussie Bloke]

Oh yeah, thats helps out a bit in what else can be done to the rodeo..
Personally i think the rodeo is a good ute, have done 300,000km+ with no major problems, only couple bits and peices..

Anyway thanks for that.

Have to look into all that stuff you mentioned..


Cheers.

[Bazza_rips]

Thanks Bladricks, now my shopping list is twice as long! and i need a towel to clean up this drool....

[TUFFRA]

I'm in the same boat as you mate only problem is those paychecks aint comming in fast enough :( Can anyone recommend a couple good brands of suspension kit for the rodeo, Ironman kits seem reasonably priced would I need a engineers cert for them?

[Woody-1]

Have 02 dualcab,put 15"rims,31x10.5 STT,Slight rise,upgraded rear springs,wound up torsion bar,result-better ride going more places

[Bazza_rips]

i wound the torsion bars up, still too soft. oh well just have to upgrade then :D

[TUFFRA]

hey Bazza looks like you're getting some half decent flex up the front in your avatar pic whats the secret? :D