what lift kit and wheels to put on an 80 series

[dads bumpy car]

hi
ive just bought a 95 limited edition rv stock standard ill be using it mainly down the beach and holidays with the family what lift/suspension and wheels would you guys recomend im not entering comps or anything

[BEU77Y]

Our old 80 series was by no means a comp truck. It only had a 2" lift, but it was still very capable. We used King Springs and changed the shocks to Rancho Adjustables (which are still going strong in the 100 series now). As for tyres, we did have Cooper AT's for everyday use and a set of 33" Claws for serious play. The Coopers were fine, but we now run Mickey Thompson ATZ's and they have been an awesome tyre so far. They have performed well offroad and hold onto the blacktop nicely, even in the wet.

The 80 series went many places with ease - Fraser Island, Cape York, Flinders Ranges, Stockton Beach to name a few.

Our 80 series did have double difflocks, but other than that, it was a fairly basic setup that worked really well.

Good luck with it, and enjoy your 80!

[HDJ105]

hi
ive just bought a 95 limited edition rv stock standard ill be using it mainly down the beach and holidays with the family what lift/suspension and wheels would you guys recomend im not entering comps or anything

As the RV has no flares, you will be limited to narrow tyres to stay legal, unless you wish fit some flexi flares or similar.

[dads bumpy car]

would the cooper atz be enough for soft sand as well as on the road ,what size would you recomend and would i need a lift kit first

[dads bumpy car]

thanx for letting me know about the flares i didn't know it would be a legal thing

[BEU77Y]

AT's are fine on the sand - tyre pressure plays a big part of sand driving. You want to lower your pressures alot from road pressure when you get on to the sand.

This is a link to the Mickey Thompson ATZ's that we are currently running - Mickey Thompson - World's Toughest Traction Tyres! (http://www.mickeythompsontires.com.au/tyres/baja_radial_atz.htm) - they are designed for 70% road and sand use, 30% dirt and mud use.

The Cooper ATR's are designed for pretty much the same thing, as are most brands of AT's. It all comes down to personal brand preference really, and how much you've got to spend.

Our 80 series had 31" everyday tyres on and they were fine. The 33" tyres did stick out though, as Greg mentioned above. To make them road legal you would need to put flares on.

[dads bumpy car]

thanx for the advice

[dads bumpy car]

hi is it possible to instal a 2" lift at home to save money?

[BEU77Y]

Real easy if you have a bit of mechanical nouse.
Unbolt the bottom or top of the shock, whichever is easier to get at.
Unbolt the swaybars - front hangers - rear saddles on axle.
Put a decent trolley jack under the chassis and start jacking.
Watch the brake line to the diff and when it's about as far as it can go the spring should fall out.
You might have to get the front tyres off the ground and just push down on the wheel to get the spring out. (one at a time mind you)
It's worth while putting new shocks in at the same time to take advatage of the extra lift, and they come out fairly easy. Aftermarket shocks have more travel and a better ide than standard.

A mate and I did mine, took about 3 hours each end. I reckon I could do it quicker now I've done it 25 more time.

Without a rear swaybar I can swap the rear springs in 15 mins.

A guy that came with me to the Cape was in dire need of rear springs (Kimberley camper on stock 80 series suspension... was sitting very low) before leaving and the Cairns workshop was booked out, I borrowed a trolley jack and had it done in 45 mins.

[dads bumpy car]

thanx for the info
would i need the wheels aligned after the lift or anything checked out i keep reading about peoples cars shaking and vibrating after a lift.

[dads bumpy car]

a friend of mine said that lifting your rig would increase fuel consumption . is this true?

[BEU77Y]

thanx for the info
would i need the wheels aligned after the lift or anything checked out i keep reading about peoples cars shaking and vibrating after a lift.

I found it worth while to do a full wheel alignment before and after the lift to see the difference.
A 2" lift shouldn't affect everything too much.
Any bigger than 2" and you have to look at changing panhard rods, trailing arms, major caster correction, brake hoses, etc....
Find a good tyre shop that will give you a printout of the figures.
I found that one front wheel had a camber problem. A few 100 $ for an adjustable king-pin.
And before the lift I had +3deg of Caster. That's about where it should be. After the lift I had 0deg of Caster, which drove fine. If the Caster goes negative it will handle like a shopping trolley. Very scary.:cry:
If this is a problem you can get 2 deg caster correction bushes, rubber ones from Pedders. These are a bit more difficult to fit.... need a press etc.

Our 100 series had a 3" lift when we got it, and it was a death trap to drive. Caster bushes and it was fine.

a friend of mine said that lifting your rig would increase fuel consumption . is this true?

I can't say that a lift will change your fuel consumption.... your driving a brick to start with!???:D

[dads bumpy car]

yep your right about a brick
i was hoping to get a manual but they r few and far between
ive never driven an auto in the sand what r they like ?

[Hannas]

I`ve got lovell shocks and coils 2" lift on my 80 and they go great, The 285/75 Dick Cepek fc II`s i`m runnig are great, if you do get your lift you may have to go up in tyre size otherwise it will look a bit silly,
and yes you will use slightly more juice but nothing major. Dont get sucked in to the major 4wd shops that will try to charge $1200 and up for the suspension you dont need castor correction for a 2" lift, so get the suspension online and get a friend to do it or do it yourself. Check out www.offroad80`s.com (http://www.offroad80`s.com) i think someone has posted a pretty detailed thread about doing suspension on that site.

[dads bumpy car]

thanx for the advice hannas.
i will definetly look into diy a mate has already offered his services
i checked out 4wd shop over here and they said they could do it for $1750. but diy sounds like the way to go

[Lux Wrecker]

a friend of mine said that lifting your rig would increase fuel consumption . is this true?

My old suspension in my diesel 80 GXL had sagged so much when I hooked the camper up the exhaust would vibrate on the rear panhard bar.
I put in 2"lift Terrain tamer suspension kit with castor bushes did it at home, overall lifted the car just over 100mm all round ( I think the old stuff was shagged ).
Before the lift I was getting around 22 ltrs per 100 klm towing
After the lift 18 ltrs per 100 klm towing
So I recon fuel consumpsion has improved.

I still think it guzzels any ideas or similar figures from their 80 series.

[dads bumpy car]

hi lux wrecker:)

What a suprise wasn't expecting an improvement in fuel economy

another reason to tell the missus that it needs a lift kit

cheers

[90 Cruiser]

Fuel consumption will be negligible if at all. Mine increased fron 12 litres per 100 to about 12.8 but that was down to me changing from 31s to 285/75s. What suspension were they putting in for $1,750 as that's a big wack.

[dads bumpy car]

hi 90 cruiser

i didnt ask what they were going to put in all i asked for was what it would cost for a 2" lift kit put on my 80

i havent done any research into it yet but what would it roughly cost to put 1 in at home
cheers dadsbumpy car

[roscoFJ73]

hi 90 cruiser

i didnt ask what they were going to put in all i asked for was what it would cost for a 2" lift kit put on my 80

i havent done any research into it yet but what would it roughly cost to put 1 in at home
cheers dadsbumpy car

Suspension kit prices can be a bit rubbery. One will give you a good spring and crap shocky or vice versa,other will include things that others exclude.

The only way is to compare apples and apples .
My advice is price some good coils separately and then get some good shocks.
I would try some Dobinsons coils and Powerdown(Raw 4x4) adjustable shocks.
I have had good wear out of both those products.
You might want to consider a steering damper as well.

I would also favour known manufacturers brands so you know where they are coming from,rather than items painted up by the owner of the shop and sold as their "own brand".

The more questions you ask ,the less they will try to touch you;)

[90 Cruiser]

dadsbumpy,
I went to the cheaper end of the market, got an ironman kit. 2 inch lift with heavy duty springs in the rear for towing our camper. Also got the bigger foam cell shocks. $800 the kit and a slab to a mate to help me fit it. Really happy witht the ride to date, don't have to spend a fortune for a good product.
On our last fourby, a series 1 disco, we put old man emu which did a great job as well, about a grand. Good luck
Ben

[dads bumpy car]

sounds like good advice
cheers rosco

[dads bumpy car]

that sounds good to
how long have you been using that kit
cheers ben