100 series suspension
Submitted: Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:15
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dags666
hi have a 100 series cruiser and own a camper trailer. i would like to give
the springs a boast. ive heard of air bags to help but i also heard of a prgressive coil spring that varies the ride depending on the wieght aplied has anyone heard of them or used them or any
suspension lift kits that when i take the trailer off it dont make the ride too hard and bounce the balls off you thanks Dags
Reply By: Member - Nick (Kununurra) - Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:29
Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:29
I have in ours and in previous vehicles, POLY AIR BAGS.Great thing is you can control ride height when loaded and set them to min. air when unloaded and you wouldnt even know there there.I'd go this way.
AnswerID:
202163
Reply By: png62 - Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:33
Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:33
G'day Dags666, I've got Poly airbags in the rear of my 100 Series (Coils) and they work a treat, simple and low cost solution,
Enjoy.
AnswerID:
202164
Reply By: Member - Duncs - Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:34
Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:34
Dags
My previous car had Polyairs in the rear and they were great. I love them and would go that way again. They are a supplement to the coils and fit inside the coils, not full airbag
suspension where the airbags replace the coils.
I have met a guy who reckons thay are not the way to go, "should get the
suspension sorted properly and not use stop gap fixes". That argument didn't hold up for me.
My vehicle carries a huge range of loads from running around with just me in the front
seat to fully loaded for extended touring with 5 people,
camping gear and a trailer out the back. They allow you to adjust the load carrying ability of your
suspension to suit the load you are carrying at the time.
I had a form of progressive springs on the MQ, (a loose leaf that only carried load when it had a fair bit in the car). To be honest the ride in the MQ was so hard you couldn't tell if they worked or not.
Duncs
AnswerID:
202166
Follow Up By: markeaust - Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:57
Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 21:57
Dags,
I also looked into this for my 105 series and was told that to fit these, you need to remove the rear bump stops! If this is the case, what happens when one hits a washout unexpectedly at speed.....the shockers become bump stops and schplatt themselves...I didn't like this option, so went with Kings/Konis and couln't be happier. Still have my bump stops! It carries loads
well for long trips and still rides
well in the city. For me a good compromise.
Just my thoughts...
Mark
FollowupID:
461651
Follow Up By: cowpat - Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 22:07
Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006 at 22:07
Dags, you don't actually have to remove the bump stops. You remove the spring followers that are on the inside of the coils. You'll find the bump stops mounted on the chassis rails; they hit the axle between
the springs and the hubs. They still operate even with the airbags installed.
I've got PolyAir bags at the rear of my LC105 with two-inch lift straight-rate standard 200 lb/inch springs; the rear
suspension definitely feels progressive as a result of the airbags, pretty much bottomless. I rarely if ever bottom out the rear, even on unexpected gutters/G-outs/washouts at 100 kph (the front is another matter entirely). Casper
FollowupID:
461658
Reply By: Rock Crawler - Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006 at 00:04
Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006 at 00:04
poly air bags are great , progresive springs are only good for scrap. You want to try and maintain hight when loaded , the progressive spring will sag instantly to the harder coil rate .
AnswerID:
202206
Reply By: Tim@Stratford - Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006 at 00:34
Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006 at 00:34
Dags,
I made enquiries about fitting polyair bags to my 100s. I delt with ATS4x4 in
Geelong (member of LCOOL) and Darren there suggested as in a previous post to get heavy duty
suspension and no airbags.
I went this option and haven't regretted it. The new
suspension is magnificent. I always have a fair bit of weight in my 100s, drawers full, fridge, barwork etc, and the ride is more direct and only slightly stiffer - hardly notice the ride, just more direct steering. Anyway, had the a-arm fix done aswell as spings/shocks.
The test was towing the
Kimberley Kamper which has a relatively high ball weight - didn't even sag when connected - brilliant.
The
suspension setup is the ATS original which Macquarrie 4x4 sell/fit.
Well worth investigating.
Tim - Stratford.
AnswerID:
202210
Follow Up By: Member - Jiarna (NT) - Thursday, Nov 02, 2006 at 00:37
Thursday, Nov 02, 2006 at 00:37
Heavier
suspension is the way to go if, as in your situation, you carry consistently heavy loads. However, if your loads vary, Poly Air or Coil Rite airbags are a great alternative. The problem with heavy springs is that if you unload the vehicle, it rides like a ute.
I've tried both heavy duty springs and air bags, and now just have the air bags in my 80 series. No problems so far for over 2 years.
Cheers
John
FollowupID:
461936
Reply By: Member - malcolm T (SA) - Thursday, Nov 02, 2006 at 18:29
Thursday, Nov 02, 2006 at 18:29
hi
darren mcrae upgrade the greatest. spent 3 months in wa and nt including tanami,
gibb river,
mitchell plateau and
kalumburu,
kakadu and lotws of off roading. towed a tvan with no issues. can thoroughly recommend his
suspension upgrade
AnswerID:
202621