Re:Suspension Lift and Ground Clearance?

I'm only on 215's which are 27.5 inches tall, a very small 45mm of lift and never had any clearance issue's driving the Peaks and Lakes.

I do have to consider my line a bit more than the big tyre cars and sometimes I might have to take a second run at a step but it has always got there.

I have found that bashing the underside of the car is more to do with speed, if I take my time, very little if any, contact is made.

The upside of my suspension set up is that I can still drive like a go-cart on dry tarmac, where the car spends most of it's time..... Where 3" + lifts are weak and even unpleasant to drive, especially at speed.

Not knocking lifted cars, they look great and are off road monsters. Suppose a comfort comes from having a car that you know will make every line you choose but I get a buzz from having a modest lift / tyre size and still being able follow these monsters about.

Mostly down to personal choice, a standard car in good condition will drive 99% of the lanes out there.....

sniper

This debate has taken some twists and turns and a few people have argued that Martin is wrong by saying that a suspension lift on its own without bigger tyres does not increase ground clearance.

Martin is right though when keeping it simple. The lowest point on a standard Jimny is the bottom of the diffs, closely followed by the radius arm mounts on the chassis.

Lifting the suspension will raise the radius arm mounts on the chassis but not the bottom of the diffs, which still remain in the same place, so the ground clearance under the diffs remains the same and as such, the suspension lift has not increased ground clearance.

It is true to say that the only likely time that the diffs will get caught up is in ruts. Every Pay and Play site in the UK has big Land Rover ruts from trucks with 35" tyres on. Lots of Green Lanes have, alas, deep ruts from similar trucks and tractors.

As such there seems to have been a bit of an arms race with tyre size for people not to get stuck in ruts!

Martin is clearly right here but there is a argument where just a lift with no bigger tyres can be useful, it just doesn't increase overall ground clearance.

Kirkynut

Thanks to everyone for contributing to the discussion. So my understanding was pretty much correct.

I could have phrased the question slightly different with the question being as follows. Is it worth fitting a 2" suspension lift without fitting bigger wheels?

And it would appear lots of different views. Would it be fair to say that the 2" suspension lift does not improve ground clearance at the Diffs but does improve general off road capability and reduces the risk of striking and damaging the under side of your car.

So if the 2" lift did not negatively impact in any way the on road experience or add any additional mechanical stress it would make sense to do so.

it's obviously very much down to each individuals specific requirements and there is no right or wrong answer. Again thank you everyone.

In that case it is cheaper to armour the underside of the car and retain its driving characteristics. That way if you do get stuck it doesn't do any lasting damage.

No, because armour decreases the ground clearance... A 2" lift will do more to protect the underside of the car than armour will do. But it's not accurate to say it has no negative impacts on the road. Even a 2" lift comes with compromises. For example, you have to choose between not having castor correction and retaining good articulation at the expense of vague steering, or fitting castor correction bushes and losing some of the articulation afforded by the factory bushes, but keeping the factory steering feel.

Years ago on the Difflock discussion board there was always talk of the 'virtual lift', basically fitting bigger tyres to get the ground clearance we all seek, by cutting the body away enough to get the bigger tyres in rather that fitting a suspension lift... as Martin's monster truck picture proves, you can put a four foot suspension lift on but you're still limiting your ground clearance by how much room there is under the diffs...

Of course the problem then is gearing... bigger tyres cause gearing issues :ohmy:

Alternatives - portal axles -



or shaving the diffs -



i.e. cutting the bottom of the diff pumpkin and strengthening it...