Hi,
I just bought my Landcruiser 90 (Colorado), and I'm looking at getting a suspension lift, roughly 2 to 3 inches. This would be for off-road use, although obviously most of my driving would be on the motorway. I have a 3.0L D4-D Diesel engine, and I'll probably also be adding a winch on the front, at some point.
For the front, my preference is for an adjustable coilover (strut) assembly. I'm guessing 2.5 inches would have minimal impact on the CV joints, but I don't know this yet.
Here is what I've found, thus far...
LC90 LIFT KITS
1. ARB / Old Man Emu – 1.5 inch lift
(a) Front OME 2882, Diesel Heavy Load 110 to 240 lbs spring
- NOT adjustable!
(b) Rear OME 2891 Constant 330 lbs to GVW spring
(c) Rear OME 2892 Constant 660 lbs to GVW spring
2. Ironman 4x4 – Prado 45mm lift
(a) Front TOY038C "Turbo Diesel or Accessories" (50-100kg over Petrol)
- is this too weak?
- adjustable, but what is the range of adjustment?
(b) Rear TOY039B, 0-300kg
3. Dobinsons – Prado 35 mm lift
(a) Front C59-300 3.0L T/Diesel / 60 - 90Kg Accessories (Bull Bar OR Winch)
- NOT adjustable!
(b) Rear C59-137 Extra Heavy Duty 100Kg to GVM
That's all I've found, thus far, specifically for the 90 series. Neither OME nor Dobinsons seems to be adjustable. And, the Ironman TOY038C sounds like it might be on the weak side, and it's not clear what range of adjustment is possible. Also, all of them list rather mediocre lift figures. Perhaps, this is because of Australian laws?
4RUNNER KITS
There seems to be more choice for 4Runners (in the US). I understand that the 4Runner and LC90 have identical fittings, in both the front and rear suspension, although obviously the LC90 is heavier.
Here are some 4Runner lift kits. However, on all of them, the front springs seem to be too weak for the Landcruiser:
1. Pro Comp All Pro Off Road, Fox Shox Coil-Overs 8525T-FOX-2.5CO-E
2. Pro Comp All Pro Off Road, Fox Shox Bilstein Coil-Overs
3. Icon Vehicle Dynamics Front Coil-over Shock Kit
4. ToyTec Coil Overs (95.5-04 Taco & 96-02 4RUN)
- the HD 650lb coils, are these still too weak?
5. Sway-A-Way Coil Overs w/650lb springs
CALCULATIONS AND GUESSES
Here are some of my calculations. Let me know if I got something horribly wrong...
A. The LC90 Diesel is roughly 170kg heavier than the equivalent V6 Petrol (Gasoline) model. So, I'm guess that 150kg of that extra weight is in the front.
B. The LC90 V6 Petrol seems to be 120 kg heavier than the equivalent 4Rrunner. I have no idea what the weight distribution is like, so I'm going to guess that 50kg of that extra weight is in the front.
So, basically, the stock LC90 Diesel is about 200kg heavier in the front than the equivalent 4Runner Petrol—I'm guessing. Does that sound right?
C. A winch is about 40kg, and a front bumper will probably add another 30kg, once you remove the original.
Hardly anybody lists spring rates, but the highest listed number I've seen is 650 lbs/inch (for the front). I suspect this is too low, but I don't have a basis to do my calculations, as I don't know what the spring rate is on the OEM springs, and what the lever ratio is for the front lower suspension/control arm, although I think I read somewhere it might be close to 50%.
Help!
Some obvious questions I have:
1. Is 2 to 3 inches of suspension lift reasonable for the LC90?
2. Are there other companies who can do adjustable front coilovers for the LC90?
3. Are there some UK-based companies that I may have missed in my search? I'm based in the UK.
4. Might some of the companies who target the 4Runner market have heavier setups available for the LC90?
5. Some of the companies sell replacement upper control/suspension arms, for the front. Is this worth getting?
6. Are the longer-travel shocks a good idea? Or would this hurt the CV joints?
Cheers,
BlueRock
2001 Toyota Landcruiser 90 (Colorado) D4-D, rear locker, stock!
I just bought my Landcruiser 90 (Colorado), and I'm looking at getting a suspension lift, roughly 2 to 3 inches. This would be for off-road use, although obviously most of my driving would be on the motorway. I have a 3.0L D4-D Diesel engine, and I'll probably also be adding a winch on the front, at some point.
For the front, my preference is for an adjustable coilover (strut) assembly. I'm guessing 2.5 inches would have minimal impact on the CV joints, but I don't know this yet.
Here is what I've found, thus far...
LC90 LIFT KITS
1. ARB / Old Man Emu – 1.5 inch lift
(a) Front OME 2882, Diesel Heavy Load 110 to 240 lbs spring
- NOT adjustable!
(b) Rear OME 2891 Constant 330 lbs to GVW spring
(c) Rear OME 2892 Constant 660 lbs to GVW spring
2. Ironman 4x4 – Prado 45mm lift
(a) Front TOY038C "Turbo Diesel or Accessories" (50-100kg over Petrol)
- is this too weak?
- adjustable, but what is the range of adjustment?
(b) Rear TOY039B, 0-300kg
3. Dobinsons – Prado 35 mm lift
(a) Front C59-300 3.0L T/Diesel / 60 - 90Kg Accessories (Bull Bar OR Winch)
- NOT adjustable!
(b) Rear C59-137 Extra Heavy Duty 100Kg to GVM
That's all I've found, thus far, specifically for the 90 series. Neither OME nor Dobinsons seems to be adjustable. And, the Ironman TOY038C sounds like it might be on the weak side, and it's not clear what range of adjustment is possible. Also, all of them list rather mediocre lift figures. Perhaps, this is because of Australian laws?
4RUNNER KITS
There seems to be more choice for 4Runners (in the US). I understand that the 4Runner and LC90 have identical fittings, in both the front and rear suspension, although obviously the LC90 is heavier.
Here are some 4Runner lift kits. However, on all of them, the front springs seem to be too weak for the Landcruiser:
1. Pro Comp All Pro Off Road, Fox Shox Coil-Overs 8525T-FOX-2.5CO-E
2. Pro Comp All Pro Off Road, Fox Shox Bilstein Coil-Overs
3. Icon Vehicle Dynamics Front Coil-over Shock Kit
4. ToyTec Coil Overs (95.5-04 Taco & 96-02 4RUN)
- the HD 650lb coils, are these still too weak?
5. Sway-A-Way Coil Overs w/650lb springs
CALCULATIONS AND GUESSES
Here are some of my calculations. Let me know if I got something horribly wrong...
A. The LC90 Diesel is roughly 170kg heavier than the equivalent V6 Petrol (Gasoline) model. So, I'm guess that 150kg of that extra weight is in the front.
B. The LC90 V6 Petrol seems to be 120 kg heavier than the equivalent 4Rrunner. I have no idea what the weight distribution is like, so I'm going to guess that 50kg of that extra weight is in the front.
So, basically, the stock LC90 Diesel is about 200kg heavier in the front than the equivalent 4Runner Petrol—I'm guessing. Does that sound right?
C. A winch is about 40kg, and a front bumper will probably add another 30kg, once you remove the original.
Hardly anybody lists spring rates, but the highest listed number I've seen is 650 lbs/inch (for the front). I suspect this is too low, but I don't have a basis to do my calculations, as I don't know what the spring rate is on the OEM springs, and what the lever ratio is for the front lower suspension/control arm, although I think I read somewhere it might be close to 50%.
Help!
Some obvious questions I have:
1. Is 2 to 3 inches of suspension lift reasonable for the LC90?
2. Are there other companies who can do adjustable front coilovers for the LC90?
3. Are there some UK-based companies that I may have missed in my search? I'm based in the UK.
4. Might some of the companies who target the 4Runner market have heavier setups available for the LC90?
5. Some of the companies sell replacement upper control/suspension arms, for the front. Is this worth getting?
6. Are the longer-travel shocks a good idea? Or would this hurt the CV joints?
Cheers,
BlueRock
2001 Toyota Landcruiser 90 (Colorado) D4-D, rear locker, stock!
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