Amada vs Cal off-road/Bilsten

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Yip had a look at it and had a go at it this morning - I got almost all the way and the chickened out. I really thin the springs are just to tall free height.

Going to be really intersting to get them off the struts and get all the measurements.

I do hope the struts are atleast 575mm cause at least I can keep them and not have to keep going with this debacal and really my only issue then is just getting the right springs

575mm open strut good right ?

[Guest Close Guest]

You'll be fine. With the jack taking the weight at the LCA, the spring won't go anywhere. Undo the top hat nut and lower the jack slowly and the strut assembly will separate safely. Make sure that there are jack stands under the chassis just behind the front wheels.

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Just Spoke to peddersup the road - $10 per Strut + I get to go for a bike ride :-)

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

OK People here it is..... I am royally screwed and am stumped as to I have parted with a lot of money and now find myself in a position where I have a car I cant drive and the company that wont admit they are wrong, and start getting serious about sorting it out.....

Strut full open length is 555mm
Spring free height is 419mm

The guy at pedders said two things to me - 1. his air\hydrolic strut compressor struggled with these springs and more importantly he said to me.... "Why would you have progressive rate coils if when they are installed on the strut, all the top coils are already binding and fully compressed???? Not much point really is there.

Anyway - I am going to phone Cal now and see if I cant get them to send me the 575 length struts out instead of these but expect I may have some trouble since these are in and out of the car a few times now and dont quite look new any more.

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Holy Smokes - Just called up Sean from Cal to have a chat about the fact that I am uncomfortable with with the open length of the struts and he questioning me about whether I was a Strut engineer - told me I should pack all my things and go work for Bilstien if I was so clever, carried on with a bit more abuse followed by slamming the phone in my ear...

He also went on to say that they have nothing to do with the Strut Lengths and this is how they come and as reccomended by Bilstein Germany in co.op with TRD...

I am simply stummped..... Where the hell to from here. I called up 5 mins later asked if the owner ws there, "yes" but when I asked to talk to him then all of the sudden he wasnt...

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

I have been watching this with interest and must say this whole saga is not good.
You would need their shock with the 575mm open length in my opinion.
The one you have is almost identical to an Australian spec BE5-A712 & i would never recommend that for a 3" lift, as it's simply not long enough.

Regards, Jason.

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Thanks Jason - Everything I am learning over the last weeks is telling me the same but the Expert at Cal say's that all horse shit and that if I want some other "Australian suppliers rubbish" (his words) then I should just go ahead and get it. As far as Cal are concerned these struts are designed in Germany with TRD specifically for the Prado and therefore thats that, end of story... 555mm is what you got and thats what you need. My oath is someone treated me like this closer to home I would be hard pressed not to turn up at the shop ready for a bar fight :-)

[Guest Close Guest]

You don't need to be an expert. It has already been demonstrated on your Prado that it isn't suitable.

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

I think I just need to stop with them as I now fear they will start charging me for stuff like postage and they have yet to refund me for the incorrected airbag spacers they sent me that I sent back over a week ago and I have email'd and reminded them on the phone a few time now so probably just going to have to let that go as well.... :-(

What a nightmare - I have sent Cal a PM of facebook since no other channel seems to be effective at trying to get through to the man himself but judging from his FB I dont think he uses it much so probably wont see it.

I truly feel my only rmaining option is to now just cut the loss's move on and get it sorted my self with a differnet vendor...
That and create a nice cival thread on every 4x4 \ caravan and camping forum I can find warning people about my experiance with them... with BEWARE CALOFFROAD as the heading... Thats not against the law is it??

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I wonder if the shorter spring on the longer strut might be the solution so you only need to source the struts and see if you can return the short ones. Not a happy story though.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Unfortunate as it is, sourcing a setup from elsewhere that will suit your needs looks like it might be the best bet for you. At least that gives your car back and time to fight Cal for a refund on what clearly is the wrong product.

Cheers Andrew

[zerosecta Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zerosecta]

Thats where I'm heading Mate - However as far as getting a refund go's I dont fancy my chances because according to them the strut they have sent me is exactly what I need and there is no doubt about that... So unless I can get some sort of concrete facts or data from a reputable place somehow that would prove otherwise I feel I am royaly screwed over.

In fact If I could find that I would happily set up a case with VCat and go that route just to screw them back and make their lives difficult for what they are putting me through and more so they way they are going about it to be honest

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

You can threaten the Vcat route, even if you don't have the evidence, they may refund just to avoid the potential hassle.

According to the suspension database the open length of a standard 150 strut is 555mm, so in a potential court case they might need to explain how exactly the same open length strut can give you 3" lift and still work.

Cheers Andrew

[Mattfunk 120 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mattfunk 120]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uE8BB-ioNRw
Hey zerosecta check this out, I watched it a while ago and is a great clip from "The Checkout" aka the chaser boys on your consumer rights . Enjoy
Matt

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hey zero,

Just back from work and I'm sorry to hear you've confirmed the strut is 555mm. Also not very professional treatment from the so-called experts at CalOffroad.

I think your best bet is to push as hard as you can for the 433-575mm strut, as it will solve all of your problems. Sean has previously told me there is a 575mm open length strut, so why can't they simply exchange it?

The only concern is not knowing exactly what open length the CV binds at on the 150 series, and again, if anyone has this figure (Jason maybe??), could you please post it up?

You don't need to be a "strut engineer" to understand how the mechanics of the Prado IFS works. The basic linear relationship between lift, droop and strut open length is not something magical, all you need is an understanding of the leverage ratio, a tape measure, a jack, and start measuring.

I have seen the figure of minimum 60mm droop thrown around a lot. I've managed to top out 712's constantly with 70mm of droop at around 1" lift. The more droop you have the better. Running a 3" lift sounds like a great idea in principle, but then you'll quickly discover how much articulation you sacrifice. Running after market upper control arms doesn't give you extra droop, you are mechanically restricted by the open length of your strut.

Not only am I staggered at how you have been treated, but I am very concerned for all the other folks who've purchased the 3" kit from CalOffroad. There are going to be a lot of flogged out front struts soon enough!

Don't let CalOffroad push you around, I would not stop until you have either a 575mm open length strut or a full refund.

Best

Mark