My GQ Build .........

[taz01]

Right acquired a GQ shorty with slight roof issue......doesnt have one previous owner got a wee bit happy with the grinder (thought i was bad)
has 4.2 non turbo 5speed and oooh a factory diff lock 2
inch spring lift...no bodylift not going too either.
slapped my 37x12.5x15 on 10" rims on today



on the to do list is reroof it ute style,turbo,lockrite front,winch front and rear,bars,cage,paint etc going to be slow process as want to keep road legal.
more as it happens..............................

[mudslut]

Nice one looks mean on the 37''s

[flyingbrick]

you want to keep it road legal?

You mean its road legal at the moment?

Check under rear seats were and rear seams for rust

[taz01]

reg on hold and yep rust is present in both corners too will be certed etc when done

[Bolo]

That looks awesome with the big tyres on it . you still keeping the rims???

[STIC]

What brand or type of flares are on it?

[SP450andLE]

What brand or type of flares are on it?

I'm not sure what his are, but some you can get are Bushranger. Alternatively, you could just go to para rubber and get a length of rubber from there...

[Moriarty]

What brand or type of flares are on it?

I'm not sure what his are, but some you can get are Bushranger. Alternatively, you could just go to para rubber and get a length of rubber from there...

Knowing Taz and is attitude to savings and shortcuts, he will probably just stop wherever he sees a blown and shredded truck tyre on the side of the road.

Could the Wellington people keep an eye out for him and post here of sightings of such, please?

[SP450andLE]

What brand or type of flares are on it?

I'm not sure what his are, but some you can get are Bushranger. Alternatively, you could just go to para rubber and get a length of rubber from there...

Knowing Taz and is attitude to savings and shortcuts, he will probably just stop wherever he sees a blown and shredded truck tyre on the side of the road.

Could the Wellington people keep an eye out for him and post here of sightings of such, please?

Haha. I suppose that is a cheap alternative...

[The missing mudflap]

Watching this with interest, liking the minimal lift/guard cut approach with big rubber... good luck

[taz01]

bumpstops on front extended 60mm and fitted ,roof of low top lwb coming tomorrow so will be chopping and fitting over weekend oh yeah lockrite sitting in the cab waiting for me to fit in front diff on the later list..............

[taz01]

got some done today was going to be roof but farken dumbass wrecker hadnt cut if off and wont let me in to do it .....tosser........has promised me monday ....
meanwhile got valve hole moved on a couple rims (cheers bolo for removing tyres and refitting)
got the lockrite fitted in front diff needs to be put back in housing (tomorrow)

[muskie]

just a question but why no bodylift?? it seems alot of people are anti body lifts these days, i just wondered why that is, i have cut my arches away and moved them up around 35mm refabricated/painted ect and put a 1'' bodylift in and 3'' suspension lift my 35 simexes dont touch anywhere but i am pretty sure the would without the bodylift, the tyres just cost so bloody much i didnt want to risk cutting them up. my last safari had 3'' lift and 2'' bodylift and the simex 34'' caught on the rear arches all the time......i suppose limiting the travel with the bumpstops is the key??

[taz01]

just a question but why no bodylift?? it seems alot of people are anti body lifts these days, i just wondered why that is, i have cut my arches away and moved them up around 35mm refabricated/painted ect and put a 1'' bodylift in and 3'' suspension lift my 35 simexes dont touch anywhere but i am pretty sure the would without the bodylift, the tyres just cost so bloody much i didnt want to risk cutting them up. my last safari had 3'' lift and 2'' bodylift and the simex 34'' caught on the rear arches all the time......i suppose limiting the travel with the bumpstops is the key??

yep extend the bumpstops 2" spring lift and maybe 1 1/2" cut on the guards looking for low centre of gravity after traction before articulation being a saffy takes a fair lean before they fall over found out with the mk had reasonable articulation and 4" body lift standard springs that top heavy leans against banks and no matter how much traction you have it aint going anywhere this is my theory and im stickin to it........

[darinz]

I like your theory about hieght etc but I'd cut the guards more and keep as much travel as possible.
Doing what you are doing will mean the bumpstops come in real quick and will cause the front diff to be shock loaded a lot. I've bent several front diffs, including one that was strenthened and it is caused by bottoming the suspension. (I've bent one after fitting hydraulic bumpstops too!) GQ diff housing aren't very strong!!!!

With how you are setting it up you're only going to have about 4" or 5" before bottoming and IMO this isn't enough and will cause other problems.

[taz01]

I like your theory about hieght etc but I'd cut the guards more and keep as much travel as possible.
Doing what you are doing will mean the bumpstops come in real quick and will cause the front diff to be shock loaded a lot. I've bent several front diffs, including one that was strenthened and it is caused by bottoming the suspension. (I've bent one after fitting hydraulic bumpstops too!) GQ diff housing aren't very strong!!!!

With how you are setting it up you're only going to have about 4" or 5" before bottoming and IMO this isn't enough and will cause other problems.

cheers dude will be cutting bit then cross axle ramping to see how much more needs to come off the bumpstop easily to remove if need to

[Fakey]

Saw your roof today when I was at the wreckers. Looks ok, the one beside it tho is soo farken rusty

[darinz]

I use to run 35 Simex with 2+2 and th eguard cutting was really about the front and back of the wheel arches. I know you are taking this further with less lift and bigger tyres but you might be suprised with how much clearance you'll have.
One thing to be real careful of is that horizontal seam in the rear inner gaurd. It sliced the sidewall of 2 brand new 35x11.5 Simex on mine. (before I attacked it with a big FO hammer!!!)

I assume you will set shock tower heght after setting the bumpstops. And i also assume you will be using 80 series landcruiser shocks in the front?

[taz01]

I assume you will set shock tower heght after setting the bumpstops. And i also assume you will be using 80 series landcruiser shocks in the front?

wasnt thinking about resetting the shock tower was looking at longer shocks but i like your idea more....
staying with the 2" lift saffy springs at this stage as i said slow process and dont have cash to get what i would like hey who has ....waiting on whale to sell then dsr turbo and winch/plasma is on shopping list
WOOHOO roof arrived today could be a bit of a mission to fit as its off a lwb lots of cutting and fitting ...........

[darinz]

Yeah one of the biggest limits to a GQ is the length of the front shocks. Often when you lift a wheel etc you will actually hear the shocks top out with a bang! The normal setup we are using is to fit 50mm springs then use 50mm lift 80 series shocks. We then raise the shock tower by 60mm and this give you a shock that has 30% more travel. Obviously that gies great fluid capacity and so less fade as well. The good thing is the 80 series are valved the same as a GQ (normally) so match the springs as well.

2 ways of doing it. One is to just add spacers and longer bolts and the other gets 2 sets of shock tower then cut and weld to get right length.

However if you are going to lift the shock towers, why don't you fit twin shocks at the same time???????????????

[Muzza]

I agree with Darin that reducing your travel with the bump stops is not a good idea.
My criteria was to keep it low and increase the flex in the front end. I did the same as Darin using a 50mm spring lift and 80 series shocks with a 60mm shock tower extension. (Made my shock towers longer as you cant use spacers unless you have a 50mm body lift. ) I have cut my guards but also have a 20mm body lift. I run 35" BFG's and 35" Simex's, both on 10" rims which require a bit more room than if they were on 8" rims. Are your tyres a true 37" like the BFG's and Simex's are.
I have an autolocker in the front of my truck and agree they are one of the best mods you can do to these trucks.
I also have a Superior engineering flex arm in the front of mine which I think is brilliant but conceed that it is probably not an essential mod for the type of PUSSY driving you guys do in at RallyWoods.

[taz01]

I agree with Darin that reducing your travel with the bump stops is not a good idea.
My criteria was to keep it low and increase the flex in the front end. I did the same as Darin using a 50mm spring lift and 80 series shocks with a 60mm shock tower extension. (Made my shock towers longer as you cant use spacers unless you have a 50mm body lift. ) I have cut my guards but also have a 20mm body lift. I run 35" BFG's and 35" Simex's, both on 10" rims which require a bit more room than if they were on 8" rims. Are your tyres a true 37" like the BFG's and Simex's are.
I have an autolocker in the front of my truck and agree they are one of the best mods you can do to these trucks.
I also have a Superior engineering flex arm in the front of mine which I think is brilliant but conceed that it is probably not an essential mod for the type of PUSSY driving you guys do in at RallyWoods.

that sounds like a challenge dude .........have we got some pussy tracks for you ..........give us a yell when your keen to prove us wrong in rallywoods id like to see that

btw all your guys advice is welcomed and thanks keep it coming, i will update as shit gets done as said slow and easy on this one...

[Fakey]

Just a question, Why cant he just fit the 80 series shocks with the extended bumpstops an leave the shock mounts as they are to give more suspension drop

[Muzza]

that sounds like a challenge dude .........have we got some pussy tracks for you ..........give us a yell when your keen to prove us wrong in rallywoods id like to see that

OH ! .... I do love stirring

[taz01]

Just a question, Why cant he just fit the 80 series shocks with the extended bumpstops an leave the shock mounts as they are to give more suspension drop

that's what i was thinking by making blocks to fit in tower say 50mm with shocks added gives more drop but not reach full extended travel?

[meatc]

Just a question, Why cant he just fit the 80 series shocks with the extended bumpstops an leave the shock mounts as they are to give more suspension drop

that's what i was thinking by making blocks to fit in tower say 50mm with shocks added gives more drop but not reach full extended travel?

Up travel is just as/more important. If the diff hits the bumpstop then you bounce and as said above it can damage the diff housing.

Seen any trials trucks going fast over bumpy stuff? they spend lots of time in the air, off road race truck stays on the ground. difference is amount of up travel.

[Fakey]

How big are the tyres on the average offroad race truck? Guessing they can afford to have plenty of up travel to soak up high speed bumps Pretty sure Taz isnt planning on high speed racing with this thing

[stinky]

Hi speed Taz thats when his coffee mugs empty he can get to the jug at an amazing speed

[4WDbits]

...
Up travel is just as/more important. If the diff hits the bumpstop then you bounce and as said above it can damage the diff housing.

Hydraulic bump stops are basically short travel mono tube shocks with valving, oil and nitrogen. They're valved pretty hard in both directions so that they absorb the energy during compression and don't overwelm the shock during rebound.
Hydraulic bump stops shouldn't cause much bounce, unless the shock has broken off

[darinz]

Just a question, Why cant he just fit the 80 series shocks with the extended bumpstops an leave the shock mounts as they are to give more suspension drop

that's what i was thinking by making blocks to fit in tower say 50mm with shocks added gives more drop but not reach full extended travel?

It is all about compromise. When you hit a bump you need up travel to absorb the shock. The slower you go the less you need and the faster you go the more you need.
Rather than absolute numbers you need to be looking at a percentage of it. You have to decide what you plan to do and then work backwards. 40% up and 60% down is a pretty average do anything setup. Going to 50% + will see the truck sitting higher and better for straight line big bumps. eg offroad racing while going 20% to 30% is where you'll trails truck and rock crawlers. For them there is far less impact and more about maximum wheel travel to keep them on the ground.

Just make sure you understand what sort of suspension setup you need to do what you want to do and then go backwards from there.
With my new truck I have set the chassis on the diffs then mounted the coilovers based upon that being maximum uptravel. The total travel and the % up and down I want has then dictated ride height. I have set mine so that at normal ride height it will be 50/50 in the front and the rear will be 42% up bu the rear has 24" of travel so a little different. When doing winch challenges then I'll also drop the height so it will be about 33% in the front but still have 6" up travel. And normal ride height is actually lower than my old GQ with 75mm springs and 50mm bodylift!

So for yours, I'd work out how much guard you are happy to cut out, then flex the axle until you have about what you think you'll get. I'd base this upon max droop of an 80 series shock with 50mm tower lift. (about 1/3 more travel than the factory shocks) That should then tell you where you bumpstop needs to be or whether you need more lift to get acceptable travel.

So if you were fitting 33 to 35's then I'd be pretty confident in giving you almost exact suspension specs but you're doing something different so follow the guidelines and good luck!!!!!!

PS I've seen a GQ with 39's and 2+2 lift so it can be done. They did cut ALOT of guard out though.