hilux rear suspension

[nizmo]

hi, i have a LN65 hilux and i have converted rear end to coil spring from a 1990 surf, i want to know how long to make the lower trailing arms (from diff forwed to chassis) i have stock ones fitted now but have herd if you make them longer you will get more articulation, also will i need to make longer top arms, does some one have pix, thanks nick,

[madtoolbox]

Use the lower ones in place of the top then make a new lower set to suit. you will need to make new chassis mounts and use longer shocks. Use the ratio between your old and new top link to work out your new lower link length, ie if your new top is 2x longer than original, make your new lower 2x than original.

[SupraLux]

Articulation is something governed by a number of factors, and the length of the lower arms is just one of them. Really it depends what you want to use the truck for, but if its a road truck / weekend fun machine then see if you can find some 80-series lower rear arms and use those - they are a good balance between length and strength.

You will want to change the uppers as well tho - or just go three link and mount the third off the top of the diff head. Do some research on lengths and angles - rough rule of thumb for an average setup is top link should be 80% of the length of the lowers, and the height between the front of the links should be 80% of the height between the rears... but that is just what I called it - rough. Calculate it properly for good anti-squat - there are calculators out there to do it.

For adjustment I used to make plates with a series of holes so that the forward mount of the upper link was adjustable to 3 or 4 positions.

Having said all that, shock length will also be a limiter in rear articulation... get some longer shocks... then find a way to stop the springs falling off the seats when the axle droops...

Hope that helps

Steve