Offroad-Express

Hey guys,

I'm looking to do a bit of work on my SWB Escudo, snorkel, lift and maybe tyres.

Just wondering what you guys think of 31's for those who have them? I've been told that even with a 3 inch suspension lift they rub badly when turning, they make it harder to drive without stalling and remove low rev power if you don't get a different ratio diff.

I'm running 29" muds and didn't realize 31's would make such a difference?

Also what are those FTS 3" lift kits like, quality shocks etc? When I posted a link on the aus site they questioned the parts included.

Starting to think I may be better off upgrading shocks and fitting 50mm raised springs and sticking with my current tyres.

I can't make up my bloody mind!

We have 31's on 3" suspension lift + 2.5" body lift with trimmed guards. Haven't noticed any rubbing, in fact we should still be able to fit chains when necessary.

I have the FTS lift kit in my zuki, i think the shocks are great on road and even better offroad.
The rear shocks even though there long, dose not compress much compared to other shocks out there so will act as a bump stop which should help you with the 31 tyre's rubbing.
The front shocks are plan awesome , apparently one of the longest you can find ? with the elongated hub bolt hole for camber adjustment, which i find always adjusts its self from movement so have tightened the bolt up, then an loosened it a half turn which seems to allow the camber to change on different gradients/terrain..

I would recommend the FTS kits if its in your price range...

[quote="Chairmen"]I have the FTS lift kit in my zuki, i think the shocks are great on road and even better offroad.
The rear shocks even though there long, dose not compress much compared to other shocks out there so will act as a bump stop which should help you with the 31 tyre's rubbing.
The front shocks are plan awesome , apparently one of the longest you can find ? with the elongated hub bolt hole for camber adjustment, which i find always adjusts its self from movement so have tightened the bolt up, then an loosened it a half turn which seems to allow the camber to change on different gradients/terrain..

I would recommend the FTS kits if its in your price range...[/quote

are the shocks bottoming out or just stiff??
because if the are bottoming out you WILL bend or break them

and why would you want your camber to change itself????? seems dangerous to me if your driving along the road with the camber twisting in and out of its own accord

Hi "keithal" The shocks where brand new that came with the FTS kit, so No they weren't stiff at the time an yes i have observed the shocks bottom out prematurely not allowing the tyre to fully articulate up.
I am now running commie shocks that was suggested to my by "churchill" an i'm very happy with them!
There was never any breakage in the FTS shock wiliest i was running them but in all fairness i could see the shocks bottoming out over a long period of time being a problem an leading to breakage of failure.

I run the front struts camber bolt half a turn lose as the dame thing keep changing camber on there own whilst fully tightened, so figured ill let some slack off so the wheels return to its normal camber position on level ground which they do. I haven't had any probs running them this way on or off road.

I would like to tak a washer in to hold the correct position one day...

Spite all this i would still highly recommend the FTS lift kit for the SV620 V6 chassis, as a easy bolt in bolt out kit.

P.s i dont work for the company

As far as your question about 31s, I run them and really like the size. It does take a bit more work to ensure guard clearance but it's worth it in my opinion. I've got about 2" body lift, 2" suspension, hammered footwells and slightly cut front guards.

With the 8V motor's torquey nature I don't have a low speed torque issue, but do notice the lack of power on the road and a fuel burn that makes me thankful we don't build our offroaders for economy

My 2 cents worth. Ive got 31s with a 3" calmini kit suspension lift kit and a 2" body lift and i dont have any rubbing issues, except rubbing on one side on the chasis which i cant work out, but any way. The gearing i have found to be quite high, when out 4wding 1st in low range was good in most situations but quite a gap between 1st and 2nd low range, which was a bit annoying. Also hill climbs were sometimes a bit awkward, being highly geared. But overall the gearing is ok and satisfactory, compared with the price of reduction gears. In my experience if ur going to go down the road of 31s and lift kit ect its a good idea to be fully committed and do everything u want, get it sorted and worked out then get the certification. Also u could go for cheaper lift kits/ tyres below the cert threshold and still have good fun with out the certification hassels. Hope that helps.

Cheers guys, I think for a start I will buy a set of 50mm lift springs and shocks and get 30's on.
I can see whether it does what I want and go from there.

2"suspention lift and 4" body any a bit of persuasion with BFH and 34"swampers fit nicely hasn't evn run out of power yet! I don think I will push tyre size anymore tho! But am verry happy with the places it will go now, espcaly when out whith trucks that are running 35s as diff clearance was becoming a real issue when I was running 31s

ol_smokey. wrote:2"suspention lift and 4" body any a bit of persuasion with BFH and 34"swampers fit nicely hasn't evn run out of power yet! I don think I will push tyre size anymore tho! But am verry happy with the places it will go now, espcaly when out whith trucks that are running 35s as diff clearance was becoming a real issue when I was running 31s

Got any pictures of that set up? Any driveline changes?

Na nothing done to the driveline, the tyres were free that's the main reason there on there really but now that they are I wouldn't go back to 31s the clearance is just too good, sorry it's not letting me upload from my phone? files are too big?? il try upload one latter in the week when I get home

Can anyone suggest shocks to use with a 2 inch lift and where to buy in nz? The new ones on trademe seem steep especially front struts

dtchch wrote:Can anyone suggest shocks to use with a 2 inch lift and where to buy in nz? The new ones on trademe seem steep especially front struts

Struts aren't very cheap but you can get by quite adequately with flipping the strut-hats for a two inch lift.

For the rear shocks I eventually found a Gabriel shock that was standard on some of the old-school Ford Capri models was perfect for the three-door. Gave me just over two inches more extended length and also increased the overall available stroke. Valving is nice and light too, ideal for the light truck. Can't remember if I still have the part number floating around but a shock specialist should be able to find out for you if you give them the desired specs and end fittings. (I got mine through Beaurepaires in Nelson.)

I used a 2" inch strut extender for the front and commodore shocks in the rear. Gave about 60mm more down on all 4 wheels. Worked well.