[Damozie]

Hi guys. I'm new to the forum but have had my 2008 GV for some time. Looking for a lift kit and seen ARB does the OME which gives 20mm of lift. Just wondering if 20mm is really worth it? It doesn't sound like much but considering I've had a few bottom hits with the standard suspension, I'd like to get everyone's opinion. I've currently got stock suspension and AT tyres. ARB don't do bash plates so any suggestion on where and who to get them from would be appreciated also

Thanks,

Davd

[Sco-tie]

nope 20mm isn't worth it, there are other brands that makes 40-50mm kits im sure

[zooks4life]

Hi, In my opinion it is not, I have a 50mm outdoor auto lift in mine and I like it though I should point out it only comes in 40mm now. It has ranching shocks dobinson rear springs and struts and extreme springs in the front. Dobinson, ironman are the main two that do lifts I believe but you can also get springs from king and lovells. I also have outdoor auto (fts) bash plates in mine wich do the job. Ironman also have bash plates.

[Pooke]

There is a 40mm Dobinson kit that I have looked into, but not sure on the quality, does seem to be alot cheeper than the ARB kit. I am thinking it is the one I am going to go for, however none of the auto parts places have ever even heard of Dobinsons over here, let alone get them, so looks like I will need to source some in AU and ship to NZ.

They have them listed on outdoorauto4x4.com as well as full bash plate sets.

[Gwagensteve]

I wonder why OME have decided 20mm is the maximum lift that's desirable?

Perhaps it's related to rear bush life?
Perhaps it's related to retaining droop in the suspension to provide ride quality?
Perhaps it's related to alignment?

I'm not being a hater on other brands- I haven't seen an OME kit on a NGV, but some of the other kits I have seen look like they've traded off lift for function. Maybe that's all that's possible with a NGV, but it would be nice to see one riding a bit deeper into its travel.

Steve.

[Damozie]

Great advice guys At the end of the day when I can get the $$$ together I'll be lifting it, new tyres and bash plates. The OME comes recommended in ride quality and everything else... just not cool how they only give you 20mm of lift :S

[Damozie]

There are spacers I've seen for front and rear http://outdoorauto4x4.com/p/1148295/new ... cers-.html they say they are for stock suspension, but if this is lifting the vehicle 50mm, then with stock suspension, you're pretty much loosing 50mm of extension from the shock aren't you? You'll have the compression of the wheel still there, but the spacer in effect makes the spring longer but the shock stays the same length. If I'm wrong let me know, that's just how I picture it in my head. Can't see how it'll be good with the shock riding with limited extension.

[fordem]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Perhaps it's related to rear bush life?

Quite possibly this ...

The NGV front suspension, is in my opinion, better suited to a front wheel drive sedan, than it is to an SUV that's going to be taken off road - part of the reason for that is simply because I first saw it on a front wheel drive sedan, and have since discovered it's quite common on these sedans - in particular, the rear bush on the front control arm is a large diameter rubber bush positioned with it's axis vertical - in order to flex, the bush has voids cut into it and two relatively narrow "necks" located fore & aft, and as the arm cycles up~down, these "necks" twist.

One of the things that should be done when lifting a vehicle is "re-positioning the bushes" - for example an older GV (98~05) which has it's bushes with the axis horizontal - you back up the pivot bolts before installing the lift and after the installation, you put the weight back on the suspension and then re-torque the pivot bolts - this allows the bush to set itself with the suspension at it's new ride height - failure to do this is one of the causes of premature bush failure.

With the NGV and it's vertical axis bush, there's no way to do that - when you install the lift you force the bush away from it's "rest position", twisting those "necks", and then as the suspension articulates, you force the bush to flex even further, ripping it apart - I've seen several of these bushes destroyed on standard height NGVs.

FWIW - the first time I saw this design it was on a Mitsubishi Lancer - and the bush on that arm was also torn/

[Damozie]

Thanks Fordem. Sounds like the bush destruction issue is why 20mm might be the limit with the OME kit then. Looks like the "safest" way to go about lifting it is to stick with the crappy 20mm kit and get some tyres with larger sidewallls for a little extra height

[Sco-tie]

Yea the bushes are huge but you can also get offset poly bushes for it. Not sure how well they would fair though.

[Gwagensteve]

Whilst they might adjust caster, they're unlikely to assist with the lift problem.

Steve.

[Reubs]

Considering big lift kits with heaps of flex tend to sag quickly and accelerate wear on components that wouldn't necessarily fail within the vehicles lifetime, it's no wonder fewer places are selling big lift kits or want the warranty hassles associated with.

The amount of 'lift' is a subjective topic as well. The 20mm lift kit would probably end up 40-50mm taller than one fitted with a 2008 NGVs original springs.

[Damozie]

Thanks guys,

Reubs... if a 20mm kit would in effect be even 40mm higher than standard I'd be happy! She's done 75,000k's now so it's probably sagged a bit from new making it just that bit lower.

[fordem]

Sco-tie wrote:

Yea the bushes are huge but you can also get offset poly bushes for it. Not sure how well they would fair though.

Your comment suggests you haven't recognized where the real problem lies - try this...

Get a CD, hold it horizontal, pass a bolt and nut through the center and clamp the CD so it can't move - now hold the CD near the outer edge and flex it up & down - that's how the bush works - and just like that CD will shatter when you flex it beyond a certain point, the bush on the GV will rip apart.

An offset bush will simply move the center hole away from center - it does nothing for the flex.

[Gwagensteve]

And may make it worse.

Very few "lift kits" offer as much travel as standard suspension due to increased spring rate or other design related issues such as this. There are good reasons to change spring and shock rates dependant on use, but adding 40mm of lift on the premise it will make the car more capable (even though travel is likely reduced) is a bit of a shonky premise.

40mm taller than really low is still really low.

Running a small lift to retain compression travel with appropriate bumpstop spacing to clear a larger tyre is where the capability increase cones from, not from the lift. There are other good reasons to change spring and shocks though.

Steve.

[fordem]

Mmmm - I have no idea about the OME on the NGV, but, on the SQ series, I believe you do get increased travel along with lift (which is only 30mm or so) - or at least the struts/shocks have both additional length and increased travel, so the potential is there, and as I mentioned previously, this model has the bush axes horizontal making it easy to "reposition" them so there is no stress on the rubber at the new ride height.

The OME struts were 15mm longer compressed and 35mm longer extended (compared to the OE strut), the rear shocks were also longer, both compressed & extended than the ones I removed, but a previous owner had fitted Monroe Adventure Series, so I don't have the OE shock measurements to compare them to.

[Gwagensteve]

The earlier GV can certainly run longer than stock struts. I'm not sure that this is the case for the NGV.

[steve125]

The ARB 'lift' is not worth it, you'll go further with a set of 245/75 tyres and a bash plate.

Outdoor Auto sell bash plates for GVs, so does Brown Davis and, my pick, Ironman.

Ironman also do a lift kit but it doesn't flex much, the Dobinsons have been fitted to a few GVs and perform well.

The spacers that OA sell are only part of kit that Rocky Road Outfitters sell for US$250. The RR kit has rear spring spacers, longer rear shocks of average quality and a spacer for the front struts. Bits4Vits sells the spacers by themselves so you can add your own, better quality shocks on the rear. I would consider this option. It's relatively cheap and easily reversed.

http://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/new-gr ... at_43.html

[Pooke]

steve125 wrote:

The ARB 'lift' is not worth it, you'll go further with a set of 245/75 tyres and a bash plate.

Outdoor Auto sell bash plates for GVs, so does Brown Davis and, my pick, Ironman.

Ironman also do a lift kit but it doesn't flex much, the Dobinsons have been fitted to a few GVs and perform well.

The spacers that OA sell are only part of kit that Rocky Road Outfitters sell for US$250. The RR kit has rear spring spacers, longer rear shocks of average quality and a spacer for the front struts. Bits4Vits sells the spacers by themselves so you can add your own, better quality shocks on the rear. I would consider this option. It's relatively cheap and easily reversed.

http://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/new-gr ... at_43.html

Sorry to revive an old post, but if you see this steve125. Did you put the RR kit in your one? I am thinking of getting the front strut spacers but the picture on bits4vits show it with loose bolts not studs on the top of the spacer, is this so? I would think it would make it tricky to tighten up.