Suspension questions

[Charlie]

Hey fellas, I've pretty recently bought a bone stock 05 navara and am looking to lift it, right now I'm a bit split between the formula 2inch lift or the raw 2 inch kit. Both from the fulcrum website. Heard a lot of conflicting stuff about them so just asking what yous would recommend or is there something better in that price range?
Also would upper control arms and torsion bars be necessary, at the moment I just have the alloy bullbar but am considering putting a winch on.
Also would yous recommend getting it done professionally or by yourself then getting a wheel alignment done?

Thanks heaps, I know they're pretty daft questions but help would be much appreciated

 

[Horatius]

Nothing daft about those questions.

You won't need UCA's for a standard 2" lift (they're not legal without engineering anyway afaik if you're in Aus). Some people say they need the torsion bars with a steel bull bar and winch. I didn't though, I just wound the stock ones up and it's fine. Make sure you leave enough travel between the bump stops though.

I didn't use a kit (bought my own components separately) which is much a cheaper way to go. In theory with a kit the shockies and springs should be matched, so it might be better. So no idea which one of those brands might be the best one.

It's an easy enough job to do on your own if you're reasonable with spanners. You will need a wheel alignment if you do, it can throw the camber out.

 

[Fivefivezero]

I just had a 2" suspension put in. Front shocks and springs
Rear leafs and shocks.
Ratings depend on what you use it for and what you carry in the back.
You will save a few hundred$ doing it yourself if your handy.

 

[Cam_D22]

Hey mate, I've got the 2inch RAW lift kit supplied through fulcrum. Made the ride much nicer and good lift in the rear, however I initially didn't go for the heavy duty torsion bars so only a small lift in the front. Later on I got the heavy duty torsion bars and the front lifted plenty so now I have equal ride height in the front and rear.
I did have an alloy bar and the HD torsion bars made the ride quite rigid and a little rough. Recently put on a steel bar, scrub bars and side steps and it rides a lot better with the extra weight. I think if you're going down the winch/steel bar road the HD torsion bars a worth it.

I got mine fitted but if you have the space and tools I don't think it's too complicated.

 

[Horatius]

I initially didn't go for the heavy duty torsion bars so only a small lift in the front. Later on I got the heavy duty torsion bars and the front lifted plenty so now I have equal ride height in the front and rear.

Torsion bars do sag/lose spring over time like all other types of springs, but unless they have completely clagged it, they would rarely be the limiting factor with front ride height on a standard nav. There's not much room to raise the front due to the limited amount of suspension travel to begin with (bump stops), but there should be enough play to reasonably match it to a standard 2" rear lift (but I think that would be about the limit).

It's also generally recommended to leave at least 1/3 of suspension travel otherwise it could have the effect of trying to lift the front wheels off the ground in certain situations. Strangely some of the worst info I have heard re lifts is from "specialists" (x-spurts?)

Some people find the stock torsions sag too much with the weight of a winch and steel bar, but I had no problems at all. I have plenty left on the torsion bars and find that leaving the right amount of travel works out fine for my 40mm lift. I have it set so that the front is only slightly lower than the rear when the car is loaded up. I think you can re index them anyway, if necessary and/or a tight arse lol. But at that point it would probably be better to just change them.

The rear springs on the D22 are rubbish, they usually sag like anything and it's worth changing them. Apart from that, shockies seem to be the thing that makes a big difference in ride. This is especially limited on the front of D22's, but aftermarket ones can still make a difference.

As a sceptical old pr-ck (lol) I'm not sure that "heavy duty" always infers what people think it does either. I get the feeling that the term often originates from the marketing dept. rather than the science r/d dept. No doubt newer, possibly stiffer springs will help if the old ones are worn, but there is a lot more to ride comfort than that. Theoretically these aftermarket companies should have things like spring rates, shockie compatibility and so on all sorted.

Unfortunately the Nissan engineers seem to have had the day off when the D22 suspension was designed, and left it to the office temp, who then did the bare minimum and left it to us to find what works lol.

 

[Horatius]

ps. Was misleading with the "at least 1/3" of original suspension travel above. According to the NSW regs which seem a reasonable safety guide. When changing ride height at least 2/3 of original suspension travel must be maintained in both directions. So having 33/66% overall travel works out the same, but it assumes 50/50 as original which isn't necessarily so.

 

[Charlie]

ps. Was misleading with the "at least 1/3" of original suspension travel above. According to the NSW regs which seem a reasonable safety guide. When changing ride height at least 2/3 of original suspension travel must be maintained in both directions. So having 33/66% overall travel works out the same, but it assumes 50/50 as original which isn't necessarily so.

Alright thanks that clears thing up a bit, reckon I'll have a look at getting the components separate if it's cheaper, doing it myself and installing with the stock torsion bars first and seeing if it lifts the front well enough before going to hd. Also does the 2/3 of original suspension travel mean you're allowed to lift it 66% more than original, just a bit confused on that one.

 

[Horatius]

Alright thanks that clears thing up a bit, reckon I'll have a look at getting the components separate if it's cheaper, doing it myself and installing with the stock torsion bars first and seeing if it lifts the front well enough before going to hd. Also does the 2/3 of original suspension travel mean you're allowed to lift it 66% more than original, just a bit confused on that one.

Have a look at the link Charlie, I have tried to explain it as clearly as I can there. Rather than write a war and peace length answer here. Hopefully others with experience can chime in. It explains what is considered a standard height for a D22 to begin with, how to do the measurements etc.

The overall suspension travel that I mentioned above is misleading. Naturally if you're moving towards the top bump stops, you'll be moving away from the bottom ones by same amount but that's a confusing way to look at it. You're only interested in the travel to the top bump stop when lifting.

With a suspension lift (in NSW at least) you are supposed to keep at least 2/3 or 66% of the original travel. In other words you can only lift it by 1/3 of its full travel. If not in NSW (or even if you are but don't care lol) I still wouldn't go too high. Should be well away from the bump stop at least.

A lot depends on how you use the car too. If carrying lots of weight in the back the front won't need to go as high.

https://www.navaraforum.com/threads/d22-lifts.39108/#post-404371

 

[bajatrailrider]

Im happy with my stock tor bars turned up you always need . Half in between bump stop I used low profile bump stop. I know not legal in your country but mine w 33in tires is 7in lift. off road and street handling super.