2005 Hilux Front Leveling

[BrAzZ]

Hi Guys,

Ive done a bit of searching and am still a bit unsure of what my best options are. Basically i want to level the front of my 2005 hilux by lifting it slightly to match the rear.

So far the car has a 2" tough dog lift with shocks, king springs, new leafs & shackles.

I have seen a few different options mainly people using the strut spacer. I'm not very inclined to go this option as i don't feel its a safe bet. Just wondering what are the best options or even what other options there are. I would like to avoid new suspension as this gear is only 10,000km old!

cheers in advance.

BrAzZ

[Diezel45]

if you dont want to raise the front any more, the other option could be to lower the back. put the original leafs back in? was it a 2" leaf lift or were they just heavy duty springs with extended shackles?

[jaybags]

Bear in mind, I did find this out today: "To have the vehicle sit level when empty poses a number of issues, mainly with regards to weight transfer under heavy braking. It does also affect the wheel alignment, as well as how the vehicle handles."

Lot of people may not even notice a difference, but I guess it's something to keep in mind hey?

[BrAzZ]

I would like to lift the front given that its not to severe on the CV's. It is a leaf lift. So new leafs and shackles.

EDIT* Cheers for that Jay, i didn't think about much of the handling aspect it would alter. i may do a bit more research into that side of things also.

[amitch888]

I'm not familiar with how the tough dog struts work but maybe coil packers are an option. Arb/old man emu use these at times to gain more lift out of hilux's and prado's. These are not the same as strut spacers, wouldn't recommend them looking at past drama's of other members.

I only imagine they would work with the king springs and tough dog struts you currently have. Otherwise I'm not sure if tough dog has rings on the strut to alter heights which is obviously the better way to go if they offer this option.

Or new coils fitted to your struts.

[bansheebuzz]

Bear in mind, I did find this out today: "To have the vehicle sit level when empty poses a number of issues, mainly with regards to weight transfer under heavy braking. It does also affect the wheel alignment, as well as how the vehicle handles."

Lot of people may not even notice a difference, but I guess it's something to keep in mind hey?

spot on, vehicle will handle and brake better with the rear higher, thats how they where designed, there a goods carrying vehicle, what happens when you put 300kg on the back if you level out the suspension? the rear sags and it wallows and wanders all over the road, it won't handle it right.

There is alot more to the stance of a vehicle than just looks

[stevehastings]

I would just put a full time load in the back to level it up, as the others are saying if you level the front and put a load in it you will be driving a boat you will only see the bonnet

[BIGFOOTJR]

The front should sit 30mm lower than the rear, could always upgrade to a heavier duty spring in the front.

[DeadlyBeast]

As alluded to above, when I inquired Ultimate Suspension says this will alter the geometry of the vehicle and affect both handling and braking and they cant legally do this. Probably has insurance implications. Also, if reducing the ride height of the rear the departure angle will be reduced... worth considering if 4X4ing

[BrAzZ]

cheers for the advice! seems its a safer bet to leave it how it is, it would have just been a personal preference but i don't want to be changing the geometry to the extent of possibly risking damage or unsafe driving.

[jaybags]

cheers for the advice! seems its a safer bet to leave it how it is, it would have just been a personal preference but i don't want to be changing the geometry to the extent of possibly risking damage or unsafe driving.

I was in the same boat until I found that out too. It does look much more aggressive, but if you're driving it every day it makes you think twice. There's still a lot you can do to make the car look tough as hell without lifting the front though

[Diezel45]

how bad can it really be though? im sure the combination of lifting the car at all, the running of bigger tyres (meaning poor braking performance), the added weight of all the extras (bullbar, winch etc) makes the car handle alot worse then stock. so if you did level out the front, im sure it wouldnt make that much of a noticable difference.

[salibalux]

Hey guys just found this convo, I have a 2006 dual cab, recently fitted a steel iron man bullbar and winch and my front has dropped a fair bit. I don't know if the car has already had an aftermarket suspension installed but it does sit higher then factory the back has huge clearance but the front is around a quarter now. I'm just looking for a reasonable alternative to a full lift as I think the rear is fine even under load. Not sure about posting pictures or else I could show you what I mean.... Heavier front suspension could possibly do the trick I've been told. But I'm still pretty lost. Any ideas? I don't want the front to much higher around an 1 inch and a half.. Cheers in advance Andrew.

[Samuel l]

hey mate i had the same problem with mine, my front struts are tjm tigers 9stage adj (tough dogs with dif paint) and after much playing around with springs and what not we settled for a 10mm strut spacer. it actually goes inside the strut top hat not on top like the others (so ur strut has to be disassembled). you hear lots of stories about the strut spacers but im yet to hear one about a 10mm one and my suspension guy says his fitted a few of em and never had 1 returned. it lifted the front of mine about 20mm which leveled it our pretty well. I've read a few guys on this forum that are running em without any dramas, i think its more the guys with 20-35mm spacers that are breaking struts.

[michaelfinch]

Hi, I've raised an 07 dual cab V6 4 inches on the front and 2 on the back, lux is levelled, 33 inch mickey t's, handles well up to 100k/h, then shakes a bit but no big deal, strut spacers, super heavy duty lovells springs and billstien shocks all round. No body roll around corners, a bit of a hard ride on dirt but great in the mud and on the freeway- diff drop kit was a must- don't know how to post pics, sorry

[TOYZX]

Good luck with the strut spacers!

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