Lift options

[CoastieCosta567]

i got 919's and they gave me a full 4 inches, but with the stock shocks, lowered it to 3 inches and thats not including the 33's i have on, witch tires will give you even more lift. my pictures are the ones with the red mud flaps, and the one you can see right now, is all a stock lift, nothing lift added to it.

[Triathlete]

Your shocks have nothing to do with lift. If the shocks have caused your lift to go from 4 to 3 inches then at ride hight your shocks are fully extended and suching your springs down...not a good situation! You should change your shocks for the appropriate length.

[navistar]

Well.

Then I'll just keep the stock bars and get poly bushings. All things considered. Thanks all.

[ZEUS]

Good choice Navi, my understanding is that the Calmini lift kit was designed for the Trooper and since the VX is based of that platform the pieces simply fit... however the Calmini sways are not as thick (stiff) as the stock VX sways, they are only thicker than the Trooper's. Trooper owners would be better equipped if they swapped in VX sways versus the Calmini option. That's how I understand it anyway. A lot of people get the low-profile bump stops to allow for more front end down travel but since the Ranchos don't provide the needed down travel for the VX, the bumpers would be a waste. Again... to my understanding. I measured only a 1/2" extra travel after installing the low profile snubbers.

[navistar]

Getting more technical...

With the 912s I'll get a 2.5 to 3 inch lift on the rear. With that amount of lift doesn't that shift the rear end geometry out of whack?

It seems to me that it would shift the rear axle to the left (driver side) because of increased pressure on the rear suspension lateral rod?

Wouldn't it cause the axle to nose down slightly putting because of increased pressure on the rear suspension upper center link?

It makes me thing that after the new coils are installed both of these rods/links should be remeasured and lengthened at a machine shop to restore the axle back into the original/correct/aligned geometry.

What do you all think?

[Ldub]

I have 919's & a 1" spacer, I don't think the 919's give much more lift, but they do carry a load better. (I have a LOT of weight in the back, enough tools & spares to get home in the event of 85-90% of what commonly goes wrong "out there".)
Yes the axle geometry changes somewhat, with the most noticable difference being that the rear tires are closer to the front of the fender well. I haven't noticed them being off center, but when I hit large bumps at highway speed, I notice a little sideways deflection as the suspension compresses. Fortunately I'm a good steerer.
www.independent4x.com offers adjustable HD lower links that could compensate a bit, but you also have driveshaft overlap to consider.
They also sell an adjustable upper center link for Troopers, but I don't know if it will fit the VX.
A call to Matt will answer all your Q's.
Most here have installed 912's & cranked the torsion bars & lived happily ever after.

[navistar]

Actually the rear axle might have a slight nose up angle when lifted. The adjustable lower links could restore the axle to level. The lateral rod still might still have to be lengthened to center the rear axle left to right.

When I do this I'll take a lot of pics and measurements for the "historical records". :bwgr:

Navi

[navistar]

QUOTE: "A lot of people get the low-profile bump stops to allow for more front end down travel but since the Ranchos don't provide the needed down travel for the VX, the bumpers would be a waste."

Are you saying that I should not use the Rancho 9000xls after the 912 lift? Or are you saying to keep the stock bumpers otherwise the shocks would end up taking the hit of the downward travel using the low-profile bump stops?

Please clearify.

Navi

[ZEUS]

As posted by Green Dragon:

"Shock Travel Compressed-Extended

Isuzu OEM
Front
10.24-15.35
Rear
12.56-19.25

Rancho 9000 or RS 9000X

Front PN RS9214 or PN- RS99214
9.67-14.82
Rear PN RS9215 or PN- RS99215
12.66-19.78"

So by these numbers the front Ranchos are about 1/2" short. May not matter with stock bump stops, but increasing the downward travel of the A-arms may damage the Ranchos. So ideally, if the XL's specs match the X's you could maybe use a 5/8" - 3/4" spacer at the top of the shock to compensate. The low profile snubbers could then be used as intended. I had planned on fabbing up new shock towers for mine but am still researching.

[navistar]

Of course that's one extreme to the other as in off-roading requirements but for normal every day driving and Interstate it probably wouldn't matter much.