D22 Suspension Lift

It's been discussed a little bit before, but i'd like some thoughts on the value of some suspension manufacturers.

I'm looking for a basic lift, better road handling and better ride when towing 2 tonne boat. Not a hard core offroader by any stretch, but would like to get to the tip one day soon.

Got a quote for an Ironman 2" suspension kit from the local dealer. Around $1200 fitted, includes leafs, 4 shocks, torsion bar, bushes and bolts. Bout $700 cheaper than the Old Man Emu quote. About $1000 cheaper than TJM quote! What's a man to do with that much saving! Ironman specifies 50mm lift on standard, where OME only specify around 30mm.

Any thoughts on the Ironman stuff and its value compared to competitors?

Probably getting close to pulling the pin so any advice is welcome.

Cheers,
Guido

I looked at a lift about 3 years and i got told by a number of 4x4 joints that with the torsion bars i could only get about 30mm to 40mm tops for about $1600, i couldn't see the point in doing so. So i put my money into waeco 110lt fridge and slide, which i get alot more use out of then a lift.

cheers,

Lance

D22 is very simple to get a 2" lift.

simplest is to simply add a leaf. either get spring makers to make one or there are several company's that make them.
if you have heaps of spare $$$ you could get a whole new spring pack but its not really needed.

then simply wind up the front torsions to match. no need for aftermarket bars with such small amount of lift. you will need to pull them out and turn them i thinks its 6 notch's.

shocks, when the standard ones die replace them with better ones.

i think it cost us about ~$300nz to get extra leaf made and fitted. none of this $1200 bullshit. bloody rip offs !

Thanks for your comments guys. Tweake, $300 for 1 new leaf fitted seems a lot of $$. Without the quote in front of me, I imagine it wouldn't cost much more for a whole new set?

Secondly, what are the consequences of winding up the torsion bar? I've been told 'no no' because it screws with the CV joints?

Cheers,
Guido

i'm actually looking at this myself. my friends have said 1 of which is a d22 str driver that you can wind the torsion bars up to get the lift at the front but warning is if the wheel falls into a large rut or wombat hole you could have some issue. Anyway i've been looking at doing it all with new gear etc and have found this Snake Racing from the quotes i've gotten around town for even a 2inch lift the price seems pretty good, just unsure of quality, if anyone has used this before might have some helpful insight

100k ago I wound the torsion bars up approx 2.5 inches and got a wheel alignment.

I have had no problems on or off road. I havnt even needed another wheel alignment since.

I have 2 inch lift right around and it cost me $200. I made my own extended shackles by using the original pins and some 8mm flat bar that I had laying around home. I then wound the torsion bars up 50mm and had a wheel alignment ($75). Lastly I added a set of load helper springs ($125 delivered) as suggested by a member on this site. I now find towing my camper and a full load in the rear of the ute no dramas. The ride is smooth and if you are carrying an extra heavy load you can wind up the the load helper springs.

A new set of shocks is next on the cards. I couldn't justify spending so much money on a lift for an IFS vehicle as it can be done very simply and cheaply.

Like big orse i wound the torsion bars up and made my own extended shackles.
Those 3" kits are alot of coin for the extra inch...imo it isnt worth it, aside from maybe returning the cv angles to stock. but i ran mine wound up till 10mm from bumpstop and had 35s on and only did 1 cv...but not many people on here would do the wheeling i do. So i wouldnt worry to much about the CV angles. i busted the transfer chain before i did a cv.

Guido said:

Thanks for your comments guys. Tweake, $300 for 1 new leaf fitted seems a lot of $$. Without the quote in front of me, I imagine it wouldn't cost much more for a whole new set?

Click to expand...

thats $NZ and includes labour to pull out and fit. also they where custom made. i think it took about 4 hours turn around. i'm sure you will find far cheaper in AU. at the time we couldn't even get helper springs that fitted.

Secondly, what are the consequences of winding up the torsion bar? I've been told 'no no' because it screws with the CV joints?

Cheers,
Guido

Click to expand...

you can't do a lift without winding up the torsion reguardless if its a new bar or not. any lift makes the CV angles steeper.
generally max is 3". 2" is nothing and is fine.


i don't recommend helper springs or shackles. thats simply because the stock springs are so weak to start with. your only going to add a leaf later on to fix the flat/reversed springs. i think one of the guys on the euro forums found that out the hard way.

anyone know who could make and fit the extra leaf on the gold coast? cheers

I bought a set of extended shackles designed for a series 3 land rover (I am in the uk) and wound up the torsion bars about 30000 miles ago re aligned it and have gained 2" lift. Wheeled it hard off road and had no problems at all. The only down side is the amount of drop the front wheels have is the same as standard so actually. reducing down travel, However the rear has gained articulation so it matters not.

I went with the iron man set up, and yes I probaly didn't need to replace the torsion bars but I got the kit at a fair price. So far I'm very happy with the iron man suspension,

Gday mate'

Just got my str back last week. I had a 50mm lift done. I used efs gear. Torsion bars, Rear springs(400kg plus) And shocks front and rear. i carry gear in the back and steel bullbar. I can not believe the difference. It is astounding. It just shows how bad the nissan crap is. It wasnt cheap at $1700, but i have forgotten already. This is all on a vehicle that has only done 15000km.

I also had the bottom shock mounts on the front moved a bit to create a better angle. Something that was suggested by the 4wd shop. He has done a lopt of d22s. Overall i could not be happier with the ride. Imo the first thing that should be done with a d22.
Cheers Roy.

i got a quote today for a EFS 40mm lift . $1800 bucks in Melton.

is that too expensive?

The guy says it will be a lot better ride.

I have a steal bullbar on the front and can see where the bump stops have been rubbing.

tbblitz said:

i got a quote today for a EFS 40mm lift . $1800 bucks in Melton.

is that too expensive?

The guy says it will be a lot better ride.

I have a steal bullbar on the front and can see where the bump stops have been rubbing.

Click to expand...

yeh mate
theres a guy on here Zordo who supplies them for about $1300 from memory

Hey tweak'e whats this 6 notches thing?

RedST-R said:

Hey tweak'e whats this 6 notches thing?

Click to expand...

the front torsion bars are splined. you need to pull them out and turn them a certain number of spines/notches to get a 2" lift. i can't remember how many many. ideally the adjustment nut should end up being roughly in the factory position. you do not want the adjustment nut to extend out below the chassis where it can get hit.

big orse said:

... I made my own extended shackles by using the original pins and some 8mm flat bar that I had laying around home... Lastly I added a set of load helper springs ...

Click to expand...

Big Orse, I don't suppose you have any pix for your lift, Plus what are are Helper Springs? I've never heard of them.

I have added details from the Workshop Manual (series 1) about the torsion bar to help clarify a few things. Hope it helps