Improving the standard Suspension

[Aido]

AAAhhhh Haaaa

Found the problem.
ARB Winch bar and X9 Superwinch fitted to the front end results in this. Approx 4mm clearance off the bump stop.

Can someone now point me in the direction of the thread " how to wind up your torsion bars"
I think I can guess how but I want to be sure.
And if someone can give me an idea of how much clearance there should be between the lower bump stop would be helpful also.

Cheers
Adrian

 

[Aido]

For interest sake I am going to speak to the spare parts counter at a local Nissan dealership tomorrow. When we were signing up for the vehicle the sales guy flipped us an ARB catalogue and said "what do you want?". I said everything but the missus made me shortlist it . I would be interested to get the perspective of anyone else at Nissan aside from the Snake oil pedlar.

Spoke to a Nissan spare parts counter and they do not have any sort of uprated suspension components at all - they outsource their work mostly to ARB if required. But the bloke there seemed to think that nothing would be required as they fit bullbars and winch's all the time without modifications. I wonder how many other Nissans are riding around on their bump stops like mine!

 

[Jason]

Aido, 12 to 15mm is usually a good clearance.

 

[SOLID D22]

A bit of weight kills the standard torsion bars easy, especially if you start off roading.

 

[Aido]

Ok so some thinking has gone towards this in the last hour or so - Read as I drank beer.
By winding up the torsion bars I am "preloading" the spring tension to compensate for the load being carried. As far as I can tell torsion bars are not progressive in their spring rate and so the performance of them should not change drastically from standard use but I am placing them in a position that will no doubt increase fatigue and will tension them towards the end of their normal travel.
This would obviously indicate I require a heavier spring rate - thus new bars - and a more suitable shock absorber with a more compliant damping rate than present. Can someone confirm if I am right or wrong? It would help settle the thoughts in my mind.......I'm off to get another beer, that should quieten the voices

 

[Jason]

Yes you are correct, with a steel bar and winch new shocks/TB's will improve the front end.

 

[SOLID D22]

Yes you are correct, with a steel bar and winch new shocks/TB's will improve the front end.

I second that.

 

[Aido]

Just had a conversation with a long time friend that I know through bike racing, he works with 4b's everyday at Fred's 4WD Deniliquin.
He has recommended that I retain the standard torsion bars but to tension them / pre-load them back to factory clearance and add OME Nitrocharger shocks all round. There is no benefit to winding up the bars to gain a 2" lift as it will only top out and of course the only way to overcome this is to replace the control arms which is an exorbitant amount to gain a minimal amount of travel.
The standard torsion bars will apparently cope with alot of abuse and will not fracture or fatigue, as I feared. It is more about the shock absorbers controlling the spring dampening.

 

[Aido]

Further conversation - lets add some Dakar springs to the rear!

 

[Aido]

Missus arrived home about 45mins ago and I have now given the torsion bars a tweak to raise the ride height and the difference is certainly noticeable in that the front end is now softer - it now has body roll! But over sharp bumps it is still harsh and this no doubt due to the standard shocks.

 

[Leprechaun]

I would go Bilsteins, around the same price as OME, but you get German quality and they're rebuildable.

 

[SOLID D22]

How longs a piece of string?
Its hard to say what type of shocks to choose considering circumstances may change in the future for ya, go a cheaper yet reputable shock for now and all is good but if the 4wd bug bites hard next year you will be kicking yourself for not spending that little extra and getting the shocks that perform well for now and still perform well when the going gets tough or ride heights change and so forth.
Just something to keep in mind. A cheaper alternative isnt necessarily the cheaper alternative.

 

[Aido]

How longs a piece of string?
Its hard to say what type of shocks to choose considering circumstances may change in the future for ya, go a cheaper yet reputable shock for now and all is good but if the 4wd bug bites hard next year you will be kicking yourself for not spending that little extra and getting the shocks that perform well for now and still perform well when the going gets tough or ride heights change and so forth.
Just something to keep in mind. A cheaper alternative isnt necessarily the cheaper alternative.

????? Not quite sure I understand
Am going with OME all round at standard suspension height. We are setting this vehicle up for touring not for a winch challenge.
The mission here is to improve on the standard and to keep the vehicle as usable as possible on the road as it is off the road.
4wd bug? Yep it has bitten but I'll be buggered if I'm going to throw this brand new - and expensive - vehicle into anything too severe. Plans are already afoot to secure a SWB MQ for some serious flogging. But thats a whole other story!

 

[WIR35]

For soft comfort, you should have bought a D40! hehe

 

[the_bluester]

One thing looking back on this thread. Changing shocks is certainly worthwhile (I put Bilsteins on mine at 10,000km) but they will not soften the ride (Except perhaps by helping keep the front off the stops) They are actually stiffer than the factory ones although I am seriously thinking of taking my front ones out and sending them of to Quadrant to revalve and increase the low speed rate. The factory shocks are pathetically soft front and rear, they simply have no hope of controlling the wheels or body.

I had to crank up my front as the factory fit alloy bullbar dropped it enough to have it smacking the stops all the time, but it still wants heavier torsion bars up there as it still whacks them now and again. The rear I reckon could be softer, there is no sign on the stop rubber or the metal part on the chassis that they are ever hitting. Dirt and mud only and no clean polished bit from hitting the stops. Regardless of the stiff rear, I reckon stiffer torsion bars would make it more comfortable as the front and rear currently have a huge mismatch so it pitches hard over undulations that it should just ride through.

 

[Aido]

With the new shocks the front feels great but could do with only a slightly stiffer torsion bar to reduce the dive under braking.
The rear is still crap with the original leaves. I expect a drastic change next week when I switch them for Dakars or I will be screaming for my money back.

 

[Simonness]

hey guys. i want to soften the suspension aswel but not sure wat the conclusion is.

i have the factory alloy bullbar so my bumps stops are being smacked aswel.

whats the cheapest way to increase comfort? i could change the shocks but will it still hit the stop since it only has 20mm clearence?

do i need to lift the car 2inches?

thanks for any help guys

 

[tweak'e]

to soften the suspension you need more travel otherwise you will just smack the bump stops constantly.
for us adding an extra leaf gave us 2" lift plus it was fairly soft but hardened up when loaded up. wind the torsions up to match, then you can play with shocks to suit.

 

[rescue]

Take a run down the Hume to the Brooks Rd exit, take the exit, turn left at the roundabout, straight on at the next roadabout, take the next right and turn in the first driveway on the right, go past the Vet, look to your left, you should be out the front of The Ultimate Suspension. STOP get out go inside and get Ken, Brendan or one of the boys to take a look at your vehicle. Explain your budget. PROBLEM SOLVED.

As for winding up the torsion bars, well what advise do you expect from somebody who wears gumboots on a date....

 

[Simonness]

sweet thats not too far frm me.

i saw some lift kits for the D40 and its only a giant/thick washer that sits in between the shocks n the chassi, D22 doesnt have anythin like that do we?

theres pretty much less then 10mm between the bump stop lol, useless.

any cheap ideas before i visit that shop guys?