Making Your Pik-up Taller

[buddhafly]

most of the pick-ups seem quite low to the ground.

is raising them as simple as bigger wheels/tires or does something need to be adjusted with suspension?

does it mess much with the vehicles stability or handling?

and does bigger tires make the mileage and speed calculation inaccurate? (more surface area per revolution)

thx

b

[Jamie]

There are "lifts" you can buy from different places. You are raising the suspension and in doing so, depending on the amount you raise it, you may need to have a front end alignment, or you may have to modify the front end (new tie-rods, shocks etc) to take in the added stress of the lift. Most lifts out on the market are good, but again, depending on the size of the lift, it will decrease handling ability to a degree.

You can only put so large of a tire on a vehicle. After a certain point, when you turn the tire will hit the fender. That is where the lift comes in.

Yes increasing the tire size will mess with the spedometer. You might need to get it recalibrated. A larger tire and a lift will decrease your mileage.

[Crossy]

Everything he said ^^^

also, excessive lifting may screw your drive train angles and lead to premature failure of universal joints etc.

Why not get a 4x4, they are already high or if you don't need 4 wheel drive get one of the high 4x2s like the Toyota Vigo Pre-Runner or Ford Ranger Hi-rider

[Gary A]

Most of the pickups here sit quite high in the back. My Nissan seemed especially high. I took it to an alignment shop that has laser alignment equipment. I had them jack the front up until it was level with the back. That is easily done if the truck has torsion bar suspension. The alignment and the torsion bar adjustment cost less than a thousand baht total. My headlights aim a little higher now but not enough to need re-aimed.

[undercover]

Yes I think the thing I dislike the most about pickups is the ones that are high at the back low at the front, they say its so as when you have a ton of rice in the back you drive level, who cares about that when 99% of your driving is empty.

Edited March 23, 2007 by undercover

[Jamie]

I like a truck that is jacked up just a bit in the back. I've never been much in to lifted trucks though. Some people just can't pull it off, especially when they jack it way up and then have tiny tires on it.

[buddhafly]

if you had a toyota 4x4, or whatever their tallest model was, are those tires the max size already? and

how much bigger size-wise can you go before its a fender problem and a misfit?

thanks

[astral]

also, excessive lifting may screw your drive train angles and lead to premature failure of universal joints etc.

You will also raise the centre of gravity of the vehicle and it may be more prone

to overturn in extreme conditions.

I cannot see where the size of the "fenders", bumpers comes in, but the wheel arch

size certainly affects the size of wheels that can be fitted.

[Jamie]

also, excessive lifting may screw your drive train angles and lead to premature failure of universal joints etc.

You will also raise the centre of gravity of the vehicle and it may be more prone

to overturn in extreme conditions.

I cannot see where the size of the "fenders", bumpers comes in, but the wheel arch

size certainly affects the size of wheels that can be fitted.

I've seen people put oversized tires on their truck only to have them hit the inside of the fender in a turn.

[chanchao]

The only thing more ridiculous than raising a truck is lowering it. You still see some people do that.

Consider this: Do you actually NEED the extra clearance? If you do, ok maybe lift it a little and fit bigger tyres (and/or bigger wheels even)

(A benefit is that you won't clock up as many kilometers, so your vehicle depreciates sllghtly slower, and you can go slightly longer in between having it serviced. )

[Mid]

A benefit is that you won't clock up as many kilometers, so your vehicle depreciates sllghtly slower, and you can go slightly longer in between having it serviced. )

fewer speeding tickets also ..............................

[Gary A]

The only thing more ridiculous than raising a truck is lowering it. You still see some people do that.

Consider this: Do you actually NEED the extra clearance? If you do, ok maybe lift it a little and fit bigger tyres (and/or bigger wheels even)

(A benefit is that you won't clock up as many kilometers, so your vehicle depreciates sllghtly slower, and you can go slightly longer in between having it serviced. )

When you live where I live, you would be very happy to have some extra ground clearance. When it rains, I can't go down a lot of the roads because of my two wheel drive. The 4X4's do go and cut VERY deep ruts in the mud. When it dries you NEED a lot of road clearance. One spot I like to go is a very scenic spot near a waterfall. The government has stoned the road but one spot has over a foot of water over it year round. They ran out of money and can't afford a little bridge or even drain culverts under stone. Before I got a couple more inches of clearance it was over the bottoms of my rocker panels. It was higher than the floor pans and I'm sure it would have leaked in if I would have sat there for a short while.

[chanchao]

In that scenario I would actually GET a 4x4. Driving in muddy roads with a 2wd rear wheel drive vehicle really sucks. And with that 4x4 you'd also get the extra clearance. They don't cost THAT much more than 2WD kitted out the same. I think the difference is well under 100K new. And then you don't have to worry every time it rains.

[Neeranam]

The only thing more ridiculous than raising a truck is lowering it. You still see some people do that.

Consider this: Do you actually NEED the extra clearance? If you do, ok maybe lift it a little and fit bigger tyres (and/or bigger wheels even)

I agree it's ridiculous - they'd be better get one of those vacuum extending tubes. High-heeled shoes would be cheaper too.

Edited March 29, 2007 by Neeranam

[Gary A]

In that scenario I would actually GET a 4x4. Driving in muddy roads with a 2wd rear wheel drive vehicle really sucks. And with that 4x4 you'd also get the extra clearance. They don't cost THAT much more than 2WD kitted out the same. I think the difference is well under 100K new. And then you don't have to worry every time it rains.

I had a 2002 4X4 Toyota and a two wheel drive Nissan. The Toyota was a constant headache. The Nissan is a great truck. The plan was to trade the Toyota in on a new 4X4 Ford but my wife won the battle and we ended up trading the Toyota on a new Ford Focus. Thinking about trading the Nissan for a 4X4 hurts me. I REALLY like my Nissan. More than likely I'll find an old Suzuki jeep. That way two people will have a car, a truck, a motorcycle and a Suzuki.

[chanchao]

> Thinking about trading the Nissan for a 4X4 hurts me. I REALLY like my Nissan.

I think I noticed.

[Naam]

Yes I think the thing I dislike the most about pickups is the ones that are high at the back low at the front, they say its so as when you have a ton of rice in the back you drive level, who cares about that when 99% of your driving is empty.

then why owning a pickup?

[jeffrosner]

I inherited my father in law's truck. I got it with 24,000 km on it and it's a 2004 Strada. The back of the truck is higher than the front. I didn't like it when I got it and wanted to make the truck normal again. After reading this, I now know that I was correct.

When I turn the wheel all the way to the right, I and start the truck, I heard a grinding/crunching noise that is not normal. I do not hear it unless the wheel is turned completely to the right.

I'll assume until someone confirms or corrects me the the Universal Joint is totally F#$*$cked. What will it cost to fix? I need a ballpark before I take it to my Mitsu guy on Sukhumvit Pattaya.

Knowing her father, he did it on the cheap. What he did was put two 8 inch extenders where the axle connected. I doubt he did anything to the front of the car and that is why the noise comes from extreme right hand turns.

I just uploaded a picture. If you carefully look, you'll see the difference in height at the front vs. the back.

Edited March 31, 2007 by jeffrosner

[Tony Clifton]

I see a lot of guys around here with raised pick-ups but the axles and differential are still sitting low, just for show.

One guy in our village had his car all souped up and lowered. When he drove back in the first time, he couldn`t make it over the speed bumps and had to leave the car at the village entrance with the security guys, then walk home.

[Jamie]

I inherited my father in law's truck. I got it with 24,000 km on it and it's a 2004 Strada. The back of the truck is higher than the front. I didn't like it when I got it and wanted to make the truck normal again. After reading this, I now know that I was correct.

When I turn the wheel all the way to the right, I and start the truck, I heard a grinding/crunching noise that is not normal. I do not hear it unless the wheel is turned completely to the right.

I'll assume until someone confirms or corrects me the the Universal Joint is totally F#$*$cked. What will it cost to fix? I need a ballpark before I take it to my Mitsu guy on Sukhumvit Pattaya.

Knowing her father, he did it on the cheap. What he did was put two 8 inch extenders where the axle connected. I doubt he did anything to the front of the car and that is why the noise comes from extreme right hand turns.

I just uploaded a picture. If you carefully look, you'll see the difference in height at the front vs. the back.

When you say that you hear a noise when you turn the wheel to the right, do you hear it when you are moving or any time, like just sitting there? If you are hearing it just when moving, I would check your CV joints. If you are hearing it any time, it could be the power steering pump or the steering wheel gear box.

[jeffrosner]

Only when I go from 0 to 10 such as when turning a corner or a U-Turn. And only if the wheel is turned completely to the right.

Otherwise the car is normal.

But from this thread, I suspect that raising the rear suspension put stress on the front.

It's a bad idea to take what engineers took months if not years to design, and then change that design. While you might be able to get away with it for a while, it has to cause problems. I was worried about instability.

Now I get to worry about replacing all the front-end parts because her father like most Thai people only care about the presentation and it was done for face only.

This face thing sees to come back at them and hit them in the face. Why are they so vain?