The BT 50 is beginning to sag a little after 2 years of dragging a 3 tonne caravan around the country. Thinking of upgrading the rear suspension and I'm wondering if there would be any work required on the front end, what would be the best upgrade air-bags or helper springs and any recommended workshops in Adelaide?
I had Pedder's do my Patrol as soon as Nissan Warranty ran out. I put in heavier rear coils which added 30mm to height plus fitted air bags as a belt and braces exercise, had both front and rear shocks replaced as one front copped a hiding on Gibb River Rd and started to weep. Haven't had it on anything other than city roads yet but it definitely has a much better "feel" to it when van is behind. Main reason for choosing Pedder's was Nationwide service centres, and value for money quality parts.
__________________
Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
Hi Dave, I had an extra leaf put on both rear springs and made a huge difference, raised the back 2".
I am now thinking about putting better shocks at rear only as an extra precaution so maybe look at doing both at the same time. I used Pedders and very happy. I will look into the shocks later in the year though as it is not important at this stage.
As for airbags on your BT50, well, there was a lot of talk a while back about the chassis cracking above rear wheels on the hump as the twin cab utes are not designed for airbags. If you do a search for airbags or similar on GN there should be good info.
Keep Safe on the roads.
__________________
Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
The BT 50 is beginning to sag a little after 2 years of dragging a 3 tonne caravan around the country. Thinking of upgrading the rear suspension and I'm wondering if there would be any work required on the front end, what would be the best upgrade air-bags or helper springs and any recommended workshops in Adelaide?
Thanks in advance
Dave
I had the rear springs of my BT 50 retempered and an extra leaf installed. no sag now. The upgrade lifted the back, now when I put the van on the back only drops 1 1/2 inches [ 260 Kg ball weight]
I had the job done in South Grafton. Cost $660.
I was told to not to buy air bags or after market springs. The sales people at after market shops will tell you anything to get a sale.
Re tempering can be hit and miss too . I like extra springs that hardly increase till load is applied . This way it has pretty good ride when empty .. Air bags should be almost treated as early bump stops not the be all of extra weight . An extra leave at the bottom which doesn't work till it drops a few mm works good ..
If you decide to replace your rear springs and may be lift the rear by say 50mm just be sure that when you attach the van and set the WDH that the front of your vehicle does not increase in height. Some people do this and look at the vehicle and it is now level but in fact the rear has dropped a little and the front has gone up.
Your front brakes do about 80% of your braking and when your vehicle is level and under hard braking the nose goes down which places more weight on the front tyres and this causes the tyre foot print to increase in size giving you a bigger grip on the road. If you have lifted the rear of your vehicle and with the van connected the vehicle is level what has happened is that the front has increased in height which effects the vehicles ability to get the weight down onto the front tyres under breaking.
If your rear is down without the van then replacement of springs is a good option. Air bags are good for JUST taking the bumps out and stopping the van going down when going over dips in roads. Air bags are not ment to lift the rear as the chassis is not designed to take a high load at the center of the axle arch. What Ausi-Kiwi has said is spot on.
I have a 2009 DMax and found that the rear leafs were getting a bit soft and as well one of the Air bags had a leak. To replace only one Air bag was going to cost $400. No thank you!
I opted for getting heavy duty springs with extra leaf and good shocks. The front got new heavy duty torsion bars and shocks too. It lifted the ute 45mm in the rear ang 40 mm in the front. The drive and handling now is so very different and feels much safer too. The ute and van (only a small pop top ) sit nice and level and I don't need to use any WDH set up. Cheers...
Thanks for all the advice. I'll go and find a Pedder's and have a chat with the bloke there about springs and shockies and other related stuff that he'll probably know more about than me.
Re tempering can be hit and miss too . I like extra springs that hardly increase till load is applied . This way it has pretty good ride when empty .. Air bags should be almost treated as early bump stops not the be all of extra weight . An extra leave at the bottom which doesn't work till it drops a few mm works good ..
The extra spring is under the top leaf and is cupped under the shackle hole of the top leaf at each end.
Phillipn - is this what is commonly called a floating spring that only comes into play with additional weight on the springs?
The extra leaf is under the top leaf, it is the same length as the top leaf and is cupped under the shackle eyes at both ends. I don`t know what it is called, it takes weight all the time. The ride is a little bit firmer but not rough.
The rear has been lifted 3 1/2 inches. The ball weigth [260Kg] pushes the rear of the ute down 1 1/2 inches, with no WDH connected.
Prior to having the springs job done the rubber buffers were contacting the chassis.
-- Edited by Phillipn on Saturday 13th of February 2016 10:00:44 PM
Yep the bump stops hitting hard isnt the best chassis wise either . I suspect most bent chassis was due to a few dumb things ? Over weight, too fast over bumps , too much pressure to overcome extra weight . BTW I have found on my Explorer RV the rest leaf springs have four leafs fall distance . I find on our uneven highways and let's not forget gravel roads . In this case the suspension under these conditions is too firm . I'll be checking into shortening the lower leafs to get progressive softer ride . So you can go too firm ..
