Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Morning Guys,

Please help with some advice. I lifted my GQ with 50mm. Only replaced the old coils with heavy duty coils. The ride is still good with little difference in handling. I still need to do the wheel alignment and whatever still needs to be done. I sthere any specifics I need to look at?

Dawid, there is no setting in most Patrol's wheel alignment that can change any of the parameters that are affected by a lift.
In fact, on most Patrols there is only one adjustment in the suspension, this being the toe (the steering arm behind the axle) and this should not have been touched during the installation of the lift. So if your wheel alignment has been checked reasonably recently, it won't need anything done to it.

Whet should have been done as part of the lift, is installation of caster correction bushes on the front suspension. If this was not done, I would consider it.

Also, it is probably worth checking that the brake hoses and breather tubes are long enough? They should be, but maybe not?

Thanks Peter. Where do I get these bushes from, or would the local type of suspension guys be able to supply, and do it right? What about better shocks (what type?)? I did extend the brake hoses after the 4 Province week-end after going down the mountain in a "back to front" tow - did not do the breather!

Dawid, I do not think that the locals can do these bushes properly.

I would buy them from OME or similar. Shocks are a difficult question, and a lot has been said on this forum about them.

Personally, I like OME, as they have the longest travel as far as I know and they work well on extreme obstacles, but some others might be better for a more road-or-overland focussed vehicle.

I bought my vehicle with OME already fitted, and honestly cannot complain about their performance or handling.

Bilstein has some advantages though, their price is competitive, they can be serviced/maintained and their design should cause them to produce less heat on corrugated roads.

Thanks Peter, i will pop in at our 4X4 shop here in Witbank and get some prices.

Gents,

No castor correction required on a 50 mm lift

Sorry Grant but I don't agree.

A 50mm lift will change the caster angle by 3.1degrees.

Spec caster angle is between 2 1/3 and 3 1/3 degrees.

So with no caster correction on a 50mm lift, you would end up with no self-centering.

Peter,


Disagree, I fitted a a 3.5 degree after a 90 mm lift. In my shop we did numerous 50 mm lift with no castor correction needed. Just need a brake bias valve adjustment.

Hi Peter,

To clariffy for a true 50 mm lift you would need a 2 deg castor cirrection kit. Often enough the vehicle settles more to 40 to 45 mm whitch then reduces this to 1 to 1.5 deg.

To each his own I geuss.

I have always preferred more caster rather than less, and would not be happy knowing my car had negative caster.

The positive effects of caster are to inprove the high-speed directional stability and to increase the self-centering effect (IE how forcibly the steering wheel returns to the straight ahead position when exiting a corner.

The disadvantage is that it will cause the steering to be a bit heavier.