Swaybar Links

[apalsson]

G'day,

I have had a suspension kit from OME fitted in my 2009 GU and bought some 285/70R17 BFG A/T tyres.
As expected, there is some slight scrubbing of the corner of the treadblocks against the rear of the guards - more specifically against the mudflaps and the mudflap bracket.
Because I don't want to remove the mudflaps, risking rocks and dirt being thrown up against the sides of the car, I bought some radius arm spacers that will extend the radius arms by some 15mm or so.
These are set to be fitted on Monday morning together with a caster correction kit (OME again)

By moving the entire axle forward like this, will I need to make modifications to the sway bar links?
I assume they will no longer be vertical.
Roadrunner Offroad sell these: http://www.roadrunneroffroad.com.au/Nissan-GQ-GU-Patrol-Front-Sway-Bar-extended-links-NEW-STB8828ETG.html

[Bloodyaussie]

You have not mentioned the lift you are getting fitted.. with a 2 inch it is not needed but if you have the coin and want it 100% then yes fit them.. any lift will start to angle the sway bar links but there is except-able and there is beyond limits and needs doing.. 2 inch would be fine but 3 you will need to fit them.

I have gone from a 2 inch to a 3 then on to 4 so I have seen first hand the changes needed.

[apalsson]

Sorry mate, it's the 2" OME kit.
I noticed a bit of "wandering" after the lift, mainly at higher speed. It's particularly pronounced after I added the bigger tyres.
My budget is no bigger than that of the next guy but I wanted the job to be as good as possible so I'm trying to compensate for any downside from the lift. My old GU (2001 model) had the same lift and 285/75R16 BFG A/T and I never had any steering issues so this is new to me.
I plan to take the car and have it engineered and can therefore not have the wheels touch any part of the body or guards, thus the radius arm spacers

[Bloodyaussie]

The castor correction will take care of the steering mate.. right now it feels like it wants to under steer around corner and go wide?

As soon as you get the castor corrected it should feel a lot better.

The sway bar links are going to help with downward travel and is different to the steering issue you have but I still recommend getting it done.

[MudRunnerTD]

I removed the front mud flaps on my GUIV and there has been no rock damage. Because the factory side steps go out so far they give as much protection as the front mudflaps to be honest.

I have run without front mudflaps for 5 years. Everyone else I know with a GUIV and 285s runs without mudflaps and I have never heard anyone complain that their car was being damaged as a result. The side steps offer a heap of protection. I wouldnt bother with the spacers or the links. Put that money into other accessories I say.

I am assuming that the spacers, links and mechanic will cost you $600 plus another $500 for the Engineer to sign it off.... Sign what off?

$1100 will buy you a nice fridge or go a long way to a front locker. IMHO that's what I'd so.

[apalsson]

I am assuming that the spacers, links and mechanic will cost you $600 plus another $500 for the Engineer to sign it off.... Sign what off?
$1100 will buy you a nice fridge or go a long way to a front locker. IMHO that's what I'd so.

Thanks mate, - yes I had seen several GU's of a similar age where the front mud flaps had been removed and in all honesty, they aren't much chop as it is being some cheap plastic.
My reasoning is that I already have those spacers ($60 or so) and because the radius arms are coming off regardless for the caster correction bushes, they were going to drop in the spacers for me at the same time so there is no extra cost there.
I had been planning to wait and see how the links look after this change.

My reason for engineering the car is the lift (50mm+ ) plus another 45mm or so in the non-stock tyres for a total of 95mm - 100mm as well as the tyres not matching the tyre placard.
I had my old Patrol also engineered for very similar changes.

By the time I have finished kitting this car to the point where I want it, I will have spent close to $50k on it. The engineer has quoted me $400 for the changes I told him I wanted to make.
I see it as a cheap insurance because if one day God Forbid, I'm involved in a serious accident or even fatality, I don't want to risk a charge for an un-roadworthy vehicle, dropping of insurance cover or even worse.
In order words, $400 for a peace of mind

The engineer was most reasonable when I spoke with him and outlined the changes I wanted certified. He told me to mod the car, then drive it for a month or two to allow the suspension to settle down and then come see him. He stressed that if the total changes only amounted to some 55 - 60mm, he wouldn't want to take my money.

[rottodiver]

Correct me if I am wrong but the diameter difference is 30 mm ( 808mm standard at 265's and 838 for the 285.s) so the radius is only 15 mm difference ... Being a 15mm extra height in e tyres

Scotty

[apalsson]

Scotty, I think you might well be right. Don't know where I got the 45mm from :)

[apalsson]

I picked up the car from ARB this morning after they installed castor correction and also spacers behind the radius arms to stop scrubbing at the front mud flaps.
Car now runs like a train on rails - seriously, if I had had any idea of the difference the castor bushes make, I'd have done this straight away. Also - no more scrubbing and all parts still on the car :)
Happy camper now !

[DSzuke]

apalsson...

did you happen to get a print out of the alignment data? I'd be interested to see the numbers if you don't mind posting them.

I've just put a 2" kit in mine and had a bit of trouble getting respectable handling out of it. It's not too bad now I took it to a someone with a better idea of Patrols.

Im far from an expert in alignment but am starting to understand whats going on! I'd like to compare the data, particularly toe and castor.


Great to we you are so happy with it!

[apalsson]

We did a 2" lift, meaning 2 degree castor change. The correction bushes are 2 degrees, so castor should be back to stock.
Alignment on front axle was:
Camber +0.03 and +0.26
Individual Toe +4.3mm and -13.3mm
Total toe: +1.0mm

Geometric Driving Axis +0.13

[apalsson]

I was reading through the report ARB gave me after the installation of the 2" OME kit and found these figures

Before:
Front-Left: 775mm
Front-Right: 775mm
Rear-Left: 785mm
Rear-Right: 770mm

After :
Front-Left: 800mm
Front-Right: 800mm
Rear-Left: 820mm
Rear-Right: 825mm

I also had a 2 degree OME castor kit installed plus 10mm spacers behind the Radius Arms to clear the front guards a bit better.

Basing on the above, the difference is quite modest, or 35mm and 35mm front and 35mm - 55mm at rear. I'm in the process of fitting drawers in the back which I assume will eat up some of that difference.
Steel drawers are typically around 80Kg but I plan on making my own from a combination of 18mm and 12mm plywood and expect them to weigh under 50Kg when I'm done.
The reason for the small difference is clearly the fact that the car is a late model (2009), low mileage car that doesn't look like it has ever left the bitumen and the stock springs therefore haven't sagged at all like is so common on Patrols.
Some of the ones you see on the streets look like Limmos' when you think how low they sit.

In addition to this, I have changed the tyres from the stock 265/75R17 to 285/70R17.
Depending on which online tyre size calculator you look at, the tyre diameter is changed, anywhere from 2mm to 10mm

Assuming 10mm, total increase in height is only 35mm at front and 45mm and 65mm at rear.

Can we assume that these changes combined fit within the new rules and I don't have to use an engineer to re-certify the car?
Next week, I will be going out to get a Blue Slip to register the car in NSW (I bought it in Qld). Do I have to be concerned about anything in that process?

Before:
41813

After (Still on the stock tyres):
41814

[BigRAWesty]

I think you'll be fine mate.

[apalsson]

I thought I'd post an update to this thread.
As I mentioned above, I found the car had the wobbles following the lift so in went a 2 degree OME castor kit which seemed to significantly improve the steering. She is now slightly "lighter" around the centre but nowhere near what she was before the castor correction went in.
Because the radius arms had to come out anyway, I got ARB to drop in the Radius arm spacers. I had some concerns if other geometry would be affected but this doesn't seem to be the case and everything is pretty good.
There is no scrubbing anywhere now and the tread blocks comfortably clear the front mudflap brackets. Another side benefit of this is that now I can drop in 35" "play tyres" if I want to without any other changes.

Only thing I plan on adding now is a 2" extension bracket for the brake proportioning valve because Patrols seem to need all the brakes they can get and I also plan on towing a fair bit.
This will bring the brake bias right back to stock. Roadrunner sell nice little pre-fab brackets for either 50mm or 75mm with bolts and nuts for some $24 or I could easily make up one from any scrap steel