3" lift Drop Boxes?

I've had a 3" lift in the GU for almost 2 years.

Went away on the weekend and can't handle to rough ride anymore, I know it's an agricultural vehicle, but I'd like to to take the teeth shattering out of the bumps as much as possible.

I've got some Superior Light- Medium coils in the rear so can't go much lighter there, can't remember what I have in the front but told them when I got the lift done I had a steel bar, winch and 2nd battery so I reckon I have what is needed in the front, BUT am not against getting softer coils.

I've read that drop boxes can give you more flex, which I understand how they can, but I'm not after more flex. I've also read that they can make your ride smoother, which I don't understand how they can, but is what I want to achieve.

When I put the 3" lift in we put in offset bushes in the arms to make up for the lift, so I'm wondering, would drop boxes just replicate what I get from these bushes or would fit drop boxes & fitting whatever bushes into the arms give me a smoother ride?

Thanks for any help.

The Drop boxes will just replicate the offset bushes and they would need to be removed. Id be looking at your shocks. What shock are you running? If they are valved wrong then they dampen the spring too much and take a bigger hit for the spring to do its job. Shocks can make a huge difference to a smooth ride.

Oh OK, I'm running Ironman Foam Cell Pro's, they're pretty large bores & 2 years old. I don't know if they can be revalved?

Any suggestions for replacement shocks?

The best that you can buy. If you have a mate close that also has a Patrol you could swap shocks for a drive and see if it makes a difference but i expect it will.

Given you are looking for a good quality shock and a long term investment id be looking at Old Man Emu or a Remote Res shock like Fox if you can afford it. If its still not right then out with the springs too but i expect the shocks to make a big difference.

those ironman shocks come in soft or hard . the model number has a suffice of FE for hard and FEC for soft . maybe check with ironman to see if they can revalve them .

Drop boxes help with ride quality because the radius arms are flatter. Flatter links help to direct the force from hitting a bump through the spring. That energy is then dissipated through the shock.
Links with more angle will transfer more of that force through the link itself, not the spring. That force is then dissipated through your spine.

A very simple exercise is to use a trundle wheel and run it over rough ground holding it near vertical with locked elbows and wrist. You'll feel the force being transfered into your shoulder. Holding it the same way. Crouch down and hold it a close to horizontal as you can and run it over the same ground. Instead of your shoulder getting jarred it will just become a pivot point with much less jarring

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Originally Posted by nipagu7

those ironman shocks come in soft or hard . the model number has a suffice of FE for hard and FEC for soft . maybe check with ironman to see if they can revalve them .

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Hey great help, thanks for letting me know, I'll check that out.

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Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy

Drop boxes help with ride quality because the radius arms are flatter. Flatter links help to direct the force from hitting a bump through the spring. That energy is then dissipated through the shock.
Links with more angle will transfer more of that force through the link itself, not the spring. That force is then dissipated through your spine.

A very simple exercise is to use a trundle wheel and run it over rough ground holding it near vertical with locked elbows and wrist. You'll feel the force being transfered into your shoulder. Holding it the same way. Crouch down and hold it a close to horizontal as you can and run it over the same ground. Instead of your shoulder getting jarred it will just become a pivot point with much less jarring

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All the advertising guff I've read from drop box makers all say that they do improve ride quality, I've thought about it through the day & reckon it probably does make a difference.. Thanks for the help mate.


I'm looking for adjustable shocks, I'm a fan of Koni shocks having used them a long time ago on an old Mitsy 4x4, they transformed that vehicle. The Fox remote res shocks aren't adjustable, the very exxy ones are, but are too exxy. Don't know about the Superior remote res adjustable shocks????

The Tough Dog & Rancho adjustables aren't bad, I've sets of both of them but the knobs always lock up and become useless.

Any other suggestions for adjustable shocks???

MB nuffy time, aren’t drop boxes taking us all back to leafy hangups 20years ago?


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i have drop boxes on both my patrols and rate them highly. I agree with Bene that they will make a difference certainly. As he described the impact point changes and this will reduce the jarring but i really think your main priblem is the shocks. Hence pointing you that way.

I rate the drop boxes highly... why not do both.

Im not a huge fan of the adjustable shocks because it relies on the owner to understand how to tune them and not get lost in the adjustment. Most of the mid price are junk. Decent adjustables really do start at about Fox but as you say they are getting exy.

For my money on your price point id be going the ARB Old Man Emu Sport shock. They have a built in infinitely variable valving sysytem that works great. Mine have 200,000km on them and they are still great.

I like Remote Reservoir shocks for reduced fade but they really only pay for themselves on rough long distance touring applications and fast and hard use.

My next shock for the GU will be the OME BP51s but they will cost a Bomb but will be the last shocks i buy.

Remember you are looking to spend the money again after only 2 years which is dissapointing!! Add what you spent to what you are going to spend to fix it and you could have had an awesome setup 2 years ago.... frustrating i know.

OME Sport would get my money with 3" drop boxes to round it off and new Nidsan OEM bushes in the radius arms.

Any chance of an underside or side on under chassis rail pic please Daz mate, I’m stumping, sliding & trolling:-)


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Originally Posted by MB

Any chance of an underside or side on under chassis rail pic please Daz mate, I’m stumping, sliding & trolling:-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Sure mate. Wont be for a couple of days though mate sorry. Out early tomorrow and have a meeting in melbourne until late romorrow night.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nipagu7

those ironman shocks come in soft or hard . the model number has a suffice of FE for hard and FEC for soft . maybe check with ironman to see if they can revalve them .

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ben-e-boy

Drop boxes help with ride quality because the radius arms are flatter. Flatter links help to direct the force from hitting a bump through the spring. That energy is then dissipated through the shock.
Links with more angle will transfer more of that force through the link itself, not the spring. That force is then dissipated through your spine.

A very simple exercise is to use a trundle wheel and run it over rough ground holding it near vertical with locked elbows and wrist. You'll feel the force being transfered into your shoulder. Holding it the same way. Crouch down and hold it a close to horizontal as you can and run it over the same ground. Instead of your shoulder getting jarred it will just become a pivot point with much less jarring

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

i have drop boxes on both my patrols and rate them highly. I agree with Bene that they will make a difference certainly. As he described the impact point changes and this will reduce the jarring but i really think your main priblem is the shocks. Hence pointing you that way.

I rate the drop boxes highly... why not do both.

Im not a huge fan of the adjustable shocks because it relies on the owner to understand how to tune them and not get lost in the adjustment. Most of the mid price are junk. Decent adjustables really do start at about Fox but as you say they are getting exy.

For my money on your price point id be going the ARB Old Man Emu Sport shock. They have a built in infinitely variable valving sysytem that works great. Mine have 200,000km on them and they are still great.

I like Remote Reservoir shocks for reduced fade but they really only pay for themselves on rough long distance touring applications and fast and hard use.

My next shock for the GU will be the OME BP51s but they will cost a Bomb but will be the last shocks i buy.

Remember you are looking to spend the money again after only 2 years which is dissapointing!! Add what you spent to what you are going to spend to fix it and you could have had an awesome setup 2 years ago.... frustrating i know.

OME Sport would get my money with 3" drop boxes to round it off and new Nidsan OEM bushes in the radius arms.

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Thanks for the info MudRunner, I appreciate yours & everyone's help. I'll check out the OME Sport. I did look at the BP51s but they are very pricey ATM.

Will drop boxes fix the wandering steering? It's like rolling along in a boat sometimes, we're over here, no now we're over here, straight again, no leaning to the left now etc etc etc.....

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Originally Posted by 10G

Thanks for the info MudRunner, I appreciate yours & everyone's help. I'll check out the OME Sport. I did look at the BP51s but they are very pricey ATM.

Will drop boxes fix the wandering steering? It's like rolling along in a boat sometimes, we're over here, no now we're over here, straight again, no leaning to the left now etc etc etc.....

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Oh! Yeah right. You had not made comment on how it tracked so i assumed you had the caster correction in place and set right. It sounds like you dont and you dont have enough correction causing oversteer. Your forever correcting the steering. Would drive me bonkers.

Get rid of the caster bushes and fit drop boxes. It will transform the car!! You will be blown away at the difference. Based on this new info id say it could be the main problem. This quite specifically points at the description that Bene explained above.

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Oh! Yeah right. You had not made comment on how it tracked so i assumed you had the caster correction in place and set right. It sounds like you dont and you dont have enough correction causing oversteer. Your forever correcting the steering. Would drive me bonkers.

Get rid of the caster bushes and fit drop boxes. It will transform the car!! You will be blown away at the difference. Based on this new info id say it could be the main problem. This quite specifically points at the description that Bene explained above.

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Done! But I reckon the teeth jarring that occurs when I hit a pot hole or bump in the road would still be stiff shockers right?

I'm happy to spend some $$$s as this is my daily driver & I travel on crap country roads 7 days a week.

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Originally Posted by 10G

Done! But I reckon the teeth jarring that occurs when I hit a pot hole or bump in the road would still be stiff shockers right?

I'm happy to spend some $$$s as this is my daily driver & I travel on crap country roads 7 days a week.

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Do the drop boxes and take it for a drive and see what you think. The drop boxes drop the back of the radius arms which changes the pivot of them and the angle which the wheel hits the bump.

At the moment the wheel actually moves forwad as it compresses the suspension, once the drop boxes are in the travel up will be far more nuetral and much smoother as there will be little to no forward movement.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Do the drop boxes and take it for a drive and see what you think. The drop boxes drop the back of the radius arms which changes the pivot of them and the angle which the wheel hits the bump.

At the moment the wheel actually moves forwad as it compresses the suspension, once the drop boxes are in the travel up will be far more nuetral and much smoother as there will be little to no forward movement.

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OK, I'll give it a go, thanks for your help, it's greatly appreciated.

Drop boxes ordered, 2 week delay for manufacturing.

OK, so an update.

Fitted 4 x adjustable 45mm Tough Dog shocks about a month ago now. They've made a massive difference, they've removed the sharp teeth shattering bumps I was getting from the road.

Ran them during my Madigan trip and they got a massive work out, they got incredibly hot but seemed to hold up pretty well.

The Superior drop boxes have arrived and I'm getting them fitted with new radius arm bushes this week, so I'm hoping that will fix the wandering steering problem.

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Originally Posted by 10G

OK, so an update.

Fitted 4 x adjustable 45mm Tough Dog shocks about a month ago now. They've made a massive difference, they've removed the sharp teeth shattering bumps I was getting from the road.

Ran them during my Madigan trip and they got a massive work out, they got incredibly hot but seemed to hold up pretty well.

The Superior drop boxes have arrived and I'm getting them fitted with new radius arm bushes this week, so I'm hoping that will fix the wandering steering problem.

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Thats great. Make sure they fit Nissan rubber bushes. Or buy them from nissan ans give them to the guy fitting to ensure you get OEM bushes.

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Thats great. Make sure they fit Nissan rubber bushes. Or buy them from nissan ans give them to the guy fitting to ensure you get OEM bushes.

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Yep a got a set of new OEM bushes from Patrolapart.

So got the drop boxes fitted on Friday. Steering feels much nicer. Doesn't seem to pass bumps through to the steering wheel as badly, steering is more precise. Doesn't get pushed across the road when you hit a bump or dip as badly as it did, the bump or dip only seems to affect the wheel it hits and not entire front end.

Looked at the offset bushes once they were removed. There's bugger all rubber on the offset side, mechanic said one was really chewed out, glad I got rid of them.

Vehicle is much nicer and smoother to drive now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 10G

So got the drop boxes fitted on Friday. Steering feels much nicer. Doesn't seem to pass bumps through to the steering wheel as badly, steering is more precise. Doesn't get pushed across the road when you hit a bump or dip as badly as it did, the bump or dip only seems to affect the wheel it hits and not entire front end.

Looked at the offset bushes once they were removed. There's bugger all rubber on the offset side, mechanic said one was really chewed out, glad I got rid of them.

Vehicle is much nicer and smoother to drive now.

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It's amazing how shit it was with castor bushes and why anyone would bother with them isn't it?

To finish this thread off ....

I fitted my front sway bar back on yesterday. It couldn't be hooked up once I put the drop boxes in & had to get extended sway bar links. Fitted it all up yesterday and the truck is the most comfortable it's been to drive since I removed the stock suspension. he front sway bar has made a great difference.

Job finished.