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LOADED4X4.COM.AU
OPINION: DAVID NICK KOTTER WILSON
angle of the front driveshafts. The
rear suspension travel is largely
determined by the limited amount
of flex available from the leaf
springs. Vehicle manufacturers
design their suspension systems
to work within a specific range of
up and down travel, that is locked
in by the stock vehicle’s ride
height. Increasing the height of
an IFS front-end in simple terms,
reduces the amount of down
travel (suspension droop) and
increases the amount of up travel
that is available. A 4WD that has
been lifted too high – and this
can be less than 50mm in some
vehicles – can have the upper
control arms sitting on their
bump stops and that’s not good
at all. The result will be a harsh
ride, loss of traction and stability
as well as poor handling both on
and off road. And let’s not forget
that it’s a legal requirement that
at least 1/3 of your suspension’s
arc of operation is made up of
down travel.
Levelling out or raising the
front of an IFS-equipped 4X4
higher than the rear, removes
the factory rake angle that these
IFS equipped vehicles need to
work correctly and fundamentally
alters the suspension’s geometry.
Altering the rake angle by as
little as 20mm can cause serious
oversteer and braking issues.
If you’re keen on building a
4X4 that is safe, nice to drive and
capable off-road, there are, in my
opinion, three rules to follow and
yeah I know rules suck:
“Real off-roaders
know they want more
suspension travel and
can’t easily get it, while
the mall crawler brigade
need more suspension
travel and don’t know it.”
RULE 1 - Limit the amount of
lift so that you retain as much of
the original suspension’s down
travel (droop) as you can, or
legally modify the suspension
to increase the amount of down
travel that is available which then
makes a higher lift possible.
The MQ Triton, for example,
in stock form has just 50mm of
suspension down travel which
means a run-of-the-mill, nothing
to get too excited about, 50mm
suspension lift, has the Triton’s
This is not the same as your Ranger. It’s really not.
upper control arms sitting on
their bumps stops. The result is
compromised CV angles, zero
flex off road and a harsh ride in
all conditions. The only choice
you have with the Triton is to
either fit a smaller lift (20-30mm)
or fit something like the Karrman
kit that I’ve developed for the
Triton and Pajero Sport.
The Karrman kit lowers the
front differential and allows you
to fit a 75mm suspension lift
while retaining flat driveshaft
angles and increasing down
travel to 65mm. Real off-roaders
know they want more suspension
travel and can’t easily get it, while
the mall crawler brigade need
more suspension travel, and don’t
know it.
RULE 2 - Maintain or at least
run close to the factory Rake and
Caster angles. You won’t hear this
one talked about much around
the campfire and it’s a sad fact
that it’s a topic that is not well
understood by many (not all)
wheel alignment practitioners.
Getting the mall crawler ‘Baja
Racer’ look requires a suspension
lift, larger tyres, the levelling out
of the vehicle and even raising
the front end higher than the
rear. Raising the front-end and
removing the factory rake pushes
the front wheels forward, or in
technical terms creates positive
caster. Fitting oversized tyres
Above: Correct rake. Below: Mall
crawler rake