New air struts and Lucky 8 SYA kit

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CaliLee

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@PatriotLandyTX That thing looks awesome! I'm going with the Arnotts and the full SYA offroad kit. I have been planning on installing 255/65r19 Duratracs to get some additional clearance and not have to deal with the heater hoses and the rest, you think that will be an issue? 32 inches but still the stock width.
 
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@PatriotLandyTX That thing looks awesome! I'm going with the Arnotts and the full SYA offroad kit. I have been planning on installing 255/65r19 Duratracs to get some additional clearance and not have to deal with the heater hoses and the rest, you think that will be an issue? 32 inches but still the stock width.

Someone else may verify this too, however I think at 32” you will still have rubbing up front with the frame horns at 3/4 turn (steering) and likely at the rear at speeds higher than 40 when you hit a dip or bump. It will wear through the wheel liner back there quickly and expose a knife edge aluminum body seam that will do serious damage to the tires long term.

Due to the geometry of the rear suspension travel, the rear wheels move forward when you lift it via the suspension in any method. So lifting it is not really helping you much in that rear hose/seam clearance, and in some cases it makes it worse. It’s a trial and error method.

Does the full SYA kit include the lift rods? L8 has changed that packaging a tad since I purchased mine. You’ll need the rods or at least the Gap tool or llams tool to actually get the ride height to change.
 

CaliLee

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It does have the rods included. Johnson rods says these tires fit with their 2” kit, hopefully they do with the SYA kit as well. I’ll have to check suspension travel and see if I need additional mods. If I go with all that work I may as well get bigger tires lol
 

ryanjl

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It does have the rods included. Johnson rods says these tires fit with their 2” kit, hopefully they do with the SYA kit as well. I’ll have to check suspension travel and see if I need additional mods. If I go with all that work I may as well get bigger tires lol

Few things:

As a general rule, don't rely on Johnson Rods' recommendations. The limiting factor for almost all tire sizes is turning radius, frame horns, ac/heater lines, and what happens if the LR4 drops to the bump stops--things the rods don't change.

The strut spacers alone will not change the height of your vehicle. The height of your vehicle is solely determined by the orientation of the suspension sensors (which can be tricked with the rods) and the suspension ECU. If you install the strut spacers without changing either one of those things, the suspension will adjust itself to ride at the stock ride height.

The main thing accomplished by the SYA kit is making it so the vehicle sits higher when it's dropped to its bumps, which ameliorates one of the issues in the first paragraph I typed above. You'll still have to contend with the other issues.
 
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I’d also seriously recommend getting the 18” wheels before buying new tires. I know it’s an expense that you want to avoid or put off but to get the larger sidewall makes all the difference. You can find deals on eBay for 18” rover rims or multiple places for steel 18” wheels. Plus your tire options in 18” are significantly greater.

I put the SE V6 rims on my V8 because I like the more rugged spoke pattern and the 18” size.
 

CaliLee

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I'm still wrestling with the 18" wheel dilemma. On a LR4 I believe we have less choices than the LR3 due to the larger brakes.

  • stock 19" wheels with 255/65 32" tires gives me an additional 1" sidewall
  • 18" wheels with 265/65 31.5" tires gives me 1 1/4" additional sidewall plus a lot more tire choices
For that additional expense to be worth it I think I'd need to go all in with 33" tires like you have and get 2" more sidewall. I'm trying to go middle of the road and not take away too much of the on-road manners but that is tempting...
 

avslash

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Few things:

As a general rule, don't rely on Johnson Rods' recommendations. The limiting factor for almost all tire sizes is turning radius, frame horns, ac/heater lines, and what happens if the LR4 drops to the bump stops--things the rods don't change.

The strut spacers alone will not change the height of your vehicle. The height of your vehicle is solely determined by the orientation of the suspension sensors (which can be tricked with the rods) and the suspension ECU. If you install the strut spacers without changing either one of those things, the suspension will adjust itself to ride at the stock ride height.

The main thing accomplished by the SYA kit is making it so the vehicle sits higher when it's dropped to its bumps, which ameliorates one of the issues in the first paragraph I typed above. You'll still have to contend with the other issues.

As someone who has done this, I would recommend understanding what you are getting into and having the necessary tools to get to a workable setup.

IMO, do not do this unless you have both the rods and a IIDTool to fine tune your setup.

@ryanjl is correct in that if you install the strut spacers with no other modifications, your truck will be sitting at exactly the same ride height that is was prior to installation. The question you should be asking is how does this happen with an additional 2 inches of steel in the equation, and the answer is that the truck inflates the airbags at each corner to a lower pressure at each ride height that is selected. The real world effect of this is that the truck will ride like an unsprung horse cart at standard height.

Inserting the rods into the equation provides the suspension controller with a reading that is somewhat akin to what it expects to see. Thus, at standard ride height setting, you are approximating an airbag pressure somewhere around standard height in an unmodified truck but are now sitting 2 inches higher thanks to the spacers.

From this point, I would recommend using the IIDTool to fine tune the ride height to your preference based on ride quality you can accept versus suspension travel you are not willing to give up. If you search some of the older SYA spacer threads here, there are some discussions that go into more detail. I don't have my notes handy, but I know I posted what I settled on as my finished suspension tune in one of them.

I really like the suspension on these trucks, but there is no free lunch. If you are going to get something, you are going to give something else up. Just know what that is, make sure you are willing to make the compromise, and understand what you might have to deal with in the future from doing it.
 

CaliLee

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I understand the relationship between the spacers and the sensor rods compensating for them. My goal is to sit about 2 inches higher but retain my ability to raise/lower as usual.

I do have a couple questions:

If I go with the GAP tool would I even bother with the rods?

Maybe just in case it has an issue the rods would be my backup height control?

Are they needed as a reference point?

P.S.
That's quite a toy box you have there...
 

mm3846

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I'm still wrestling with the 18" wheel dilemma. On a LR4 I believe we have less choices than the LR3 due to the larger brakes.

  • stock 19" wheels with 255/65 32" tires gives me an additional 1" sidewall
  • 18" wheels with 265/65 31.5" tires gives me 1 1/4" additional sidewall plus a lot more tire choices
For that additional expense to be worth it I think I'd need to go all in with 33" tires like you have and get 2" more sidewall. I'm trying to go middle of the road and not take away too much of the on-road manners but that is tempting...

If you are "still wrestling" with it, you dont need the extra sidewall. 255/60-19 XL rated AT3s will fit with no modifications, and the truck will be 100% unchanged on the highway. You get a GREAT tire and a little more sidewall with zero downsides.

Get the GAP tool for it's diagnostics, not bc it'll lift you up. The lifting is just a bonus. This is my plan anyway, I've daily driven Jeeps on 37s and I don't need that anymore. These things drive too nice for me to ruin it with a 55lb E rated tire for the one trip a year that I "might" need them.
 

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