New shocks and lift, need suggestions.

[Mr.SA]

After a week long road trip in my L300 i've decided its badly in need of a suspension overhaul. I've been wanting to lift it and fit bigger tires since i bought it back in Jan.
My biggest complaints are that it bounces and nose dives like crazy over bigger bumps, then rebounds. first noticed this when i hit a speed bump a little fast and the front bounced up, did a big nose dive, then bounced and dove again. done some mellow offroading and makes it very sketchy if you hit something a little fast, if its a drop the front will slam down very easy, and in general the whole van, especially the front is very bouncy.
I took it on some washboard roads last week, and its almost insane how bad it is. i was doing 10mph trying to keep from skipping off the road while people in soccer mom cars were flying by me doing 50. it can take one bump alright, but the second it has to cope with another its overwhelmed and you lose control, just skips/bangs/floats around.
really just sounds like crap shocks to me, it doesnt deal with low speed or high speed movements well. dont know what brand they are, they're blue and i cant see a name on them.

apart from fixing those issues im looking to get a bit more offroad capability out of it. I'm thinking in the range of a 2-4 inch lift, and 31-32" tires.
I do a lot of highway driving, and twisty mountain roads, so i'm hoping the bigger tires will make a noticeable improvement in terms of not having to sustain such high rpm's to do highway speeds, and i dont want to lose too much in terms of handling on smooth twisty roads.

My offroad driving is probably a 50/50 mix of harsh gravel roads or more mellow offroad trails to get to good spots for camping, hiking and biking. And full days of somewhat technical, 4 low, crawling type stuff. which is typically mountain trails in colorado or anywhere in moab.

I've been looking around the forums trying to get an idea of what to do and whats needed, but seems like everyones needs are a bit different. so i'm trying to get advice on what would be best for me specifically.
i'm willing to spend a bit to get the best setup i can.

Advice??

[winelover]

I just redid the suspension on my L300. I bought a set of new bilsteins for the front PN# 24-013321 from shockwarehouse dot com. About $130, but I live in the states. I replaced my utterly thrashed rears with monroe shocks that are from a toyota previa PN# 37074 from summit racing, cheap, around $60-70 if I remember. My deli is not lifted, and I am quite glad, I live in AZ, the land of lifted trucks and scrapyards here are chock full of lifted vehicles that have flipped from the center of gravity being so high. With that said, I have taken my van lots of very exciting places, and ground clearance has not been the limiting factor... My tires are 30x9.5x15s.

I just took my sweety to some hot springs down a loooooooooog, rough dirt road. I always stop and air down my tires to 25psi from their regular 50. I swear I was in a brand new vehicle. Smooth, easy handing. The bilsteins are magic IMO, and I am not the only person here who liked them. Hope this helps!

[Lapprentis]

My personal opinion: Stay as close to stock as possible

On bad washboards I do drive sometime more slow than you (10KPH) with my Nissan Frontier (recent Pick-up with much bigger tires) and do drive that same speed with my L300 ! At that speed, I can drive all around the Earth without running through problems. There are NO vehicle that can do hight speed in those conditions without running into problems very soon. Guys that goes fast in these conditions are either driving a rented car/Pick-up, have a low consciousness level and/or will have to pay very soon a lot of money for repairing their rig.....

With an extra rear leaf spring (The Falco Columbarus Way) and adding (or not) a Jesse's front spacer + Cranking torsion bars + Geolandar tires (just smaller than 30X9.5) combined with the short distance between the wheels, I can clear more ruff terrain than most 4X4 out there....

Short rear drive shaft have to be consider if you yan to lift...

Yes good shock is a must ! I did put Biltein all over and add HD torsion Bars too: it make your front end MUCH stiffer than stock: some likes it some do not but will solved any "nose down" problem when braking or whatever....

These small mods will make your Van more straight when braking, cornering, etc. but will not make it washboard proof in any way....

An L300 is a Cow on paved roads, hills, etc. and the driver has to adapt accordingly.....But for me the "cons" are overcome by the "For"

Keep in touch with the path you chosed !

Lapprentis

[lrp374]

add HD torsion Bars too:

Lapprentis where did you get the HD torsion bars and how much did they cost. I have checked the place in Australia that TLWF ( MD ) used for his L400 and they don't make them for an L300. I would really like to get a pair.

Thanks

Larry

[Lapprentis]

I did ordered these from "Delica Shop" in Australia ! Cost a lot of money (shipping cost + duty = crazy). I think Dobinson (?) make these and you can buy it from US but I did asked for a quote but it was even more expensive than buying from Australia.....

A group buy maybe a good idea, one of these day, for you guys :)

Lapprentis

[winelover]

Good input! I agree 100% of folks driving rough roads too fast. I just sort of assume they hate their vehicle, and eventually, it will get even. The long line of scattered broken down new jeeps, cars and trucks on the long washboard road out the verde hot springs who passed me earlier going more than twice as fast as I go give me some solace on my pace, like some bizarre mechanical tortise and hare fairytale. Where did you source your bilsteins rears? I could not find them where I got my fronts. Do you have a part number? Thanks!

[Mr.SA]

Thanks for the advice so far, I definitely am not looking to go crazy with a big lift and giant tires. ive seen way too many people do that and it turn into endless problems and drive like crap. I'm trying to keep it pretty similar to stock, with just enough lift to gain a little bit of offroad performance. not turn it into an offroad only rig.
maybe if i could fit 32's without a lift and some fender trimming that would be enough? or just do the bare minimum lift to fit a 32?

What i'm thinking for wheels and tires is go to a 16x8 rim, with 0 offest, possibly these wheels http://www.stealthcustomseries.com/products/wheels/f5/ since i found a good deal on a set locally, and the light weight (19 lbs) should help with this little engine. with 235/85/16 duratracs. Id think going to 16's and 8" wide wheels should help gain some stability from less tire squirm.
so i guess the better question to ask is, if i'm only going for a small 1-2 inch lift, whats the best, most reliable way to go about it? And what additional things would i need to do to keep everything aligned and avoid additional stress? longer shocks/springs necessary?

[Lapprentis]

Rear Bilstein for L300 (STOCK HEIGHT) are common in Europe: they are pretty expensive but in some places you can get a "decent" price....B46-1467 - 24-04670 B6 sport.

Lapprentis

[motorang]

Hi there, have you checked your rear leaf springs already? If they are worn (flat, straight) they do push against the rubber end stop cones which gives some rebounce effect as well.

Andy

[winelover]

Thanks Lapp! I looked and saw them there as well, and yes, not cheap. Where did you get yours? Honestly, I am pretty happy with my monroe's I got, certainly for the price, but heck, who wouldn't be after the non-existent damping of the utterly worn out stockers...

[Mr.SA]

Anyone know if a 32" (thinking 235/85/16, so more like 31.7) tire would fit at stock ride height? I'm buying some 16x8 0 offset rims. I'm thinking if I can run 32's at stock ride height, i'll try that out for awhile and see if i still feel like i need a lift. I dont mind doing some trimming, just dont want to have to hack it up.

[lrp374]

Lapprentis - - you got my curiosity up on the HD torsion bars. I contacted Dobinson Spring directly and they will ship a set including air freight for just over $ 700 AUD. I'm not sure what additional costs would be added to actually get them to my door. You mentioned duty. I'm going to do a little more investigation before I sign on the dotted line. I also see you now have a complete 2" lift for sale for a really good price. If I were you I'd install it. I've had my lift for about 4 years and over 40000 km with no issues ( except for getting in the garage ) . The lift made the van feel more solid and I never hit bottom on the rear springs when fully loaded.

[winelover]

I am thinking that 32" might be a bit tall, even with trimming. My 30's, with stock height have never hit, but they do come close off road sometimes. Nothing in 31"?

[Mr.SA]

I am thinking that 32" might be a bit tall, even with trimming. My 30's, with stock height have never hit, but they do come close off road sometimes. Nothing in 31"?

I wouldn't mind something closer to 31, I was looking at duratracs that came out to about 31.7. Even a 32 isn't THAT big of a tire. I would think that with the lighter rim, and if i can keep the tire weight down (duratracs arent the lightest ) the delica should be able to handle it fine. It would be a huge help with highway driving to increase the gearing as well.