LR4 Johnson Rods + Alignment = Uneven Tire Wear. How Fix?

[Jwestpro]

Agreed w/One small caveat: I used my adjustable rods to zero out the calibration variations between the four corners. My rods are all close to OEM lengths and truck rides OEM heights, except when I need extra lift using the IIDTOOL. With the sensors synchronized, I get more range of moment without errors.

Please explain a little more. I have the iidtool so how do we find the variations and then, assuming they'll be shown in millimeters, how do your rods adjust accurately? (something like a scale on the side or number of turns = a measurement)

thx

 

[morrisdl]

Lots of trial-and-error. My adjustable rods have a turnbuckle (think thats the correct term). I dont remember exactly but after an alignment and height calibrations, I put it back in tight tolerance mode. Found the corner with the largest calibration factor and twisted 1 full turn and remeasured. Using the IIDTOOL, I re-calibrated corner back to correct height. If the required calibration adjustment was closer to 0, then the turn were in the correct direction. I forget for certain, but clockwise (increasing rod length) for decreasing calibration numbers seems to ring a bell. Eventually I got all 4 corners close to 0.

 

[iowalr4]

I have a Land Rover Service advisor arguing with me over rods on facebook. Kinda silly I know... https://www.facebook.com/Lucky8offr...d=1506780904690226&notif_t=feed_comment_reply

I mean.. in the end it is just for looks right? Even if you deal with all the problems from the SYA extension kit, that doesn't actually give you much advantage at all. Slightly more down travel? My argument is just that its for show and otherwise its all just potential problems.

I keep agreeing that it does look better to be raised.

 

[morrisdl]

I did just the rods for a while way back before IIDTOOL ever existed. Right or wrong, it is the defacto beginner mod. Scott's service department is GREAT and has never steered me wrong.

"aesthetics" is a big part, but the rods allow for bigger diameter tires. Are you not seeing the advantages of bigger tires or are you saying larger diameter tires are not really feasible? Both are interesting argument positions.

 

[iowalr4]

I did just the rods for a while way back before IIDTOOL ever existed. Right or wrong, it is the defacto beginner mod. Scott's service department is GREAT and has never steered me wrong.

"aesthetics" is a big part, but the rods allow for bigger diameter tires. Are you not seeing the advantages of bigger tires or are you saying larger diameter tires are not really feasible? Both are interesting argument positions.

Tires have an obvious advantage. I run the largest I can (and have considered larger, but would require some mods and i'd worry about gearing and such). I really enjoy the 1"+ that I get from my tires. It's the best lift you can get.

How do rods help clear larger tires? I run 265/65R18 on my LR4. That is as large as I can fit without rubbing frame horns and other plastic. How does raising up help? You still have to articulate when off road. Being 2" higher doesn't help me clear the frame horns. That is one big reason I dislike some of the rod sellers. They spread false information like that to sell their MASSIVELY overpriced product. (Seriously, the margin must be crazy high).

Get rods for looks if you want, it sounds like some people can even get them to align that way. I have no problem with that. I'd just like the community to agree on the downsides and what is FUD (he says IID tools are not wise during warranty?) and what is false.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Proud Rhino lift rods from Lucky 8 are $110. If you think that is overpriced you should be driving a Jeep.

 

[SteveMfr]

How do rods help clear larger tires? I run 265/65R18 on my LR4. That is as large as I can fit without rubbing frame horns and other plastic. How does raising up help? You still have to articulate when off road. Being 2" higher doesn't help me clear the frame horns. That is one big reason I dislike some of the rod sellers. They spread false information like that to sell their MASSIVELY overpriced product. (Seriously, the margin must be crazy high).

Get rods for looks if you want, it sounds like some people can even get them to align that way. I have no problem with that. I'd just like the community to agree on the downsides and what is FUD (he says IID tools are not wise during warranty?) and what is false.

Actually, you are completely correct. I have never understood how people can lift an EAS sprung vehicle purely on rods or an electronic/reprogramming lift, add ridiculously oversized tires, and think they've actually improved the off-road ability of the vehicle.

The tires need to fit at full compression and lock-to-lock. You are not changing this with a rod lift or with an electronic/reprogramming lift. And if you lift much more than 30mm, you start seriously reducing the amount of available droop in the suspension. And hanging tires in the air is not going to make the vehicle better off-road - not to mention all the other negative repercussions on handling and dynamics.

Where a mild lift does help is in ground clearance. This is not only helpful in clearing large objects such as rocks, but dragging the vehicle's belly is what gets you stuck in deep sand or mud (and ruts, of course).

As far as IIDTool use during warranty goes: I'd be careful what I tell the dealer in any case and about my vehicle use in general. A warranty is just like an insurance policy: they love to take your money but will search for any possible reason not to have to pay out. This goes for the factory warranty as well. There will be no trace of any IIDTool use on a LR unless you bring your lifted vehicle to the dealer (or have flashed an ECU). There are memory "slots" on an IIDTool so that you can go from one height to another without having to add or subtract mm's. And there is also a back-up: both EAS values and the CCF are read and stored by the IIDTool on first use on a particular vehicle. If you want to go back to stock height or configuration, you only need to do a "restore" on either function.

 

[iowalr4]

Proud Rhino lift rods from Lucky 8 are $110. If you think that is overpriced you should be driving a Jeep.

The product I am familiar with are made of eight grommets and four sturdy little pieces of wire for roughly that price. The OE ones are plastic, so they don't even need to be that strong. Yes, $100+ is a lot for that... for what you get. Which is why I state the margin must be very good for the folks making them.

 

[Victory_Overland]

Proud Rhino looks like this.

$110 on their site.

 

[jymmiejamz]

A warranty is just like an insurance policy: they love to take your money but will search for any possible reason not to have to pay out. This goes for the factory warranty as well.

That is not true at all. Dealerships are franchises that are reimbursed by the factory for warranty repairs. In other words, dealerships make money on warranty repairs. Sure, it isn't as much money as they would make on a repair being paid by the customer, but they still make money. A Tesla dealership that is factory owned might be a different story.

 

[SteveMfr]

Actually it is very true.

Of course dealers need to be paid - workers at the factory are paid for handling warranty claims as well. It's all about balancing the contractual obligations arising out of a warranty with the obvious desire to pay out as little as possible. Adding a little weight to the customer side is the OEM's image. Dealers don't have the last say in warranty claims. Sure, if it's an obvious case of something covered by a warranty and a relatively inexpensive item, it is a painless process. But if it is a case that involves a lot of money and there are any causes to possibly deny the claim, that option will be considered by the OEM. I've worked on both sides of the fence - OEM's are not always nice guys.

Imagine what would happen if you took a LR (under warranty) to a dealer with an EAS issue and told them all about the IIDTool and it's raising/lowering capabilities while the service rep is assessing the vehicle. You really believe that would go well? The problem is that the burden of proof lies with the customer if the OEM states that the vehicle was somehow manipulated or used incorrectly. And who, as an individual is going to take on an OEM in court?

 

[spikemd]

I was following an LR4 on the trails in the Maze District of Canyonlands a few weeks ago and was amazed at how positive camber the Johnson rods created. I would only run them on the trail. It only takes a few minutes to install them. We did have an EAS fault and it dropped to bump stops requiring us to jack up the vehicle high enough to clear the fault and get the height within tolerance for the computer to fill the bags.

 

[H3Hrly]

Great conversations going on.

Ran across this video: https://youtu.be/OOpFViikgE4

Here's product site and manual: http://www.landroverpassion.csuspensions-module-easy-lift-discovery-4/om/en/product/
http://www.landroverpassion.com/wp-...asy-Lift-Suspensions-Module-User-Manual-1.pdf

What's y'alls thoughts on combining this with IIDTool? Or just stick with IIDTool only?

THANKS!

 

[iowalr4]

Great conversations going on.

Ran across this video: https://youtu.be/OOpFViikgE4

Here's product site and manual: http://www.landroverpassion.csuspensions-module-easy-lift-discovery-4/om/en/product/
http://www.landroverpassion.com/wp-...asy-Lift-Suspensions-Module-User-Manual-1.pdf

What's y'alls thoughts on combining this with IIDTool? Or just stick with IIDTool only?

THANKS!

I know of a few systems like that, I think a popular one is called LLAMS?.. they have a switch to control different height modes, and a module that just intercepts the signals. Those are much faster for on-the-fly height changes. You could use it with an IID tool, but you wouldn't get any more range necessarily. IID tools are recommended mostly because they are a good all around tool for the platform and can solve other problems, but they are not an every day height change type solution.

 

[SteveMfr]

Actually you can use the IIDTool for everyday height changes - there are plenty of people doing this (and this is also why we added the memory slots - to make the height changes quicker). It takes about 45-50 sec. to do (not including rummaging in the glovebox for the IIDTool ), so everyday changes, yes, but not on-the-fly like the Mudtech system or Llams.