New product from Proud Rhino! The SYA Off Road Extension Kit

[zelatore]

My access mode problem is related to the front spacers, not the limit straps. They really are pretty basic in the front with no concerns that they could limit UP travel; i.e. compression. The direction of strain isn't great and could certainly be improved but that would require welding on a tab so it would push the product out of the 'bolt on' range so I understand why it is done the way it is.

I suspect if I use the GAP tool to dial in a few more mm of ride height I might be able to hit access mode w/o triggering the 'obstruction', though of course that would limit it's usefulness to those trying to get really low. And I have not discussed this with Lucky8 yet though I really should.

My LLAMS arrived today and I hope to get it installed this weekend. I scanned the included paperwork - it's not great. I'll have to check on their website as I think they have more detailed info available for download there.

<edit> checked on their website and yes, much more complete installation info found there.

 

[rezdiver]

Any more updates on the lift?

Is anyone else running them that can share some more feedback?

 

[zelatore]

Well, I'm about to remove mine. Call it an experiment, but I'm not in love with the system. I don't like the limit strap design, and 2 inches seems to stress the struts a bit more than I'd like. I also dont like the idea of loosing 2" of suspension travel. I actually think a 1" spacer might have been better as I'm pretty sure it would have still allowed a 33" tire when on the bumpstops though I haven't confirmed that.

I may try building my own smaller spacers, maybe starting with just 1/2" to see how it goes.

Wait....we're you asking about the Proud Rhino kit this thread was started about or the Llams kit? I'm not really loving that either at the moment, but that's partially because it doesn't play well with the spacers. If I were going to do a kit like the Llams again I'd consider stepping up to the Italian (german?) kit. I forget the name, it's distributed by mudtech and seems to have more functionality than the Llams though at a higher price.

 

[Ian_Barry]

Clarification

...I don't like the limit strap design, and 2 inches seems to stress the struts a bit more than I'd like. I also dont like the idea of loosing 2" of suspension travel...

Can you say more about how you see the stress on the strut?

Additionally, I am curious about the loss of suspension travel. I understand that the strut is effectively 2" longer at the top, and that those 2" cannot be compressed, but I am pretty sure that the wheel well is currently my limiting reagent when it comes to compression, not the strut itself.

I am currently running 265/70R18 (32.6" overall) and find that the wheel can compress up into the wheel well before the strut stops compressing.

Thoughts?

 

[perkj]

I recently purchased the Llams kit and I really like it. I think what I like most is running the LR3 at 30mm lower while on the highway....I actually see an improvement in 2 MPGs as a result.

 

[zelatore]

I'm going to leave the Llams kit in for now, but I'll be running it in 'normal' (off) mode and re-installing my Johnson Rods. The Llams kit only gives 2" of lift vs the 2.5" for the rods. I might use the 'lower' setting of the Llams with my Rods when on the highway, but I suspect trying to run the +30 or +50 setting with the Rods will cause problems. I will continue to play with different set-ups and see what I come up with - I doubt this will be ever be 'done', at least until I start building the RRC. Even then the LR3 will likely just be slowed down, not done.

Some things about the Proud Rhino kit-

By spacing the strut down only you are not changing the length of travel, only it's position relative to the body (2" lower). Apparently by moving things 2" lower you can exceed the working limits of the CV joints leading to catastrophic failure. The solution was to add limit straps to retain the same max extension as stock. Of course with the top now 2" lower you have effectively decreased wheel travel by 2". Of course if you were pushing the tire up into the bodywork already you couldn't use those 2" at the top anyway so it's not the end of the world.

It also seems that you really stress the front struts in their mountings with the spacers, even though the font spacers are angled to help account for this. With the strut bolted into it's top mount you need put a pry bar to it to line up the lower eye. Of course there has to be some of this if you think of the geometry involved so one would suspect the struts are designed to accommodate some flex, but it's increased with the spacers installed.

The limit straps are poorly designed. I believe they are done the way they are to make the system a 'bolt in', but that seriously limits where and how you can attach them. The rear straps in particular are of some concern; there are no instructions provided but in speaking with Lucky8 and others it appears they want you to attach to the upper A-arm outer bolt, however this causes a lot of rubbing against the wheel and inside shoulder of the tire. I have mine currently attached to the upper end of the swaybar link and it seems to work, but it's a PITA to install there and not ideal. The correct way to do this would be to weld tabs to a fixed part of the chassis and the upper arms then secure an appropriate length of cable - preferably something with a tiny bit of stretch, perhaps dyneema or something of that sort. I haven't looked into it too much to see what other people build limit straps out of. The supplied material is similar to a heavy duty seatbelt which is nice but takes up a lot of room since it's so wide.

 

[XJLI]

The supplied material is similar to a heavy duty seatbelt which is nice but takes up a lot of room since it's so wide.

That's what every limit strap is made from.

 

[zelatore]

That's what every limit strap is made from.

Makes sense - it's a 'soft' material that should have a bit of stretch instead of something like a steel cable or the really old school chain!

Of course, the problem is it takes up so much room and with our air strut IFS/IRS we don't have a lot of extra space in there.

For now I'm not running them at all. I'll probably revisit the issue again later when I start tinkering again.

 

[rezdiver]

Is anyone else running these that can chime in with some more feedback?

 

[xray132]

Here's my kit

Every problem Zelatore had I can confirm. Even the broke mounting stud on one. If I have time and in a better mood I'll give you some addition problems on post. But here is my kit on the floor in garage.

 

[NickH]

Every problem Zelatore had I can confirm. Even the broke mounting stud on one. If I have time and in a better mood I'll give you some addition problems on post. But here is my kit on the floor in garage.

My kit just came in, do you not recommend installing?

 

[zelatore]

If you have them, might as well go ahead and install them and see how it works for you. It’s not like I broke anything with the installation, I just wasn’t happy with the results. My only word of advice would be to not trim the stock air lines any more than needed and to be sure you have plenty of straight line at the ends so you can easily go back to the stock set-up should you want to later. You can always use the included line extensions with the stock set-up if you need to, but why introduce an extra connection that could leak if you don’t have to? Just study the air lines carefully before any trimming and consider how you’ll use them if you go back to stock to avoid any future problems.

 

[NickH]

I just don't want the suspension to drop on the bump stops when I am running larger tires.

 

[DiscoNels]

I just don't want the suspension to drop on the bump stops when I am running larger tires.

Nick, that's the point of having this kit. To keep your tires from rubbing the wheel wells when a suspension failure happens. The guys at Lucky8 are running 33" tires on their LR3 and had it drop to the bump stops with this kit, but they could still roll because of this kit.

 

[NickH]

I get that and that's why I bought it...but he was having issues with his kit. I just need it to do one thing.