Prado 150 liftkit

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kane
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Location: Abu Dhabi

Prado 150 liftkit

Post by kane »

Hi friends,

I am looking for a Prado liftkit in Abu Dhabi.
Should I get Dobinsons IMS 2"?
I have heard monotubes do the job good enough for desert and on road drives..
In addition to lift kit do I need to get upper control arms?
And negative offset wheels?
I have heard spacers effect the steering geometry and have negative effects on the bearing and other components.
However negative offset wheels are too expensive.

My current tires size are 265/65/R17.
Should I keep the same size or go for bigger ones.
What would be the best tire size in Prado after 2" lift? Any size that does not cause the tires to rub against the vehicle body.
Will appreciate your expert comments.

Ruttan
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Re: Prado 150 liftkit

Post by Ruttan »

Hi Kane,

You might find my experience somewhat helpful. I've got a Prado 150 as well.

I had the Dobinsons IMS kit installed with 2" lift (Profender springs) from Qaruoty. As a newbie, I've done about 6 drives previous to getting the IMS kit, and 4 drives with. What a difference. Truck handles so much better coming off a dune, as well as maintaining acceleration over rough sand when you need the momentum. They're rebuildable, adjustable and refillable. Also, if you haven't done it, you need a skid plate (~700 aed to keep your rad alive) and kill switch (100 aed to shut off the traction control and abs, which isn't totally shut off when you press & hold the button in the cab).

I went with slightly larger tires - 275/65/17's geolandars - on stock rims. I had alignment done immediately after installing tires, about a week after getting the suspension (old tires needed to be replaced anyways). I could see that the tire were doing \ / after the lift with my eyeballs, so it must have been pretty bad. If you get a lift should definitely get the alignment done.

275/70 + would absolutely rub and require UCA's + offset/spacer + wheel well massage. My stock UCA's aren't rubbing at all, but there is the tiniest bit of rubbing on the inside, but it's only on the frame and so small that it's insignificant (2cm^2 area). I went 275/65 instead of 265/70 (which would also fit without issues) because after the lift, I thought increased stability would be better than more vertical. From what I've read about tire footprint, most of the pressure is located under the center of the contact patch, so a wider contact patch rather than a longer patch increases that specific area.

I still might go down the spacer route. With hub-centric quality spacers I don't think it would be a problem. I think cornering on high speed turns on a pavement with 4+ inches is where the horror stories come from. For us, 1-1.5" is plenty. Keep in mind spacers will push the tire into the body, so you'll have to do some sawing. Everything is a tradeoff :)

For now, the truck's capabilities exceed my skills so there's no need to do more. I did see a Prado 150 at Qaruoty, owned by a guy named Phillipe iirc, who has 285/70's. He's got rims (maybe spacers, I couldn't tell), and still they were trimming plastic on the wheel well. Beast of a machine though!

whatsapp me if you want photos of the rubbing spot etc

050 292 4062

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Octopus
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Re: Prado 150 liftkit

Post by Octopus »

I suggest you go for the UCA's they make a big difference not so much in the alignment but in the wheel travel. it will give your suspension more room to move up and down.

I might be selling my profender front shocks (internal bypas) if you are interested.

drop me a whatsapp 0508181931
Zak

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