Help To Soften 2007 Hilux Suspension

[andyadj]

Guys... please help me out here..

i got my hl3 2007 hilux from new. its never used as a work truck just a family car.

we pull our caravan for our holiday but have no more than 100kg nose weight on it. It still bumps around with the caravan on due to the suspension being loaded at the rear...

im afraid that the hilux will have to go unless i can soften the rear suspension to take the harshness from the bumps out... i dont want it to go its only got 20k on it and i love everything else..

as the truck rides ok with say 200-300kg and smooth as you like with 500 kg on the back (its rated at 1tonne payload) i need to know what safe options there are with the rear suspension. can i easy remove a rear leaf spring? i am happy to spend £500 on it to solve the problem.

i realise that its leaf sprung at the back just want it as smooth as say with a partial load on . i vae a compnay near to me TBR uk who supply and fit old man emu suspension parts anyone tried this for a smoother ride??

kind regards

Andy

[Juddian]

Hi Andy, i'm a newbie on this site so forgive me if i've broken any rules by answering your post before i introduce meself.

I've got a 3 litre Invincible auto and i've smoothed the ride out no end without any suspension work, and it wasn't my intention but a by product.

It might be slightly heavier than yours as it does have a hardtop, but i daresay thats only around the 300kg you seem to reckon as a helpfull load.

Anyway i run the tyres at approx 31psi all round, i also turned Mr T down when they wanted to replace my 16" wheels with 15" HL3 wheels, cheeky blighters.

If you know these fairly well you'll know that the Vigo Gspec import comes with 265/70 x 16 tyres as against the undersized 255/65 x 16 the Invincible came with.

I found the Pirelli tyres as fitted new to be nothing short of useless, the vehicle felt 'undertyred' if that makes any sense at all.

I take my tyre fitments very seriously and do lots of research before parting with the hard earned, i dislike Chinese ditchfinders but on the other hand i don't like paying £150 a corner when equally good products are available for much less, my number one priority for tyres is wet grip.

Anyway after a lot of reasearch i bought a set of General Grabber UHP directional tyres in full H speed rating from Camskills very reasonable price too.

Fitted them expecting there to be a long bedding in/scrubbing off process, but no they were fine from the first day.

Wet grip is excellent, the tyres are quiet but most noticeable is how soft and smooth they are on the road.

I would put the ride quality up with LC5 now.

It's worked for us so might be food for thought for you, i do run winter tyres (Vredestein top stuff) on a second set of used wheels i bought via eBay taken off a Vigo Gspec...so still running 265/70 x 16 for those.

Whether the 15" tyres which your HL3 presumably has would be as smooth as the 16's i don't know, in theory they could be better as the aspect of your tyres is probably 70 or more, but conversely does the higher sidewall allow more tyre bounce...i don't know, it might be an idea to see if you could borrow a set of 16" from someone and try them for a day before you start experimenting.

I also keep the rear spring leaves lubricated with waterproof grease, that too seems to smooth the ride out but it could be wishful thinking who knows.

[bitman]

as for the leaf springs, you can buy aftermarket leaf springs from 4x4 shops to make it softer.

it's not a big job to change but you will need or axle stands of as i do use 2 garage jacks so you can move the rear axle up and down while having the truck lifted.

i have general grabber hts tires and the at2 for off roading / winter.

[bitman]

have a chat with these guys.