GQ on 35"s

[TijmenvdS]

I have my mind set on 35"s, I cannot find a lot of info on what is required to fit them properly.
I think I have a 2" lift but some info I found stated a 2" body lift with a 2" suspension is sufficient. I got a quote from Australia for R3700 including shipping to my door.
I really don't want to buy on faith. If there is anyone who has done it I would like to hear what complications there could be. Power wise I am not concerned at the moment. I would like to source the parts from here. Also who can I contact for ridiculous lifts, 4"-6" suspension if I am able in the future?

[ricster]

phew... 35's? I'm not too sure how the TD42 motor will handle it. What I mean is that you will need to watch those EGT's like a hawk on a long uphill !!

Not sure who to recommend for Suspension/body lifts. What I do know is anything over 2" requires castor correction bushes to be changed.

[Michael]

I dont think EGT's will be a problem and think the ratio will actually be really nice if you can get some decent power out of the engine.

the engine I just built are going into a GQ shorty that will be sporting 35" tyres so will DEFENATELY give feedback on how it all comes together.

I think you might get away with only a 2" lift and 2" body lift, but I am not sure

[minwater]

A 2" lift might not be enough.MyGQ has got a 2" lift and the 33" mt grabbers still touches ever so sligtly at times.Enjoy the GQ

[Peter Connan]

I had 33's on my GQ with approximately 2" suspension lift, and definately had issues with rubbing. Had to make different front mudguards, and get wider-offset rims. The rear's were still rubbing on the inside of the wheel-wells (although this has more to do with width than diameter).

2" body lift is easy, and you don't need to import anything to do it either. All you need to do is get some nylon bar from Rhett, get a machine shop to drill and part them off for you and buy some longer bolts...

The trick is doing something about the gap between the bumpers and the body, especially at the rear, because the rear bumper can't really be lifted.

And I really do think it will make rock crawling more difficult.

[Dustin]

35's

If you want a suspension that can give you more than 2", contact Andre Thuynsma (AT.Patrol4.2D on forum)
0 eight 3 4 five 2 6 four 2 6
He can get Tough Dog suspension, and if memory serves me correctly, they go all the way up to 8 inch lift kits,
Anything over 4" lift then the kit includes new radius arms, drop boxes, trailing arms, brake lines, and a whole lot of other bits to make the suspension geometry work on huge lifts. So really big kits cost big money.

Nice thing about the Tough Dog suspension are adjustable

[TijmenvdS]

Baie dankie Dustin. Ek sal hom kontak.

Peter, meen jy die lowrange ratio wat te vinnig raak?

[Alex Roux]

Tijmen

As they say, "You can never change but one thing"

If you want to go more than 2" suspension lift you will need to start thinking about a few more things to keep the car working and handling as it should.
Grant who used to own Dirk's Patrol had a handy check list. I cannot recall of of it.
But beware of the following (non exhaustive list):
1) Panhard rods adjustable / extended
2) Breather pipes extended
3) Any other potential pipes that may now be stretched - this can be dangerous if ignored.

See Grant's post on this thread:
http://www.patrol4x4.co.za/viewtopic.ph ... 380#p61380
"...fitted the castor correction bushes. Diffs moved left by about 4 inches and castor was still out of spec by more than 1 deg. Patrol stood for 4 weeks as we got the adjustable pan hard rods in and then GMAN manufacture a set of drop boxes for my specific lift. Lastly we fitted the spacer plate above the gearbox, and lengthened the brake and diff lines. Wheel travel was fantastic, even a little too fantastic as at full articulation the wheels got stuck in the wheel wells. Last mod was to lengthen the bump stops and now everything works well."

Grant still sported 33" thouhg.
I was under the impression that the GQ body needs to be cut to fit the 35"s?

[Alex Roux]

Also, besides the greater speed of the low range, also consider the center of gravity being higher.
The chassis is heavy. very heavy. And now it sits higher above the ground. I know it looks great but not always practical.
The more mods, the more specialized the car becomes.

I would feel a LOT more comfortable with a 2" lift when driving at a 43deg angle rather than 4 or 5inches!

[Russ Kellermann]

GQ wheel wells are not as big as GU's. Some of them give issues with 35's, some not as much (dont ask me why, its just like that apparently).

I know that some guys have to trim the rear bodywork (arch), and remove mudflaps and/or rear quarter chop.

Spacing the rear axle backwards a touch will require adjustable rear control arms (if you dont want to trim the arch) Front should be fine on 2" lift.

Body lift would be advised and/or 80 series land cruiser bumpstops front and rear (they are longer, and bolt right in).

Kepp the lift as low as possible. 2-3" is best. The entire world has moved away from tall 4-6 inch lifts, as it has been proven that fitting the biggest tires on the smallest lift is the most effective end product for 4wding, do to obvious factors , like COG and roll-over / off camber drives.

I would investigate more on the Auzzy site , but my bet would be:

2" lift
1" body lift
(or 3" lift NO body lift - but then you will need drop boxes and extended brake lines and possibly adj pan hard rods Front and rear)
remove mudflaps
possible rear wheel arch trim (maybe not though)
Extended Bumpstops

This would be a "budget build" , but very effective.

Of course, i dont own a GQ and this is all theory taken from millions of hours of reading forums at night on my Macbook Pro. ha ha