Womble's IO
Before suspension lift
Hi,
I have a 1999, 1.8 (4G93), 4door LSD Pajero IO which has done 167,947km. It is pretty well stock standard, except for dual batteries and tow bar.
I have used the IO off-road 40% of time, until the suspension finally collapsed, which required a rethink as to whether to repair the suspension or buy a new 4x4. But as the IO had given me such good enjoyment over the last 12 years and any new 4x4 are prohibitively expensive, I decided (after finding this Forum) to repair the IO and raise the suspension and fit new tyres.
I went to Pedders, where I had the front suspension raised by 52mm using PZ334405 Pajero IO front struts with KMFS900 coils.
The back was raised by 60mm using KFFS90 coils and PZ343408 Pajero IO Rear shocks.
I went to Pat's Tyres (thanks Claud) where I put on 225/70/16 BFG A/T tyres which raised the vehicle a further 23mm.
The speedo reads 5km faster @100k and the tyres rub slightly at full lock, but the 4x4 capabilities have improved dramatically. I went trout fishing at Lake Eucumbene last week and was able to go to fishing locations, that would have been impossible with the standard suspension and tyres.
Wish list:
Nudge bar
Roof rack
Diff lock
Snorkel
Long range fuel tank.
I will put some photos up, once I figure out how to upload them (I am new to this forum thing).
Update: Here are some photos
52mm lift and 215-65-16 tyres_01
52mm lift and 215-65-16 tyres_02
52mm lift and 215-65-16 tyres_03
52 mm lift and 225-70-16 tyres_01
52 mm lift and 225-70-16 tyres_02
52 mm lift and 225-70-16 tyres_03 "Ready for fishing"
Your lift
Interesting - Like Claude I'm trying to figure out what these parts equate to.
PZ334405 must surely be just a rebranded KYB 334405 and if so that gave you 25mm and will have no difference in the range of travel. KMFS900 is King Springs part number for their raised front spring so that's where the other 27mm of your 52 came from.
Your rear springs are King Springs raised rear ones also - I copied their catalogue at the start of this thread http://www.pajerio.com/forum/nzio-front-rear-lift-was-raised-rear-springs to show the KFFS90 is the same part number as a standard BA model Astina front spring (a used set of those is what I'm running at the rear)
I am curious about the rear shock they fitted and what travel that has - Google PZ343408 and you get nothing, but Googling KYB343408 gets you a bunch of Russian language links like this one http://sibmasuma.ru/product/p5429/ so I guess they are importing this part from KYB that is not otherwise available here. If it extends the travel down 30mm or so I'm going to interested in getting hold of a set.
Edit to add: If you can be bothered getting a rear wheel in the air, I'd be very interested to know what the distance is between the top and bottom shock mounts when fully extended?
Womble suspension
Ok, all bet are open:)
Here is my bet.... Kyb front strut with the king spring front and rear, with about 30 mm left of front wheel droop (a bit more would be great, ie 40 mm, less that 30 mm and I would not be too sure if it is suitable). For the rear I think that they used standard shock and have about 60 mm wheel droop left.
As always...I could be wrong...ask my wife....
Happy io
It's too much of a coincidence to be anything else.
I am curious about the rear shock they fitted and what travel that has - Google PZ343408 and you get nothing, but Googling KYB343408 gets you a bunch of Russian language links like this one http://sibmasuma.ru/product/p5429/ so I guess they are importing this part from KYB that is not otherwise available here. If it extends the travel down 30mm or so I'm going to interested in getting hold of a set.
The KYB 343408 is an OE replacement rear shock for the iO, so I would expect it to be the same length as stock - and yes, I tend to agree that Pedders is probably supplying the KYB parts and prefixing a PZ to the number - the way the numbers match up is too much of a coincidence to be anything else.
I should add...
I don't think my post conveyed this - I think what you have is a really good lift option - any higher and you're into more mods required. I dont think anyone here has done a full set of raised king springs (?) so feedback on how they ride on and off road would be good. Most who tried the dobinsons lifted springs found them too harsh, but theyre different to the kings i think.
I suspect Claude may be right about rear shocks being standard, but only one way to know :)
.
I think Johnicue have the king spring set....but I don't recall much feedback. I agree that 50 mm is a good set up. Sorry, I am a bit paranoid with the front wheel droop.... Can't wait to hear what Womble think between the before and after too.
I just saw the picturse, nice io. Isn't one at lake Eucumbene?
Happy io
There is actually a way to confirm this
It would be very easy to verify if the Pedders PZ334405 & PZ343408 are KYB product, all you need to do is examine the body of the strut/shock - the KYB name & part number will be stamped into the metal
Wombat - I would really appreciate it if you could take a peep and confirm this - as a result of this thread I have discovered that Pedders has a US presence and have already contacted them to ask if they can supply the PZ334405 in the US, as it would be considerably easier for me to get struts from there than it would Australia or even Europe.
Womble and Claude...the meeting....
I have been lucky to meet Womble and see his much loved io. This have able us to bring you some answer to a few questions. I have check his new suspension and here is what we found.
I measured the height of the car and this was done in a parking that wasn't the best for the level, so they are not 100% precise. The following measurement have been done from the lower lip of the rim to the lower section of the guard.
Front right 69.5 cm Front left 71.5 cm (remember the surface wasn't 100% flat!)
Rear right 70 cm Rear left 71.5 cm
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Wheel droop
Front right 20 mm Front left 5 mm
Rear right 80 mm rear left about the same.
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The rear shock and the front strut are KYB, all spring are king spring
I took a few pictures but they are not the best
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The lack of wheel droop at the front is, for me, a problem. This is, I think, because of these spring shouldn't be fitted with this strut. This spring have been made to fit the older type strut (25 mm lower spring plate) and give about 30/40mm lift and leave around 30 mm of wheel droop.
I could think of two solutions, one would be to install the strut extender (with care and regular inspection....), or bring the car to Pedders. I am not certain but I think that Pedders would offer to remove the spring and get them reset by kingspring around 20/30 mm lower. But once you have your car lifted by around 2 inches, you wouldn't be too happy to lower it by one inch a bit later!! May be Pedders would make the strut extender but I doubt (I have been wrong before!!) or even offer other solution.
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The tyres that he got fitted are 225/70/16 and they fit nicely and have around 5 mm on one side and around 10 mm of free space, in full lock. Mine have a lot less and it is fine.
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For Nzio, to answer about the possibility that the bash plate might be different from your 99 model to the newer 02 io, both of our plate have been ..... bashed! but they seem identical. I took a few measurement and they matched. Again, I am not 100% but pretty close! My 2 cent for Fab design, I would add an extra piece on it to protect the power steering connections, at least, on the passenger side (similar to the original plate) a stick, or rock, could easily hit these connections.
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I measured the strut from the bottom of it to the lower section of the weld and I found close to 26 cm.
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We went for a drive, with one car then the other....Womble 's car had 34 psi tyre pressure. His new suspension and the 70 profile tyre has made the car with a precise steering, it is definitely firm and I would not go much firmer (For me, this confirm that these spring with the koni insert would be way to hard) It is not "jumping" and it was comfortable, and quiet and not wandering at all. I was surprise by the 1.8 litre engine, it goes very well. Next we took my car, noisy tyres, noisy exhaust.....suspension a bit soft...but a bit more sporty, and a touch more nervous...I took Womble to Mushroom rock (check my build) and, of course, that will teach me to show of...., twice, I choose the wrong line and had to, with great shame...lol..., reverse a couple of time before going through.
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I hope that this will answer a few questions, a big thank you to Womble to have let me put my tape measure everywhere on his io and jack it up all around!! I had a great afternoon with a great io owner....and yes, he is another mad fisherman too !!!
As always, Happy io.
thanks guys
Great info, and sounds like you guys had an enjoyable afternoon io'ing around.
Re the bash plate - good to know, my order is in for one so should get that by the end of this week. I agree about the transfer box and plan to do something along the lines you suggest. Sem Locao's one looks very tidy.
Re suspension - loads of good info there but one question I still have.... did you measure the travel of the rear shock to confirm if this part number is the same specification as our standard in this part of the world? I can roughly work it out from your droop measure, but of course that depends on ride height from spring, weight, etc.
Looking again at these pics - I think 50mm is a about the ideal amount of lift for an io - it 'looks' right, and gives you signicantly improved offroading without screwing up the on road driveability (too much).
Cheers
Nudge Bar
Finding Nudge bars or bullbars for the IO's have been problematic with no manufacturer in Australia making them anymore. After some reasearch I discovered that East Coast Bars were willing to make a nudge bar for me, but I was made aware that it would have to be 'made as a one off' and I may have to wait for it. 5 months passed and I am pleased to announce that the nudge bar is now fitted to the IO. Picture to follow.
A special mention for Claude. He has helped me immensley in upgrading my IO and I appreciate this very much.
Syndicate
Great choice
I am really keen to have a look at what they done, and see how the car drive....I hope that you have been able to keep the old suspension....I think that you have done a good choice by keeping the io and get the mod done, it does make a big difference off road. I hope that they gave you a good price for the new tyres!
Here is a link to guide you to how attach a picture directly to your post, http://www.pajerio.com/forum/how-attach-images-post
I was at Eucumbene the week end before and last Wednesday!!
You can contact me
Happy io
My io is now SOLD Thankshttp://pajerio.com/forum/claudes-io-2002-zr-built-thread-onlyhappy-io