Lifting a third gen

[leadfoot6]

It would appear that Lovells:

https://www.lovellsauto.com.au/cats.php

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Lenovo/My%20Documents/Downloads/cat_passcomm.pdf

make raised springs for Magnas/Veradas.

Page 18 of 24

Front CFR-31

Raise
20mm

Designed for increased
ground clearance,
country driving and
where load bearing
accessories are fitted i.e.
bull bar

Rear CRR-40

Raise
20 - 25mm

Designed to dramatically
increase load carrying
capacity, heavy towing
and vehicles fitted with
LPG or larger fuel tanks

Note: The catalogue only covers up to TJ - not TL/TW - but I imagine they would be compatible.

I imagine Dobinsons would have a similar offering but I am not going to spend much time on this as I consider raising a Magna sedan a potentially bad idea.

In the absence of loading down either end of the vehicle with heavy bull bars/LPG tanks or using the car for towing, the altered spring is not going to be a good "fit", IMO.

I am also unsure which increased travel shock absorber would be compatible.

(Those sold for standard heights may be quite OK - but when used for increased ride heights, as opposed to lowered I would only be guessing)

Unless you live in an area with bumpy roads and have ground clearance issues, I would stick to replacing the standard height springs with like parts, and invest in quality shocks and also replace any worn bushes.

I have lowered(stage 1 lowered - not super low) Dobinson springs f&r.

When I had my 380 conversion done, I had Koni Red shocks installed on the rear at MitsFix.

They are an improvement over the Sachs shocks that I had installed 2 years ago and are quite good as far as ride goes.

I do not think very highly of Sachs shocks front or rear on a lowered Magna - they might be perfectly fine for a standard ride height setup.

I have, at this point, renewed almost every single suspension/steering component front and rear including rear upper & lower trailing arm bushes with brand new genuine parts/brand new rear wheel bearings/ brand new genuine steering rack/brand new genuine front control arms etc, etc. - mostly done at MitsFix.

For the front, I am still deciding to install Koni Yellow(moderate $$$), or go for custom Bilsteins(big$$$) but I have to decide soon as the current setup with Sachs shocks is most certainly sub-standard when mated to higher rate Dobinson lowered springs.

I am attempting to optimise my car for handling, not necessarily "comfort", but it is still comfortable, nevertheless - even with 17" VRX wheels on 215/55/17 Michelin tyres.

When I first got my TL AWD 4 years ago, my 94 year old mum(she flew over to Adelaide with me where I purchased it from) frequently remarked that it was the most comfortable car that she had ever been in.

(She has been a passenger in quite a few, and indeed still held her own unrestricted/unblemished drivers licence until 2015/age 91.)

She is unaware of the type or amount of suspension work I have had completed in the last 3 years(which is still not extreme by any means- no coilovers, no 20" wheels, no camber pins), but she has not made a single adverse comment about ride quality during this time.

(but she always complains to me about how poorly my brother's KJ Jeep Cherokee rides - even with the Bilstein shock package I installed a few years back - I largely agree with her on this point, and I just abhor 4wd's)

I really can't for any reason see why a standard well maintained TL AWD would need to have its comfort levels improved over and above what I would consider more than adequate(worn parts being an exception), unless the roads are really bad and/or heavier loads than normal are carried.

P.S. Others might have a completely opposite opinion to me, but just to reinforce my position raising a Magna has not been much talked about here @AMC, and in all the years I have sold cars, it is very rare to see a "normal" passenger type car(as opposed to SUV/monster truck imitators) with raised suspension.

I believe there is a good reason for this.....