Hi All, about to make the big leap from Years of Pajero over to Prado. Soon taking delivery of a 2020 GXL and have some questions. Lovells GVM upgrade, should I do it Pre-reg? After doing some calculations I’ll be pretty close to the max 2990kg when fully loaded. I’m also towing a Cub with a ball weight of around 160kg. Car will be fitted with steel bull bar, dual battery, draws and Towbar fairly much straight away. I definitely don’t want any sag when the trailer is on, Seems a shame to ditch the brand new suspension straight away? Your expert Prado opinions will be appreciated.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
New 2020 Prado suspension
Collapse
X
-
I would be looking around at other options. Lovells is a harsh ride unless you plan on keeping a couple hundred kilos in the back around town, even then its still pretty harsh.. Also don't fall for the hype from Lovells that they increase your GCM.. Its all smoke and mirrors.
- 1 like
-
If you need a GVM Upgrade you have few options. Lovells, Pedders or pay an engineer to custom one for you.
It would pay to have your Dealer arrange for it to be done pre-first rego, although its not mandatory, it just affects re-sale outside the state.
It pays to hove some weight on them, but once you have a bullbar etc and maybe a wheel carrier you'll have 200Kg instantly. Your tow bar will be 30Kg+.
I have the Lovells upgrade (plus all those heavy attachments) and the ride is fine.
The Lovells spring rates are marginally stiffer than the factory springs.
You'll need to make sure that the installer checks the clearance between the front sway bar and the new struts as the raised coil base will go very close to rubbing. However there is a simple sway bar spacer from Superior Engineering (and Ironman I vaguely recall) that fixes that.
Once you have your compliance plate you will be stuck with that exact configuration in order to stay legal - ie. you cant swap to OME, Dobinsons etc.
Get the part numbers from the supplier as you might need to carry spares if you go real remote.
Last edited by RPP; 13-09-2020, 08:12 PM.
- 1 like
Comment
-
Just to throw my 2c worth into this conversation,
If you need that much of a GVM upgrade , my thinking is you should be buying something that has a better capacity from standard eg: 200 series.
with all that extra weight you'll also need more grunt instead of ringing the poor 2.8s neck,
Like I said just my way of thinking.
Comment
-
Strangely enough, a 200 series has a smaller payload than a Prado. I think a 200 series GX has about a 710 Kg payload, while a 150 series GX auto has about 750 Kg. GVM upgrades on a 200-series seem pretty popular. Payload is one of the big reasons I got the Prado GX.
I decided not to get a GVM upgrade, but to stay under GVM with a family of four not towing, we are forced to be very careful with what we put on the car and take with us.
Comment
-
Originally posted by BigT01 View PostJust to throw my 2c worth into this conversation,
If you need that much of a GVM upgrade , my thinking is you should be buying something that has a better capacity from standard eg: 200 series.
with all that extra weight you'll also need more grunt instead of ringing the poor 2.8s neck,
Like I said just my way of thinking.
As Grinbot points out, for $30K more a 200 Series gets you no better payload carrying capacity.Last edited by RPP; 18-09-2020, 03:19 PM.
Comment
-
Originally posted by RPP View Post
I agree. Get an F350 if you need to carry a big load on a regular basis, but for occasional scenarios a Prado with an upgraded GVM will do me.
As Grinbot points out, for $30K more a 200 Series gets you no better payload carrying capacity.
the whole industry is a conundrum
car makers producing cars with unusable payload capacities and mobs like ARB not publishing the weights of any of their products
like to see the scale's go through an arb workshop and defect cars on the hoist just because of the bs arb junk bolted on
I love the statement "ahh i use my car for whats its designed for"
My response "well why do you have to replace most of its critical parts and seek re-certification then?"
would seem to me your not using the car for what its designed for it you have to change it significantly eg
just sayi'n
- 1 like
Comment
-
We do some towing so we go pretty close to GVM for our 2019 GXL, when the van is connected. It's just manageable with load placement in the van. Also we only have alloy Toyota bullbar fitted, no kids with us, so also had 3rd row of seats removed (for "free" by dealer when we had the bullbar fitted), no second battery, no drawers and no fridge in the vehicle. If going out with no van, we have to temporarily add all the necessities for some camping. I think having a GVM upgrade is good piece of mind if you can afford it and don't mind being locked into one suspension system..2019 Prado GXL 2.8L Diesel
2022 Jimny too
Comment
-
Originally posted by Piggy View PostI would be looking around at other options. Lovells is a harsh ride unless you plan on keeping a couple hundred kilos in the back around town, even then its still pretty harsh.. Also don't fall for the hype from Lovells that they increase your GCM.. Its all smoke and mirrors.
"Sure it’s quiet, for a diesel, but that’s like being well-behaved… for a murderer."- Jeremy Clarkson
Comment
-
Originally posted by Bela View PostMy printed copy has 5490kg, but my pdf version (through the my Toyota app) has 5990kg in it. If you search the internet you will see that Toyota released a correction statement about it.
When I rang Toyota again just this week, they confirmed a GCM limit of 5490kg. I know it SHOULD be 5990kg but until Toyota release an amendment to the owners manual, I believe 5490kg is the legal limit.
Toyota advise me they are currently investigating the issue and I await their official response:
https://www.pradopoint.com.au/forum/...gcm-limitation
The photo below is a screenshot of the current owners manual on Toyota Manuals https://toyotamanuals.com.au/documen...aug-20-current"Sure it’s quiet, for a diesel, but that’s like being well-behaved… for a murderer."- Jeremy Clarkson
Comment
Comment