150 Prado Suspension Upgrade But No Lift

[Louis1234 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Louis1234]

Hi There,
First time poster on this forum and new to 4x4 community. I've looked on this forum regarding suspension upgrade with no lift but not really finding much.

I'm looking for a suspension upgrade but I do not want it to be lifted as I still want the car to be parked inside my garage. Car is mainly used around town, 10-15% Beach Driving or inland camp sites. NO EXTREME tracks.
Just want to know if anyone has had first hand experience/knowledge for a suspension upgrade with no lift and the following mods. Any help or recommendations will be appreciated. As I said I'm very new to 4x4 world so any knowledge that can be shared would help me out alot.

My Car is a 2021 GXL 150 Prado
Current mods are
Rear drawers with 3rd row seats removed
Dual Battery System (AGM 110amp/hrbattery in engine bay)
Dometic 75 Dual Zone Fridge In the rear
Tow Bar
Rhino Rack Platform
RT Tyres 235 65 18

Future Mods
Bullbar
suspension (obviously)

Thank you kindly
Louis

[Prada Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Prada]

Hi Louis. The question needs to be asked: why do you need a suspension upgrade?

I've got a similar, late 2020 GXL with similar mods and have recently done a 5k km outback trip with moderate loads and not towing. I thought the OEM suspension was quite good. I'll consider upgrading if / when my towing needs are increased or find that I need the extra clearance of a lift kit for more challenging offroad trips. The weight in the rear of your wagon are partially offset by removing the third row of seats and your front suspension should be OK if you resist fitting a bull bar. Do you need one of those for your situation? Unless you need to mount a winch or do lots of outback night driving, I think the safety trade-off isn't worth it. Don't let an ARB salesman tell you the car is safer with a bull bar.

Finally, it might be worth posting this question in the "suspension" section of the 150 series part of this forum .

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

Based on my experience the handling of high quality upgraded suspension is substantially better than stock, regardless of lift. However to properly work it has be custom designed for the weight and use of the vehicle, and a bullbar changes everything

[Louis1234 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Louis1234]

Hi Louis. The question needs to be asked: why do you need a suspension upgrade?

I've got a similar, late 2020 GXL with similar mods and have recently done a 5k km outback trip with moderate loads and not towing. I thought the OEM suspension was quite good. I'll consider upgrading if / when my towing needs are increased or find that I need the extra clearance of a lift kit for more challenging offroad trips. The weight in the rear of your wagon are partially offset by removing the third row of seats and your front suspension should be OK if you resist fitting a bull bar. Do you need one of those for your situation? Unless you need to mount a winch or do lots of outback night driving, I think the safety trade-off isn't worth it. Don't let an ARB salesman tell you the car is safer with a bull bar.

Finally, it might be worth posting this question in the "suspension" section of the 150 series part of this forum .

To be honest I don't like the feel of the stock suspension. Feels like a boat. Also on my family trips I always take alot of gear and the suspension does drop alot at the rear ie bikes, chairs, swag, gazebo, wok burner and gas bottle as I love doing outdoor cooking, food, beer the list goes on. Bullbar will definitely be put on in the future, no reason other than I just want one lol. I don't do hard tracks but if I want to do a Frazer Island trip fully loaded with the family I believe upgraded suspension will be more reassuring.

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

I think ARB and perhaps others do 30 mm lifts with upgraded suspensions as well as the usual 50 mm ones. Check to see if that would suit. I think that Dobinsons do a upgrade at standard height. Check the websites of all of the major suspension players and you may get lucky. If you don't upgrade a set of airbags will solve your sagging.

[Louis1234 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Louis1234]

I think ARB and perhaps others do 30 mm lifts with upgraded suspensions as well as the usual 50 mm ones. Check to see if that would suit. I think that Dobinsons do a upgrade at standard height. Check the websites of all of the major suspension players and you may get lucky. If you don't upgrade a set of airbags will solve your sagging.

Thanks 404pug
I will check it out. Air bags for the rear sounds like a good option.
Just want the car to be parked in the garage is my only issue with the lift. There have been alot of theft at the moment which is why the car must be garaged when not in use

[Guest Close Guest]

King Springs do standard height springs.
As for shocks, you can go for the likes of Ironman Foam Cell Pros. The front struts have an adjustable seat so you can dial it up when you fit your bullbar.

[Louis1234 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Louis1234]

King Springs do standard height springs.
As for shocks, you can go for the likes of Ironman Foam Cell Pros. The front struts have an adjustable seat so you can dial it up when you fit your bullbar.

Thanks amts,
I've was looking at the King springs recently.
Will definitely check out the iron Man shocks. Regarding the adjustable seats on the front shocks, this is very helpful info.

[luke29ermtb Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close luke29ermtb]

How did you go Louis? I used Kings springs and Bilstein shocks to replace the standard suspension on my 2011 GXL when I first got it. It solved the wallowing problem and was a major improvement over the stock setup at 30,000km. However, when towing a van it would drive the back of the car up and down so I wouldn't expect it to cope well with a heavy load in the back.

I've since gone for a lift using the same manufacturers kit but I don't like it. I do most of my off-road driving in the desert and keep the car light by carrying most of my stuff in a light weight off-road trailer. Due to the amount of traffic on the more well known tracks they're chopped up and the ability for the suspension to drop the wheels into the holes and maintain traction going up sand dunes is more important to me than having the extra clearance. At the moment it feels like the car is tippy toeing across the top of the bumps rather than driving through them so I'm planning to go back to standard height.

I haven't found anything online that suits so I need to call a few of the well known places to see what, if anything, they can offer without a lift.