Pajero NS 2008 Suspension Lift Experience

[speedwave]

I am starting this thread to help anyone that owns a Pajero NS 2008 that is deciding to upgrade the stock suspension and go for a lift kit. I have gone through allot of research and decided to go for the "SD Lovell raised springs" and "Lovell Gas Legend shock absorbers". Lovell is well represented in Dubai and thought to go with them after reading allot of positive reviews.

After installing the lovell springs, I noticed that the front of my Pajero has been lifted by approx 70mm and the rear lifted by 50mm. Having said that the front and back of the pajero now sits perfectly leveled after installing the springs and shocks. The original stock Mitsubishi suspension setup had the back of the Pajero lifted more than the front, however with the lovell it sits perfectly leveled.

An important note: The Lovell Gas Legend Shocks also come with a 10mm spacer. This spacer can be placed on the front shocks only to give additional lift. The spacer is a metal ring that sits on the shock hat right under the spring. The garage did install the spacer for me however I realized that the front was lifted much higher than the back and it was very obvious. Also the axle and suspension arms seemed to be at a very steep angle due to the excessive lift in the front. I decided to remove the spacers as I don?t have a heavy bumper or winch in the front. Once I removed the spacers the front of the car went down and became perfectly leveled with the back. For some reason the 10mm spacer actually lifted the front by 20mm, I couldn?t explain why. Possibly due to the spring compression? Anyways it was an observation.

In summary if you don?t have any heavy accessories in the front then don?t use the spacers. Save them until you have some heavy accessories. I only have the bushskinz front and sump skid panels which are not too heavy.

I haven?t taken the car off-road yet, but so far while driving on the road I noticed that the body roll has been reduced from stock and the car seems more solid on the road. Once I take it off road in the desert I will be writing about how it drives. I will also be attaching some pictures for everyone to see and below is a link to some public pictures posted of my car by the garage on facebook.


Click the link below to see pictures of the Lifted Pajero NS:

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.283455841705825.84666.229073160477427&type= 1#!/photo.php?fbid=283456038372472&set=a.2834558417058 25.84666.229073160477427&type=3&theater




Good luck

[psproule]

INteresting about the strut spacers. Somewhere in the RTA bulletins I thought I saw that they were a no-no. But there is a lot of confusion with some VSI's being in draft and others not.

[JoshF]

INteresting about the strut spacers. Somewhere in the RTA bulletins I thought I saw that they were a no-no. But there is a lot of confusion with some VSI's being in draft and others not.

Living in dubai I am guessing australian state regs are of little interest. I don't believe QLD has ever adopted any of the VSI's

[speedwave]

Hi Psproule & Josh, the restriction we have by the local RTA is that we cannot go over 3 inches in lift. However, there are no problems on the spacers as far as I know.

[Pearcie]

There is also a difference in regards to springs spacers and strut spacers. Strut spacers go on top of the strut where it bolts to the body and actually moves the range of the suspension movement further down so the CV actually goes to a steeper angle at full extension then it normally would. Spring spacers on a strut go between the spring and the bottom spring seat or under the spring seat on the body of the strut during the installation of the springs on to the struts. The 10mm spacer effectively makes the spring 10mm longer. On a Pajero using front strut spacers is a bad idea if you like your CV's.

It is my understanding the Strut spacers are a no no in most states in aus but spring spacers are ok.

Speedwave I was checking out the pics of your vehicle on the Ramy 4x4 Center facebook page and was going to ask you if you trimmed the bottom half of the front bumper or if you had someone do it for you. I was thinking of doing it to ours when I replace the tyres with bigger ones. Thanks again mate.

Cheers,
Kieron

[speedwave]

Hi Kieron,


You are right, with the spacer the CV's were at such a steep angle on the Pajero. It would cause damage to them in the long run for sure. I guess it’s only recommended to use the spacers when there are heavy accessories on the front of the car.

As for the bumper I actually cut the bottom part myself . First I removed the metal bracket and screws that hold the bottom part to the body of the car. After that I used a sharp knife to cut the bottom part off. I made sure I cut the bumper as straight as possible to make sure it doesnt look deformed.


The stock bumper was getting allot of beating when I go desert driving. With the constant beating from desert driving it used rub against the tires. After I cut the bumper I actually fitted slightly larger tires. I went for the BF Goodrich Rugged Trail Tires 265/65-R18 which fit perfectly prior to the lift kit.


The only downside of cutting the bumper and removing the brackets that hold the bottom is that it becomes less rigid. However, I have had it like that for almost 2 years with no problems at all. Plus it gives more clearance and looks allot more aggressive

Attached below are closer pictures for you to see. I hope this helps Pajero NS - NT owners.

[Vicks]

Hi there and welcome to the club.

I just sold my lifted '08 Pajero Diesel in Saudi and am currently in the process of moving to Abu Dhabi. Once there, i'll pick up another 4x4, no prizes for guessing what it'll be, yepp, another Pajero but this time it'll be a 3.8 V6. You've got a nicely setup pajero there and i must admit i have something very similar in mind, except for the addition of a rear aux tank and maybe headers/exhaust. I will also swap the 18" wheels for 17".

I wanted to ask you how long has it been since you did the 70mm lift on yours ? were the wheel aligners able to align them fully ? cos on mine, with the 50mm lift, they reached the end of adjustments.

If you have had the lift for a long time, say more than 6 months, are you noticing any clunks / noises from the drive train ? I'm asking this because with a 70mm lift the CVs are definitely at a greater angle than stock OR even with a 50mm lift.

Did you get the bash plate & sump guard in Dubai ?

Any plans to do engine mods like cams / chip / intake ? which garage do you use ? i guess you are on dubai4x4 ?

cheers
Vicks

[Pearcie]

Hi Vicks,
We sent him the bash plates from here in aus. When I was chatting with Speedwave on the phone 4 days ago they were just finishing up installing the Suspension.

Good luck in Dubai mate, I am trying to convince the Mrs to let us go for a holiday looks like an amazing place.

Cheers,
Kieron

[Vicks]

Hi Vicks,
We sent him the bash plates from here in aus. When I was chatting with Speedwave on the phone 4 days ago they were just finishing up installing the Suspension.

Good luck in Dubai mate, I am trying to convince the Mrs to let us go for a holiday looks like an amazing place.

Cheers,
Kieron

whoa !! shipping those to UAE much have cost almost as much as the plates themselves !!

Thx for the wishes and don't forget you have a place to stay in Abu Dhabi whenever you are there. Feel free to drop in any time. Offer's open for all inmates, but pls don't all of you land up at the same time .

cheers
Vicks

[Pearcie]

lol sounds good!!! speedwave has offered to take us out dessert 4x4ing as well. Maybe next over sea's trip as it looks like we are going back to the states this time again for a massive road trip but I do get to hire a jeep in Moab

Yeh shipping was $250aus but that was air freight If not in any hurry Sea Freight isn't as bad.

Cheers,
Kieron

[speedwave]

Hi Vicks,

Good stuff and good luck with the move. Let?s connect once you are in town and you get yourself a 4x4.

To be honest, changing the wheels to 17 inch is on my to do list next. It?s only been a couple of weeks since I did the suspension upgrade. Ramy Trading did the upgrades and the alignment. I am not sure if they had any issues in the process. As I drive it more, I will report back to the forum my observations.

Yup I got the bash plates from bushskinz and shipped from Australia. To be honest for the quality and excellent finish it was worth shipping the guards over. http://www.bushskinz4x4.com.au/

As for Garage I used Ramy Trading http://www.ramy4x4.com/. For regular servicing I take the car straight to Mitsubishi.

I am really hesitant to do any major performance mod's as the RTA could be difficult when it comes to the car registration renewal. However, they are relaxed with chips and air intakes. As for air intakes, given the amount of desert driving we do over here, I am not sure if it will be a good idea as it might get dust into the engine?

Does anyone know of any chips suitable for the petrol 3.8 engine?

Thanks,
Hussein

[Vicks]

Hi Vicks,

Good stuff and good luck with the move. Let?s connect once you are in town and you get yourself a 4x4.

To be honest, changing the wheels to 17 inch is on my to do list next. It?s only been a couple of weeks since I did the suspension upgrade. Ramy Trading did the upgrades and the alignment. I am not sure if they had any issues in the process. As I drive it more, I will report back to the forum my observations.

Yup I got the bash plates from bushskinz and shipped from Australia. To be honest for the quality and excellent finish it was worth shipping the guards over. http://www.bushskinz4x4.com.au/

As for Garage I used Ramy Trading http://www.ramy4x4.com/. For regular servicing I take the car straight to Mitsubishi.

I am really hesitant to do any major performance mod's as the RTA could be difficult when it comes to the car registration renewal. However, they are relaxed with chips and air intakes. As for air intakes, given the amount of desert driving we do over here, I am not sure if it will be a good idea as it might get dust into the engine?

Does anyone know of any chips suitable for the petrol 3.8 engine?

Thanks,
Hussein

Thx for the links. I'm thinking of a Unichip alongwith Dyno tuning. I would do it alongwith exhaust & intake de-restricting, heads & manifold porting, polishing & matching. No cams though. Without better breathing and cams a chip would be pretty much useless.

If you are a member of Dubai4x4 you can ask where to get Unichip + tuning and also real world experiences from members there.

cheers

[speedwave]

I will look into the performance chips, thanks Vicks.

More on a general question, has anyone installed Lovell shocks? Did you use the original Mitsubishi dust covers on the shocks?

Thats what my garage did. Is that normal?

Thanks,
Hussein

[speedwave]

Hi All, Just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year! I am going to take the Lovells offroad, will be posting my feedback soon.

[Vicks]

So, did you test the lift kit + shocks in the desert and how did you find it ?

We've finally moved to AUH and am in the process of getting the (long) process of getting ID, Drivers license etc so that i can buy the Pajero ASAP (dubizzle). If you have any advise, please feel free.

cheers
Vicks