Firm ride on new Hilux is VERY firm

[Cobus0501]

Hello almal

I'm a complete hilux newbie and although my lovely bakkie is only a week old and I'm feeling quite wintgat in it, I honestly didn't realise the ride would be this firm.

I must admit that this is my first bakkie and have no experience with bakkie suspensions at all, hence my hesitance when I say "the ride is firm" as I believe this is "maar" how a bakkie feels?
In my short time of ownership I drove it to Clarens in the Free State, from there to Alpine Heath in the Drakensberg and from there to Durban and back. The ride was very firm and even on the highway in Natal I could feel every little bump in the road. Except for our two month old son (who enjoyed the head lolling a lot!), there was a great deal of shaking around.

Now I know that the leaf suspension isn't built for superior ride comfort, and that the exact reason I bought the hilux in the first place was to have that extra load carrying and off road ability in a dependable vehicle. But geewiz to drive a vehicle in the 21st century that feels like Noah designed the suspension is irking me a bit.

Does anyone know or can anyone give me some advice on how to soften the suspension a bit or anything just to make it a bit more comfortable? I really don't want to get rid of it just because of that.

[ThysdJ]

Kom ry bietjie 'n SFA boet... dan praat ons van skud-skud...

[Cobus0501]

Ek het al baie die term gelees... Sorry maar wat is SFA?

[ThysdJ]

SFA = Solid Front Axle. Die ouer Hilux 4x4's het dit gehad tot 1998. En hulle stamp nou die fillings uit jou tanne uit as hulle die dag lus kry... Maar as jy hom eers in die bos gery het wil jy niks anders ry nie..

Oor die algemeen ry bakkies "harder" as motors, veral sonder enige vrag op. Sodra hy bietjie vrag op het sal hy lekker loop. Jy sal dit gou gewoond raak.. :razz: :razz:

[chopper]

Skoonma agter-op laat sit? :wth:

[legend35]

Also check your tyre presure.

[ChrisF]

JIP, check tire pressure and add some load on the back.

Going from 2,4 down to 2,2 will give a MUCH more comfortable ride. Remember to inflate when adding weight ...


WELCOME to the forum and the world of bakkies ! :)

[Ngonyama]

Kyk ek wil nie probeer om 'n "wise ass" :alvarin: te wees nie, maar is die hele doel van 'n "bakkie" nie om vrag te dra nie Ek wil nou nie 'n belaglike stelling maak nie, maar dit is die selfde om 'n skrywe te ontvang van 'n mielie boer wat kla oor die nuwe Toyota Carolla se dra vermoe en dat hy skaars drie sakke miellies inlaai dan hang die Carolla se gat Dan is die raad wat hy sal kry "verhoog jou band druk" of probeer 'n stywer onderstel insit om die dra vermoe te verhoog??

Kyk as jy 'n bakkie koop, koop jy 'n bakkie nie 'n kar nie

Bakkie = harde ry ondervinding vir ooglopende redes

Motorkar = sagte ry ondervinding vir ooglopende redes

Die Engelse het 'n seg ding: "Horses for courses"

Hoop jy geniet die bakkie, 'n baie betroubare stukkie vervoer.

[ChrisF]

Beyers jy het n punt, MAAR dan weet ons hoe gereeld word die voertuie met absurde band druk afgelewer.

Hopelik sal die regte banddruk darem keer dat die man sy laaste twee stopsels ook verloor ....

Maar jy is REG, n bakkie sal (behoort) nooit soos n kar te ry nie.

[george]

Cobus dalk moet jy 'n ander soortgelyke model ry en kyk of dit vir jou dieselfde voel.
My persoonlike ondervinding is dat die nuwe bakkies gemakliker ry as die nuwe karre.Met of sonder vrag.

[Maverick131]

Cobus,

Die ouens is reg as hulle sê dat die nuwe bakkies baaaie sagter ry as die ou SFA!

Ek het die S/C en moet se dat soms as die pad ongelyk is stamp ek lekker, al is my bande 1.9. Maar dis 'n bakkie - dis waarvoor hy gebou is. 'n Vriend van my het gese dat ek kan dalk agter een van die blad vere uithaal - aangesien ek nie regtig swaar vragte enige iets rondry nie.... Maar ek hou van hom soos hy is. Sommige mense sit ander suspension, coil springs ens ook in, se ry sagter - maar hier dink ek weer dis 'n kop ding - probeer al daai geld wat hulle betaal het vd suspensie regverdig.

Welkom by die Hilux Club!

[Skilpad4X4]

Welkom op die forum, Cobus.
Net so 'n stukkie raad enige nuwe bakkie se vere is nog hard.
Kry vir jou 'n sak en gooi vir jou sand in so omtrent 200kg sit dit teen jou cab en ry vir so 5000 km probeer om soveel moontlik op'n sinkplaat pad te ry

[Mikem1]

Hi cobus.

The original leaf spring is very hard 3 blades 8mm thick material which is also a very highly stressed spring with a bit of load you find it more comfortable.At Mikem suspensions we have re-designed this springs by using thinner material and raising away from the helper or load blade to create more comfort.If the main pack is in contact with the helper blade as you can notice how close it is the rating then increases by 60% thus extremely hard.So we have a light duty spring for this purpose.We also put a negative camber on the helper blade so it only comes into contact under laden conditions.Our springs raise 25-30mm from std but by doing this we create the comfort required.Also by using the thinner material we created a less stressed and a more flexible leaf spring for this vehicle.
Hope this info helps.

Regards
Darrell
Mikem Suspensions

[Cobus0501]

Thanks for all the replies everybody. I'm getting used to it now, slowly but surely...
It still remains an excellent vehicle and can't wait to take it for a long haul deep into Africa!