Heavy Springs And Lift Upgrade

why would you suspect this? why not that it would make the ride better?

it happens on all lifts, particularly on the Gen 3. What promotes one over the other is that the smaller lift visibly looks not lifted and you have less ground clearance.

re: the herd... It's not my concern if someone doesn't like it when I speak about those who are truly in the herd as those who aren't blinded by the words of those online and can see why I call the herd.. the herd... those are the people I make parts for. What happens is, once an owner installs the 1.5" lift and realizes I was right and my words were the truth they end up buying a 2" lift kit and offering their apologies for believing the words they initially read online. You see... there are many non-customers who are very vocal out there and most I don't even think they lifted their Prius.

have a look here and there are other videos I've been posting to showcase the fact the vocal voices are not truthful in their words!

- YouTube

 

I have the 1.6” lift, without any spring upgrades etc. No rubbing at all. Not even close!

 

This is really helpful! No rubbing even when up on jacks? Did you do PU or metal spacers? Any issues with the included hardware?

 

PU, which were cheaper than a set from places such as Prius Off-Road. The garage did have an issue with the bolts originally, I can’t remember what the issue was, but they got em fitted in the end. There’s not rubbing when lifted on jacks neither. Depends on tyre size too. I have 195/65R15s fitted at the moment.

 

personally.. i never understood the allure of going cheaper even as it relates to Tylenol, I guess I work too hard to not spend my money well on quality parts. that said..

the issue.. .PU lifts aren't designed to keep the suspension proper when lifting. plus, vehicles that are made for off- pavement usage that are lifted don't use PU lifts... but to each their own. heh, you wont find a tacoma or jeep with no PU lift kit, so why trust it on your Prius? Truthfully, if they had an issue, I'd be concerned as, there shouldn't be an issue... particularly with bolts. but.. you know.. this is why the lift kits I manufacture have the studs welded into the lift kit...



Do Not Buy Plastic Prius Lift Kit

 

There's alot being deleted when people post about different things out there... you see, they try to sweep a lot under the rug. Like the whole axle rubbing jazz hands... or bolts breaking and bending on their kits... so think... if you have a PU kit that's not as strong as the metal how much fun you'll have fixing should damage occur... no one wants to post about issues that happen particularly with the PU kits as everyone would say we told you so.


https://black.jmyntrn.com/?s=offroad

 

I’m not doing any offroading in my Prius. The lift is just for kerbs, drives, potholes etc. Big problem here in the UK.

 

Yeah, I've had the 40mm PU spacers and RubberShocks on my 2006 (keep in mind we're on a Gen 2 post and not Gen 3 to clarify) in the front and rear and the front with no CV shaft axle rubbing issues other than when using oversized tires and then the wheel well rubbing fender liner issue. That's with 215-75R15's. Almost 40K miles now, though I don't run the larger tires much anymore since I like better fuel performance since driving farther more this last year.

No K-frame spacers, whether being washers, nuts or custom machined scrap. I like the K-frame spacers, great idea and work regarding, though not a requirement from my observations at the lift height I've been doing. Though I'm doing nothing heavy duty hardcore off road as of late, still. Sway bar linkages are the only rubbing I've observed and that's on the lower control arm. Thinking that might be due to having longer Corolla sway bar linkages and not adjusting the sway bar maybe? Both my control arms on each side have had bushing go bad, rear bushing tore rubber on the drivers side (jafinch78 YT video detailing) and either the bushing or bolt is going on the passenger side front one.

On another similar note...
I know I'm planning to cut some yard KYB-Toyota front strut knuckle mounts off in the morning to get for a custom spacer for when I do do a K-frame spacer lift. That video I linked looks super inspirational. I'm thinking I can fabricate so can be cut in the back like inside opposite the knuckle, pressed while bolted to go around the strut sides, weld a spacer strip to fill in the backside of the cut part and therefore make an adapter that can be re-used on a different pair of struts so not having to weld to the strut.

I'm almost debating cutting the k-frame sections off and using those stacked as a spacers since I don't recall ever seeing a yard gen 2 k-frame removed and taken. Would be neat to use Toyota materials from like two or three gen 2 k-frames as the spacer. Tie rod nuts come to mind with the castle-crown part removed. I can't think of where else larger washers are used on any Priuses or other Toyotas. Any thoughts? Seems somewhere there are and I'm not recalling, maybe I found when cutting something up.

 

you know... you dont have to do all that work if someone like me has 3D scans of what you are trying to cut...

 

Many of your answers seem to be conspiracy-obsessed which, given that we are talking about Prius mods, comes across a little unhinged. Definitely not like I reliable source of information. You might want to keep that in mind. I tried to read your plastic lift article; it needed proofreading to the point of being incomprehensible.

 

Do you think the control arm bushings might be wearing out because the Rubbershocks reduce your travel, transferring more stress to other components?

I haven’t done the sway bar upgrade yet (looking forward to it!). I thought the Corolla/Matrix/Vibe links were not compatible, just the sway bar. The control arm rubbing could also be an upside-down link.

I am interested to see that video - what is the link?

 

Might be, I removed and quieted up. Definitely not as clunky.

Read into the sway bars on Priuschat, as I understand they are for certain year ranges. Where the Corolla are next stiff, Vibe next and AWD Matrix most where those are solid if I remember correctly at least in regards to the rear. I thought the 2009 Corolla one I got is supposed to be, though I need to purchase new bushings and mounts. I also grabbed at a half off sale another rear Prius sway bar with plans to fabricate front strut mount tower braces using the Toyota material.

FYI.. the gen 2 Prius rear strut axle mount side washers are the washers I was thinking about that can be used stacked as K-frame lifts. I checked on a 2WD Matrix and those washers are smaller in diameter and thickness on the rear struts. I'll try to cut out the rear K-frame mount pieces as well to see how might perform as a K-frame spacer.

Two videos I took as a sanity check and to share my experience. jafinch78 - YouTube

 

My 3rd Gen Prius was too low to the ground. It was getting stuck in snow far too often.
My 5th Gen Prius Prime is slightly higher off the ground, and I haven't had it stuck yet.
If the low clearance was intended to save fuel, my Gen 5 has slightly better fuel economy with the higher clearance.