Hi all,

These questions are for anyone but especially aksafari.

I would like to put a very very small amount of lift on my 03 Eiger Manual 4x4. I have a winch and I would say that the front shocks at times, seem a little soft. Especially in the winter when I have the plow on. I'm planning on getting HighLifter Outlaw MST's in 25" all around. Since these tires are supposedly true to size, they should give me a 1/2" to 1" of additional ground clearance over the stock Dunlops. I wouldn't mind getting an additional 1/2" to 1" of lift, but I don't want to effect handling in any negative way. Will putting say a 1" Moose lift stiffen up the shocks? (To me, that wouldn't be a bad thing for the fronts)

aksafari,

I would love to have adjustable shocks on the front of the eiger. (I know Works Performance makes shocks for the Eiger, but $$$)

Couple of questions regarding the Vinson shocks...

I believe you said you got about 2 inches of lift out of them? 2 inches seems more than I need/want. I'm particularly worried about the driveline noise your getting. Since I'm only going with 25" tires, should I even worry about having a lift? All that being said, I did find new "OEM Quality" (whatever that exactly means) front Vinson shocks on atvworks.com for $140/pair. Unfortunately, they don't have the rear shocks.

Thanks all,

The IT Dude

 

Ok, I'll bite...

Drivetrain noise is in the rear, and I'm sure, is related to u-joint angles. The yokes on the rear driveline are pretty thick, and not designed for high deflection like a Toyota or Jeep. Front end hasn't been a problem.

ANY lift you do that doesn't include replacing the shocks will not affect the stiffness of your shocks one bit. That's why I went with Vinson shocks, not an aftermarket lift.

If you lift, you must adjust. A little adjustment of your tow-in will almost always be necessary. Not a big deal if you have a set of metric open-end wrenches. Wasn't for me, at least. The tie-rod ends are very easy to get to when the Eiger is sitting up on its back rack.

I'd go with Vinson shocks, as they are very well regarded for stock shocks on the Vinson, so they should perform even better on the Eiger, which is lighter in the front end. I have mine set on the second softest setting.

Why do you want a lift? Do you have a ground clearance complaint? I did it because I'm never complacent. I always want to do SOME sort of modification. I'm restless, and never happy. Those are NOT good reasons to modify a SUPER reliable quad, but I do it anyway. If you haven't ever had a problem with G/C, and you don't ride in deep snow, DON'T LIFT. It WILL shorten your C/V joint life, and raise your center of gravity.

 

Aksafari, do you ever visit the Highlifter site. There are guys on there that have their Eiger's lifted 6". A lot of those guys have taken the little Eiger to the extreme. Might learn something?

 

With Gorilla axles, modded control arms, and a slip yoke on the rear drive line, I suppose you could go just about as high as you want, but that's not very practical. I still like mine to have some sport. All ute isn't for me.

 

aksafari,

Thanks for the information and the insight...

Why do I want a lift? Good Question! Maybe just for the looks of a higher stance... I haven't really ran into ground clearance problems anywhere on the trails that we ride. (Although, I do bottom out the front end more than I'd like) I could use more in the woods around my house for hauling out trees because of all the boulders. But, I don't think an inch or so is going to make much of a difference there. I really need a tall IRS machine there. I guess I have a bit of the same addiction you do in always needing to mod things. Unfortunately, I have "Wine tastes and a beer budget" :-)

I guess my best bet is to save up for the Works Performance shocks. (at $400 for just the fronts, I don't know if that will ever happen). I wish there was a way to know if any other OEM adjustable shocks from a different manufacturer would fit the eiger without lifting it too much.

Thanks again!

 

Has anyone considered fabricating some spacers to install in the shocks as a way to increase the pre-load? Depending on the size of the spacer would also give a minor lift.

 

I made up some 5/8" spacers out of pvc (any material will do) to preload the front springs more. I bottom out significantly less and gained about 1/2 to 3/4" of ground clearance. Kind of a bear to get the springs off the shocks without a proper spring compressor though.

 

crombyzombie,

Did you put the spacers on the top of the spring or the bottom? I guess your not worried about the PVC cracking?

 

I'm not talking about tubing like you'd use for plumbing, I used solid pvc bar and turned the spacers to the diameter needed. It is also the more flexible pvc like schedule 80.

 

Oh yeah, they're on the bottom[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]