The Toyota Land Cruiser 79 Series is built to carry weight and work hard, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the factory suspension is ideally suited to the way every owner uses their truck.
Add a bull bar and winch to the front, then a canopy, drawers, spare wheel, tools, recovery gear and camping equipment to the rear, and you can quickly end up asking considerably more of the suspension than you were when the vehicle left Toyota.
That’s why suspension is one of the most common upgrades made to a 79 Series Land Cruiser. But there’s more to getting it right than simply adding a 50mm lift.
Why upgrade 79 Series suspension?
The first question should be what you actually want to improve.
A lightly loaded 79 used around town has very different requirements from a dual-cab carrying a permanent canopy and touring setup. Likewise, a truck regularly towing or travelling over corrugated roads needs different suspension characteristics from one predominantly used at low speed off-road.
Spring rate, ride height and shock absorber damping all need to work together.
The 79 Series uses coil springs at the front and leaf springs at the rear. Terrain Tamer’s 79 Series suspension range, for example, offers front spring options allowing for up to 150kg of additional load and rear options accommodating significantly heavier loads, depending on the chosen configuration.
The important part is matching those components to the vehicle rather than simply fitting the heaviest springs available.
Springs carry the weight. Shocks control it.
There’s an important distinction here.
Springs primarily support the vehicle and its load, while shock absorbers control the movement of that sprung mass.
Fit a canopy, drawers, fridge, tools and a long-range fuel tank and the rear springs need to cope with that additional constant weight. Fit springs that are too soft and the vehicle can sag and lose ride height. Go too far the other way and an unloaded truck can ride unnecessarily harshly.
Shock absorbers then need to control that mass as the suspension moves.
That becomes particularly important on long stretches of corrugations, repeated bumps and rough tracks where the shocks are constantly working and generating heat.
Where does adjustable suspension come in?
Adjustable shock absorbers give owners another tool for tuning the suspension around how the vehicle is being used.
A 79 Series might leave home relatively lightly loaded, pick up a trailer, spend several hundred kilometres on the highway and then tackle a rough track at the other end.
A fixed shock has one damping calibration. An adjustable shock gives you the ability to alter its behaviour to better suit changing conditions and loads.
That’s the thinking behind the Terrain Tamer SK007P Adjustable Suspension Kit available through Land Cruiser Hub.
Rather than replacing only the shocks, it is a complete suspension package incorporating front coil springs, adjustable front and rear shock absorbers, rear leaf springs, steering damper, bushes, shackles, shackle pins, U-bolts and a brake proportioning valve raiser.
It means the components have been selected to operate as a system rather than piecing together springs, shocks and hardware from different packages.
Is a 50mm lift worthwhile on a 79 Series?
For many touring and off-road 79 Series builds, approximately 50mm of additional ride height represents a useful middle ground.
It can provide additional clearance underneath the vehicle and more room for suspension movement without heading into the much more involved modifications associated with extreme suspension lifts.
Terrain Tamer lists approximately 50mm of increased height with its SK007 suspension family, although the exact setup depends on spring selection and vehicle configuration.
It is still important to remember that suspension height is only one part of the equation. Driveshaft clearance, brake and ABS lines, suspension geometry and other components all need to be considered when altering ride height.
Terrain Tamer specifically notes that vehicles from August 2012 may require an ABS line relocator bracket to improve front clearance with the SK007P.
What about GVM?
This is where it’s important to distinguish between an upgraded suspension system and a certified GVM upgrade.
Installing heavier-duty springs and shocks does not automatically increase the legal Gross Vehicle Mass of your Land Cruiser.
If your 79 Series build is approaching its legal weight limit, particularly once you start adding a steel tray, canopy, bar work, winch, auxiliary fuel, passengers and touring equipment, GVM needs to be considered separately.
For owners simply looking for improved suspension performance, however, a properly matched suspension package can make a substantial difference to how a loaded vehicle behaves.
Building the suspension around the vehicle
The best 79 Series suspension isn’t necessarily the most expensive or the heaviest-duty setup available.
It’s the one correctly matched to the truck.
Before ordering suspension, work out what equipment will remain permanently fitted, how much weight the vehicle normally carries, whether you tow regularly and what proportion of your driving is highway, gravel, corrugations or genuine off-road terrain.
A heavily equipped touring 79 has very different requirements from an otherwise standard farm truck.
Get that combination right and a suspension upgrade can improve ride height, load control, stability and overall predictability without sacrificing the durability that made you buy a Land Cruiser in the first place.
The Terrain Tamer SK007P complete adjustable suspension kit for the 79 Series Land Cruiser is available through Land Cruiser Hub.
Part number: SK007P
View the Terrain Tamer 79 Series Adjustable Suspension Kit at Land Cruiser Hub