Terri’s Blog 2 : Compensating Much?
Terri Blog 2
Compensating much Shorty?
While loading up and towing Lily to Anglesay last year I noticed that the arse end of Terri was sagging a little. She was not over loaded and the trailer and Lily are well under the towing capacity of Terri. The decision was made to look into new suspension and refresh a few parts on the old girl to get her tip top and ready for another year supporting Lily and I at drift events all over the country. Terri is the first proper 4×4 I have owned other than my classic Impreza, but that’s a story for another day. So where to start? What do I need? What make? What spec? What Quality? And where do I get it from? All the questions. After reading a handful of websites, things were no clearer. One website simply listed my truck as an option, then asked you to fill in a form and they’d send you a quote?? Where other sites said they had the kit in stock, 1-2 days delivery and then in small print explains the kit comes from Germany and takes 2 weeks to arrive! A friend recommended an Australian company called Pedders which he had used when kitting out his 4×4 while based out in Cyprus. With no one else being very helpful, I wasn’t holding out much hope but I emailed the info email on the Pedders website. It couldn’t off been more than 15minutes later I get an email back from a gentleman called Phil asking for some more information about my truck, (age, spec, model, etc) but Phil also asked what I used the truck for and what I wanted from the suspension. So I explained I was a drifter and used the truck mostly for towing and carrying wheels, spare parts and tools, but we also use the truck for road trips and weekends away with my girlfriend and our dog. He asked me to give him 1 hour to check his stock. Sure enough, true to his word within the hour Phil had found a Pedders suspension kit trailered to my needs. There was only one issue. Phil had everything in the UK other than the correct springs, which would need to come over from the main HQ… in Australia. Shipping would take up 2 weeks. I placed the order with him and 10 days later the kit was on my door step! No shit! I haven’t had service that professional and eager to please in a long time. Phil you are a legend, thank you Sir.
The Pedders kit is a full suspension kit so its came with
2x front gas sport Ryder shocks
2x Trekryder torsion bars
2x rear Trekryder shocks
2x rear raised 4×4 heavy duty springs.
The kit bolts straight on and is a direct replacement of the OEM stuff. Absolutely no modifications were needed. The kit will give my truck an approximately 2 inches of lift. It also comes with heavier rated rear springs to deal with the added load weight in the cab as well as a trailer on the hitch. How does Terri drive now? The difference is night and day. Without using the word sporty (because she’s still a big 2 ton truck) but she feels solid and planted on the road. I was concerned about raising her and making her feel top heavy and “wobbly” but with the Pedders kit it’s the opposite she now feels a lot more stable in the corners. The only issue with the lift is, I now need to stand on a couple of books to climb into her haha. For the Terrano owners out there, I measured from the bottom of my 15” Wheel (not the bottom of the tyre the wheel itself) to the beginning of the arch trim. On a standard Terrano the measurements should be roughly (depending on age and wear of bushes etc, etc) 26” at the front and 28” at the rear. Terri, with the Pedders kits fitted, measures 28” at the front and 30” at the rear. It should be a bit higher at the back if the truck is empty.
Yes I bought something I didn’t need to modify before fitting! New record! Well we can’t have that, so I decided to fit 15×8” ET0 modular steel wheels wrapped in 31×10.5” BF Goodrich KO2 all terrain tyres. These of course hit the standard front mud guards and arch lining on full lock, so a handsaw, a hammer and pair of snips later, half the mud guard is gone and no more rubbing issues.
Oh and in case anyone was wondering, I did get an email back from the original UK based company about their suspension kit… 17 days after the I sent the email! By which time Phil had hand selected the correct kit for me, had a conversation about drift cars (always a winner!) and got my kit to my door, from Australia, a full week ahead of a UK company answering my original email! I’m not usually one for advertising plugs but honestly, if you want great service and good quality products sold by people who are truly passionate about their product and know their stuff – Pedders are the way to go.
www.pedders.co.uk or info@pedders.co.uk
Also fitted what can only be described as a second sun to the front of my roof rack. A 42” LED light bar that lights up literally everything at the flick of a switch.
