Hey guys, new to the rolla scene and picked myself up a ke10

YES - I do know this topic has been covered a few times. I just noticed it was a few years ago and wanted to know if there has been any update in tech/R&D that can make lowering a KE10 a lot easier without welding or sourcing parts off a ke20 e.g front strut hats. I am not a fan of cutting springs of any sort

 

FRONT -

HSD weld on coilovers or ke20 parts

 

REAR -

lowering blocks or reset leaf springs

 

Just wanted to really know if anyone has source a product off the market where it is a straight coil over system

 

Any AUS company that make a Front lip for a ke10 also?

 

Any help would be much appreciated 

 

 

Edited May 4, 20179 yr by spham

Rear - 

Cheap: lowering blocks. But that gives axle tramp and makes the ride a little more bumpy.

Better way: reset the leaf springs. Adds low but doesn't give the axle tramp or 'jitters'. You can add an extra leaf for more stiff.

 

There's a lot of different front setups. So it's all preference. 

Nothing's easy at the front as the usual idea is to adapt something else with better strut insert options/bigger brakes.  But as the KE1x struts have a 3 bolt steering arm, and a large wishbone rather than a "conventional" Toyota lower control arm, It isn't so easy to swap something across.

As ever, it really depends on what you want to do with the car

You can always get some custom made coils made to suit the front, whip out the transverse leaf, change the strut tops as you describe, and get a sway bar from Signature sway bars (being mindful to get one to suit a disc brake front if you have them / plan to install them).  You are still left with the problem of matching suitable damping.

But if you want to get carried away, you can of course spend your money and fabricate

Ok, where to start. 

So like everyone has said about the rear, reset leafs work well, but, if you want it low the springs will be inverted and the ride won't be the best. (Who cares about ride quality anyway, it's all about the look)

Now the front. Coilovers are a good option although all the ones I have experienced have been harsh and decent bumps feel exaggerated through the steering. Most shocks are to 'heavy' for a lightweight 10. 

I haven't found a great setup yet, although I am looking at going back to an oil filled shock (feral4k might chime in here)

after a few years on the road, I've managed to bend a strut tower and its support that goes to the firewall. My opinion on this is that with the leaf removed all force is put through the strut towers and not transferred through the front crossmember.

unfortunately when it comes to ke10s there really isn't a lot of good info around and its pretty much trial and error.

 

 

I actually think the weld on is probably the best option for the front. Perhaps you can't weld, but it would be a straightforward job for a competent welder/fabricator. I suspect you can get it done for a hundred bucks without much trouble and a bit of time spent on the phone.

The KE20 option doesn't make a huge difference anyway, I think about 40mm? (I wrote the faq haha I forget now) and it's fixed at that.

As for any other bolt in option - its' just not out there.

 

Thank you for all the details information and interest read guys. Much appreciated. Anyone know of any other ke10 owners in sydney? 

 

Attached a photo of my KE10