I’ve been looking at the different options to lift my XC70 for a while now, and was pretty stocked when a US based company called Flat Out Suspension released a suspension kit to do just that, offering a 2-inch lift. Even if I’m based in France, I jumped on the opportunity and ordered the kit, ready to pay for customs for peace of mind regarding the lift.
Indeed, I didn’t want to use spacers or coilovers so this was a great option, but I’m unfortunately here regarding the issues I’m facing after installation because the car is basically undriveable right now.
The installation went well on the rear. They don’t supply rear springs so I bought “overload” ones from Sweden since my car has a 100kg electrical system in place of the spare wheel and I’m loading heavy stuff and towing pretty regularly. I also got new bushings for the top mounts.
The issue is at the front though. Here it comes as pre-assembled, it’s supposed to just be a matter of removing the old strut assembly and putting this one into place. To do so, I had to basically put the lower control arms at their lowest possible position (against the subframe actually) with a special tool like this one :
We moved on with the install. Apparently, you don’t have to replace anything else to get to the 2-inch lift and for it to be drivable. I’ve seen here and there that new axles are recommended over 2 inches of lift, so I was prepared for this to be needed or at least to help with long term reliability. However, we noticed an issue straight after putting the car back on the ground : It didn’t squat at all in the front, and is sitting at around 4 or 5 inches of lift instead of 2. At this height the CV axles scream to death, so I consider the car undriveable as is. But the issue gets weirder.
At this point we didn’t make any changes to the suspension geometry so the car has a lot of toe-in because of the lift. We still tried to drive the car a little bit, hoping it would set, and go back to the expected height but no, it stays at full height. Then we backed-up to park the car at the end of the day, and voilà, the front suddenly lowers! But we drive forward again for a meter or two and it goes back to full height!
We then tried a lot of things, without success… here are our findings :
- Pushing the car back and forth by hand : Same! This eliminates the possibility of engine torque lifting the front
- Without the sway-bar : Same! The sway-bar is “relaxed” when the car is on the ground
- Without the front CV axles : Same ! So not transmission related, not a CV axle binding…
- The car is basically FWD because my Haldex is cooked, just to add to the fact that it’s not transmission related
- The shocks dampening is adjustable with a dial, and we didn’t notice a real difference through the different settings (from soft to hard). I might try to get accurate measurements regarding lift or squat over a fixed distance though, just to see if it has any influence at all
- Radical toe-in (0°45’) changed to radical toe-out (-0°50’) : the symptoms reversed! With toe-in the car lifts when driving forward and lowers when driving backwards. With toe-out, the car lifts when driving backwards and lowers when driving forwards.
- Alignment to OEM toe (0°08’) : the nose of the car still lifts when driving forward, and lowers when driving backwards, but less than with a more radical toe.
I’m starting to think that the front shocks might be too strong for the car, thus pushing the front up to full height until the lower control arm is in contact with the subframe and can’t go further. The fact that the alignment influences the way it lifts or squats make me think that with a LOT of toe, the wheels wanting to get closer or further from each other have enough force to fight the shock and make it squat a bit. With a more reasonable toe, the wheels have less force so the car doesn’t squat as much. That’s only a theory though, because I’m lacking of other options. Still, a normal car doesn’t lift or squats like that in the front, even with a lot of toe, so there is an underlying issue…
Just as an information, the front part of this kit is advertised as having OEM (like) springs and being fully compatible with them. The lift is made solely on the shocks (longer rod and spring bucket moved upwards). So, if they really are OEM springs, my only guess goes toward the shocks themselves. Besides that, every other part is new, or at least were before installation of the shocks : lower control arms, tie-rods, end links, ball joints. They might not be as new now based on the force needed to put the shocks in place and the angle everything takes at the moment 😅
Obviously, the car didn’t have any issue of this kind before replacing the shocks, it’s just that they were old, leaky and rusty so this was a great opportunity to also lift the car for added comfort when travelling or carrying stuff around. I also got in touch with the manufacturer who is just as baffled as we are and see no obvious solution for now (yet they are answering me, that’s at least a great point).
Does anybody here had a similar issue when lifting their car? Did someone else bought the Flatout TR kit from them and have some feedback?
Thanks a lot. Hopeful to get this car back on road as soon as possible 😥
Have a nice day!
Thomas