General 4x4 lifts or body mods

[pinkydrew]

Hey Ya'll,

I recently took my panda into some tough 4x4 and for the first time (which breaks my heart to say it) found it a little short... It was heaps of shale, rocky dirt track climbs and descents, and the panda took a bit of a beating. Thanks mostly to deeper wheel ruts and high middle island... It still did extremely well but I had to turn away from a lot more than normal...
So on that note, has anyone done a lift on the newer model and thrown some bigger tires on it? I have asked around here in South Africa and have only found a couple small town cowboy shops that are keen to take it on.

Any help/links would be appreciated.

PS: Attached pic was when it was still sandy and very fun

 

[Panda IIs]

Hey Ya'll,

I recently took my panda into some tough 4x4 and for the first time (which breaks my heart to say it) found it a little short... It was heaps of shale, rocky dirt track climbs and descents, and the panda took a bit of a beating. Thanks mostly to deeper wheel ruts and high middle island... It still did extremely well but I had to turn away from a lot more than normal...
So on that note, has anyone done a lift on the newer model and thrown some bigger tires on it? I have asked around here in South Africa and have only found a couple small town cowboy shops that are keen to take it on.

Any help/links would be appreciated.

PS: Attached pic was when it was still sandy and very fun

There's some "discussion" here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/lifting-a-panda-4x4.432920/

Pretty sure I recall another, more recent, thread but can't see it in the return for the search I ran.

 

[porta]

Scour Italian, French and Polish sites (google translate) and YouTube
There were a few companies that used to advertise here in Blighty but, since brexit, no longer ship here but you may have more luck.
On MK2’s, 169, they are usually spacers that go between struts and body, good kits also provide spacer for center bearing and longer drop-links. Don’t know about Mk3 as not got round to that…yet…but there are some lifted on YouTube!

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

As above - various lift kits available. As to wheels, the standard wheels and tyres are a tight fit in the wheel arches, so anything bigger/chunkier is likely to be difficult, I suspect.

 

[porta]

As above - various lift kits available. As to wheels, the standard wheels and tyres are a tight fit in the wheel arches, so anything bigger/chunkier is likely to be difficult, I suspect.

Oh yes, forgot about the wheels/tyres
Much more of a squeeze to get aggressive treads on the standard fitment, unlike the MK2 cross…those types of tyres have a much bigger diameter that will not fit in the arches of the Mk3, you’ll have to drop a size and two ratio
Failing that, or resorting to bodywork mods, drop to 14” wheels and some handsome offroad tyres from https://ziarelli.com/en/wishlist/

 

[Goudrons]

You need to remember any increase in the wheel/tyre rolling diameter is effectively going to gear it up.
I know the Twinair 4x4 has a really low first gear but I seem to think the diesel doesn't so you don't want to over gear it too much as it'll put strain on the drive line, like the engine and clutch.
If you still plan on doing miles and miles on road, it could suffer as they aren't blessed with lots of torque.

You can fit smaller wheels with more aggressive, larger profile tyres but that won't really raise the ride height much, if at all.

As for lifting it, it's possible but there are some considerations, mainly sending the drive shafts at silly angles and it can mess up the steering geometry.
Raising the car means you are lifting the body, engine, diff, steering etc up away from the wheels, so anything that connects to the wheels is going to be out of kilter.
Raise it too much and you are effectively shortening things like the drive shafts and steering track rods which can cause problems like the steering self centring and worse, bump steer (as the suspension raises and falls the steering pulls to one side as the effectively shortened track rod can't accommodate the full motion of the wheel travel) which can be pretty dangerous on the road.

With any 4x4, there's only so far you can go before the knock on effect with everything else starts becoming a real issue.
Generally, the smaller you start with, the sooner you run it to these problems.

I used to travel down a lot of rutted farm tracks when I had mine and the front bumper lip was a limiting factor on the normal 4x4.
These seem to have a low bottom edge of the bumper, but if you look underneath there is a little plastic splitter under the lower edge that catches the centre hump on rutted tracks.
The Cross version is better as it has a better front bumper profile.

If I would have kept my 4x4 I probably would have had a look at sorting that lowish front end and looking at some better under protection before I did anything else.

 

[pinkydrew]

There's some "discussion" here https://www.fiatforum.com/threads/lifting-a-panda-4x4.432920/

Pretty sure I recall another, more recent, thread but can't see it in the return for the search I ran.

Thanks for the response and the link.
Seems the only option are small spacer rise.

Thanks again

 

[porta]

That kit has not been available for a while

 

[pinkydrew]

Scour Italian, French and Polish sites (google translate) and YouTube
There were a few companies that used to advertise here in Blighty but, since brexit, no longer ship here but you may have more luck.
On MK2’s, 169, they are usually spacers that go between struts and body, good kits also provide spacer for center bearing and longer drop-links. Don’t know about Mk3 as not got round to that…yet…but there are some lifted on YouTube!

Thanks for the response. If you have any of those youtube links please send them. I have only found one so far, and that was for 15mm lift.

 

[porta]

Unfortunately I don’t keep the links or bookmarks, otherwise finding owt on my phone ends up like a badly organised phone directory, (I know I should organise into folders as my homescreen is overloaded) I just do a general search of panda 4x4s…

 

[porta]

Fiat Panda - High Quality Lift Kits (Leveling Kits) & AutoBuffers (Coil Spring Spacer) | AutoDVC

Buy high quality lift kits & autobuffers for Fiat Panda 20-40mm at the best price with free worldwide shipping. High quality lift kits (leveling kits) & autobuffers (coil spring spacer) from the manufacturer for most car models in stock.

autodvc.com

Suspension lift kit / body lift kit for Fiat Panda - SPACCER

www.spaccer.com

https://en.rialzi4x4evo.store/search-results?q=Lift+kit

MAD Suspension Lift springs kit FIAT Panda 312 / 319

[tab name='Description'] Kit Number: HV-051801 Engine: All Year: 02-2012 to Height Difference (mm): 30/10 Install Time (min): 120 Approval: TUV Spring Compressors: No Remarks: Only 4x4 MAD LIFT SPRINGS With lift springs you provide floor space at the bottom of your vehicle. Lift springs always...

upcountry4x4.co.uk

A few old bookmarks I’ve found but there is this…an Italian based panda 4x4 (all types) forum that answers all our questions hopefully…

www.panda4x4.info • Leggi argomento - New Panda Cross- lift kit and winch

 

[porta]

I have more but I’m getting ready for shearing and need to sit down and go through phone and iPad

 

[AndyRKett]

As above - various lift kits available. As to wheels, the standard wheels and tyres are a tight fit in the wheel arches, so anything bigger/chunkier is likely to be difficult, I suspect.

Do you have any idea on how much lift can be added to a panda, I presume it is limited by the design of the suspension. The likes of land rover have all sorts of aftermarket parts that replace the control arms and mounting points to get huge amounts of lift without changing the geometry, But I can't imagine its all that easy with a panda.