I've got a 2010 XLS and I too want to raise or stiffen up the rear of the car. Mine has an aftermarket receiver on it which I have installed a nice platform rack that my partner has already done damage to on a rough road . Anyway the rear of the car sags pretty. It has 150K kms on it and has been subjected to some time with weight in the back. I know these cars have less just look like that with the back sitting low, but with a couple bikes on a heavy rack hanging off the back and dogs or gear in the back it needs more support. What should I do? It there a way to add height without changing the suspension or do I need coils and struts? Any help appreciated.

 

The KW makes a suspension upgrade which by defaults drops the reverse rake look. I am not sure about raising but they may have spacers that work with it.

The engine is in the front and heavy so it was designed to have more travel in the front from factory. But when I carry the something like flooring or moving stuff, the rear looks so low. Naturally the rear spring rate on these cars are lower in the back. You could also look into air bag for towing use

 

The KW kit is excessively expensive and does say nothing about lowering. Spacers seem like a not so good option because even though you'd have more clearance you would have less travel in your suspension because it would still be sagging (assuming you are adding spacers to the stock suspension).

The colorado mountain rally coil over lift kit in interesting since it is only $1500 but I don't necessarily need to lift the whole car 2" and I don't need new suspension (I think). Plus no one else on the forum has feedback on those so they are a bit of a leap of faith.

Since this post I have looked at MAD progressive springs and also Horvath which both seem like good options and would come in around $500-600 to replace just the rear springs which should reduce or eliminate the excessive sag I am experiencing. This seems like a much more practical option for folks like me who just want the rear suspension to have a bit more load capacity and not sag so easily.

 

Try the firestone blue airbags that go inside the coilspring.

I think they're only about $100 a pair.

 

+1 on this, your situation is exactly what the airbags were designed for, to level you off when you have alot of weight in the rear. No need to hook up a dedicated air pump or guage.

Just buy a portable air compressor which plugs into your cigarette lighter and keep inflating until you think you're level. The airbags use the save valve as your tires.

 

Can someone send me a link to where I can buy the airbags? I have a 2014 GT 3L V6 CDN model that I tow a 3200LB dry weight hybrid camping trailer. I already have sway bars and weight distrobuction hitch. Problem I have is as soon as passengers get in the car it sinks a fair amount. I don't pull the trailer often, I just want it to last though.

Does anyone know mine would have a factory transmission cooler?
Any other tips for making my ride smoother?

Would my outlander be a CW6W?

Thanks
Jim

 

I don't know if the 2014 can install air bags. If the strut is inside the coil spring, then i don't think you can use airbags. The only product i think you can use is the coil sumospring: https://supersprings.com/pages/index...rings-overview

You'll probably have to call the company directly to find one that fits.

But really, manufacturer tow ratings are way overestimated. 3500lbs tow rating is with zero payload and a 150lbs driver. You add any passengers and your payload rating drops with it. A 3200lbs dry weight trailer gives you no wiggle room once you add the WD hitch and people. I'm willing to be when you drive over some CAT scales, you'll be significantly overloaded, you're really putting your family in danger. And because the car is so far tilted rearward, your front tires lose weight over them and begin to lose grip and have less effect on controlling the load. Once that trailer starts to sway, it could flip you over and off the road.

Personally, i wouldn't tow a trailer by myself that heavy unless i was using the Hensley Cub WD hitch system which uses a virtual pivot point to move it closer to the rear axle like on a 5th wheel trailer. But with my family, i would upgrade to a larger vehicle. The dodge durango is my choice if you go a little larger. I like the RWD based layout in the durango, unless the rest of the competition which is FWD based. But the ford ecoboost is an incredible towing engine. The Explorer and ford edge would be good for towing your trailer as well.

All 2007-2013 outlanders have stand alone transmission coolers in front of the front left wheel. But for the 2014 i don't know for sure, but there is an oem part number for a stand alone transmission cooler: 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Parts - Trans cooler - 2920A290 , so it's likely factory installed. Look inside the passenger and drivers side wheel wells, you should see some opening air slots to allow airflow, you should be able to see the cooler inside those air slots.

 

Thanks.

That is kind of what I was thinking.... Both the car salesman and RV salesman said I would be fine.....

Guess I will buy a beater truck next spring to pull it with.

 

Yea, if you join the IRV2.com forum, this happens all the time. 99% of car salesmen have no clue about towing, and simply look at the spec sheet. RV salesmen just want to sell you the largest RV they can to make money.

A decent older truck is the Nissan Titan/Nissan Armada/Infinity Q56, that engine was designed from the ground up for towing, something like 80% of it's torque is available below 2000rpm. High Mileage GM vehicles are good too, they design them with plenty of room in the engine bay and JASPER stocks all of their rebuilt engines, plus GM sells the shortblocks in their store. They have the best selection of brand new engines for your old car.

 

I ended up ordering the MAD auxillary springs for the rear. They're in transit right now and will have my mechanic install them at the same time as winter wheel change over and block heater install (live north of 60 and want to be able to plus in when nights drop below -20). Car is new to me. I'll snap some before pics of the car unloaded and with the dogs in the back, bike rack and a bike on it. Then I'll do after pics. I did not want to with airbags because my partner is the primary driver and putting a little air in every time you want to drive across town and hit the trail is a hastle. Also in the winter when I am leaving the house at 7am to go back country skiing with the roof box loaded and a couple of friends in the back I don't want to think about if the car is sagging in the back. I'll report back with my experiences over time in how the car handles loaded and unloaded. They were about $250 shipped canadian from the UK. You can also get them direct from MAD in the Netherlands but I was in touch with 2 suppliers and the company directly and the responses were so slow I just decided I'd shell out to whoever was able to serve me first.