Lifting a Leaf

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15leafsv

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Messages
7
I know...I know - it's a totally insane idea that will have a negative effect on handling. But here goes anyway.

My employer has been kind enough to supply free charging for his employee's with EV's. Sadly, I live in Vermont, and even with my snow tires, the Leaf is so low, I've damaged the lower front bumper and the undercarriage driving it thru the snow and ice. I can feel the ice thumping on the underside, and am worried it's just a matter of time before I damage the battery.

Again, I know this is crazy, but does anyone know of a way to lift the leaf? I figure 6 inches would do it. Again, I realize how crazy the idea is, but I'm hoping there is a kit or maybe someone knows of some parts from another Nissan that would allow me to do it.

Thanks in advance.
 
the easiest way to get some lift would be installing spacers between the top of the shock and the shock tower, front and back. i would start examining those areas. There are no pre configured kits that i know of for this though. if you are trying to do anything more than an inch you will probably not be able to get the car aligned with the stock suspension.

another easy route is installing oversize tires, that alone can get you an inch of ground clearance with minimal side effects. just have to keep in mind that the speedo will be off by the % you oversize.
 
RePo said:
That much lift will put the front CV joints at a steep angle, Their life span will be short.
I never thought about it before, that must be why it's mostly rear wheel drive cars from the 70s that get turned into donks. Perhaps we'll never see a LEAF converted to one.
That makes me sad.
 
Evoforce said:
Plenty of people drive these cars in the snow and ice. You appear to be on a lark!

many of the roads i have to drive on everyday to get to work aren't aren't plowed. Fresh (soft) snow is no problem - it's when the snow melts a little and re-freezes. Large clumps of ice have pretty much chewed up my underside. I've had to replace the front bumper twice, and have to do it again. I was thinking about getting a RAV 4, but I really like my Leaf...if there was an easy way to lift it, or a kit, or parts from a another nissan that I could swap in to lift it, I'd do it. Really just seeing if anyone has done this or has any info.

Thanks for the replies everyone
 
estomax said:
another easy route is installing oversize tires, that alone can get you an inch of ground clearance with minimal side effects. just have to keep in mind that the speedo will be off by the % you oversize.

Great idea. I wonder how big I can go without rubbing?
 
A guy just did the Mongol Rally in a lifted Nissan Leaf, you can find more about it here and Google Nissan Leaf Adventures to find his blog, Facebook, etc. http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/us-united-states-nissan/releases/-nissan-leaf-at-ev-plug-in-adventures-goes-off-the-grid-in-an-electric-car-with-pioneering-10-000-mile-mongol-rally-entry
 
tattoogunman said:
A guy just did the Mongol Rally in a lifted Nissan Leaf, you can find more about it here and Google Nissan Leaf Adventures to find his blog, Facebook, etc. http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/us-united-states-nissan/releases/-nissan-leaf-at-ev-plug-in-adventures-goes-off-the-grid-in-an-electric-car-with-pioneering-10-000-mile-mongol-rally-entry

thank you
 
https://m.spaccer.com/en_PR/makes-and-models/nissan/leaf.html

Can be expensive, depending on how much lift you want...
 
15leafsv said:
estomax said:
another easy route is installing oversize tires, that alone can get you an inch of ground clearance with minimal side effects. just have to keep in mind that the speedo will be off by the % you oversize.

Great idea. I wonder how big I can go without rubbing?
Does anyone have an answer to this for 2011-2017 models?
 
LOL, I guess if someone can lift an AMC Pacer, then a LEAF is fair game...

b28c1db3ab2139c39001bf04f31d843c.jpg
 
TheSmith said:
Does anyone have an answer to this for 2011-2017 models?

I run 205/65R16 on a 2016 with no rubbing. It made the speedo pretty accurate.

Regarding the original amount of lift, 6" is a massive amount. In the OP's situation, I might combine 1" strut spacers with an aluminum strip fitted as a front valence.

:D That Pacer body was planted (and significantly trimmed) onto a 4wd chassis. That could be done to a LEAF as well, but it'd be a bit counter-objective. :roll:
 
PrairieLEAF said:
:D That Pacer body was planted (and significantly trimmed) onto a 4wd chassis. That could be done to a LEAF as well, but it'd be a bit counter-objective. :roll:

For sure, that's what makes it so fun! :D
 
PrairieLEAF said:
I run 205/65R16 on a 2016 with no rubbing. It made the speedo pretty accurate.

Thanks, that's what I was looking for. Compared to the stock 205/55R16, this will provide an extra 0.8" of ground clearance.

Can you elaborate on the speedo being more accurate? Do you mean it was overestimating the speed in the first case?
 
TheSmith said:
Thanks, that's what I was looking for. Compared to the stock 205/55R16, this will provide an extra 0.8" of ground clearance.

Can you elaborate on the speedo being more accurate? Do you mean it was overestimating the speed in the first case?

Yes, the speedo reads quite accurately (according to municipal radar signs) with the oversized tires. Most factory setups tend to have high-reading speedometers (possibly to help keep us out of trouble :D), and the LEAF must not be an exception. It's had the oversized tires as long as it's been with me--the selling dealership must have had them in the back when this LEAF came in on trade. It feels pretty at-home on rough roads, and looks a bit beefy with the wheel covers removed.

I didn't realize the ground clearance gain was that great! Thanks for doing the math. That division by 2 makes it difficult to increase clearance by much with tire size increase.
 
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