Increase ground clearance?

Yes air bags that go inside of the rear springs.

These coil/strut spacers say they're good for about 1/2"

https://www.spaccer.com/en_US/makes-and-models/nissan/leaf/

I cringe whenever I see raising or lowering modifications to independent suspension while retaining the original geometry. Forcing them up reduces suspension downtravel, and dropping them down reduces uptravel. Both are crucial for vehicle control.

Although I might have a marginal height increase with the 205/65R16 tires, the LEAF has completely met my "off-roading" expectations. The only thing that's contacted the bottom is snow.

Yeah the idea is to maintain stock height.
When I put the trailer on there or put a bunch of bags of coal in the back I wish the rear would stay at unloaded height.

Want more ground clearance? Get another car.

Taking your car apart, especially your suspension to modify heights, angles is just looking for trouble... And IMO foolish.

You, not a qualified mechanic, will spend a lot of time and money. It will never work right, because you did it wrong, and you will destroy the car's lifespan, and resale value...


Where is the positive here?

PS- as I mentioned earlier, I have done this on other cars and have had great luck with it, lasting many hundreds of thousands of miles and causing no problems (other than the occasional question from a member of the public: how did you get your New Beetle to ride so high up in the air?). I feel comfortable that it can be done, and will probably end up doing my own solution eventually, just wondering if there are helpful suggestions. As to why,: the Leaf is a perfect car for me with one exception, and that is ground clearance. A friend has one of those Teslas with the air/oil suspension system, which is elegant, but it cost over $100K and will probably be broken before it is 22 years old (the age of my other Nissan). We will see where this all goes.....

Have you considered a shop-installed adjustable air shock system, with actual air-adjustable shocks? If you will have the car for many years the upfront cost will turn into a modest cost per year.

That might be worth a try- any idea of cost? probably would be better than my plumbing supply house solution!

air suspension will be spendy. rear is easy because you can fit the airbag right inside the spring and oilpan might have a solution there already. front will be complicated.

few options:
https://www.vividracing.com/air-runner-air-suspension-kit-nissan-juke-2wd-f15-1017-p-151674313.html

or this, and then buy coilovers:
https://www.universalair.com/product-p/10-nisjuke.htm

OR just buy coilovers from the get go and set the suspension height to what you want. They should allow you to go higher than stock too.

Cheapest will be just some physical spacers though.

Marko

Personally, I'd avoid anything as complicated as an air-adjustable suspension. Spacers, springs from a different car, coil-overs, or even custom-made springs would all be cheaper and more reliable IMHO.

And aren't the bags that oilpan is using just to increase the load capacity of the car? I didn't think they actually lifted the car so much as just keep the springs from compressing as easily under load.

I want to be able to adjust load ride hight ideally from the drivers seat or worst case scenario from the hatch.
I work on industrial pneumatics so plumbing in a couple of air bags is nothing.
I don't see how adjustable air springs are complicated. Use the same shocks, same springs, stuff air bags inside the springs, add a small compressor and a regulator then some air lines to connect it all together.

Yeah I am not trying to raise the car. I have 0 desire to do so. I might air up the springs to see what the ride hight is a full pressure.

But if I apply force to the spring, say with an air bag in side the coils, then hookes laws tells us that the spring will stretch.
The surface area of the ends of the spring are about 28 square inches, if the springs are 6 inches inside diameter then that's about 2,800 pounds of force with 100ps in the air bags.
Divide force by the k constant for that spring and you get the new length.

I can see this in the rear, where there are sure to be options available, but what about the from McPherson struts? any way to stuff an air bag in there?

You can get air adjustable McPherson struts.

The rear suspension bottoms out when loaded and I drive over road ditches.
The front will be more complicated but it's not the main problem, may just leave the front alone.