ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Model Specific Suzuki Forum => Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 => Topic started by: CE1_2NR on March 18, 2006, 07:10:56 PM
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Took this past week off work to burn off the rest of my annual leave. JDMCRX and I installed the lift kit he designed and manufactured on my Suzuki Grand Vitara.
kit includes:
Here she is before surgery....
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/before1.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/before2.jpg)
Me in mad scientist mode performing surgery...
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06651.jpg)
I have a big tongue....my GF loves it !!
Here's some surgery pics....
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06633.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06643.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06655.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06649.jpg)
We had to make some modifications in order to adjust camber like
slotting the top holes on the front strut mounts
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06639.jpg)
and grinding some excess material off the spindle
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/DSC06640.jpg)
Overall, it was a fun time. The front end was a bitch to do as my truck was uncooperative. A few hard to loosen bolts. Luckily his garage has a disgusting array of tools.
The finished product.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/after2.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a290/boosted_wagon/after3.jpg)
SHAZAM!!
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Nice DRYW soon some mud holes
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That is nice and very impressive. How much is this lift again?
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Why'd you have to grind on the knuckle? ???
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Cause when u lift ur truck ur control arms go like this / \ which gives u positive camber so u have to bring the spindle inwards towards the inside of the truck . Ill have the write up done tomorrow u will see why
Josh
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That is nice and very impressive. How much is this lift again?
The lift is $330 cdn or roughly $280-290us depending on the US dollar
Now we got a chance to measure how much the strut spacers give u drop wise. Drop wise boths sides we gained 2 1/8".
As for the lift the rear gives u 2" rear and 1.75" front. Alignment was only out slightly camber Dead on :P
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looks good, need to get some pics up of my tracker soon... actually took some. so, you think those 4dr's can keep up to my 2dr in the upcoming muck that our area's gonna be so full of real soon?!?!?!
when i installed my 1inch front spacer i didn't need to worry about that spindle issue at all just as an fyi for others.
also, for the rear shocks, i put in some rear crown vics, the ford replacement part from dealer.. the bottom shock mount doens't fit with the stock bolt and the aftermarket bolt will not fit either. ended up going to home depot (canadian tire was like talking to f'in monkeys as usual..) and grabbing a little metal insert from the plumbing section to fit into the bushing, fit perfect with the bolt but is a little short and i'm figuring it will eventually work its way into the rubber and wreck the bushing. what did you do about this little problem? anyway the ride is much improved with these shocks..
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RANCHO and some custom cut sleves :)
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cool, where did you pick up the sleeves, i couldn't find anything the right diameter that i could cut doing my last minute running around.. i should probably fix mine up properly. another question, any spacer material kicking around? i could potentially use more lift for the back end, the girly springs sag quickly with weight in them. maybe a quarter to half an inch, lemme know.
B
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What did you use to extend the rear bump stop? It look like the rear sopacer swallows the stock one. And how is the new one in keeping the spring front jumping off the spacer? Also how is the brake line length with the suspension fully extended in the front?
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The rear spacers im gonna be making up some rear .5" spacers the bushing what size u need like ur shocks the inside diameter
josh
cool, where did you pick up the sleeves, i couldn't find anything the right diameter that i could cut doing my last minute running around..  i should probably fix mine up properly. another question, any spacer material kicking around? i could potentially use more lift for the back end, the girly springs sag quickly with weight in them. maybe a quarter to half an inch, lemme know.
B
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Tht on pic is not right we were playing around with shit.
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cool, get in touch when you're about to get those .5 spacers going
b
The rear spacers im gonna be making up some rear .5" spacers the bushing what size u need like ur shocks the inside diameter
josh
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Looks good, now you can fit even bigger tires. 8)
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Some questions for you guys regarding the spacers in the front. When you installed the spacers, how tall were the spacers in the front? Did you do anything with the steering befor eyou bolted it back to the spindle? Did you have any problems with the sway bar connecting to the spindle after the spacer was installed?
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Sway bar goes on but what kit are u using?
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I just made soem spacers out of UHMW and it's a 1.75" front and 2.25" rear. At the angle of the lower control arm in the front, the sway bar is too fat towards the outside to fit back in the contrl arm hole. Can you also measure your height front and rear across the center of the wheel to the bottom of the fender flare?
Thanks
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WOW lol 1.75 do not put that one there ur gonna be running crazy camber issues alog with coil bind.
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It's already in there, and the camber is a little off :)
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Waa a 1.75 spacers is gonna push those control arms right in lol
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What size spacers did you guys install in the front?
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again here I am re-hashing old threads
but I noticed that in installing JDMCRX's lift (same as mine)
that you guys had to grind away at the "spindle"
well I'm at that point, where I grinded close to 6mm of my top strut bolt hole (towards the strut) and still cannot push the knuckle or (spindle) in to have a good enough camber
So how much do I need to grind off this spindle? I'ma gunna borrow a buddy's garage and his angle grinder to do this job
Oh and.... I never was able to get the strut bar above back on
Also should I remove the sway bar?
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Boo.
I just used adjustable camber bolts that I got from Summit Racing. No grinding here.
The wife drives like a maniac sometimes and the swaybar was gone over a year ago, before we even had the lift. It rides better with just a hint more lean in the corners. Try driving with one end disconnected and see how you like it. If you don't mind it gone, take it off. If it scares you (you ninny ;) ) just reconnect the end and you're safe.
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Alrighty... so today
I ripped apart the front end, and I "gound" down the spindle to maximize the use of the 6mm I ground at the top bolt of the strut
I pushed the spindle in and lined up the bolts to the maximum of the now ovaled 6 mm that were ground
and my camber is "slightly" corrected
I might... have to look to grinding both the strut hole and spindle some more, but it's good enough for now
So... i'm going to completely cut apart my strut bar and re-weld it to fit to be an actual "intragal" part of my suspension
Seeing how our trucklets use a control arm bbottem but no "a" arm at the top w/ our Car like strut configuration
The strut bar really really is important
I left the sway bar in, no harm for now but yea whenever I'll get to removing it I will
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cool man, funny we are doing pretty much the same thing to our trucks the past few weekends. I got my camber corrected with a bit of filing and an angle grinder on the knuckle. I also took off my sway-bar to see how it would handle... must say I was surprised to learn that I don't think I'll miss it.
next up.. i'm thinking i might order some black series 84 16 inch wheels with 2.5 inch backspacing from Rocky Road Outfitters: http://www.rocky-road.com/wheels.html
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That'll be sweet
did you figure the size you wanted to go for tires?
I'm waiting for some stock GV rims, hopefully tuesday, and likely will have to "mod" the front bumper
My plans are this from this point:
shortly:
install the 245/75/16 MTR tires and see how things go
get some front hubs ASAP as we now will be driving w/ a bit of CV flex at all times
Pick up a snorkel (maybe from VTTR), and the yellow box to adjust the speed (for my fiancee)
buy -> install the RRO body lift w/ some of their rock rails
Fab up some armour and likely get some kind of a winch mount bumper
later:
I plan on keeping the GV rims, and running some 235/85/16s (i'm a huge fan of tall skinnies and these will measure 32 x 9.25)
Then the stock gearing will then "have" to be changed, and I will see if I can grab a 5.12 R&P from the Automatic 2.0L
At the same time, I'll throw in the LSD from Calmini and a front ARB auto locker
(only thing stopping me from doing that now is $$$$)
As I do not have a stock roof rack and I really want a "removable" thule safari rack, I will be looking around and around at the wreckers for some stock bars (unless someone can advise where to find some)
In regards to the suspension, I think that w/ the coil spacers lift I have installed so far coupled w/ the RRO 2" bodly lift should give me adiquate clearance for what I want to do
However I will be looking into getting a "serious" suspension lift from our little shop around here called Zukination who is currently custom fabbing up a suspenion only based 4.5" lift (no spacers, all custom shocks\struts, progressive coils, drop brackets, drive shaft spacers etc... however it's really in beta at this time, and I hope to hear back within the next few months
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well, i think the suspension lift is done! now for tires etc etc etc.
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So far this is what I look like:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/new049.jpg)
As you can tell my rear doesn't sit quite as tall as Ngrovers. However I have picked up the same spacers to fit underneath the coil to give me another 1" in the back (we'll have to work on it shortly before the snow comes)
Here is a pic of my front end of which the top strut bolt was oval'd 6mm, and the knuckle was slightly grounded to accomodate
The camber is still slightly postive, but not bad, this pic isn't fair as my parking lot right now is ridiculously uneven
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/new050.jpg)
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both trucks looking good guys! the back ends might seem a little low by the quick glance but mine was the same when i measured the back end was not lower, it's just the wheel wells.... for the rear i removed the spring isolator and added a 'heep coil spacer' which lowrezolution hooked me up with that measured between 5/8's & 3/4 inches. the back end looks better now. ( i know, some pics and write up soon...........) i'm running 31's on stock rims and since i have been slacking and not yet extended the rear bumptstops this helped with the very minor tire scrub i have on the highway with weight in the back.. the parking brake however is showing some strain with this and the body lift. the parking brake light only goes off once in a while, soon as i'm on any angle the parking brake light is on.. i cannot add any more lift without addressing this problem. r3cc0s, you should be safe adding another inch to the back end. if the brake is strained just play around with the cable mounts..
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Personally this little 3/4" piece that I picked up is just for asthetic purposes
We intend on looking for some XL7 springs for the rear to replace the current stock ones
I should be getting my Rims tomorrow, so I'm "hoping" that I can have my 245/75/16" MTRs mounted tomorrow
& if required, well I'll send away an order for a set of front wheel spacers and a body lift
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do you know the specs for the xl7 spring? how much stiffer are they and how much taller? i need a stiffer rear spring as i'm often loaded up with crap and on the road...
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Okay... I tried the 245/75/16" MTR's on one wheel and tried it on the front and rear passanger side wheels
lets start w/ the rear:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki012.jpg)
not bad... managable
Here is the front wheel:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki001.jpg)
still looks good :D
until
turning inwards:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki005.jpg)
It gets jammed on the front bumper and the plastics....
No worries, I'll remove it (either cut or just remove all the c-clips and remove the entire thing, and trim the bumper)
turning outwards:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki007.jpg)
aw... fcuk looks like I'm just mm's from hitting my body (which is metal)
once I get past that little scary part, it's alright:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki008.jpg)
Here is just to show slight compression on the rear wheel
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki010.jpg)
So far.... looks like I can manage with my "rear" but the front, will definately require some trimming, and I "need" to figure out something regarding the body
Any suggestions?
Or just leave the tires for now, and body lift it?
Oh yes it does rub the frame on full "lock"
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OK the front wheels when u turn them look to look with the 29.5" u will need to that black plastci piece either cut it or take a heat gun and a bucket of water and say a piece of wood heat it push it with the wood then slam the water on it.
The rear piece near the door jam take that piece off and the mounting tab either take a hammer and move it and then sand it and paint it. Or bend it and remount the splash shield so the steel pulls it back more
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What spacers are in the front of ur truck? Can u take a pic of the strut a side shot?
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I'm running no wheel spacers at this time
I will be installing a set of 1 1/4" wheel spacers in the front, but I'm still skeptical...
One.. that will pull the wheel out that much further, so yes it will "fix" the frame rub issue
but by pulling it out, it will likely rub more against the body and the bumper
Today I'm going to see if I can remove the plastic entirely and start cutting the bumper, however...
I'm thinking it's time for a Body Lift
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More fun:
Ripped apart my front end to pull out the plastic "splash guards"
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki013.jpg)
Put it back all nice & tidy and threw the 245 MTRs on
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki015.jpg)
The front bumper still hits, but that will be trimmed in an hour or so
The rear definately has more room, and there is a "slight" ability to grind, only thing is
I'd like to mod my splash guard to protect the inside of the body so I don't get rusting from inside the fender
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki018.jpg
a little bump - (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki019.jpg)
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Yeap i got 1" and it does hit the outer skirts more. But put the fender skirts back in. Go mudding a few times and ur door hinges and door seal are gonna be fucked up bad.. Just cut the front and put them back in.
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Yup, definately going to fix up the "splash guards" just need to go buy some clips seeing how I had to bust most of them
I'm going to bend in the remenants of the fender lip on by the door jam and pull out the tabs and cut the splash guards to fit
Here I am grinding away what I need and I pulled the bumper off again so that we I can do a good finishing job on it
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki.jpg)
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Yeap i got 1" and it does hit the outer skirts more. But put the fender skirts back in. Go mudding a few times and ur door hinges and door seal are gonna be fucked up bad.. Just cut the front and put them back in.
Right now I can "deal" with the frame rub, and am looking to limit my steering rather than going with spacers
From what I understand, the wheel "arc" is increased w/ the spacers, and thusly I could likely rub my tires against the outer fender far easier
then again we'll see, ngrover is going to order up a set, and I will be bending in the fenders so... I might be just that lucky
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Looks like this Sunday I'm going to be using an angle grinder and mallet to clean up the front and might look at getting some JC Whitney flares
The rear definately needs more lift, and I will also be installing a 1" coil spacer on the bottem of the coil (and try to source an XL7 or just buy a set of 1'5" procomp lifting springs)
Also will have to trim the splash guard towards the bumper and parts of the bumper
Doesn't seem I have the ability to put a flare on wheel well, as there is't much to work with
This is how it looks as of now
and I'm going to order the BL shortly
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/zuki021.jpg)
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Just forwarning u if u lift the rear more then 2.5" be prepaird to loose ur rear brake line. One guy here did man right wheel came down and ripped the line out.
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or do what i did and cut your cables some more slack by undoing some of the clips and securing them with zip-ties when your wheels are fully dropped.
the amount of strain (if any) you can potentially put on your brake lines has nothing to do with the coil or the spacers you add to your coils... it depends on the amount of extension you get out of the shocks you're running. In my case I'm running Toyota 4-Runner shocks in the rear and I had to make a couple tweaks to the brake lines.
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well... it snowed and it snowed pretty good
Got down to -11c and we got plenty of blowing snow and Ice
I belive we had an accumulated total of around 4-5" of snow
So today I was unable to attached my newly cut front bumper cover and I had to drive around
here goes:
Drove around at first, and it was "sketchy" w/ my Goodyear MT/R's
Then I forgot, oh snap it was inflated to 35 PSI - my bad
Deflated down to roughly 23 PSI and had to drive some friends to the airport w/ about 150 lbs of luggage and 5 passengers
-Drove just great! in 2wd I had no problems getting around
Once I dropped them off, man was it sketchy on 2wd, had to throw it back to 4wd
Got home and looked at the tires, well... it is a 245/75/16 E-Rated (10 ply) tire and with nobody in the vehicle, the sidewalls didn't even budge at all
I decided to run them at 19 PSI, noticed the bottem (touching part) of the tire was a bit flatter, but still barely any sidewall budge
Well that seems to be my "ideal" number
I can ride mostly in 2wd in slick roads just fine, and 4wd in real tough conditions
In fact I went a bit wheeling this evening, and went up some pretty deep snow drifts of roughly 3 feet deep and w/ enough speed, I didn't have any problems
So far happy as heck, considering the traction I am getting from running Mud tires on a light vehicle
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or do what i did and cut your cables some more slack by undoing some of the clips and securing them with zip-ties when your wheels are fully dropped.
the amount of strain (if any) you can potentially put on your brake lines has nothing to do with the coil or the spacers you add to your coils... it depends on the amount of extension you get out of the shocks you're running. In my case I'm running Toyota 4-Runner shocks in the rear and I had to make a couple tweaks to the brake lines.
Neil, looks like that is the option, but I am definately looking at picking up some longer springs
I'm thinking of ordering those XL7 springs from the junker if it truely does give us "1" more height
As for the front of my car, I'm still looking to see how I can trim the fender... I might just trim it, and fab up my own plastic splash guard and pick up some fender flares
in due time I guess
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I don't know if the XL-7 springs will get you lift up front as they have a lower spring rate than the GV in the rear they might.
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Dham mtr in the snow ur ballzy ill never do it again.
the XL7 rear springs do give more lift and are a bit thicker and hold more weight. the front are almost the exact same on my dads XL7 as the GV
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I think it's time to order some springs from an XL7...
however do you guys know which year? I know one year an XL7 was just a luxury package'd version of a GV
also, the MTR's arne't bad at all running the 19psi of Air... cept it might be just a tad low but the tires don't seem to warm up too badly
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when you get those xl7 springs it would be great if you took a pic and posted the 2 of side by side for visual comparison
we'll see how my swamper's like the snow... i drive'm at 30psi on the street right now. i'd still like to try and put some sipes on the inner treads but dunno if i'll ever get around to it.
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I'll see if I can get those XL7 springs sometime, once I know which year to pick up
As for the tires... Your swampers will be just awesome in the snow
it's the ice that's the problem
Assuming you have the radials, you'll be able to air them down nicely without having to deal w/ stiff sidewall issues with a bias'd play
I called my local goodyear, and they agreed that I can run the PSI pretty low on the tracker seeing how I have E ply (10) and they are meant for a far heavier truck... again my sidewall barely buldges at 19, and they don't heat up even with a solid hour of highway speeds (fuel economy is another story)
I called around for siping, and it was the same story, roughly 35 bucks a tire (which I'm cool with) but they said they have to charge for dismount, mount and balcing for another 24 a tire...
FCUK that lol, I'm going to go to a local performance store and pick up a siping knife
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Oh... BTW before I forget
I was able to fit the 245/75/16's on the unmodified rear tire holder just fine (very very barely cleared the bumper, but it's just fine)
;D
I doubt I'll be able to put the 32's that I want on w/o having to re-weld the mount
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ya my swampers are the radials, they drive better than i expected them too. i'll probably run them maybe 25psi lowest for the road. i'd be interested in what you find for a siping knife. i called a few local tire shops and they didn't have any idea. we don't have any snow yet though!
i don't know what year xl7 springs would be best either. i don't know what the price will be like either. in case you decide to go with something different try national 4wd, they quoted me $100cdn per spring for the medium duty OME's. this was my original plan but anything could change!
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woot woot... got my tires on today. 225/75R16 from canadian tire. they have a sale on right now. The tires i got are also sold by Big O tires under the name BigFoot XT (http://www.offroad-review.com/product_reviews/BigfootXT/bigfootXT.html). I had them mounted, balanced, tax, road side assistance, tire disposal fee etc etc etc and they came to exactly $650 CAD all said and done. Good deal. I'll post some pics later.
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I must agree w/ you Neil
In fact I would have a set mounted myself if I didn't get such a wicked deal on my MTRs
like once I wear down the MTRs and do the following:
2" body lift
5.12 gears w/ ARB locker
yellow box
I will definately be picking up a set of those Motomaster M\S (Big O XTs) in a 235/85/16
Lets see what kind of trouble we can get you in this Saturday
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those tire aren't bad at all, orinigally i expected to buy them for mine but the swampers ended up being cheaper cause there was no sale on at the time.. i wouldn't mind having a set of 235/75's for the winter....
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here she be:
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looks good, even matches the ground out there!
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Ngrover and I went for a little excursion at a local recreational vehicle park near Calgary and had a blast!
Looks like his V6 beast running the 225/75/16 Bigfoot XTs |removethispart|@ 35PSI is significantly better in the ice packed & snow conditions than my trucklet running 245/75/16 MTRs |removethispart|@ 20 PSI
Looks like I'll have to try hard to find a siping knife :D
maybe ya'll can confirm this... on our hill climbs, and other obsticles Neil was able to get up them with far less wheelspin
Could this be the factor of the following:
1. My tires are too wide for the vehicle for Winter offroading?
2. Not enough siping?
3. Sway bar not disconnected and I have lifted either front tires at one point or another
Also... just an FYI
I definately cannot run the 245's off JDMCRX's lift alone
I have removed the front bumper & splash guards (to be replaced once I hammer/cut more fender out)
The rear fender (the little part by the door jam) was not only "rubbing" at full compression but in fact yanked out and cut nice fat chunks of tire from my side lugs
Looks like I'm looking for more options to lift up the rear end and to "fold" the fender and tuck it away as much as possible
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man that was fun! if there are any other zuke owners in calagary that want to head out with Paul (r3cc0s) and I then that'd be cool.
i think my GV faired a bit better even though your truck looks cooler ;)
the differences between our setups are the following:
1) me having 225/75R16 M+S tires vs Paul with 245/75R16 MT's
2) me having 3 inch lift in the back vs Paul having 2 inch lift
3) me having 4-runner shocks in the rear vs Paul having Crown Vics
4) me no sway-bar up front vs Paul with sway bar
.... of all the differences listed above I'd say the sway bar might be the big difference. I noticed my front end worked quite freely while pauls rear end worked quite hard (articulated like mad) to make up for the stiffness up front. His tracker was bouncing around like crazy in a few situations while mine not so much. Pauls crow vic shocks are also a bit softer but i'm not sure if that had anything to do with it.
i'm quite amazed at what these things can do!
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I'm a gunna disconnect the front sway ASAP and hopefully get the rear lift installed quickly too
gunna talk to my buddy to see what options I can do to tuck the fender in a bit more.... don't really want to lose any more chunks of lugs on my body no more :D
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Alright --- removed the sway bar and didn't even have to adjust the brake lines at all
If the strut limits the full extention travel, then I have more than enough brake line leaving the line attached to the stock strut clip (perhaps cause I have a tracker w/ smaller disks/calipers than the GV)
The difference in my ability to articulate is significantly better... not having being limited to the other wheel due to the sway bar
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki023.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki024.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki026.jpg)
Only problem is... I definately need more rear lift and that is coming hopefully within the next week
here is an example why:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki025.jpg)
I am going to have to bend in the fender and w/ the 1 1/4 lift, I should have enough clearance as the suspension in the above picture is fully compressed
Surprisingly there is space inside the upper portion of the fender, however it's the width of the tire which touches the fender
:D
then Neil, we'll have to go out and test it again
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mine still rub ever so slightly in the rear with 2and a bit inches of lift, at the front of the wheel well, i haven't extended my bumpstops, have you? i also have the body lift.. so just over 4 inches. seems to only touch the plastic of the fender flare and not quite the sheet metal.
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I need something for time being, so likely I'll get the extra coil spacers installed w/ Neil later this week and try to roll/cut more fenders from both the front and rear jams
Then the 2" BL from RRO
I just spoke to Zukination (the zuki specialist here in Calgary) and this is his new lift proposal:
4" longer coils all round
4" longer shocks all round
Instead of struts, install far stronger double control arm (plus easier to source quality shocks)
Diff drop brackets w/ new Control Arms which will pull the front wheels further from the body
Drive shaft extenders
To replace the upper link and lower trailling arm w/ Johnny joints to adjust the pinion (diff) angle
The control arm will use a free floating style (seat) where the front coil can move freely and will then be bind free
but in the meanwhile.. I think i'm looking at your route there BZZR2
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If you guys are looking for xl-7 springs I know someone who has them to sell. If you want them get in touch with aftermarket4x4
George
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I called up my local zuki parts dealer, and they said:
they cannot confirm whether they are taller, they think it's only progressively stiffer
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thanks, maybe he can measure them for us and we'll know, r3cc0s - you mentioned you hoped to get that extra spacer installed, maybe you could measure your stock spring height when you have it out? then we'll know exactly what we are looking at!
thanks blacknight.
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here's a pic I posted in the XL-7 area. These are Calmini springs and XL-7 springs
George
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ok, which lift are those calmini springs from? thanks.
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I am really really hoping an extra inch or two of lift will clear this issue up for me
some shots I just took
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki002.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki001-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki003.jpg)
ooh the rubbage
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/Tracker%20Project/zuki004.jpg)
There is no way in hell I can run any spacers in the rear
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At least your wheels look good ;D
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I have to agree with you ;D
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true!
hopefully you'll get a chance to measure that spring soon so we can either pick up some xl7's or go with the next choice...
have you extended the rear bumpstops yet? i was thinking of simply adding a chunk of rubber about an inch thick on the bottom of the spring area so the upper bumpstop which seems like more work to extend simply hits this to stop the compression..
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ok, which lift are those calmini springs from? thanks.
Calmini only has one set of springs for the GV's and the XL-7s as far as I know.
George
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hhmm, i guess i'm trying to understand how they are the so close to the same in height if the calmini's are supposed to provide lift, thanks.
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hhmm, i guess i'm trying to understand how they are the so close to the same in height if the calmini's are supposed to provide lift, thanks.
Its all about spring rates
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so i guess the lift comes at the expense of a harder ride?
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I am thinking it's worth a try, but I'll stick w/ the coil spacer adins that I'll install this week and look towards a body lift...
If that doesn't work, then longer coils w/ longer shocks are my next proposal
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you might need to go with longer shocks after you add the extra inch anyway, i find that the crown vics are not really satisfactory with 2.25 rear lift. i'm looking at adding a spacer on the top to push the shock down another .25 > .5 inches but this will depend on the uptravel, don't want to crush the shock with vehicles weight.
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I am okay with running the Crown Vic shocks with these coil spacers for now, if required I'll get longer travel shocks but probably getting springs too...
Now I need everyone's opinion on this...
okay... is there a serious problem with running more than 2" lift on the stock control arms?
I mean, I could easily pick up 4 1.5" taller coils and run them with the coil spacers that I have... not risk anything as the coil will still sit on the stock seat at the bottem and still has a bumpstop at the top to prevent the coil from falling out
get longer shocks/struts (still using my strut spacer in the front)
and just picking up diff drop bracket and drive shaft spacers from VTTR....
That way I would have a rough 3.5" of suspension lift...
Is there a serious risk of front coil bind? Will this push my control arms way too far low and will I have to run wheel spacers?
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You should be ok at 3.5" with the diff drop bracket. The drive shaft spacer may not be needed. The only issue I see you might run in to are the tie-rod end needing to lenghtened.
Right now I'm 3" ish with VTTR spring and a Calmini lift Looking to push it out 4 to 4.5" and get 265/75/16's under there ;D
George
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So I got Ngrover to help me install these 2" coil spacers (made of soft poly-rubber of somesort) underneath the spring w/ some hose clamps
It seems to have raised my rear end by at least 1 1/4" which now clear my rear wheels with full compression. Mind you though there is barely enough space to slip a dime through between the body & the tire, this is significantly better than before!
So from digging up info from everywhere... I think it's best that I leave the suspension for now asides from possibly getting longer rear shocks for more travel (to make up for the limited range of the front suspension, even with a 2" strut extender)
The process of putting together a 3-4" suspension lift myself is a bit tetious, as I might have to change the links out with something like a curry jonny join rather than the stock ones for the pionion angles to be corrected (or have to re-weld the links to the diff)
as well... probably the biggest concern is the control arms... any more than 2-3" on the front stock control arms and it will really reduce the width of the front as well as cause potential coil bind (no matter the coil)
The real only probabaility for any more lift than 3" front, 4" rear is like I said, new longer control arms, diff drop brackets, driveshafts or driveshaft spacers and different link connectors (and possibly different tie-rods)
along side with the required longer struts, shocks and coils (on top of my coil spacers)
I think I'm going to wait to see what Zukination has to offer, and perhaps even this RRO "in the works" has enginered before I proceed with any more suspension work
So far this lift w/ 245/75/16" has jacked my frame height to roughly 14 1/4" and the larger tires raised my axel clearance close to 9 1/4"
The body lift is really not a requirement at this point, but I really wouldn't mind, especially seeing how I would like to run some 235/85/16s next year
Other things to consider would be getting a good solid tube bumper and finding some 5.12s & a ARB
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If you guys are looking for xl-7 springs I know someone who has them to sell. If you want them get in touch with aftermarket4x4
George
thanks, emailed aftermarket4x4 on this.
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What size tires where you runningbefore lift? ANd what ae you running now?
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no luck for me, xl7 springs already gone :( he's got some 4dr tracker springs that he says may give 1 inch of lift on the 2dr, he did mention that the xl7's would give about 3inches of lift on a 2dr so maybe 1-2 inches on the 4dr??
anyway, if anybody comes accross some xl7 rear springs please let me know, thanks...
anybody out there ever toss in the gv springs into a 2dr 4cyl front end??
i have the winter to figure out how i'm gonna change my suspension around for about an inch more lift all around... i'd prefer to not spend $500cdn on the OME springs if i don't have too..
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yah I'm thinknig the same thing... get a tad longer shock, keep the 2" coil spacer and get the XL7 springs and bam... suspension is basically done
I'll try to source some