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ZUKIWORLD Model Specific Suzuki Forum => Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 => Topic started by: Maroon Monsoon on June 10, 2006, 06:56:45 PM
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got pro comp 0-2 inch lift shocks from boondox, they don't work with 0 inches of lift like they are supposed to. They bottom out allot. because of this I need to extend the bump stops and lift it. I want to put old man emu coils on it which lift it 1.25 inches. do you all think the front struts would work as is with that much lift? I am not sure I want to strut extenders till I can make or buy my own axle drop brackets. (don't want to get into my wallet that far for this yet.. eventually though)
my lift I am planning would consist of ome coils (not sure which rate yet), pro comp 2 inch lift shocks, homemade bump stop extenders, and cambre bolts for the front from boondox.
any input is greatly apreciated, thankyou very much
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decided I'm getting coil spacers instead of lift coils for now but most of my questions still apply. are the boondox coils 1.5 inches tall or do they lift it 1.5 inches? thinking those or the 1-1/8th rocky road ones but heavily leaning twards the boondox ones. they seem much nicer
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Ask JCDMRX about the RR spacers...they're Heep spacers...being used for our intents...didn't hold up well for him...
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RR as in rocky road? I just now finished ordering the ones from boondox. they are poly urethane and fit the coil great. on top of that it's like $20 more and they are 1.5 inch instead of 1-1/8
glad I didn't order the rocky road ones. it's good I'm getting spacers cause i checked out my isolators and they are not holding up well. the back ones have holes in them from the coils resting on them
I am so excited to lift my zuk! going to make my own bottom out pad spacers in the rear out of square tubing, think I've seen it done on kicks, sound like a good idea?
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Sorry to say if there poly urthane there gonna sag. 1" will be 1" the first week and after that there gonna sag.
I went threw 2 sets from them and the spring on the front went threw the spacer. The rear the spring sank right in. On my sidekick i had no problem.
Josh
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Sorry to say if there poly urthane there gonna sag. 1" will be 1" the first week and after that there gonna sag.
I went threw 2 sets from them and the spring on the front went threw the spacer. The rear the spring sank right in. On my sidekick i had no problem.
Josh
boondox spacers or rocky road ones? I don't care if they sag a little. the stock isolators have sagged a bit but they are rubber so I am hoping the poly urethane ones do a little better. don't think I can return to boondox and I don't really care cause if they sagged a ways they would still do what they need to do, I'd just have a slightly lower center of gravity when they sag but still enough up travel I'm sure
thanks though. if you had no problem on your kick those things must be considerably lighter....
oh yea, I am pissed at my five link once again. this time not because the exhaust is hard to route, not because the panhard bar makes it go to the passenger side when all the way down allot (over that mostly), but because my pro comp ES 1000 hits the panhard mount on the axle when flexed. there is a little dent in the shock already and they have only been on two days. (insert profanity here) also the shocks hit the mounts when the axle is all the way down but only straight down which wouldn't happen while driving unless it were airborne so I don't think I have to worry about that much. Yea, kicks had a much better rear suspension and I think suzuki is retarted for replacing the 3 link with 5 link cause the 3 link went down the road just as well or better.... oh well, at least it has a frame and solid rear unlike the new GV
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I run the Boondox ones myself, I've had them on for a few months and there is no sagging or mis-shapening happening. They are really high quality, shaped to fit the coil and spring pocket perfectly. Maroon Monsoon you bought the right ones as far as I concerned, the only "sag" should be if your stock coils go south! I just added a set of BDS coils from Boondox's garage sale page, with them and the coil spacers I now have almost 3" of lift both front and rear. Going to fab up my own 3" body lift this week and finally get to stuff my new 265/75/16's (32")under my rig! Good luck with your install! :)
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The 5-link is a superior design as it eliminates the goofy 3-link they had before with the so-so quality ball joint. A 3-like is simpler but that's about all it has going for it.
I like solid front axles under trucks but no amount of bitching is going to get the OEM's to switch back. (Ford excluded ;D)
JD used the RR Heep spacers.
The Boondox ones shouldn't sag, hell, polyurethane is far more dense than suspension rubber. If not, ask the original designer of Boondox's spacers:
http://www.k9rdj.co.uk/vitara/vitlift.htm
I just get the feeling RR's spacers loose some integrity when you bore out the center hole, not to mention due to the geometry of the front Jeep springs have FAR lower spring rates than a Track/Kick/Vit/GV/etc front springs have.
I've got NAPA nitrogen truck shocks for the front of a FJ60 Land Cruiser on the rear of the GV. About $20 each and fit great with the 2" lift. MUCH stiffer and larger than the stock shocks but they don't seem to hit the axle or anything else even when I cycle it. I'll have to check the panhard bar though.
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glad to hear the boondox ones hold up well. I thought for the little bit more they are than rocky road ones they were well worth it considering the way they fit the coil and the extra lift they provide. I thought rocky road ones were poly urethane as well but I could be wrong. either way, I'm glad I ordered the boondox ones and can't wait to get them. how are those BDS coils working on your 4 door? I thought they were for the 2 door kicks but it sounds like they are definatly working well for you. sounds like you got a good deal on those and good luck with your body lifting and 32 fitting
amj, I was messing around with my rear suspension last night seeing how much I need to extend my bump stops by raising the axle up and down with no coils in it but my bigger shocks were on so I'd know how far it can go. I realized the shock hits the panhard mount on the axle when I flexed the passenger side up all the way. it limits the down travel on the drivers side and dents the shock. if your new shocks are as small around as stock you probably don't have this problem but I am a bit dissapointed myself. I guess the 5 link seems like a stronger desighn now that I think about it. more links, no iffy ball joint on the top. but I am upset at this bracket and the way the panhard makes the axle go to the passenger side when the suspension is all the way down. that second issue isn't really a big deal, just a tadd annoying. it would have been cool if they would have done 4 link on these
I agree that solid axle would be cool. I do like ifs but solid axle would be much easier and cheaper to mod really nicely. I might fab up a dual control arm seup someday for the front of my zuk cause that seems like the only way to really have a nice ifs to have articulation comparable to solid axle and have a good amount of lift and travel. I'll make the most of my single control arm ifs for the time being though, want to make sway bar disconnects cause it works beautifly with the sway bar off but it's a bit iffy on the road that way
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can I run the 2 inch strut extenders without worrying about too much droop for the CV's to handle?
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You should be fine, with the longer coils or spacers it'd be about perfect.
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amj, I was messing around with my rear suspension last night seeing how much I need to extend my bump stops by raising the axle up and down with no coils in it but my bigger shocks were on so I'd know how far it can go. I realized the shock hits the panhard mount on the axle when I flexed the passenger side up all the way. it limits the down travel on the drivers side and dents the shock. if your new shocks are as small around as stock you probably don't have this problem but I am a bit dissapointed myself. I guess the 5 link seems like a stronger desighn now that I think about it. more links, no iffy ball joint on the top. but I am upset at this bracket and the way the panhard makes the axle go to the passenger side when the suspension is all the way down. that second issue isn't really a big deal, just a tadd annoying. it would have been cool if they would have done 4 link on these
http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/ has some relocated shock mounts in a kit for the Sidekick. I wonder how they would work on the 99+ models. I haven't seen them on the website, but they were selling them on eBay a while ago.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8041361914&category=33585
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You should be fine, with the longer coils or spacers it'd be about perfect.
how durable are the strut extenders? I am concerned about compromising strength if I use them. would it be possible to extend the struts after I lift it and not have to alighn it again? (by undoinf the top of the strut and putting the extender on while the bottom is bolted up)
and I didn't see those shock mount relocater thingers on sky's site. it's a shame. sounds like a good idea though. after realizing the shock hits the panhard mount I want to weld my own mounts on my axle eventually. the shocks hang down a bit low anyway. if I did that and redid the top ones it would be pretty wicked. not going to worry much about it for a few years, it's my only vehicle and I have to pay for 4 years of college starting this fall so that's why I am staying on a budget with the spacers instead of new coils
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You'll break your shock bodies before you break those extenders. You can ask maplebar or Quaddawg on this site as they have installed theirs but from just handling mine I can tell you these are heavy duty steel. Bar stock stuff.
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so do you think those extenders are a must with the lift I'm going to do?
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Unless you like the sound of your stock length struts bottoming out or have the cash for the OME struts
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alrighty, thanks man. I do have the cash for ome but I don't really want to pay like $120 a strut or whatever. I think I'll order the extenders tonight, hopefully they don't get here too much later than the spacers and cambre bolts. anyone know of anywhere esle that sells them other than boondox? should I ask my local BDS dealer to order them? want them here fast and boondox is pretty much on the other side of the country
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think I'm going to suck it up and buy the ome struts. are they really really hella nice? they better be. anyone know how much longer they are than stock?
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My experience with BDS distributors and Boondox is that Boondox was 10x faster than my local distributor. I have never seen the reloctated shock mounts on Sky's website, but I'm sure you could call and order them. I've been learning recently that a lot of shops carry more product than is listed on their website. Except Calmini... that lists products they don't have ???
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thanks for the input
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my struts do the clunk clunk on rocky trails where more articulation would be good. my front spacer is also only 1inch, i image the 1.5 gives close to .75inch more lift... hey maplebar, how are your extensions working out? did you get limiter straps for that cv issue you mentioned?
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I am sensing I should get ome struts. I my struts may be close to needing replacing anyway. it's about $60 a strut for stock length plus I'd have to pay $45 plus shipping for extenders so by the time I do that it's not that bad paying $120 or so for an ome. since I primarily daily drive my GV I have the sway bar in and will probably keep it in cause it's quite a bit more stable with it in I think (tried without for a few months) I am thinking it might help the struts not max out the down travel as much. what my plan is will be assemble it with the stock struts and if that length works (which isn't likely) I'll just get new stock length struts. most likely it won't work out great and I'll put in some ome's. when I put in the new struts I'll also install my camber bolts and get it alighned
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I think calmini is a retarted company. I called and found out the struts in thier kits are stock replacements that are supposed to be heavy duty. Why on earth would they not make them longer? duh... so I asked about the strut mount spacers and weather or not the strut bar fits with them and they have stuff in the kit that makes it fit again. I then asked if I could buy just the strut mount spacers and all the stuff I'd need to make the strut bar fit and they said they can't break up a kit like that..... they are too retarted to get my business. all I want from them is to someday get those front suspension arms and those strut mount spacers. but no, they aren't smart enough to sell individual parts.
oh well. I think I'll call sky manufacturing and see if they make strut mount spacers for GV's. if they don't which is likely I think I'll order ome struts soon. boondox is taking a while to get my stuff here, oh well, it will be worth the wait I'm sure. at least boondox is smart enough to sell individual parts unlike calmini
not badmouthing boondox, just impatient about waiting for my lift... they are clear across the country, I realize it has to take a while
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If I were replacing the struts at the same time I was looking to get extensions I would definately go with the OME's. The only possible downside is that you might not get as much droop as the BDS extensions.... although that might not be bad after all ;D
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woooo, my wallet is lighter now that I just ordered some ome struts from rocky road. I actually wouldn't mind if they had less droop than with 2 inch extenders cause one dude had them on here and said the CV's didn't want to move when the struts were fully drooped.
I really really hope ome will prove it's reputation to be true cause those damn struts are spendy. fortunately I was able to spot those pro comp shocks which are really nice for cheap.
my GV should be a whole different animal once I finally recieve my orders. I ordered my spacers 5 days ago so it will probably take a few more for them to get here. I have never ordered from rocky road so I have NFC how long those struts will take to get here
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good luck with RR, i had nothing but hassles with them
any respectable 4x4 shop sells OME products so i get mine from them
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good luck with RR, i had nothing but hassles with them
any respectable 4x4 shop sells OME products so i get mine from them
crap, yea, the coil spacers were going to be here like 2 days ago acording to the email usps sent but of corse they aren't here yet. I really hope the struts get here soon but you have me worried. this evening I made my E brake lines so they won't hang up but still secure enough (I think) and put a longer section of diff breather line (I used fuel line or something from napa.. real cheap and it seems better than stock as far as durability) and I also put a hoseclamp on the diff end of the line that wasn't a worthless paper clip like thing cause the stock one didn't want to get really tight. All I need to do is cut the brake line mount on the axle and relocate it a little upwards so that won't hang up (going to weld a piece of steel strapping in.. like an inch or a tadd more) I already have the pro comp 2 inch lift shocks on so my droop on the rear axle won't change.
the coils unseat when I flex the suspension or let it droop all the way and the rear shocks bottom out allot. if it will be a while till I have time to put the lift on I might have to put the stockers back on temporarely even though they are pretty much shot and the diameter of a golf kart shock. I need my freaking lift soon and if rocky road doesn't deliver I think I will have to go over there and regulate! I threw allot of cash at thier business for a set of struts
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'tis a shame we arent able to order from ARB direct
they ship out all their orders right away
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I believe Trail Tough are agents too and they seem to have a pretty good service rep.
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I'd help you out but I work for ARRB not ARB, people always get it confused!
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yea, I'm freaking tired of waiting for parts. I think I'll relocate my rear brake line today. anyone know if I need to mess with the front brake lines at all with the droop I'll get with the ome struts?
I thought the spacers were supposed to be here the other day but I missinterpreted the thing and they were shipped that day so they should be here today or tomorrow at the latest.. just need to wait for the struts after that
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brake lines should be fine, just take them off the clip and go. there seems to be plenty of extra flex line for the 1.5 inch extra droop.
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once usps says it's with them it's outta rr's hands, i ordered my body lift and it was in canada maybe 7-8 days after the order was placed. i was surprised after hearing all the crap about deliveries taking forever! maybe i just go lucky, too bad they didn't ship a midget in the little box to install it too.......
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well, the spacers are what usps has ahold of which I bought from boondox and the struts I got from RR and I have no idea where they are. I didn't want to be flexing the brake line all the time so what I did this morning is cut the brake line mount off the axle and tack a piece of angle iron in there. makes the brake line less vulnerable, allows it to fully travel and then some with no stress and the metal lines won't move. had to undo the clamp to lower the axle all the way so could cut the mount reclamp and weld the piece in.
between that, my longer diff breather, and my relocated E brake lines I am 100% ready for the lift in the back other than putting bump stop spacers in but that will be quick
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the ome struts are here and so are the spacers! the only problem is that I was sent strut extenders instead of camber bolts. I am a bit perterbed about it but not too bad.. if it doesn't work out it's a $20 value because they are worth more than the camber bolts. I'd rather return them and get the bolts I ordered but like I said, it's win win. if I can't get ahold of boondox about it I guess in a year or so I can add the strut extenders to my ome's, extend the front bump stops, get longer rear shocks, extend the bump stops and lift it even more!... I would have to buy or make axle drop brackets of course. I hope shredder's reading this because that way boondox won't get shorted $20 for giving me the wrong part... I'm not really that upset. even if I put it together without adjusting tha camber it shouldn't be that bad since it's badly undercamed stock which wears my tires like crap. well, that being said, I'd really rather have the camber bolts... by the end of the month... hopefully the lift will be installed in the beginning of july
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man, all this planning
i cant wait to see your zuk finally lifted
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man, all this planning
i cant wait to see your zuk finally lifted
well, it's been allot of planning and it's the drivers side front away from being done... almost got the coil out before I called it quits tonight. the spacers fit like crap in the back but now that they are in they will work fine. on the front they fit PERFECT! here's a pic of the progress. still don't know what I'll do with those extenders I didn't order
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Send them back to Boondox and ask for the camber bolts like you ordered.
I'd call first and sound a bit annoyed because your truck is sitting there with no way to be aligned correctly because THEY sent you the wrong part... I've done that before and gotten free shipping, etc out of the deal. It's true.
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thanks, I'll have to try that. here's a pic of it, the alighnment isn't too bad. goes down the road perfectly straight liek before and the camber is just a bit positive
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/719871/1
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Looks good. Did you use OME springs in the end?
How does the ride compare?
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thanks, I used stock coils and boondox spacers. the stock struts were shot as were the shocks so it rides really nice with ome struts and pro comp shocks. you have a more positive feel of it. nice and comanding. the only thing is that it's a tadd touchy on the steering but I think that is the camber being a tad dpositive that is causing that. it rides pretty good.
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...the only thing is that it's a tadd touchy on the steering but I think that is the camber being a tad dpositive that is causing that. ....
Yes, that will be the cause. If you can't get the camber correctors out of your supplier, try sales|removethispart|@drivewire.com.
I can't find the parts on their website, but, for my X-90 I bought:
5.81250K Suzuki Sidekick
Eibach Alignment - Camber Kit
$26.75 incl shipping in the US.
As the Gen2 uses the same OME struts, the same camber correctors should be ok.
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thanks man.
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Where do you guy's get boondox spacers?
FullDraw
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http://www.boondoxmotorsports.com/zuk_suspension.html
Welcome to Zukiworld. Don't forget to look at the article archive, it has lot's of good information on mods, installs, products etc.
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Thanks a lot for the website address. I like those spacers gonna get me a set.
FullDraw