ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: dentedzuk on December 20, 2007, 10:44:25 AM
-
Hey all,
I curious about others reviews of BDS's strut extenders. I have a set and am planning on using with some spring spacers. I recall 2 people posting about breaking them. My ride is a DD and im not in a hurry lose a strut riding on the highway to work, so i wanted to know what others experiences where with them.
Thanks,
James
-
Frankly, I find strut extenders frightening on a MacPherson set-up. On a dual A-arm, maybe. But tha Mac set up uses the strut as part of the locating configuration.
-
they we too long for my kick. they let the cv's bind on extension
-
I was told they work good for daily commuting, but am also curious how they handle wheeling. That doesnt sound to good about letting the cv's bind when extended. How much longer are the old man emu struts than oem? If they are 2" longer as well wouldnt the cv's bind the same way? I notice most kits add 2.5" of susp! Anyways, I bought them coz it seemed the only cheap alternate to OME struts for the 2gen vittracks.. doing the whole lift for about $175 (2" spring spacers, strut extenders, camberbolts, shock extenders) is in my price range. The only place Ive seen new struts was Rocky-road for $120 per strut.. unfortunately right now I cant afford that plus springs. Is there any other alternatives to OME struts/ BDS strut extenders in North America?
thanks guys
james
Merry Christmas
-
the bds extenders add 70mm of travel to the stock struts, the ome struts are 50mm longer than the stock stuts without extenders, so the ome's are close to 1inch shorter on travel, so better for cv life, so in the long run probably the best bet. my stock struts have done some hard work over the last 2yrs, once they are getting bad i'll upgrade to the ome's at the expense of the 20mm of travel just for peace of mind. my strut extenders were a tough install also.. if you're bringing it to a shop add an hour of labour for that.
-
Call SKy" and order his strut extenders they are pretty trick.
Kevin
-
My extenders are almost 3" long. I fixed the problem of the hyperextension by lowerinf the diff 1.5 inches. The other problem is that the strut would run out of shaft when bottoming out before it hit the bump stops. I had to add 1.25" bumpstop extensions. mine has a 2.5" lift. when you lower the diff and still use the stock A arms you cannot keep the sway bar because it hits the Pass side boot.
that is the whole story with my setup. it does work alot better than stock, but I got a few Samurais to actually wheel.
-
the bds extenders add 70mm of travel to the stock struts, the ome struts are 50mm longer than the stock stuts without extenders, so the ome's are close to 1inch shorter on travel, so better for cv life, so in the long run probably the best bet. my stock struts have done some hard work over the last 2yrs, once they are getting bad i'll upgrade to the ome's at the expense of the 20mm of travel just for peace of mind. my strut extenders were a tough install also.. if you're bringing it to a shop add an hour of labour for that.
OK man, im a total noob and dont understand so bare with me, but, how can you run a 1" longer strut than OEM with +1.25" lift coils and 1" spacer (like RRs kit)? Wouldnt you need a +2.25" strut?
Call SKy" and order his strut extenders they are pretty trick.
Kevin
I checked out skys website and only seen a strut spacer for trackers. Would those work in a 2nd gen?
My extenders are almost 3" long. I fixed the problem of the hyperextension by lowerinf the diff 1.5 inches. The other problem is that the strut would run out of shaft when bottoming out before it hit the bump stops. I had to add 1.25" bumpstop extensions. mine has a 2.5" lift. when you lower the diff and still use the stock A arms you cannot keep the sway bar because it hits the Pass side boot.
that is the whole story with my setup. it does work alot better than stock, but I got a few Samurais to actually wheel.
So your still running your BDS extenders and their holding up? Cool :) thats what im looking for!
Where did you get your bumpstops/diff drops?
Im gonna run 1-1.5" front coil spacers... so hopefully i dont have to remove my sway bar.
Thanks guys,
James
Zukiworld, schooling noobs on a daily basis!!! ;)
-
I used a 1.5" spacer for the front springs. that gave me 2 3/8" lift. I used 1.5 inch diff drops from a old procomp lift. I did not use the any other procomp lift parts in the front and thier springs were stiff. The sway bar will hit with stock a arms with any spacer even if you shorten the end cinnecting rod. I tried trust me on that. I made the bump stop spacer. I took a peice of 1.5 inch round tubing and got 2 large washers. I weled a metric bolt in on and a nut on the other and then welde those to the tube. I did not loose any travel I use all but the last .5 in of the strut on compression.
on the back I used 2.5" springs from the procomp and am just at the point of super slicht vibrations. and did the Crown vic shocks. I get about 13" of twist in the back and 8 in the front for a 21 of total flex on a 4 door. not back for a motor home dingy for the whole family.
hope that helps
Jason
-
I checked out skys website and only seen a strut spacer for trackers. Would those work in a 2nd gen?
Sky's website is being re-designed, and has been for a little while. Some of the stuff available isn't listed, so it's best to just call them and tell them what you're looking for, they'll do there best to help you out.
-
on my 2nd gen tracker i have not removed the sway bar, can't lift anymore without removing though, i have no diff drop brackets up front and no bump stop extensions and so far have no problems.
the OME strut is the roughly the same length as the ome lift spring, without adding a coil spacer.
-
on my 2nd gen tracker i have not removed the sway bar, can't lift anymore without removing though, i have no diff drop brackets up front and no bump stop extensions and so far have no problems.
the OME strut is the roughly the same length as the ome lift spring, without adding a coil spacer.
yea the drop diff is the issue for the sway bar
-
i have a set of strut exxternders and ive never had them break or anthing like that but if i had to buy them again i dont think i would bc they have broken 2 cv shafts bc like they said they bind up when the strut is fully extended but if u dont do alot of offroading then you might be ok
-
i made my own spacers using the sky design in mind.....i used a solid chunk of roundstock stainless which i then turned in a lathe and then cut threads on the inside and outside of them so that they screw into the top of the strut, and bolt thr the strut mount... which i didnt flip...i know of a guy on here that has had some unfortunate luck with the boondox brand spacers, but he recently JUMPED his zuke offroading near his house, and the next weekend we were out at a mudbog, and he hit a hole pretty hard and the spacer actually split, letting everything unwind from there.....his was a newer model....00 i think...they have a 1 piece ball join assy which i guess according to him is pricey, but boondox has never heard of this they told him...and they shipped him a new set and no charge.....really good for the customer service point of view.....but thru my abUSE, ive never had any issues with mine....
-
is a link with the carnage pics
http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=19168.0 (http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=19168.0)
-
i used a solid chunk of roundstock stainless which i then turned in a lathe and...
Stainless! That's totally rock bling , and I love it. Cna you post a pic? Damn thing must look sweeter than a powercoated blue ones.
-
Okay. That wraps it up for me. Two identical flukes. I'll not be getting myself a set of those extenders. If a weakened one finally let go when I hit a pothole on the freeway.......yeah. No thanks.
-
Since I already have them and I don't jump or do any serious boggin' Im gonna give them a run.. if the CV bind is too much or I get some extra scratch I might upgrade later..
Thanks guys for all the imput!
Merry Christmas
-
Well I have to say it all depends on how hard ya pound yer truck... I mean ya jumped the rig... What do you expect? For it not to break?
Ya I have pounded the crap out of my 4dr and use the Boondox 2" strut extensions and have had absolutely no issues with them. From rocks to mud to 40mph trail runs and no issues with them at all.
Now another thing i here ppl talking about blue anodized from Boondox? Mine were black and looked like they had been tempered.
If you are worried about them then don't buy them... If you do buy them make sure they are torqued on to 80f/pounds with red lock tite so they never have a chance of backing them off.
Mybe thats why they are braking apart.. Due to improper installation.
Not laying blame but saying "Just maybe..."
Kelly
-
Stainless! That's totally rock bling
(http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/2535000-2535999/2535530_79_full.jpg)
no way man...no bling here.....keep em mud covered...i tried to clean it a bit for the pic...but its froze right on there good.....about 23 degreez here a.t.m.
Well I have to say it all depends on how hard ya pound yer truck
TOTALLY AGREE....its a truck...not an atv or AIRPLANE....these things arent made to fly...no wings on 'em...if ya keep your rubber on terra-firma you shouldnt have an issue...ive had my lift on for a couple years, an ive beat the snot out of it....blew it up, rebuilt it and still continue to beat the snot out of it...michigan roads are about the worst around.....and i drive ALL dirt roads...try to avoid pavement as much as possible (snakes slither out there) and like ive said...no issues!
-
I respectfully disagree with the "everything should be fine" comments. Remember, this is a MacPherson strut set up, not a double A-arm. In a Mac set up, it's the strut that maintains the geometery of the steering knuckle. Remove the strut, and the knuckle flops around. This is not the case in a double a-arm. In that case, remove the strut, and the knuckle maintains its geometery (like on a Kia Sporty). The strut shaft in a Kicker sees forces both longitudinally and laterally. Longitundinally, it's not a big deal, but laterally puts the extender in a stressful condition. The pic I saw of a cracked extender seemed to be caused by the lateral force I mentioned.
If it were me (and it isn't) I'd add a strut spacer, or flip the stock mount. It's not like the extender adds useful travel.
-
If it were me (and it isn't) I'd add a strut spacer, or flip the stock mount. It's not like the extender adds useful travel.
Unfortunately you can not flip 2nd generation vitara's strut bearing plate due to its large size, and I haven't come across any strut spacers for the newer vehicles yet.. :'(
Call SKy" and order his strut extenders they are pretty trick.
Kevin
How much do they extend?
Any idea if the stock strut could handle adding a 1" coil spacer to springs, or would that just fully extend it and make the ride harsh? Also, would that yield approx 1.5" lift still?
-
I respectfully disagree with the "everything should be fine" comments. Remember, this is a MacPherson strut set up, not a double A-arm. In a Mac set up, it's the strut that maintains the geometery of the steering knuckle. Remove the strut, and the knuckle flops around. This is not the case in a double a-arm. In that case, remove the strut, and the knuckle maintains its geometery (like on a Kia Sporty). The strut shaft in a Kicker sees forces both longitudinally and laterally. Longitundinally, it's not a big deal, but laterally puts the extender in a stressful condition. The pic I saw of a cracked extender seemed to be caused by the lateral force I mentioned.
If it were me (and it isn't) I'd add a strut spacer, or flip the stock mount. It's not like the extender adds useful travel.
ok...ok...the strut spacer does add useful travel....the stock mount flip does add useful travel?? how can the extender not?? they all do the same thing...add length to the strut for your downtravel.....how the heck can a extender not add travel??? and yes, in a mac. type setup the strut does see both lateral and longitudinally stress...but ....do you ever hear of a strut breaking?? i figured the spacer was the best idea...i didnt like the idea of messing with the strut mount because have you guys really thought about what it may do to the actual body where it mounts to....its pretty thin...like crushed budweiser cans imho....so it just seemed more logical to make a extender that was as strong as the strut rod itself....rather than space down the mount which weakens that point....mines workin badass so far...as mentioned earlier, thou.....keep all 4 tires on the ground....jumping is for atv's and such.....when we lift our trucklets, that puts exponential stress on everything else....drive accordingly.....
-
ok...ok...the strut spacer does add useful travel....the stock mount flip does add useful travel?? how can the extender not?? they all do the same thing...add length to the strut for your downtravel.....how the heck can a extender not add travel???
I never said spacers or flipped mounts add useful travel. AFAIK, the only way to get extended useful travel is running OME or the prototype Calmini extended struts. Everything else retains the stock travel.
-
If it were me (and it isn't) I'd add a strut spacer, or flip the stock mount. It's not like the extender adds useful travel.
Unfortunately you can not flip 2nd generation vitara's strut bearing plate due to its large size, and I haven't come across any strut spacers for the newer vehicles yet.. :'(
Well, now that you say it's a gen 2 Vit, well thats different.
There are spacers, Calmini makes them, but they are part of their kit. They is another place making knock-off of them, so you could try there as well.
-
Who makes the knock-offs?
-
i am not clear on the above post saying extenders or strut spacers don't add useful travel?? when i added my extenders i got that much extra downtravel which was what i was looking for, now the struts don't move up as far as they would have without the extenders but that's fine, they haven't been bottoming out, so far i only see an advantage having them. of course i do not jump my dd tracker but the fronts still manage to find themselves off the ground in off camber situations even with the extended travel, just not as much or as often.
if a 1inch spacer is added you will top out your struts on and off road, i can promise that, it will work but bang on the front end and be hard on the struts, you won't like it, take the time to do it right once! wish i would have...
-
i
if a 1inch spacer is added you will top out your struts on and off road, i can promise that, it will work but bang on the front end and be hard on the struts, you won't like it, take the time to do it right once! wish i would have...
TOO LATE!! I put in a 1" spacer today without the extenders. The front struts are almost fully extended but there is still 5/16" left to extend. I already put in 2" spacers in the rear, and now it sits pretty well balanced. The rear is only about 3/8" higher. I decided against the extenders because my struts are crap. ones leaking, and the other isnt that far behind, also i dont want to overextend the CVs. I figure I will do it the right way after taxes! Since I need new struts anyways might as well replace them with the OME struts, add OME springs, and try to find some diff drops! ;D Anyways, the ride on the road is fine, yea the front is now very stiff and i tryed a couple fast hits on a speed bump.. which now I will be very careful to avoid! But, all and all I can live with it for now. Correct me if im wrong, but wouldn't adding an 1" spacer to an OME lift spring with OME struts be about the same as adding it to the stock setup?
Thanks for the help guys, anyone what to buy some strut extenders?! >:D
-
haha, i remember the 1st time i hit a speed bump without the extensions.. regarding the 1inch spacer with the ome spring up front, that is what i plan on doing, it should be fine, even without the diff drop and ome struts.