ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Technical Discussion - Performance / Modify => Topic started by: bentparts on February 06, 2011, 05:15:05 AM
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I recently came upon a set of Calmini 3" lift front control arms and wanted to use them in place of my modified stockers. I had previously done the " Hagen " widening mods to my front end and wanted to continue to use my custom stub shaft and drivers side axle on the passenger side. I had also modified my stock control arms to fit the bottom coil pocket at a better angle, to prevent the coil from bowing out,, and have a straighter coil. I want to keep all these benefits while taking advantage of the Calmini arms longer length, and better geometry.
The Calmini control arms longer than stock to correct for the natural narrowing of the wheel track when lifting an IFS like ours. So the first thing was to determine if the " widening " mods were still necessary to use all my old drive line parts, stub shaft and DS axle.
The last photo shows the Calmini arm mounted in the modified " hagen " position, which is rear control arm mounting moved out aprox 1.25" from stock. With the stock control arm mounted this way it gives you additional width, and moves the axle forward about 1" to provide room for the longer stub shaft, DS axle combination, as well as the added benefit of centering the wheel in the wheel well and giving the Trackicks a bit more Castor. Details of this mod can be found in the Archives under Mike Hagens mods.
What I discovered with the Calmini arms mounted this way was the coil twisted forward an unacceptable amount for my tastes.
Mounting the Calmini arms in the stock location eliminates this issue but still leaves the problem of needing to be wider to accommodate the stub shaft and DS axle.
The solution was to mount the control arm in the stock location and move just the ball joint mounting position forward and out. After measuring everything several times, and cycling the suspension up and down I came to the conclusion I only had to move the ball joint out .25". I also wanted to move the wheel forward so I positioned the ball joint forward 1.00". Then I began the cutting.
I removed the section of plate where the ball joint mounts on the Calmini control arm. Next I fabricated a replacement plate with the mounting position where I wanted it. Fitted the new mounting plate. Next step is welding it all up and modifying the lower coil mount to fit my new FOA coils and straighten the vertical coil placing.
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keep the pic's coming. ;D
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Got everything welded up and began the clean up. As you can tell, these things were nasty rusty, peeling powder coat and generally kinda beat. Spent a couple of hours cleaning with every power tool at my disposal and still need a couple more to get ready for paint. Wish I had a blast cabinet. Pics to come when I finish up with the coil mount mods, but probably will have to wait for the weekend. Still waiting on my FOA coils anyway.
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Why torment yourself? Stop fooling with them and send them to immediately! How did you score them without me getting a change at them? Seriously I know when you are done they will beautifully. Keep it up Bentparts.
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I just got off the phone with calmini, they wont sell individual components! what a joke
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Why torment yourself? Stop fooling with them and send them to immediately! How did you score them without me getting a change at them? Seriously I know when you are done they will beautifully. Keep it up Bentparts.
Thanks gearjam, appreciate that. I wish I had your rocksliders,Now that's a beautiful job! Once I got everything lined up and set, I put the stock arms back on to at least have the rig driveable. I planned on spending a couple of weeks finishing the mods and painting everything. Now that the stock ones are back on with a slightly larger spring spacer I'm just tempted to leave them alone and sell the Modded Calmini arms.
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M-
I keep tellin' ya, if you want something to werk on, git yer butt over here and I'll keep ya busy! To make things faster in cleaning up rusty powdercoat, use this method posted on my p'bucket site:
http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm248/dustybadlands/the%20LAB/electrolytic%20rust%20removal/ (http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm248/dustybadlands/the%20LAB/electrolytic%20rust%20removal/)
Did you use your new springs? Cut 'em down? What rate? Remember, I gotta do the same thing.
-T
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M-
I keep tellin' ya, if you want something to werk on, git yer butt over here and I'll keep ya busy! To make things faster in cleaning up rusty powdercoat, use this method posted on my p'bucket site:
[url]http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm248/dustybadlands/the%20LAB/electrolytic%20rust%20removal/[/url] ([url]http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm248/dustybadlands/the%20LAB/electrolytic%20rust%20removal/[/url])
Did you use your new springs? Cut 'em down? What rate? Remember, I gotta do the same thing.
-T
Thanks for the tip buddy! Wish I'd seen that before I busted my ass sanding ! :laugh: What, you got work to do? I'll be right over :laugh: Come on, when we moving to NM? Nah, I haven't put the new coils in, just got them though, and the top adapters from Mudchild. There sweet too, billet aluminum and fit the top of the coils perfect. I've got a set of the Suspension Specialist 3" x 16" 550 lb coils I'll eventually put in if the Calmini's droop anymore. I'll probably need to remove about half a coil from the bottom since the coil bucket is for a " pigtailed " coil. Remember , I did the Hagen widening which in effect caused the loss of up to an inch of lift,. So with the standard Calmini coil I added a 1.25" coil spacer to bring the lift back up to about 3.5" The Suspension Specialist coils ( FOA) are longer than the Calmini's so no spacer needed, and should flex better because there not being preloaded. I tried a set of 600# springs but couldn't get the damn things compressed enough to get them in! I'm begining to wonder though if it's all just a bit too much. Now that I've added the slightly bigger spacer to my Calmini Coils the ride height is perfect. Waddya think, better leave well ennough alone?
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I think you need to sell them calmini arms to some sucker in need ;)
and for you....
M-
I keep tellin' ya, if you want something to werk on, git yer butt over here and I'll keep ya busy! To make things faster in cleaning up rusty powdercoat, use this method posted on my p'bucket site:
[url]http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm248/dustybadlands/the%20LAB/electrolytic%20rust%20removal/[/url] ([url]http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm248/dustybadlands/the%20LAB/electrolytic%20rust%20removal/[/url])
Did you use your new springs? Cut 'em down? What rate? Remember, I gotta do the same thing.
-T
thanks for this. after reading I made it a experiment for my youngest and I to do it worked great, I've got some crunchy calmini components in the soda/water cooking right now!
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Well, They're up for grabs. Gearjam and you are interested so whoever gets there first I guess.
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I will rattle my piggy bank and see what happens, I've been burnt a couple times lately which put a hurting on my build cash.
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What Calmini parts do you have that you are going to part with?
Prices??
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What I have is a set of their 3" lift front control arms modified to move the ball joing foward 1.25", centering the front wheel in the wheel well, making it easier to fit bigger tires. I also have a NEW set of Suspension Specialists ( from FOA) 550 lb x16" coils and new custom aluminum adapters from Mudchild here on this forum. The Calmini coils are known to eventually sag, these are longer and don't sag. I'll sell all or pieces. $275 for the control arms, $150 for the 2 new coils, $90 for the custom adapters. Or $450 for all of it. + shipping of course.
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After checking dustybadlands tip (thanks a lot), i was feeling pretty good about reading this article. Then I got down to the punch line
What I have is a set of their 3" lift front control arms modified to move the ball joing foward 1.25", centering the front wheel in the wheel well, making it easier to fit bigger tires. I also have a NEW set of Suspension Specialists ( from FOA) 550 lb x16" coils and new custom aluminum adapters from Mudchild here on this forum. The Calmini coils are known to eventually sag, these are longer and don't sag. I'll sell all or pieces. $275 for the control arms, $150 for the 2 new coils, $90 for the custom adapters. Or $450 for all of it. + shipping of course.
$uch a deal. Just needs the modified axle shaft. After putting the V6 in the Tracker it is setting a little lower, and those 16" FOA Coils would probably be the ticket, along with the rest of it.
What are Mudchilds adapters for?
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'MudChilds adapters fit the top of the coil to the upper coil mount. The coils are slightly larger diameter at the top than a Calmini or stock coil which taper to fit in the mount.
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I know, I feel kinda stupid thinking about selling all of it now, since I've been wanting to do this forever. I really need to do the rear disc brake conversion to mine and the $ needs to come from somewhere. We'll see, may just finish the clean and paint and wait for the next front end damage to install everything.
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What I have is a set of their 3" lift front control arms modified to move the ball joing foward 1.25", centering the front wheel in the wheel well, making it easier to fit bigger tires. I also have a NEW set of Suspension Specialists ( from FOA) 550 lb x16" coils and new custom aluminum adapters from Mudchild here on this forum. The Calmini coils are known to eventually sag, these are longer and don't sag. I'll sell all or pieces. $275 for the control arms, $150 for the 2 new coils, $90 for the custom adapters. Or $450 for all of it. + shipping of course.
??? I thought I was starting to understand this suspension stuff, but now I'm soooo confused:
550 lb. coils? Everyone I've been reading has been talking about 170-225 coils. Isn't 550 lbs going to ride within an inch or so of being uncompressed on a track/kick?
Gil
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This may help you to understand the leverage factor on spring rate.
http://www.timskelton.com/lightning/race_prep/suspension/spacers.htm (http://www.timskelton.com/lightning/race_prep/suspension/spacers.htm)
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What I have is a set of their 3" lift front control arms modified to move the ball joing foward 1.25", centering the front wheel in the wheel well, making it easier to fit bigger tires. I also have a NEW set of Suspension Specialists ( from FOA) 550 lb x16" coils and new custom aluminum adapters from Mudchild here on this forum. The Calmini coils are known to eventually sag, these are longer and don't sag. I'll sell all or pieces. $275 for the control arms, $150 for the 2 new coils, $90 for the custom adapters. Or $450 for all of it. + shipping of course.
??? I thought I was starting to understand this suspension stuff, but now I'm soooo confused:
550 lb. coils? Everyone I've been reading has been talking about 170-225 coils. Isn't 550 lbs going to ride within an inch or so of being uncompressed on a track/kick?
Gil
The leverage factor on an IFS like ours demands a heavier coil than some other types of vehicles. Actually 550 is the same rate as a Calmini coil, except the ones I have from FOA are not progressive, meaning the first inch or so of travel is not softer, which in IMO is what makes the Calmini ( older ones anyway ) sag.
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Here's some Pics of the modded control arms and new coils with adapters.
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With the new mounting plate for the ball joint it's a simple matter if just re-drilling the holes to relocate them back to the stock position if desired. Still have to get around to cutting the inside of the coil pockets and changing the seating angle, but it'll have to wait while I fix my leaking wheel cylinders.
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What ever happend with these? Still got 'em?
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Sold the modified a arms to fund the rear disc conversion. Kept the coils and adapters for eventual use as front replacements.