ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Technical Discussion - Performance / Modify => Topic started by: rockybaroofy on January 30, 2012, 03:47:56 PM
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hey guys , sorta odd question , up here in the communist states ( read: N.E.!) we have some of the most ferocious frost heaves known to zuki kind ! question is what can i do to the suspension of my 93 trackick so it will soak up the bumps ? are we talking desert racer shocks? or air ride ? will widening the front end make it ride any better ? I'm not looking for a Cadillac ride , i know zuki's bounce , but it's getting to the point of peeing blood after my 65 mile commute ! I and my kidney's , appreciate any serious advice !
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Hmmm, good question! With the short wheelbase and light weight of these little trucks there's not much you can do to absorb those kind of sharp edged bumps fluidly. You'd have to increase the suspension travel significantly, like 5" or more, and have that damped by some pretty serious struts. Like desert racer style, upper control arm added , remote res strut ( or 3 ) with both high and low speed compression and rebound damping adjustments. For the rear, long travel 4 link maybe, again flexy springs with really well damped adjustable remote res shocks. I figure about 5 to 10 grand oughta do it. ;D
Have you tried lowering your tire pressures to factory reccomended levels? 23 lbs is called for, you can even go a tad less in the winter.
I don't know how fast your driving, but If I hit anything like a frost heave ( tree root, small sharp ledge etc) blasting through the woods at more than a brisk 25mph it feels like I'll tear the front end right off the truck. Plush these are not.
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sounds like I'm going to have to suck it up a bit , any links to those desert racer struts ? what about those shock/spring gadgets the pro rock crawlers use that look like a motorcycle fork ? ??? i wouldn't mind having them sticking thru the hood if they would help the ride ! you think widening would help ? the frost heaves are not particularly tall nor deep , but are usually violent ( very little ramp )i had thought of maybe a set of criss-cross lower a-arms , like the desert guys , but i ha vent got the driveaxle thing worked out yet .
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This might sound like a stupid question, but have you changed your shocks lately? You might have worn/blown out shocks, that offer little of no compression damping, and the suspension is bottoming out against the bump stops. If that might be the case, a set of new but inexpensive shocks might fix the problem. Try chalking the bump stop rubbers and driving over a few frost heaves. If the rubbers are bottoming out, I'd put on a new set of shocks.
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I Don't see where you guys asked him what size tire hes running,maybe he's running 22's with a 1 inch side wall. Lol
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thanks for the wake-up call tom , sometimes the simplest things go over looked ! I'm going to try your suggestion today , it could very well be , i know the struts are o.e. , the rears have been changed but i don't remember when ! this zuki is mostly stock with 205/75/15's at 23 psi . I'm not so much worried about the ride as much as the violent jarring ripping my zuk apart . it's good to see that there are alot of people that care enough about their zuk's to prepare them for the best chance of longevity
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My tracker was bottoming out (hard thump) when ever I hit a small bump at over 35 mph (didn't cause physical damage to me). But when just bouncing in the back the shocks seemed to dampen it enough to prevent bottoming. As I got into the latest modifications I removed a shock and it would compress extremely easy, while requiring modest force to open it. Checking with another used shock stored in garage if found that it required a lot more force to compress and would open on its own. Then when working on front I disconnected the upper strut mount and watched it compress on its own. Not good, it used to open also. These things wear out. I am changing both while doing the mods.
Still trying to get mods done to see how ride improves.
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thanks brd hntr , please post when you get your mods finished , i'd like to know if or how much it changes the ride
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Mine soaks up the bumbs alot nicer after I did the Hagen Widening.