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What would you do to my Zuki?

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Zam15

What would you do to my Zuki?
« on: July 31, 2007, 05:18:19 AM »
Hi All,

I have been visiting this site for some time and reading about what great things every one is doing to a good little vehicle. I have had a 1998 4Door Suzuki Sidekick 2WD for some time and would like to make it more capable off road. I use my Sidekick mainly to get to work and school. When I go camping I never seem to have enough space to put everything and would like to make my way to more remote places off the beaten path. I have been thinking about lifting my Sidekick for some time as well as adding a new front bumper and roof rack to allow for more storage. I am going to do all the labor myself and hope to spend no more than $1,500.

Possible Options:
http://www.puresuzuki.com/winch_bumper.htm       $600 Bumper
http://www.puresuzuki.com/3_lift_kit.htm               $895 3â€? Lift
http://www.puresuzuki.com/roof_rack.htm      $379.95 Roof Rack
I want to make sure these will be compatible with mine or if any one has any better recommendations I should take…
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
-Derek

Attached is a pic of my Zuki--  :)

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Offline Uncivilized

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2007, 08:17:32 AM »
You'd have to ask Calmini to know for sure, but I don't think the Calmini suspension lifts will work on a Sport model, they have a wider frame to support the 1.8L, and I believe the control arms are shorter. If it were me, I'd focus on converting it to 4WD, a 2" lift(suspension or body) and a good set of larger, off road tires. I love the Sport models, and I'd hate to cut one... so I'd keep the tire size at 30", and mount them on the factory aluminum wheels. You're gonna get lots of opinions, and they're just that.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2007, 08:21:49 AM by Uncivilized »
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dan_b_grcc

Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2007, 11:35:45 AM »
By the sound of it for the money you are willing to spend on  "upgrading", you could buy an older 4 wheel drive tracker/sidekick, and be done with it. I imagine upgrade parts are cheaper and more abundant..plus its already a 4x4, so you would be starting out a lot farther ahead. You could choose to leave it bone stock and still go far more places off road than you ever could with the 2wd model. Thats what I would do anyways, rather than screwing around with a 2wd model, sounds expensive to me and kind of pointless. It sounds like your not going to be doing any radical off-roading anyways, so a stock 4x4 is probably just the ticket. :)
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Offline bzzr2

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2007, 11:59:20 AM »
get a 4x4.  if not you're open diff one wheel driving in the trails.  you will get stuck and be pissed off.  maybe a locker is an option if you don't get a 4x4, but without one of the two, i would not suggest spending you're money here....  all in all your choice, but how many people lift a 2wd to go off roading?  sorry if i sound rude, that is not the intention. 
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Zam15

Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2007, 01:05:11 PM »
Thanks for all the advice,  believe me I have considered getting a 4x4 but it seem odd to me to sell my car and buy pretty much the same vehicle but with 4WD. This car has more of a sentimental value to me and I was hoping to hold on to it. I am not planning to go mud running or rock climbing and just want some off-roading capability. I was planning on eventually putting in a rear differential locker to improve its off-road ability. If I had my way I would buy a nice new 4x4 Toyota Tacoma but its way out of my price range. I am just trying to have some fun on a budget and I know I will get much more value out of keeping my car than selling it. I just want to find the best way to see more of the great out doors. I guess I am stuck between a rock and a hard place that my car might not be able to get me out of…..
I was hoping to get it close to the one shown here: http://www.rocky-road.com/kickome.html
« Last Edit: July 31, 2007, 01:19:18 PM by Zam15 »
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Offline whateverworks

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2007, 03:24:09 PM »
Don't sell the Sport... Get another one with 4WD and use the Sport for a daily driver... Modify the 4WD the way you want it and WALLLA... You have a decent 4x4.
Kelly
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Offline muskegtracker

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2007, 04:04:10 PM »
LOCK IT!  Spend your money on a good selectable locker, put some aggressive 235's and call it good.  A locker can give a 2wd fair comparability to an unlocked 4x4.  I say 235's cause I'm not sure how big you can go without clearance issues.
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Offline jeff1997

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2007, 04:45:09 PM »
I'm not sure if my coil spacers will fit the 2wd or not. If they will a 1.5" or 2" lift would make it look meaner, give it more clearance for aggressive tires and locking the rear will for sure make it pretty capable. I have the 4wd version of the same Sport.
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1997 4dr. Sidekick Sport 1.8L DOHC
2" coil spacers- I make and sell 1.5" and 2" on e-bay.  Look under seller: hoepkers
3" Masterkit1 body lift
Custom strut spacers
31/11.50/16 Super Swamper LTB's w/1.5" wheel spacers Steel bumpers Custom cold air intake 2" exhaust w/cherry bomb 98 Expedition, 2" lift, 35's, Magnaflow exhaust - BIG BLUE
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Zam15

Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2007, 07:47:58 PM »
Ok looks like I am going to go forward with my plan.  ;D
But I am still not 100% sure what approach I want to take to lift my Zuki, of course I dont want to spend to much but I am not sure if I should just use coil spacers and what kind of ride it will result in but it is obviously the most easy and affordable approach... I was looking to get a 2-4"
lift without having to do major body work. Jeff what kind of ride quality do you get and do you have an image of yours? I would like to see the results you got. I might want to use your setup as a guide. How much did the 2" and intake help your HP?
Thanks
« Last Edit: July 31, 2007, 07:51:41 PM by Zam15 »
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Offline jeff1997

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2007, 08:54:37 PM »
I could not tell a difference with the exhaust or the intake because I changed to 31" tires the same time. I did notice a little drop in power with the bigger tires but that is to be expected. I did not notice any ride quality difference, if anything it was better because I put on new rear shocks. I'm sure the intake and exhaust helped it was just hard to tell with the Super Swampers. As for pictures, I'm having a tough time getting an email photo program to work with Vista so pics are on hold right now. I could send them directly to your email, I just can't compress them small enough to post on here. I hope this helps.
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1997 4dr. Sidekick Sport 1.8L DOHC
2" coil spacers- I make and sell 1.5" and 2" on e-bay.  Look under seller: hoepkers
3" Masterkit1 body lift
Custom strut spacers
31/11.50/16 Super Swamper LTB's w/1.5" wheel spacers Steel bumpers Custom cold air intake 2" exhaust w/cherry bomb 98 Expedition, 2" lift, 35's, Magnaflow exhaust - BIG BLUE
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dan_b_grcc

Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #10 on: August 02, 2007, 11:23:05 AM »
In my above post, when I said to get an older 4x4..I meant, keep your 2wd truck that you already have..and buy a cheap 4x4 with the money that you would spend on upgrading your 2 wheel drive. This way you will have a toy and a designated daily driver..It sounds like you already made up your mind though before you even posted your question. Its your choice, but I feel your making a big mistake. It sounds like a big waste of time and money to me. Just remember that the old rusty stock 4x4's out there on the trails will be doing circles around your lifted 2wd truck that looks nice..sounds pointless to me to even consider this route as a viable option, unless your more concerned with looks. Yes, it will be more capable than it was before, but still no where near what a bone stock 4x4 could do. Good luck to you though.
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kingzoo

Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #11 on: August 03, 2007, 09:21:06 AM »
   The calmini parts wont fit a sport,and I would definately convert it to 4 wheel drive first thing.
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Offline ZeusZuki

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Re: What would you do to my Zuki?
« Reply #12 on: August 03, 2007, 02:20:26 PM »
http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=13006.0

5 door Widebody / Sport running Calmini 3" lift kit + 3" body lift  ;D

So yep it can be done  ;)

Oh yeah and I built this up for a friend so I know frist hand  ;)

ZeusZuki  8)
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1600 Escudo / Kick, beam front, coils all round, 37 MTR's, 97" wheelbase, locked fr & rr,twin stick, front stock ratio, Calmini 5.14 t box rear, Warn XD9000i winch, blah blah!

2.0 V6 auto, Calmini 3" kit, 33" jandles, LT struts, blah blah

2.5 V6 man GV, Calmini 2.5" kit, 235/85x16 jandle
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