ok, so i've been layin low for a bit. been busy with work and all, and havent been out for a wheel in a while. so seeing as work has been boring, and there's nothing to do, i've been thinkin about SASin my vit. crazy, yes i know, all because i said i would never go SAS.

ultimately, i'd love to do the hagen IFS set up with upper and lower arms, but time and money is to no avail. so.....cheap and easy (nasty) sas it could be.

now, what i cant do is go ahead and do it. laws and rules and stupid govenments will not allow such things where i am. i should move to the US. anyway, i was wondering if there is anyway at all i can do an SAS with all the original brackets and stuff still attached. reason being, i can take off all SAS gear and go back to IFS when mr policeman says so.

i see the TT red rig, with the IFS brackets still hangin there. will they not get in the way? did they chop the crossmember out? the rear crossmember where the rear arm mounts were mounted?

now, i have no idea if this will work, or if anyone has tried, but i guess it will leave my vit crazy high. the idea being......

use a yota front diff, leaf spring model, chop the spring perches off, and weld lower/upper link mounts in line with chassis on vit. the yota diff has a torque bar/locator bar above the pumpkin. custom locator from here to the top of the crossmember where the old front diff rear mount was. make a bracket for the locator bar to fit here. lower links would need bracket on bottom of chassis depending on length.

now.... will this work? would i need a panhard bar? would the lower links need to mount to 2 places on the diff housing, like under and over? am i doing more work than i need?

coil springs will use original coil mounts on chassis, and upper shock mount will mount to special fabbed bracket to bolt to old strut mount. using eye to eye shocks on the front.


some things i need to clear up, how is a 3 link set up? 2 lower links and 1 upper? A frame? 2 mounts on the diff on lower link?

what is it called, when the lower link mounts to the lower mount on the diff, and the upper mount on the diff, directly above lower link mount, uses a link (adjustable for castor/pinion) that attaches or mounts halfway-ish on the lower link?

is running 2 lower links, 1 upper link (adjustable for castor and pinion) and a panhard a 3 link or a 4 link? do you count the panhard as a link? can i get away with SASin without the use of a panhard? i dont want to weld a bracket on the chassis for the panhard.

can i also place the link mounting on the diff either behind or above the axle tube? and not under?

what is the simplest way to do a SAS on a vit in people's eyes?

thanks

EDIT: ok, i just had a look at some pics, and if you have a coil set up SAS you will need a panhard to stop lateral left right movement of the diff. is there anyway to set up a coil SAS with no panhard?

on a vehicle with steering linkage you need a pan hard running in the same plain and the same length as the steering cross bar. This eliminates bump steer. with out this and say a triangulated 3 link the suspension and steering linkage will fight each other and have HUGE bump steer.

For a linkage solution I would look at the set-up in a 80 series land cruiser. They use a 2 link with pan hard. You would need to fab a skid plate that attached solidly to the frame and the link mounts would come off of that. You could use the existing upper coil mounts and fab a removable upper pan hard mount. So basically it would be 3 bolts (plus shocks and driveshaft) to remove the front suspension.

Hell I would even use the land cruiser links! You can get caster correction bushings for them to make small adjustments. This was a set-up I was thinking of for mine.

I like the unboltable idea though. The other thought I had was to make a sub frame that bolted to the a-arm mounts that adapted to leaf springs.

Have a look here to see a belly pan setup  http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,37799.0/all.html

The calculators can be got from here  http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204893&page=7&pp=25&highlight=analyzer

ok, too much work.

will try to save up for yota diffs and get the X link conversion done when i go SAS.

I have the first production trail tough kit (the red one was the prototype). The only thing that is modifyed from the stock suspension mounts is that the cross member under the oil pan has to be cut out to clear the upper (3 rd) link mount. Everything is bolted to the frame using holes you drill or origonal mounting brackets/holes, including the panhard .
This kit is absoultly awesome. the car drives awesome on the road, and works flawlessly off road staying stable and flat over the most off camber obsticals. I have 33" tires on mine and it will articulate more than the height of the tires,yet doesent tip much(unlike my old sammy)
here is a link to the article here on zukiworld done on my rig

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_080106/feature_sas_sidekick_hoff.htm

This kit looks like original manufactures equipment. i doubt that any "inspector" for a state agency would be able to tell that this is an aftermarket kit. If they questioned it you could probably bullshit your way thru it 

good luck with your decision, i myself will NEVER look back!
jason

ok, its been a while now. and im back at that SAS stage again.

ive been looking into the TT SAS kits.

over here, our steering wheel is on the right hand side. can any one tell me or find out for me if the kit is ok if i change the panhard mount over the the right hand side. and same with the steering too.

thanks