After years of waiting and saving, I finally had enough money to install the 3" calmini lift.

I kept part of the previous lift (Jeep 2" TJ coil spacers) on the rig, and installed the calmini over the course of two days.    The install went relatively painless, and I have to say the hardest part was getting all the old parts off....After several hours of grinding, I had the crusty parts off, and on went the new blue control arms, springs, etc. 

Here's a before: 




and an after:









It does ride a little stiffer than the previous unit it replaces, but I've heard it will soften up after some miles.    Taking it tomorrow for an alignment.   

Now it looks like I need some bigger meats.....With a little trimming, I could probably get 34's in there.....Hmmm.....

-Zukisidekick

Looks good. Take it over some good bumps and rough roads for
setteling in the springs on eht way to the alignment shop. Or a few trips over the RTI pole in the pics 

Zig

Those pics make me want to lift my 5dr too but I really should sell it, It's hard to drive 5 trucks all at once  .

That is an awesome 'kick..........Very nicely done  Bravo

Wait are you saying that's the 3" Calmini lift with 2" coil spring spacers?  that's friggin awesome.  i thought you could or shouldn't do the calmini sus lift with spacers though?

but that makes me wanna

Thanks for the compliments fellas...It's been a long time in the making for me to be able to save up all of my pennies to get the kit.  I'm extremely pleased with the outcome.    I have noticed that it is a bit stiffer than the stock parts, but I expect that is due in part to completely new springs, bushings, and a higher spring rate which is meant to carry extra gear (bumpers, winch, etc).   

Zig, I spent a while driving up and over that log to settle the springs into the perches.....It sure is hard work "testing" out the finished product!  LOL   

Baker, yep, I added the Calmini kit to my preinstalled 2" TJ spacers.   The TJ spacers actually gave me a little more than 2", more like 2 1/2" on my kick, and I know that the Calmini kit is a little taller than 3" if you don't run H.D. bumpers, etc.   I have a  3" body lift on there as well. 

A friend of mine who's had the Calmini kit installed on their 2 door Tracker has been running a similar set up (Calmini/Spring Spacers) for several years, and have had great sucess.   

Here's a pic of their rig, it is awesome!   3" Calmini kit, 3" BL, and 2" coil spacer lift, and 33x12.50 Kelly  DTRs



I can't wait to get it out on the trails to see how it performs. 

-Zukisidekick

 

you have a calmini 3" lift, which is a bit more than 3". the stock CV angles won't handle this too good, so they have the front diff drop brackets, which lower the CV angles about an inch or 2.

you have 2" coil spacers on top, and at the front would be a bit more than 2" lift, so you have about 5-6" total suspension lift?

i've been trying to make a 4" sus lift work on the front of mine for a while, thats with everything stock.

i'd be very interested to see how the front end does on the trail.

do you have a front locker also? or a steel housing?

Have you got any down travel with the spacers in it ?

I put a set of RR spacers in my 3 dr on the week end to try them and had NO down travel left with the spacers in it, ended up taking them out again. 

Have you got any down travel with the spacers in it ?

I put a set of RR spacers in my 3 dr on the week end to try them and had NO down travel left with the spacers in it, ended up taking them out again. 

did you also install strut spacers or flip the mount?  it sounds as though the strut is limiting your downtravel.  give it a try.

Ouch, those driveline angles look excessive.. I say take out the spacers, or at least go with shorter ones.. and maybe less body lift?  It just looks too high and too stiff..

To be honest, it doesn't really look like it is set up all that well, droop and all...

A few things I have done....I did flip the strut mount.   My friends tracker has OME front struts, which are substantially longer than both Calmini and OEM (same length), and is running a similar setup to me....As you can see in the pic of him on that rock the front does get softer and relaxes a bit more than what mine is pictured at.  Mine isn't stuffing very much at all, but will after a little time....

Quaddog...Yes, it is stiff at the moment, but the driveline angles aren't any more severe than what I ran with just the 2" TJ spacers (in fact they're less) since the Calmini drop brackets came into the equation.     You have to remember that this suspension is brand new, not using OEM springs that have 100k on them.  So, there will be a break in period.   I know your not  a fan of body lifts, but I'd rather run a body lift, and get a complete 3" of rocker lift, than hacking my wheelwheels in order to get 31's-34's to fit....I'll trim the lower front wheel wells to get the 34's in there.... It looks tall and stiff because of the 31's.   The rear is actually very flexible.   My intention is to fit 34's, just waiting to get some $$.   

SiKiD_01:  This is the second alum housing I've had in my front end.  Running an ARB air locker.  I will eventually buy a grand vit/XL-7 Steel housing/third combo to put in the front.   

mudfkr:  You'll need to compensate for the additional height by either flipping the upper strut mount over, or buy some longer struts (Old Man EMU).  I'd say flip the upper mount, it's alot cheaper (FREE!).  I did a similar lift earlier on, and my struts would top out.  Sky Manufacturing sells 1.5" strut spacers that work really well (I had a set on my 2" lift).