So those of you who have been following my story...I finished installing my Calmini lift on my 01 Vitara 2.0L in mid-May, took it 4x4ing once up a trail and took it 60km down a gravel forest service road, and under 1000km of on-road driving. The Calmini struts blew out after 2 weeks!


So I got around to removing the blown struts and this is how the driver's side one looked:

And here is what the end of the strut looks like after the retaining nut falls off and the piston is rubbing against the strut body due to catastrophic failure.


Now I just finished installing some Monroe Sensa-Trac OEM replacement struts and I think I am going to have EXACTLY the same problem. Why? Because my truck is lifted too much. I lowered the vehicle down and it appears that I have a whopping 1/4 to 1/2 inch of suspension down-travel AT BEST. The struts are just about topped out driving around on the street, which means that any off-road travel or even a rough paved road will cause the same stupid result. I have heard that the Calmini springs need time to settle in and sag down, however I think that out of the box the suspension should have more than a half inch of down travel.

What am I missing here...my truck is a 2001 Vitara 2.0L 4-banger. I know the kit is designed for the 2.5 V6 model which weighs a few more pounds. Also my truck does not have any skid plates on it yet and it doesn't have any heavy steel winch bumpers, and I also do not have a 31" spare tire to match the set. Is this the problem, that my truck simply does not weigh enough to compress the springs?

Or did I screw up the install? Was I supposed to take the rubber spring isolator out of the upper coil bucket before I installed the Calmini spring? It seems redundant to ask, but I'm trying to cover all my bases here...

What else can I do to get my front end down? Just driving it around seems like a bad idea because I don't want to shell out another $100 for new struts and then another $100 for an alignment. Suggestions are very welcome.

My Calmini lift was ridiculous when I first installed it.  My suspension was totally articulated just driving around.  I took it easy on it for a week or 2 and now it's much better.  When the springs were new I couldn't even get the coil spring spacers in.  It took over an hour just to fit ONE spring in the front.  Now it rides much better, the front settled an inch or so.  Once I get a front bumper and winch I will probably put the coil spring spacers in the front. 

Another thing, my struts make one heck of a squeaking noise.  They seem loose...

Hmm, that is quite rediculous. My struts made alot of squeaking noise on the trip that they blew out on, so you'd best be keeping your wallet handy for a new pair!

If you add a 150# bumper and a Warn winch, the front does what its designed to do.

you front end lift looks similar to mines..

personally, i don't think those springs are well suited for the lighter 2.0L models.. under heavy braking, my front end barely dives.. and when i go over a small crest at moderate speed, if feels as though the front tyres lift off the ground..

i hope those springs 'settle' down a bit over time..

and it appears that I have a whopping 1/4 to 1/2 inch of suspension down-travel AT BEST. The struts are just about topped out driving around on the street

please explain what you mean by 'down travel' and 'topped out' for me? is your struts fully extended?? and how is your downward travel only 1/2"?

If you add a 150# bumper and a Warn winch, the front does what its designed to do.

Has Calmini started selling their bumper?  In the 5 Years I've had my Tracker, their website has continued to proclaim: "Coming soon! Now taking pre-orders!"  RRO states: "Stay tuned for our AWESOME line of pre-runner bumpers!" 

I took mine for a burn out in the street yesterday and you're completely right, the front end barely goes down at all when I stomp on the brakes.

What I mean by "topped out" is the struts are at the top of their travel. That is to say, they are just about fully extended. When there is weight on the vehicle, they go down 1/2" which gains me a WHOPPING 1/2" of suspension down-travel when going over obstacles. Hope that clears it up a little.

i had jacked the front end of the vehicle until one front tyre came off the ground, i.e. strut was fully extended..

i then measured from the top of the strut to a mark on its body.. with the tyre lifted, i got 9 5/8"..

then i lowered the vehicle back to the ground and measured 9 1/8" to the same mark..

subtracting the two figures show that the front struts ONLY compresses 1/2 an inch with the weight of the front end on it!

______________________________________________________________________

i also measured the amount of lift necessary to pick the front tyres off the ground..



the measuring tape was originally set to the height of the fender with the vehicle on the ground..

i then slowly jacked up the vehicle until the tyre just came off the ground.. it takes approx 2" to get the tyre in the air...

seems as though i gotta get a winch and heavy skid plates to weigh the front end down!!

Quote from: Yankee-Tim on June 23, 2009, 06:07:55 AM

If you add a 150# bumper and a Warn winch, the front does what its designed to do.

Has Calmini started selling their bumper?  In the 5 Years I've had my Tracker, their website has continued to proclaim: "Coming soon! Now taking pre-orders!"  RRO states: "Stay tuned for our AWESOME line of pre-runner bumpers!" 

Nope, you have to build one.

Think there is sound logic to adding the front bumper, skid and winch for a better ride.  If their front end wasn't stiff, adding these items would crush your front suspension down.  Calmini is an off-road aftermarket parts dealer.  I had the same thought with the coil lifts and OME medium springs I have on my trucks.  The coil lifts provide a stiffer ride than the OME medium springs do.  I've thought many times if your threw on a bumper, skid plate and possibly a wich you'd lose at least an inch of height on the OME medium springs.  I think the coil spacers with stock srpings would retain more of their ride height than the medium coils and ride better with more weight on the front end to boot.  The heavy coils weren't available/on hand when I ordered my springs from OME.  They are supposed to be about a 1/2 inch shorter than the mediums as well. 

A friend of mine used his stock springs with coil spacers. Got the lift with a ride similar to stock, works great. My experience with the Calmini springs have been pretty hit and miss ( installed quite a few kits over the years ). The kit is good but the springs and shocks/struts are questionable at best.

I think i'll change back to my OE springs and add some coil spacers to them.. that way i'll get back a softer ride up front and gain some more down travel on the front struts..

i've seen a lot of past posts where guys state they get out for a good long day of wheeling where the front end gets some exercise flexing that thing start to soften out.  might be worth a try before changing your springs?

but it is also possible to damage the struts from alot of flexing / constant limiting out the struts.. i really don't want to chance damaging them while trying to work them in..

i've seen a lot of past posts where guys state they get out for a good long day of wheeling where the front end gets some exercise flexing that thing start to soften out.  might be worth a try before changing your springs?

I went 4x4ing up and down a rocky creekbed (2 hour round trip) and I also drove about 120km on a poorly maintained gravel road. When I add the street driving to that, I get a little over 1000km. I think that struts which are designed for a lifted vehicle application should be BROKEN IN by that point, not BROKEN.

When I went wheelin' up the rocky trail, thinking back, I could feel the struts topping out. People who saw me driving around town that weekend said my front tire was actually off the ground when I was cornering.

On my Sidekick I have a 1" front spring spacer that nets me 1.5" lift. Therefore I'm guessing I'd need about a 1.75" spacer to get 2.5" of lift. My other option is some custom springs that are the same rate as the factory springs, just a little longer. My Sidekick has never had any problems with the spacer lift and it they fairly easy to install. So...is there any advantage in longer springs or should I just cheap out and get some spacers?