Hi there everyone! I just recently bought a '91 Suzuki Sidekick JLX 4-door 4x4 and I'm wondering what kinds of cool off-road mods I can do to it. As far as I know everything is stock. To make it insurable, I replaced the front-end struts, breaks and the starter. I custom sound-proofed the back seat and cargo area (working on the front seats right now), but other than that it's all original I think. I checked out some Calmini stuff... but I'm not sure where to begin.



My expectations for my little Sidekick are not too big, I just want to improve performance (new header???) and be able to do some decent 4x4ing through mud and (not to) technical trails (lift kit??). Anyway, I know I came to the right place for advice, looks like a lot of great people on this board!!!



steveo



p.s. money is not too big of a deal. I definately will pay for the improvements if they are worth it!!

Welcome!

Im sure that everybody is going to have their opinion on this. Mine is start mild. Calmini 2 inch Suspension kit with some 30 inch radial swampers / or add a 3 inch bodylift and go with 31s or 32s. 32s will require a little fender trimming on the backside of the front fenders and you will feel the need for gears on the freeway. I think a 30 or 31 will suprise you on these little rigs. I know Calmini sells a 3 inch suspension but I wouldnt recomend buying it unless you are planning on running with full gear such as, winch,  bumpers, cage, ect. The kit will sit too high an ride rough.


Mike

"My expectations for my little Sidekick are not too big, I just want to improve performance (new header) and be able to do some decent 4x4ing through mud and (not to) technical trails"

Ya, sure, thats where we all started too, now look at our rigs,
Welcome to the board.
And thus it begins, another Evil Seed planted.

Hi my name is Wildgoody, and I'm a Zookaholic  

Wild

Ya, sure, thats where we all started too, now look at our rigs,
Welcome to the board.
And thus it begins, another Evil Seed planted.

Yea, My Trackick was just going to be a winter vehicle cause I didnt want to freeze through another winter in my sami. Spring came and I couldnt give it up... ended up parting out the sami.   Now look what happened to it!

Mike

My expectations for my little Sidekick are not too big

After you drive it off road once, you won't be saying the same thing.

My expectations and respect are growing for my little tracker.  I've taken that thing through places I never dreamed a vehicle could go through. It literally goes everywhere.

As for mods...  It depends on what you want to get out of your truck.

If your gonna be wheeling all the time, then go for the Calmini 3" suspension lift.  This way you will have a good amount of articulation and wheel clearance.

If your just gonna take the truck out once in a while. Then I would do what Mike suggested.  The Calmini 2" lift is a lot more forgiving on the road. It comes with softer shocks, and it doesnt need the extra weight supplied by offroad bumpers to utilize the suspension flex.

When I started out I purchased the following.

- Calmini 3" suspension lift
- Calmini 3" body lift
- 15x7 American racing black steel wheels
- 31x10.5 BFG MTs
- Calmini header
- K&N filter
- Calmini 2" exhaust.

Since then I've installed a locker in the rear differential.

I'm happy with this set up. Of course I still have a lot more planned for my truck but it all comes in time.


Oh ya, welcome to the land of the zuks. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay  

Welcome,
A header and a free flow exhaust will definately pep up the 1.6L. I noticed a big difference in my 8V 89 when I did that. I kept the factory header in my 98 and just added a Flowmaster exhaust and noticed an increase in performance. I will probably add a Calmini header later.
Zig

you see the pic below.  this this was on its way to show truck.  then i go it off road.  welcome to the club.

stu

Welcome!

Im sure that everybody is going to have their opinion on this. Mine is start mild. Calmini 2 inch Suspension kit with some 30 inch radial swampers / or add a 3 inch bodylift and go with 31s or 32s. 32s will require a little fender trimming on the backside of the front fenders and you will feel the need for gears on the freeway. I think a 30 or 31 will suprise you on these little rigs. I know Calmini sells a 3 inch suspension but I wouldnt recomend buying it unless you are planning on running with full gear such as, winch,  bumpers, cage, ect. The kit will sit too high an ride rough.


Mike

Oh Yes. The 2 inch suspension lift with a 3 inch body lift is the way to go, the 3 inch suspension lift to me rides too rough, so unless you plan on adding lots of heavy stuff to your rig, I wouldn't get it.

Sigh.

I started with the 2 inch suspension... migrated to the 3 inch body:



But now look at me   :



I do miss the road worthiness of my IFS though.  

What am I saying? I've got another one to work on! lol.



And so does our buddy!



AND we have another one getting SAS's that I don't have a picture of yet.

Talk about getting bitten by the bug!!





Heather

I THOUGHT I was going to mod my 4-door.  I got the header & hi-perf exhaust on - that really helps!

Then I realized that a 2-door would be better for building a trail rig.  $14,000 later, the Gnewt is just getting to where I want her.

 Wow, thanks everyone for all the fast replies!! Man, there is a lot I can do to my Sidekick. I really got excited when I saw those pictures of that blue 4-door all beefed up!!



I forgot to mention that I do a bit of highway driving as well, so I think the big body/suspension lifts are too much for me... am I right to assume so? I'm afraid I don't know the difference between a body lift and a suspension lift. I want a fair amount of ground clearance, but I don't want to be too high so that my 'on-road' driving is terrible.







So far this is what I have come up with (from calmini and another source), please feel free to point out anything that might be/not be a good idea:







2" Calmini suspension system



Calmini perforamance exhaust and filter combo system<-Is this worth it if the guy I bought the Sidekick from replaced the old exhaust?)



Thorley header system (I read somewhere I have to watch my emissions....I'm not sure I understand...)



I STILL have lots of questions, and I hope everyone can be patient with me, so expect more posts!!

Sorry about all the spaces in my last post!
Bobzooki, you said:
"I got the header & hi-perf exhaust on - that really helps!" And I was just wondering if its a practical investment and if it's really all that noticable.

steveo

i have been here a while and never once has any one said a bad thing about a header and exhaust.  i'd go for it.

stu

All righty! So I'm going to start with the header and exhaust. What should I go with?? I live in Canada, so I'm not sure what's available or what am I looking at for pricing.



steveo

I finally joined Car Domain and got some photos up... if anyone is interested!



http://www.cardomain.com/id/steveofrost



steveo

i think some folks have bonie asses   cause the calmini 3" does not ride rough at all. i'm running it without the extra weight, and i'm not feeling a rough ride. the only problem i see without the extra weight is the bump steer, from having the steering linkage out of wack. i was thinking of the 2" but thought that if i wanted to go further later that the 3" would be the better choice. anyway just defending the 3" as a good basis for a first lift.