A home brewed suspension lift for my Grand Vitara 2.5 liter V6 AT, consisting of the following:

1.  1.5" Old Man Emu medium rated springs
2.  3" T6 aluminum spacers for the rear coil springs
3.  1" T6 propeller shaft spacer
4.  1" lowering cross member steel plate
5.  A pair of drop brackets for the front differential
6.  2.5" lowering strut spacers for the front
7.  2.5" T6 aluminum spacers for the front coil springs
8.  Extended panhard mounting bracket
9.  A pair of longer than stock (5") rear Pro-comp shock absorbers

Front suspension rides flawlessly and camber and alignment is still within factory specs. My problem is with the rear suspension. Despite of the aftermarket longer shocks and extended panhard bar mounting bracket, the ride is still stiff. If I resort to using longer/adjustable trailing arms, will there be a noticable improvement in the ride?

Your expert opinions will be highly appreciated!

interesting setup you have going there.. can't wait to see more!

since it's just a 3" lift you have in the rear, do you think it's the spring rates that is causing the harsh ride? i have the 2.5" Calmini lift and have no issues with my rear setup..

I'll send photos after I perfect the cycle of the rear suspension. You may have a point there. We tried jacking the axle and remove the rear tires, the coils only flexed a few inches, the shock length was computed on the additional lift/travel required. We suspect the trailing arms came out short/stresed because of the lift. preventing normal cycle/flexing of the rear suspension.

It may be the shocks are too stiff for the weight. I ran into that on 97. I used shocks off an Econoline van, WAY too stiff.

Stiffer shocks is another angle I missed. Thanks. I'll try to borrow another set/brand and do a comparative road test. Another aspect I overlooked is the torque rod bar. With a 4.5" lift, has anyone come across and fabricated an adjustable torque rod bar?

i've got around 3inches of rear lift in mine by using heep coil spacers and stiffer xl7 coils, for shocks i use cavalier shocks, they are soft, the result is a funny ride on bigger bumps making the truck feel a bit odd, that 5link suspension is not the best for a ton of lift, was looking at sas'in the front not going tall in gettin another couple inches out of the rear and not looking good.  prob go yj leafs all around, when this does take place i'll let people know the lift amount and so on, much simpler than trying to fuck with crap

I like the spring rates idea 3stagevtec mentioned.  The ride difference between the coil spacers and straight OME springs is noticeable.