mods on suzi

[gqmad]

Hey guys
im looking at buying a suzi after selling my turbo gu ute.
whats the go with these things they look fun.
how hard is it to fabricate hilux diffs and commodore engine or will the standard set up do.
are the normal swb too unstable? should i look for lwb,
does anyone know of one of these rigs for sale to save me from all the pain of doing up anothe truck
all help will be usefull
cheers
jamie

[Kitika]

I havent done any of the above mods like hilux diffs and commo engine but from what i've read on this forum the commo engine is waste of time because of its weight and size. Much better off with a 1.6 vit or 4age motor if you wanted a go fast machine. The stock diffs are fine up to about 33inch tyres apprently till they get marginal in strength but they can be upgraded etc. Do some searching lots of info on these mods Zooks are fun especially when they're getting further than the big 'more capable 4wds'

[lay80n]

Try the bible and search.

Layto....

[Remydog05]

Are you planning on having it on the road with V6 and Lux diffs?

If so its gunna cost big bucks to get it legal!

[grimbo]

if you want to have a V6 and Hilux diffs then buy a Hilux. Checkout many of the buildups on here.

What do you wan tto do with the Zuk? When you say will the stock set up do, what do you mean? There are gyuys in the Zuk club running up 36" tyres on stockish stuff without too many dramas.

[sierrajim]

if you want to have a V6 and Hilux diffs then buy a Hilux. Checkout many of the buildups on here..

Personally i'd rather a Zook with a V6 than another hilux. That said there are lots of light higher powered options than a Commo V6

What do you wan tto do with the Zuk? When you say will the stock set up do, what do you mean? There are gyuys in the Zuk club running up 36" tyres on stockish stuff without too many dramas

Not quite sure what you mean by this.

Mitch's car with custom panels, gearing, body lift, axles, cv's and suspension is FAR from stock. Greg's mates car, well....

Fitting 36" tyres on a zook takes some work, weather they be on Zook diffs or Hilux diffs it will take some doing.

GQMAD,

Based on your last set up (turbo'd petrol from memory) i'd be looking for something with some strength, either Strengthened CV's of heavier diffs. Either way you'll need to learn how to drive a Zook before you do too much to a car anyway. They are a completely different thing to drive than anything else.

[grimbo]

Jim I was referring to the fact that Michaels Zuk is still basically A sierra with added strength components used rather than a Zuk shell with diffs from another vehicle like a Hilux. the rest of the statement is pretty self explanatory I think.

As to the V6 comment didn't Hiluxes come with a V6 at some stage. i wasn't referring to putting a commodore v6 into a hilux, rather the fact that I thought Hiluxes came from the factory with a V6 and Hilux diffs

[gqmad]

Thanks for all the info guys.
I was reffering to hilux diffs for wider track as I have heard that they dont get to stradell the ruts with the standard width on diffs.

I want more power as Im used to driving a shorty with 240kw at the wheels. It is a handfull to drive but im sure the zook would be similar.

I dont want something thats going to fall over at the slightest rut.

Im looking at setting it for weekend warrior work and the ocasinal comp.
By the way how come there are hardly any zook;s in the comp scene. the only one I have seen is the pgs truck.,

Are they no good on fast drives through the bush

[grimbo]

speed and Sierras generally don't mix. If you are wanting one for punting quickly through the bush then I wouldn't suggest a Sierra. For more technical low speed crawling stuff they are much better suited.

You drive a Sierra very differently than a GQ. You have the ability to take different lines because of the size and sometimes you are forced to take different lines because of its size. They are very different and your driving style will have to change. They don't fall over at the slightest rut if driven accordingly but if driven in the same manner as a GQ there is a chance they will.

hopefully that was clear enough sierrajim

[gqmad]

thanks knackers

[Gwagensteve]

The beauty of driving stuff with sierras is playing with alternative lines and noodling about on obstacles.

The don't have sufficient compression travel in the suspension (or width) to hit stuff hard and blast over it on HP.

To build one with enough compression to hit stuff at speed will make the car too tall, also, the ratio of sprung to unsprung weight is unfavourable for speed work, especially with heavier diffs like GQ/Hilux- the tail wags the dog if you get what I mean and it's hard to keep directional stability.

In terms of "footprint" (weight, tyre size, width/length) and suspension behaviour, IMHO the PGS car is just a GQ patrol/hilux hybrid type of thing with a cramped cab.

They can be driven relatively quickly, but nothing like a GQ, but I think that misses some of the fun of pottering about on silly lines and explointing the cars small size and light weight to drive lines you couldn't run in a bigger car.

Personally, I would go for a LWB and look to a 4 cylinder motor with the ability to take some revs (or an EFI/trybo rotary ) low revving high torque motors don't work as well in sierras as they don't have the weight to generate enough traction to deploy the power.

That's part of the reason we run lots of gears and stuff all power.

I think part of the point Grimbo was making is that a sierra with hilux diffs and a torquey, (heavy) motor stops working like a sierra anymore so you might as well just start with a bigger, roomier and more comfortable car if you want to add 500kg of bigger, heavier parts.

Come along to a zook club meeting and have a chat to some of us.

PS only narrow track sierras (pre 1998) don't sit in ruts. Widtracks sit in ruts fine. If you keep the power down and buy the right gear, you can run big tyres with suzuki diffs in Victoria and never have diff clearance problems. Once you go hilux, you can only ever be as capable (clearance wise) as a hilux.

Steve.

[gqmad]

thats awesome info thanks heaps for that
so where and when is the club meeting, i wouldnt mind coming to one

[suzuki boy]

I got mine a while ago now and if i did it again the only difference i would go would be a wide track(mines narrow track!)

The narrow track sits in one rut and out of the other so your ussually pulling a pannel along a bank or what ever!

BUT it's good in every other way where people are getting stuck in ruts!
Mine keeps up and outdrives hiluxs and stuff with 35's! As some people off this board no!

But as people have said you really have to drive a zook stockish to get a feel for them as there like nothing else!

[short stuff]

you can also do a mq diff setup as they nearly line up

[bigmick]

dont run 36s till ya get mq's.
would have to aggre i dont think that a zook is built ot be a speed machene sorry to all those 4age freaks out there that run 11s down the quarter.
just my 2c.
thanx
mick

[Gwagensteve]

you can also do a mq diff setup as they nearly line up

But only with widetrack spring spacing which is almost imossible to find in a LWB here in Vic.

Bigmick - some of us are a bit perverse and like running big tyres on small diffs - we are (attempting) at the moment to put some suzuki based diffs together that will hold together with 36's. They should be OK driven sensibly here in Vic, but of course, there is no way they will be as strong as MQ, especially in the rear.

MQ is about one thousandth as much work as we will have in ours, but we are enjoying the journey.

We are having a good run with a car running 36's (acutally Q78's) with trail tough double tough CV's and a rear airlocker in the front. It has taken some heavy abuse, but admittedly only with a stock 1.3 ATM.

Steve.