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sierra or vitara to buy

Tech Talk for Suzuki owners.

Moderators: lay80n, sierrajim

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Posts: 86
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 9:01 pm

sierra or vitara to buy

Post by muddy80s »

hi guys i currently am driving a vn calais/commodore v8 5 speed and am wanting to sell to buy a cheap to run 4wd. can anyone tell if im better off getting a sierra or vitara in respect to availability of aftermarket parts ie snorkles/bullbars ect and also fuel consumption ect. i know the vitara is probly a bit more comfy to drive but i will be using off road so also need something capeable. looking at around 6k to spend or swap so would i get a coil spring sierra for this money and if so would it be better than the vit in terms of off road/on road performance ect. are there any issues i should look for with one or the other. also how would they compare in terms of fuel economy 1.6 to 2.0 ect .and which one is easier and cheaper to modify ( big tyres lift ect). thanks i have owned a few landcruisers in my time but am sick of making fuel companies rich and had an old sierra a long time ago and it was pretty awsome back then so its time to go back .thanks wayne
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Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:46 pm
Location: Ormond VIC

Post by muppet_man67 »

If you want to modify, bushrig stick with a leaf spring sierra. I have owned both. The coilers are a better car stock however as a trail rig imo they are outdone by leaf springs in a few departments. Niether of them are great if your doing lots of road kms

Firstlyfor coilers there are no aftermarket front shocks available.(last time I checked) and because they are a coilover setup you will have to get something custom. Not the end of the world, but certainly inconvenient. The front axles are smaller. There are no aftermarket gears for the transfer case, so you have to use an early model transfer case from another car. no front locker available. (you can modify a jimny locker)
with bigger tyers/flexy suspension they tend to bend trailing arms a fair bit.
The suspension set up gives them a funny balance, because the rear suspension is much more flexy then the front, when climbing in some circumstances the front end can unweight. :cool: if you like pucker. I was forever trying to get weight forward to combat this. ie spare in the back rather then on the back door, jerry cans in the passenger seat etc. I havn't felt the need to do this in my leaf sprung, however its a lwb so not a fair comparison. That said coilers drive much nicer onroad and have a heaps better steering feel, less vibration, quieter, and safer.

Vitaras although ifs dont seem to suffer this to bad, I doesnt make sense but its rare for the front to unweight. Ive seen them climb hills lifting rear wheels with the front firmly planted. Plenty of mods for vitaras. better onroad then any sierra, more power, power steering etc. They have a weak alloy front diff, ifs resulst in more cv breakages. at to run lockers/ big tyers etc
[url]http://www.vic.suzuki4wd.com/forum[/url]
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Post by GRPABT1 »

If you want to modify it your better of going for a leaf sprung sierra, forget the coily. But as for sierra vs vitara, the gap is closing more and more by the day. It just depends on how hardcore you want to go, sierra's are cheaper and easier to modify to extreme levels. But if the odd weekend wheeling or camping trip is all you plan on then either would suffice.

That said, you will miss you v8, god knows I love getting into my VN after a week of driving the zook :D
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Location: Canberra

Post by Toecutta »

Strip the VN and put the motor and box in a VIT :D
LWB Vit, Trail Slayer
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Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 9:01 pm

Post by muddy80s »

ok thanks guys im leaning towards the vitara i think. depends on what i can get for the money i spose. might see if i can swap my vn for one instead . yeah i know ill miss my v8 but the missus cant drive it properly cos the clutch is so heavy and ive gotta drive her around the joint too. lol .cheers wayne
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Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:40 pm
Location: Townsville

Post by GRPABT1 »

Well she wont be able to drive the sierra around once you mod it and put 33's on it lol, she wont be able to turn the wheel.
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Location: Maroochydore, sunshine coast

Post by spamwell »

2.0 vitara is the pick i rekon
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