should a buy a 2.5 v6 grand vitara ??

[solinoid]

hey guys, i currently have a zook sierra 93 and i know how confident u feel driving offroad in the little beats,

but im starting to geth the shits with only having 2 seats (even though i have 4 u need to be a contortionest to get in the back seats)

and i would like a bit more onroad comfort as the mojority of my driving is on sealed roads, but i dont want to be able to hit rainbow beahc, moreton and fraser islands a few times a year...obviously with more gear than the sierra can carry.

1. how capable are these machines realistically? i know they are prolly up in the top 3 in their class, and i have also read that you should replace the rear suspension ASAP on them (any idea what with and a ball park on cost?)

2. 200mm is only fairly low and i have heard they have an unusual wheel size so fitting larger tyres is hard...withlifing it. ?????

3. if i were to make it more capable off road what would i need to do and roughly how much would i need to spend ?

4. is there a better 4wd to get around the same price ???

ill appreciate an info you can give me guys

[grimbo]

not trying to be a search nazi but do a search in the suzuki section on Vitaras. Also have a look in the top two threads in the suzuki section as there are answers to many of these questions.

After that I'm sure some of the Vitara owners will chime in soon.

[greg]

4. is there a better 4wd to get around the same price ???

For those of us that have never priced a 2.5L V6 Grand Vitara - what are they worth?

[grimbo]

you could buy this one (I know its not a GV but it sounds like a not bad Vitara)

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13972

[GV_Qld]

I've been runnig a GV for the last few months trying different things on the car ending up with the following; King Springs allround, 15mm spring spacer front, 30mm spring spacer rear, OME Struts, Rancho 9000x (9117) Shocks, Sliverstone MT-117 EX 215/75R16 Tyres, front diff bash plate.

Very happy with the results, but seeing as the A$ is so good I'm ordering the Calmini 2.5 kit for it this week. I'm also trying to get ahold of some 31's to see how they'll fit.

If you want too see how they go off road, i'm always heading out to play on weekends.

Jeff

[greg]

Very happy with the results, but seeing as the A$ is so good I'm ordering the Calmini 2.5 kit for it this week.

A fellow in the zook club down here has recently installed a Calmini kit for a Vitara Estate Wagon - anyways - long story short - he is a bit unhappy with the kit and it has resulted in the destruction of one of the front struts (shocks) that he got with it...

My understanding is that the kit uses the shock's shaft length the limit droop - which (over the course of approx 3 months) has resulted in the death of a shock...

[solinoid]

4. is there a better 4wd to get around the same price ???

For those of us that have never priced a 2.5L V6 Grand Vitara - what are they worth?

about 29990 plus on roads mate,

[greg]

about 29990 plus on roads mate,

Geez - that's pretty close to buying about 10 sierras at 3K each... tough decision

Seriously though - for that sort of money - i think there will be a lot of ideas for other fourbies that would be worth picking over a Vitara.

[solinoid]

not trying to be a search nazi but do a search in the suzuki section on Vitaras. Also have a look in the top two threads in the suzuki section as there are answers to many of these questions.

After that I'm sure some of the Vitara owners will chime in soon.

i did a search bust most resulst turned out for "vitara" not the grand vitara,

and i dont know alot about cars so i thought best to play it safe and starte a new thread for the Grand Vitara

[GV_Qld]

Very happy with the results, but seeing as the A$ is so good I'm ordering the Calmini 2.5 kit for it this week.

A fellow in the zook club down here has recently installed a Calmini kit for a Vitara Estate Wagon - anyways - long story short - he is a bit unhappy with the kit and it has resulted in the destruction of one of the front struts (shocks) that he got with it...

My understanding is that the kit uses the shock's shaft length the limit droop - which (over the course of approx 3 months) has resulted in the death of a shock...

Yes thats the problem with the GV setup, the strut limits the travel. I stuffed the OEM struts with just the 35mm king spring lift, than killed a dobson strut adding the 15mm spacer it would top out the strut going over a small gutter, the OME struts are 40mm longer, i wouldn't want to go much longer as its puts the cv's at a big angle. My under standing is that if you don't have a bullbar and winch you need to cut a coil out to "soften" up the front end.

The rear work really well with some long shocks

[suzifish]

Hi guys,

I'm dropping my GV SWB off to Big Balls on Wednesday for a pretty similar setup:

60mm lift.
OME front struts.
Rancho 9000s up back.

Then add some 30s - see how we go! I'll keep ya posted.

Otherwise Liam has done pretty much just this to his wife's GV (SWB), except using OMEs up back, not Rancho's - and he has got a 3" body lift on there too...

[Beastmavster]

Yes thats the problem with the GV setup, the strut limits the travel. I stuffed the OEM struts with just the 35mm king spring lift, than killed a dobson strut adding the 15mm spacer it would top out the strut going over a small gutter, the OME struts are 40mm longer, i wouldn't want to go much longer as its puts the cv's at a big angle. My under standing is that if you don't have a bullbar and winch you need to cut a coil out to "soften" up the front end.

The rear work really well with some long shocks

Nice to see you join GV.....

Hmmm... if you want flexy vitara rear shots try mine instead.

Since we are talking about a LWB actually try antt.

There's no major limitations other than the gearing, and the IFS. The stock travel is designed around the limits of the front, but the rear is an easy fix. And of course the lack of lockers/lsd - not that that is unusual in this class in stock form.

Look at it this way... stock vitara low range gearing is lower than a Sierra, it's wider and longer for greater stability and has far more power.

The real questions are - how hard do you wanna go? There's enough parts there but the options for improving the Vitara offroad are just not as cheap as the Sierra.


Getting 16" rims on big rubber is not a major issue at all.

[PRZOOK]

Been driving my GV for about 2 and a bit years now. Ended up with a 1" body lift, OME 50mm lift and 235/70 R16 Muddies.

About to look at some spacers, as the suspension has settled a little, and with the weight I carry around, a little extra hieght helps.

Have looked at the Calmini lift several times, but can't see value for money with it at the moment. Especially when it only offers a stiff 2 1/2" lift.

Can find a heap of images @ http://www.4lux.net/ of me wheeling about. Have surprised a few people on where the little zook goes, as well as myself.

( Secret Videos - http://www.4lux.net/vids/jeremygoeswild.mpg & http://www.4lux.net/vids/bang.avi )

[stumped]

about 29990 plus on roads mate

if ya looking at spending that much $$, why not get a cruiser? or if ya want something short, get a SWB patrol? or (heaven forbid ), get a jeep wrangler

[GV_Qld]

Been driving my GV for about 2 and a bit years now. Ended up with a 1" body lift, OME 50mm lift and 235/70 R16 Muddies.

Are you sure your OME lift is 50mm? My understanding is that the OME and King springs only give 35-40mm lift, this is why i got some spacers the get the lift up to 50mm. If you get up to 50mm you really need some camber adjustment bolts in the front as well to get it back close to normail. I really only want the a-arms and diff mounts so that the front end will work better but i have to get the whole kit. As i said before if your not running a bar and winch you can drop a coil or some of the guys running the kit put the OEM struts back in as they are the same length as the ones that come in the kits.

I'm looking at a bodylift now, 1 inch aswell so i dont have to worry about the steering.

Nice vids

Here's some more http://nbs4x4club.no-ip.org/video/100_157.MOV
http://nbs4x4club.no-ip.org/video/100_0161.MOV

Jeff

[-Mick-]

There's no major limitations other than the gearing, and the IFS. The stock travel is designed around the limits of the front, but the rear is an easy fix. And of course the lack of lockers/lsd - not that that is unusual in this class in stock form.

You only mentioned beach and street driving in your first post so assuming you only do this and light fire trail work I can't see IFS or lack of big lift as a real barrier.

Standard low range gearing will be adequate for beach work, as will a small lift (say 2" body + 1" susp).

This theoretically would let you run tyres around 5" over standard without fouling but a set of 30" mtr's or similar should suit nicely without detriment to gearing.

See what diff locks are available though because they're a good thing for touring and serious sand work

[PRZOOK]

Are you sure your OME lift is 50mm?

Sorry, your right, I don't know why I keep thinking 50mm lift. Was a bit brain dead yesterday. You are right, it is only about 35-40mm lift.

[GV_Qld]

Are you sure your OME lift is 50mm?

Sorry, your right, I don't know why I keep thinking 50mm lift. Was a bit brain dead yesterday. You are right, it is only about 35-40mm lift.

Thats ok, you almost had me going to ARB today to grab some springs

[WaveCult]

1. how capable are these machines realistically? i know they are prolly up in the top 3 in their class, and i have also read that you should replace the rear suspension ASAP on them (any idea what with and a ball park on cost?)

If you're talking standard car, realistically, ground clearance is an issue as is wheel travel. For the back that's easy to fix, but I've been advised against any serious lift up the front as it'll probably lead to busted CVs in the "not-so-long run"

Most of my driving is on-road so the first thing I noticed (I have a GV Soft-top) was the springy ride over speed bumps... so for the rear (no lift... I'm still on standard springs) I got Pedders Gas Sportz Ryders (for a Tarago, although you could probably go a bit longer if you clip the springs on) which cost me $150 + installation. The result was reasonable articulation at the back for a car with no lift at all (and for cheap).

2. 200mm is only fairly low and i have heard they have an unusual wheel size so fitting larger tyres is hard...withlifing it. ?????

Quite right, mine were 205/75R15!! ... but the V6 GV is on 16" wheels but I assume you'll have similar problems in maintaining legal tyre diameter with an aggressive tread-pattern (to me keeping it legal is important as it's my daily driver, and I'm still paying it off!). If you ask these guys here, 8 out of 10 times they'll tell ya you can put in whatever size you want... just have the grinder handy.

3. if i were to make it more capable off road what would i need to do and roughly how much would i need to spend ?

I've asked that question many times... basic response has been "get a Patrol or a Sierra..."

You'd need a lift, bigger tyres, better gearing... oh, if you can spare the cash, ditch the IFS altogether

4. is there a better 4wd to get around the same price ???

You talking new? I'm only a newbie so don't take my 2cents worth of advice unquestioned, but I'd say the Jimny would be more capable (live axle up front)... and the ***[the Korean 4x4 that cannot be mentioned]*** would probably be on par with the GV (for cheaper, however I'm very sceptical about ***[the Korean 4x4 that cannot be mentioned]***'s build-quality... no matter how many years warranty they provide!)

If you want to see some pics you can go to:

http://wave.prohosting.com/vitara/version9/photos/GV/
(although as I said, my GV is very basic and very standard...)

[greg]

Shhh luis - you said the 'K' word...

Now we are going to get a massive speal about them

[WaveCult]

Shhh luis - you said the 'K' word...

Now we are going to get a massive speal about them

Will edit

[greg]

Will edit

Thanks mate - gotta stay under the 'K' radar for our own protection

[WaveCult]

My changes weren't exactly what you had in mind were they?

They're not bad, but (when in standard form and not in US-highly-modified-rock-crawling-outfit) the ***[the Korean 4x4 that cannot be mentioned]*** lacks clearance just like the GV (not to mention having less power than the GV V6)

[solinoid]

i like zooks tho...i think they are usually under rated fourbies

but 30grand is alot of money to spend wish i could afford a big patrol tho,

i really only need it to get me around the islands ,,fraser....moreton...as beach camping i tihnk is the best places to camp....

[WaveCult]

i like zooks tho...i think they are usually under rated fourbies

but 30grand is alot of money to spend wish i could afford a big patrol tho,

i really only need it to get me around the islands ,,fraser....moreton...as beach camping i tihnk is the best places to camp....

I got my soft-top for 19k... 1.5years old at the time with 18,000kms (and cars in VIC are typically more expensive than most states, I have no idea why). you'll find a good deal if you shop around... or you could just get a Vitara rather than a GV... it's not as "pretty" but it's just as capable and would cost you a whole lot less...

(also if you're after size, you could probably find some reasonably cheap XL7s in near-new condition around... they didn't really catch on a lot and now with the "new look" on sale it's probably devalued a fair bit)

[Dick]

I've been runnig a GV for the last few months trying different things on the car ending up with the following; King Springs allround, 15mm spring spacer front, 30mm spring spacer rear, OME Struts, Rancho 9000x (9117) Shocks, Sliverstone MT-117 EX 215/75R16 Tyres, front diff bash plate.

Very happy with the results, but seeing as the A$ is so good I'm ordering the Calmini 2.5 kit for it this week. I'm also trying to get ahold of some 31's to see how they'll fit.

If you want too see how they go off road, i'm always heading out to play on weekends.

Jeff

Plus they sound great when you have got em FLAT !!!

[GV_Qld]

Yes Dick they do sound great at 6000 plus

Does anybody know or can tell me how to find out what the diff ratios are on a '03 (with facelift) manual GV? Also did the rear diff change at all with the '03 facelift?

Jeffrey