Vitara 1600 Body Lift / Suspension Kit

[zulujack]

Hi

Does any body know of a place that does body lifts around Melbourne? I'm also trying to get hold of a Calmini suspension/lift kit for my Vitara, if any body knows of a local supplier.

Cheers

[greg]

the only Calmini distributor in Australia is in perth i believe.

not sure about the body lift though - i guess total 4wd in epping would be a good starting point though.

[antt]

hey zulujack, i've been looking around for a bodylift for my vitara, but haven't come across any companies in aus that do one yet, so i'm just gonna make my own with aluminium blocks

[bazooked]

try eddie at 4wd usa in perth (bayswater)

[N*A*M]

is it similar to sierra at all or totally different
if similar i can show you how i did my 50mm body lift with steel spacers
cheap to make blocks up yourself

[moose]

they are very similar !!!! x-actly !!!
x-cept for the front & rear pairs of mounts !!!!
I think they are just long bolts into captive nuts !!!! ( dont quote me though !!! )

[antt]

they are studs that come down from the bottom of the body, they are only just long enough to fit on standard, so with a 2 inch block in the middle, you really have to get a piece of tube and tap a thread into the middle, screw this onto the stud, then screw a bolt in from underneath the body mount.

of course you could do it the bodgy way and use a piece of box section with the stud bolted to the top of it, and a high tensile bolt through the bottom and through the body mount. but that is totally illegal in qld, so i'll be doing it the first way with a solid block

[Wendle]

is the stud welded to the body or threaded into something??

[zulujack]

Thanks for all the replies!

I sounds like the only way to do this really is to make your own lift blocks etc.. Does any body know (when doing all this yourself) how lifting the body affects brakes, wiring, stearing, gear console, bumpers etc? I have been told that with a Vitara body lift, special brackets have to be made for the front bumper, and a few other bits like the gear console have to be modified?

[greg]

A fellow in the vic suzuki club made up a 2" body lift for a vitara v6 estate... i recall that they said it was easier to install than the sierra because the body is very strong (sierra can bend a little).

As for its effect on other things - i believe that they had to do a little bit of grinding under the bonnet on the top of the coil spring holders because the clearance of the engine/cross over bar was affected...

i believe there is a web site i found from the US that had a step by step 2" body lift installation -

here is one such site
http://home.golden.net/~haida/suzuki/te ... /lift.html

but i'm sure that i've seen some better ones around too.

cheers,
Greg

[12uke]

Ok I have done this on my Vitara here is a link to what I used
http://www.ozhelpservices.com/~bradley/
Now the body is easy too lift the only thing under the 4by is the brake lines that are bolted to the chassie remove theses for now and remove front bumper grill lights and remove the front bolts and remove rear bumper remove transfer knob and remove gear stick as you will need too give it a bit of a bend put jack under 4by body with timber say 3 too 4 feet long as too spread out the lifting load and lift.

The other link is good but it is for a bigger lift and not all of it has too be done.

[Charlie]

>A fellow in the vic suzuki club made up a 2" body lift for a vitara v6 >estate... i recall that they said it was easier to install than the sierra >because the body is very strong (sierra can bend a little).

Do you know what tyre he managed to fit, there does not seem to be much room there with all the body moulding.

I believe RS Components sell short pieces of 2" alloy bar for $90.This would be cheaper than buying indiviual blocks provided you can cut and drill it yourself.
Regards Charlie

[greg]

he hasn't updated his tires yet so i'm not sure... something close to a 31 was the plan i believe - but it was a xxx/xxx/16 type size.

[Liam]

None of you guys have actually done this have you?, they're not the same at all.

[Charlie]

Their's not much much low down power in the V6 .I don't think you could do it without changing to 5.83 diffs and your looking at well over a grand to get some r&p from the US.Maybe if the ozi dollar keeps going up.
Charlie

[ziggy]

Hi

Does any body know of a place that does body lifts around Melbourne? I'm also trying to get hold of a Calmini suspension/lift kit for my Vitara, if any body knows of a local supplier.

Cheers

yes joe @ 4play off road in bayswater

[fightara]

Hi

Does any body know of a place that does body lifts around Melbourne? I'm also trying to get hold of a Calmini suspension/lift kit for my Vitara, if any body knows of a local supplier.

Cheers

yes joe @ 4play off road in bayswater

bwahaha
Talk about dragging a thread up from the dead!

[raqmup]

A body lift for the sidekick huh?

[mudfkr]

Thanks for all the replies!

1) I sounds like the only way to do this really is to make your own lift blocks etc..
2) Does any body know (when doing all this yourself) how lifting the body affects brakes, wiring, steering, gear console, bumpers etc?
3) I have been told that with a Vitara body lift, special brackets have to be made for the front bumper, and a few other bits like the gear console have to be modified?

1a) yes this is probably the quickest easiest way, look on page 5 their is a post about body lifts there. I posted drawings of lift blocks feel free to use the design (if your after 75mm that is ?)

2a)you'll need to drop the front left flexible brake line down by the amount that you've lifted it and buy a new hose for under the rig th side where the hoses go down on to the chassis.
Wiring is no problem as long as you don't stretch the shit out of it when jacking the body up - note disconnect the O2 sensor wire from the exhaust or you will break it
I had no problem with my steering - others say you have to extend you shaft so check once you've lifted it.
Gear console will not have to be change how ever the internal rubber boots (the ones on the underneath) will have to have the slit extended a bit and I removed the gear stick one inside as well.

3a) Rear bumper is easy to lift up if you have access to a MIG and a few bits of steel. The front I chose to biff and fabbed a steel one instead but it wouldn't be hard to make some brackets to suit.


Cheers Shane

[raqmup]

Try a workshop in Kilsyth called 4PLAY OFF ROAD, joe will answer everything you need to know and be able to supply/fit anything you need done to you zook. He has a lift for Vitara's made from turned steel/alloy billet and knows the ins & outs of loom extensions and any 'stretching' that you may incurr! Hope that was helpfull...
PM me if you'd like contact details or have any q's!

[safarikick]

http://www.whitepineclub.com/offroad/te ... /index.htm

[sierrajim]

The Calmini kit is available from either the guy in Perth or ship from the US directly yourself and save big bucks.

If you install a 2" body lift there is not too much that you need to extend. If you go to a 3" you need to extend shifters, steering etc.

3" suspension lift and 2" body lift with a little trimming will clear 31's quite well. With some more major cutting you should clear 32's.

A word of advice however, go for the solid block for the body lift. Do not use steel RHS. RHS works fine until you are in an accident or roll that car over. It has insufficent sideways strength.

G wagen steve will be able to tell you more about this

[Dick]

Their's not much much low down power in the V6 .I don't think you could do it without changing to 5.83 diffs and your looking at well over a grand to get some r&p from the US.Maybe if the ozi dollar keeps going up.
Charlie

They do lack low down, but you can make them a HEAP better.. I did...