3inch body lift for vitara

[ziggy]

can someone tell me what problems will I encounter with it

[Ric]

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... =body+lift

a little searching never hurts. i asked about his a while ago..

Ric.

[muppet_man67]

dont take my work for it but others will correct me if im wrong. 2 inches is the highest you can go on a sierra without having to start mucking with stuff. Such things as steering allignment, extending brake lines, extending fuel filler. Others will give more detail. RBzook recently did a 3 inch body lift and will know what you need.

[cj]

Is this for your Vit or did you get the Sierra?

[ziggy]

no sorry for the vitara
got the 2inch sus in 2day

[sierrajim]

I would suggest a 2" body lift for a Vitara over the 3". It's much easier to install and does not require any gearstick modification like the 3" does.

Make sure you use solid blocks and not RHS for strength reasons.

PM gwagensteve i think that he may be able to supply you with threaded blocks to suit that vehicle.

[cj]

The 3" is more involved as you may need to extend the steering, brake lines, fuel filler hose etc. The 2" is pretty straight forward and easier to get engineered if you want it. If you like I can come past sometime and you can have a closer look at my lift.

[Gwagensteve]

You have PM Ziggy.

I can't see the point of a 3" lift as the only reason to body lift is to fit a tyre, and the tyre will contact the firewall and the leading edge of the rear wheelarch pretty much the same if it has a 2" or 3" lift as these are vertical surfaces.

and CJ is right, a 3" lift would be a PITA to fit in comparison.

[Beastmavster]

What's the benefit of the 3" body lift? With a little light work you'll clear 32"s (or 33x9.5 or 33x10.5) with 2" suspension + 2" body and that's about all you'll ever run on a Vitara without 5.83 R&P's due to the 1:1 high.

If you buy the R&P's to run larger you'll probably find CV breakage being common. After all you're talking something like a 30% increase in radius by then - about the same equivalent as a Patrol on 42" tyres.

Be realistic, sell up now or be prepared to spend much $$$ re-engineering the car completly.

Or wait until the Calmini SAS kits and Ropcky Road 8" lift kits come out

[antt]

What's the benefit of the 3" body lift? With a little light work you'll clear 32"s (or 33x9.5 or 33x10.5) with 2" suspension + 2" body and that's about all you'll ever run on a Vitara without 5.83 R&P's due to the 1:1 high.

If you buy the R&P's to run larger you'll probably find CV breakage being common. After all you're talking something like a 30% increase in radius by then - about the same equivalent as a Patrol on 42" tyres.

Be realistic, sell up now or be prepared to spend much $$$ re-engineering the car completly.

Or wait until the Calmini SAS kits and Ropcky Road 8" lift kits come out

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA, 4wd's wont even be around when this farkin thing finally comes out

[PRZOOK]

Mate just did the Calmini 3" Body Lift. Lots of work involved, including grinding some of the engine bay to allow the strut brace to fit down. Took him and his father over 12 hours I think (Not sure if it is complete yet, think brakes, steering etc are still needed to be done), and this for a "bolt on" kit.

Personally, I think 3" is a little over kill, it looks huge, and with the 3" suspension lift he is getting, there is going to be a heap of space because it is a pain in the arse to fit tyres that will fill that space.

2" should be heaps. I have done a 1" on the GV and it made just the right amount of space for what I want so far.

[SiKiD_01]

if you can, try to do the 2" and keep away from all the other problems associated with a 3".

less 1" of body lift never hurt a vitara, but a 1" taller tyre might.

anyway, if its as everyone says, and that a 2" is the easiest and most basic, do that.

use proper lift blocks. (coming from me?)

with a 3" BL, and a 2" suspension, i can't run 33" tyres. 32" will fit, but i have already cut my out front guards, and bashed the fire wall in.

so if you want 31", 2" + 2" should do.

1c worth from
Steve.

[Wanderer]

Hi all,

just purchased a '93 Vitara LWB, 1.6l EFI, stock except for an ARB bullbar. The little beastie will be a daily driver so nothing wild (so stated by she who must be obeyed!).

Soooooo, started researching and ringing around to get an idea of mods to do.....

Body lift - the message i get from this forum is 2 inch is min. fuss.....when installing the body lift blocks (any recommended brands?) will i need to loosen/lengthen/adjust any thing else?

Engine mods - any cheap simple mods to gain extra horse power?

Suspension - OME alround?

Tyres - 31 inch or am i being optomistic?

Lights - got a set of IPF 800's (left over from my '94 hilux dual cab) that keep on keepin' on.

Snorkel - induction & piece of mind!

any tips /suggestions/hints/advice are greatly appreciated.....

[Beastmavster]

For a decent daily driver your goal should be at least 30" muddies and airlocker(s). 31"s would probably be better but for the weight. Remember 30" muddies are still about a 14% jump in tyre size, so this is a huge jump... kinda like putting 36"s on a Patrol.

The best solution is probably going to be 16" rims where the tires are narrower for the overall diameter, whether it be 7.5R16 (31.8x7.5x16") or a 235/85/16 (32.0x9.3x16"). Leter vitaras use these rims as standard.

7.5s are rare in good muddy patterns (brdigestone do a 671 muddie which is good) but the 235/85/16 is pretty much a standard and every single brand I checked last night had a muddy in that size ... BFG, MTR, Hankook, Kelly, Maxxis, Silverstone etc.....

Also get the suspension done right the first time. OME is recommended - their front struts are the best and the springs are not quite as tall as the others but still good and the best ride. Rear shock travel is the weakpoint of their kit as they are way too short - get some longer ones such as adjustable ranchos for them. I used Cressida MX 62 and others have found success with commodore VN/VP but that is obviosuly the cheap option not the best one.

Body lift of 1" and 2" suspension would clear 30's ok....although you might be a little close so 2+2" is better.

A LWB with 29" rubber just blitzed in our club comp (came 3rd and really should have come higher except for anti vitara bias). The LWB makes up for lack of travel up front nicely.

A rockhopper will save your clutch too and reduce damage.

You really want some form of tank and sill protection in a vitara before you use it hard offroad.....

[cj]

Hi Wanderer, where are you? What sort of wheeling are you going to do? What are you running auto or manual? The auto will compensate for the change in gearing better with larger tyres than the manual. If you don't mind the extra noise go the muddies. Standard setup you can fit 235/75R15's, 2" bodylift 30x9.5's and bodylft and suspension 31x10.5's or 7.50x16's or 235/85R16's with a liitle trimming and tapping. With 7" rims and standard offset you would only need flares for the 31's. A rear locker will make the world of difference to it's capabilities and and a front locker will help overcome the lack of articulation in the front IFS or you could look at the traction control from Overkill. Talk to Overkill about crawler gears too as he has a good deal going. The OME suspension is a pretty good setup for general driving and you can add 20mm coil spacers for a little extra lift. Longer travel rear shocks would be good but a rear locker does wonders. If you want a bodylift, the 2" is pretty straight forward with few hassles. If you don't know for sure when it was done, change the timing belt. There's not really anything available for performance mods for the 16v unless you want to spend $$$ although some reckon a 2" exhaust and hiflow muffler is good. The later stock exhaust manifold/downpipe setup on them is pretty good but the earlier one may benefit from a good tri-Y header. Hawk in the US do a low end cam for them. The real weak point is the alloy front diff and axle housing and the operating range in the cv's. Apart from that they are a good little wagon.

My OME suspension (shocks, springs and spacers) will be up for sale shortly once the Calmini 3" goes on if you're interested although I will be keeping the struts so you would need to still buy those.

[Beastmavster]

Recommondation here with the rims. I went 15x8" rims with -25 offset.

These are a little too heavy and a little too far offset in my opinion for a good daily driver, due to increased loading and wear and tear on the vehicle, particularly on the wheelbearings.

They also caused the vehicle to need more clearance for steering so that means either more lift or more trimmming.

I'd stick with a 7" wide rim for 15", and possibly you'd only need a 6" for 16" tyres. While you definately want greater offset than stock probably something in the vicinity of -13mm would be more suitable overall.

That's still something like 1" further out per side as the vitara starts off with big positive offset (which means narrower overall track).

[sierrajim]

"once the Calmini 3" goes on "

How long have you had the kit CJ

[cj]

"once the Calmini 3" goes on "

How long have you had the kit CJ

Yeah yeah I know but I'm getting the winchbar sorted this weekend and at least I've been out driving :P

[sierrajim]

so have i, i had to drive to the tyre shop to pick up my BOGGERS after being fitted to the rims. Won't be long and i'll be driving the zook.

PS

Sorry for hijacking your thread.

[Beastmavster]

Note new name.....

I've kept the avatar for now until somethign suitable of photographing on the mav.....

[ziggy]

cool Ive read the pros and cons and it will be a 2inch b/l thanks people

[Wanderer]

hi all,

thanks for the advice, plenty of food for thought! you guys have really narrowed down options for me to research.....

being in the ACT, other than ARB, TJM & Kaos4x4 options are pretty limited (so far) look forward to discovering more.....the net (& this forum) is making life easier.

the Vitara has 145k on the clock, 5 speed manual. purchased from National Capital Motors in Canberra CBD about 4 weeks ago, spent most that time in their service dept, coolant leaking into oil - cracked head, repaired/head reconditioned/water pump replaced. then coolant leak poss crack in block vicinity of water pump. all work covered by warranty!

look forward to offroadin' soon....

loved the photos of the Vitaras in the snow!

wanderer