Any problems with these mods? UPDATE - NOW WITH PICS

[HexarDan]

Hey all,

I just wanted to run past some of you more knowledgable people on the forum what I plan on doing over the next couple of weeks to my '92 SWB Vitara.

I am going for a 2" suspension lift and maybe a 1" body lift. If anyone has details on where I can pick up some body lift blocks or how I can make and fit them myself it would be greatly appreciated.

I will be getting some springs made up, probably from Allsprings. I plan on asking for the same specs as standard Vit springs just 2in longer. good idea or not? as many aftermarket springs seem to be 'heavy duty'. I still want to maintain a decent on road ride but get good travel offroad.

I will be using rear VT Commodore shocks and modifying them to fit. I have not decided whether to get some OME struts or just flip the mounts on my current ones as i'm on a budget. Opinions appreciated.

I plan on fitting some new 30" 9.5 Cooper ST's on used f100 sunraysias which I can pick up from the wrecker for $35 ea.

I am also curious as to whether or not these changes will affect the roadworthiness of the Vitara. Will I have any problems come rego time? Do I need an engineers cert? I'm in NSW.

All opinions and advice regarding my plans will be appreciated. Especially instructions for the body lift.

It seems like a pretty common project for beginners like me so I plan on posting pics and a journal of it all for anyone who's interested.

Cheers,
Dan

[muppet_man67]

can you not get medium duty springs from ome? aftermarket springs will normally cost less. If your on a budget have you considered coil spaces? apart from that it all sounds

[Beastmavster]

OME are better than a strut mount flip... but depends on budget and how stuffed your stock struts are now. It they're r00ted go the OME when you can afford.

Allsprings should be able to do you good custom springs cheaper than OME so go for it - you tell them what you want and they'll tell you if its plausible and they'll do their best to come up with something that works and matches your wants.

Bad ride is the bane of SWB vits (of course what we consider bad is still "dreamlike" for sierra boys

If you're going 2" suspension and 1" body that should be fine. Get someone to cut you up some HDPE blocks in 1" and use that. Most good 4wd shops can do that for you. Any sydney ppl know where.

about 30mm is the maximum that you can get away with on stock studs.... beyond that your solutions either take more effort or are dodgy.

2+1 should be great for 30 tyres. Get the widest offset you can with the rims if you have a choice.

All in all sounds like a sensible set of mods you've done a bit of research on (probably in the vitara bible) and should be able to be engineered with no dramas in NSW and be a fun rig without too many issue for breakage.

Similar setup to what I had on my vitara and it worked great.

Not knowing the leaglities of NSW (but seeing pics of the legal rigs down there) I don't know whether or not you need an engineers cert for these mods but I would assume so.

Even in QLD, the mods you're doing would be legal (cept the 30" muddies).

[WHITVIT]

I have allsprings on my 4 door vit, Aldo is the guy to speak to. after giving him my needs/wants (2" lift with a bullbar) i left it to him to judge what was required. I was a little dissapointed at first as the rear springs lifted me 3" and the front only half an inch (probally back to original with sag) i had to install 30mm coil spacers to level it out somewhat. Having said that the spring rate on the front is noticably softer (articulation) and when the car is loaded up it sits level. the price was right too $300 to W.A.
just be sure of what you want and give it to him in his language.

you will find the 1" body lift easy going and a good starting point (cheapest) no real issues with this lift height. just keep an eye on things as you will need to jack the body up a couple of inches to get the spacers under the studs, i did a 2" no real probs once i had some extender studs manufactured. i too am running 30" tyres, you will need to get some camber bolts installed for the front to correct after the lift.

cheers

[HexarDan]

Thanks guys,

Any idea what diametre the body lift blocks need to be. Is it a standard size or somemthing specific?

Dan

[stephen]

I had 2.5" taller allsprings made for my old vitara they where a lot heavier than standard but I could still fully compress them, and ride was good

[WHITVIT]

i have 50mm on mine but ideally they should be the same size as the rubber body blocks on the main 8 supports (85mm) to stop them sinking into the rubber and give you a full 1" lift. See if the ice hockey puck idea is any good to you.

[HexarDan]

Thanks WHIT I will get some made up.

Stephen did your 2.5" springs sag much over time? Were you still running the standard struts?

Dan

[HexarDan]

What diametre should the hole through the centre of the body lift blocks be?

Dan

[kimclive]

Hi,

The mods sound great. If you keep your stock wheels and tyres you can swap back at pink slip time to solve any potential issues.

My LWB Vitara had Pedders springs and shocks and they are TOO hard. They feel like they would be fine on a 2.5tonne L/C or Patrol.

I'll tough it out for a while and see if they soften over time. Post up your results please, as I will be watching with interest.


Cheers

Clive

[zookwithdreams]

Not wanting to hijack this thread but does any one know roughly how mutch it will cost to get mods like this engineered ie body lift and bigger wheels

[WHITVIT]

What diametre should the hole through the centre of the body lift blocks be?

The stud from the body is a m10x1.25 thread so 12mm would be fine.

[Beastmavster]

From memory the studs are 10mm but the two bolts under the headlights were 12. They were definately a different size.

[Beastmavster]

Anyway who's got my old 1" body lift. That's the outerlimits town bike that thing so it's about due to get another ride.....

First me then antt then gonzo... who's got it now?

[HexarDan]

Not wanting to hijack this thread but does any one know roughly how mutch it will cost to get mods like this engineered ie body lift and bigger wheels

About a year ago I was thinking of doing the calmini lift and was told it would cost $700 for an engineers cert. They had to do a brake and swerve test.

I really can't afford to get these mods engineered at that price. Not straight away. I'm just gonna do the mods myself, take it down to my mechanic, who I trust, get him to look over it and make sure it's all safe. Come rego time I will put the stock wheels and tyres back on as kimclive recommended. In time when I can afford to get it engineered I may or I may just risk it.

I would be interested to know if Beastmavster, WHITVIT and some of the other guys who have or have had these mods done to their Vitaras got them engineered. Is it worth it?

Dan

[HexarDan]

Rather than start a new thread I thought I would just bring this one back to life.

The suspension lift is done.

2in raised coils
OME Struts
Rear VT Shocks
15x7 f100 sunraysias
30" road tyres (came with the rims for $15 each) I plan on upgrading to either 30" or 31" muddies in the near future.

I have attached some before and after pics.


I still need to do the body lift and was wondering if a 2inch lift is any harder to install than a 1inch.
My dad is a toolmaker so he will be making me some aluminium blocks I just need to tell him what size I want.

Thanks to everyone on the board who has given me advice, I wouldn't even have attempted this lift myself without it.

Cheers,
Daniel

[mud4b]

how did the vt shocks go in the rear?

we used vr shocks on ours and coulnt even push down on the body...

can anyone say KIDNEY BELT..

[sierrajim]

If you don't already have one a members thread might be the go now that you have a bit done

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... m.php?f=16

and if you haven't already done so it would be good to get a pic, your specs and what you've set uour car up to do in the forum rigs

here http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... hp?t=48564

Looks good.

[SiKiD_01]

one thing i learnt about the commo/any shocks on the vits/zooks, is that, they should be the original ones from factory if you do get any.

and make sure they aren't already shot. these are the hydraulic oil shocks, and not the gas charged ones. i found that the gas charged ones, such as any after market brand, will be way to stiff, unless mounted in-board.

the oil ones, when compressed, will not want to extend, and stay in which ever position you leave them in. they should only absorb and dampen. the gas charged ones, will be a lot harder to compress, as they will always want to extend. this sort of acts as a leveler, and helps keep ride height.

so hunt around in the wreckers for some black and descent shocks.

[HexarDan]

I've found the VT monroe gas shocks to give quite a good ride. Not too stiff at all. Softer than the original ride in my opinion.

When I got the springs made I asked for original spec and 2 inches longer. They ended up making them 15% stronger and 2.5 inches longer. I'm not complaining as I'm pretty happy with the lift and the ride so far. I'm eager to see the difference offroad.


Dan

[EU4RIA]

Just for everyone's info. the bolts under the headlights in my 1990 vit are an M10 x 1.25. just completed a body lift so i'll have to get some pics up for you guys in the future.

[LTDHO]

I'd like to see some before and after pix of both suspension and body lifts.

[Goatse.AJ]

Not wanting to hijack this thread but does any one know roughly how mutch it will cost to get mods like this engineered ie body lift and bigger wheels

I'm just gonna do the mods myself, take it down to my mechanic, who I trust, get him to look over it and make sure it's all safe. Come rego time I will put the stock wheels and tyres back on as kimclive recommended. In time when I can afford to get it engineered I may or I may just risk it.

I would be interested to know if Beastmavster, WHITVIT and some of the other guys who have or have had these mods done to their Vitaras got them engineered. Is it worth it?

Dan

Just a note re yearly RWC in NSW. I NEVER had a problem with my mods on any vehicle passing it. It's a different story if you're involved in a crash, but I wouldn't stress about the annual inspection, all they're interested in generally is that the tyres have tread on 'em and don't hang too far out past the guards. Same goes with lift, removal of swaybar, extra lights, etc.