SWB Vitara -info

[Sixty]

Ok guys, the girlie keeps wanting to steal my 60, so its time for her own toy. She likes the look of the Vitara's, so I'm looking for hints/things to look for when checking them out.
Thanks for any info.

Al

[antt]

check out the front diff, they're made of aluminum and can develop cracks.

i didn't even take any notice when i bought mine, but later found out that the bottom diff mount had cracked, i ended up getting it tig welded up, including a lot of strengthening around the mount

[greg]

I'd suggest buying a sierra for her...

they are a lot cheaper to buy, cheaper to modify and in my opinion more capable than the vitara.

however, the one risk with doing so is that she will be out performing you in the cruiser pretty quickly

[Sixty]

I'd suggest buying a sierra for her...

they are a lot cheaper to buy, cheaper to modify and in my opinion more capable than the vitara.

however, the one risk with doing so is that she will be out performing you in the cruiser pretty quickly

Even tho she fell in love with a coiler at xmas, she likes the more 'girlie' looking Vitara's.(Her words not mine!)
How hard or easily avail are mods/bits for them?

[N*A*M]

she'd love a1zook the awesome blue coiler :wink:

[Sixty]

Cmon guys, theres gota be more hints on what to look for etc.





Or are they that good...............

[Beastmavster]

Hope you got the Vitara for her.

Yeah - the sierra has more potential for sure, but the Vitara with a few well placed mods should be good enough for most stuff unless she's a sick little mud puppy.

The main limiting factor when I first got mine was tyres and the rear shock length. 235 muddies and some longer rear shocks will make it capable enough.

Going much further than this becomes major work, with little info out there to help you.

Anything over 235's and you come across a whole range of dramas for tyre clearance. 2" suspension lift and 1" body lift doesn't quite clear my 30" muddies all the time.....

Once I'm finished with alternator swapping, I'll be looking at cutting the guards for some 32" muddies on F150 rims.

[greg]

Something that may be of interest to you guys is the possibility of welding up the rear diff in the vitara?

We have several sierras in our club that that rear diffs welded with minimal issues what so ever... (we even have one with a welded front and two more that want them too)...

The vitara we are discussing at the moment is a Grand Vitara (for which there is no Air Locker available)... which is a long wheel base, so i gather any ill-affects will be even less on your swb cars...

The owner is still taking a bit of convincing, but no doubt we'll keep you posted on how it goes

This could be by far the cheapest way to get that locking (locked) rear diff you always wanted... after all - it only costs a litre or so of diff oil and some weld wire...

Cheers,
Greg

[christover1]

ARB OME suspension kits exist for Vitaras, as do others. Auto lockers are available, but Air Lockers only on some models, and only rear on most. Body lift kits are available, tho making own aint hard. 30's muddies seems to be max size, unless cutting or massaging of guards is done. they do work well, but if getting serious, front ally diffs need replacing, or strengthening..ppl are looking into replacements, at moment..think some may have steel fronts?? there is enuff after market stuff for mild mods, but for wild mods there is plenty of backyard fixes.
christover

[antt]

front and rear air lockers are available, but only up to the 95 model i'm pretty sure.

suzuki_viagra, do you have a bigger pic of your avatar, looks like you did a good job of drowning it

[Beastmavster]

You can have a look at some of my shots on the following sites

Christover has copies of it.

Got a nice video of me caning the crap out of it too now -try the last one......


Andrew's Optusnet Page
Suzuki Viagra
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~andrew. ... index.html

Jason's Redbank Photos
Jason's MU in it's first 4wd excursion
http://members.optushome.com.au/jdkorke/firstmud01.html

Off-road archives
Jason's new hosted site for our photos and movies Gigs of space
http://members.optushome.com.au/off-road


As Greg and Chris can see - the little Viagra's been on growth hormones.....

[antt]

lol, nice pics, where abouts were they taken...(pm me if you like)

i always wondered if the vitara could get off the clock, mine with the injection and extractors should do it then

[greg]

front and rear air lockers are available, but only up to the 95 model i'm pretty sure.

I believe the one we are thinking about welding is from a 98 or 99 grand vitara - he has been told by ARB that no air locker is available unless he changes his diff setup to be an estate wagon's.

[Beastmavster]

Some were down in Melbourne before I left, the rest up here in Brissy - Mainly at Narangba but also at Redbank.

My friends and I need some more good places to go - do you know any?

[EARSEZOOK]

I know of a really good vit for sale, It has f+r air lockers, ARB bar and 40mm OME Lift. It was Roger Browns (ARB OWNER) daughters car. They're asking \\$10,000. make sure u try and get an injected model. Also they are renowned for leakinh oil around the Dizzy input.


Good to hear ur looking for a good car, not a shitty pussan or something.

[Beastmavster]

ARB OME suspension kits exist for Vitaras, as do others. Auto lockers are available, but Air Lockers only on some models, and only rear on most. Body lift kits are available, tho making own aint hard. 30's muddies seems to be max size, unless cutting or massaging of guards is done. they do work well, but if getting serious, front ally diffs need replacing, or strengthening..ppl are looking into replacements, at moment..think some may have steel fronts?? there is enuff after market stuff for mild mods, but for wild mods there is plenty of backyard fixes.
christover

There is plenty of stuff out there but it's mainly in the US - they seem to get much wilder with their Sidekicks than we do with our Vitaras - quite possibly due to the aussie mentality of making it yourself versus the us one of buying it and bolting it on. You can buy a 3" body lift from places like Calmini, or a 3" suspension lift from Calmini (damn expensive but it replaces all your front swingarms and all - I'd rather do an SAS swap and save bucks and be tougher). Then that gives you 32" rubber with heaps of travel.

That's 9" lifted from standard.... That is pretty wild on what was considered to be a "girl's car". Although guys in the states don't see them as a "Girls car"....

I think Suzysport do a 3" body lift kit here, but I think getting a 3" suspension lift is too much money, effort and cost when you can do a 2" suspension lift for about Aus $400....

The problem is that most of the better stuff requires big $. I went 2" suspension lift and 1" body lift because it was the cheap option requiring the least work.

Making a body lift kit for a Vitara is DAMN HARD. Sorry Chris. The design of the bumpers (bolted to both chassis and body), you need custom bolts to use alloy or polyurethane bushes for body lift (I removed the bottom rubbers on mine instead) due to the welded in studs. Even 1" really needed modified shifters (I replaced the rubber gearshift boot and cut a little off the knob on the transfer case and just got away with that.

I really should have driveshaft spacers and a custom handbrake cable for the 2" suspension lift and 1" body lift too.

You can get ARB lockers front and rear, lockrights for the rear (you can make a front one from a Sierra kit if you want to), rockhoppers etc. There is enough stuff even here in Oz to keep your wallet skinny for a long time.

This is something that the other 4wd brands are facing more and more too - issues with difficulty to modify with more modern designs, IFS etc. We're lucky that the sierras stayed IFS - theres only it (Jimny) and the Patrol left now as real 4wd's. So the issues in modifying IFS cars will be dealt with by aftermarket manufacturers and parts will get cheaper.

There is guys running around here on 31" and 32" rubber in Vitaras, without cutting the metal.

One good thing - at least with the Vitara I have something different, and even with only 30" muddies I can still say I've got one of the toughest Vitaras around. Also the Vitara looks bloody brilliant with the big muddies on it - but will look better with chopped guards and 32"s


Still doesn't stop me seriously looking at late model Sierras and wondering if I shouldn't swap though. The thought of 33" or 35" muddies and cheaper parts is very tempting at times.


PS before you go and rough it in a Viagra get a tank protector - the tanks are very exposed and pi$$weak. Suzy sport in Stafford QLD has a pattern made up of my tank if you're in QLD.

[thaoldman]

30" muddies I can still say I've got one of the toughest Vitaras around.

.....Its good to see you wanting to improve a Vit, but you need to get more mods before you start making such grand statements.
There are quite a few capable Vits out there already with twin lockers, rockhopper gearing, 31" tyres etc.

[Beastmavster]

In my email I said there was ppl here in oz with tyres that size - not knocking em at ll. There may be vitaras out there with 31"s and 32"s - but I've only seen one and he had 31"s. That's it.

I didn;t say I had the toughest Vit in aus, I just saying 30" muddies is tough for a vit and mine has em.

Relatively - If you had 31"s on a sierra you'd feel like a pussy.... so many ppl have em because it's so easy........ Vitaras are rarer to see modded so much.

[DAZ]

im slowly building a vitara wagon as a family tourer ive only fitted the suspention i have a 9000lb whinch 275/70x16 tyres no rims and a 2" body lift cutting to make stuff fit doesnt bother me if your knew my other car you would know what i mean i would love to see a photo or explain in detail the strengthening of the front diff houseing can it be done in there .Also how badly is the gearing effected by big tyres

[Beastmavster]

im slowly building a vitara wagon as a family tourer ive only fitted the suspention i have a 9000lb whinch 275/70x16 tyres no rims and a 2" body lift cutting to make stuff fit doesnt bother me if your knew my other car you would know what i mean i would love to see a photo or explain in detail the strengthening of the front diff houseing can it be done in there .Also how badly is the gearing effected by big tyres

I prefer my gearing over stock with the 30" rubber over the 26" rubber which I felt was too short for highway use (although a little better off road), and have never had any real issues with it yet (we'll see if I get my 32"s). The thing you need to think about is the carby Softtop had 5.12 diff centres anyway and you'll have 4.6 being a hardtop injected wagon.

Luckily this gives you two beneifts- about 50% more power, and if you want to you can use 5.12 diff centres instead of 4.6's - thus gaining about 12% shorter gearing without using a rockhopper.

Most Suzuki wreckers would be happy to swap 4.6 Vitara centres for 5.12 with a nominal changeover cost - like $50 or $100 the pair. You might even find one who'll do it for free. They tend to be able to sell 4.6 centres much easier.

Sierra guys use 4.6 diff centres out of Vitara quite happily but 5.12 is just that little bit short normally for them.

The diff centre has never been an issue for me, but a good whack on a rock does them no favours I've been told That's the joys of aluminium.

Most people would use Hilux diffs rather than strengthen the existing housing. I'm sure with enough effort you could convert a spare rear Vitara diff into a front one, but if you're going to that effort I'd go a Solid Hilux front axle anyway.

[DAZ]

thanks for the reply i did not know about the diff ratios i figered they would all be the same im definatly going to look into that which wreakers would you try as i havnt yet needed to go looking for one. Ok dose any one know the difference in gearbox ratios and what % is 5th gear overdrive from 4th which i assume is 1to1 ratio

[moose]

DAZ , give 4play offroad a ring !!!!! zook w/shop !!!!!!
joe ...97614694 ....
can give you the info you want/need !!!!!!

[Beastmavster]

If I knew where you were I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Without that I just have to say try your local Suzisport - they're nearly everywhere.....

[Beastmavster]

Cmon guys, theres gota be more hints on what to look for etc.


Or are they that good...............

You got the Vitara for her yet?

Hints on what to look for:

A Vitara! LOL

Only choice is LWB, SWB or Soft top?

There's not really much on em that goes wrong except the front diff, and the alternator design is pretty crappy.

The cable clutch is very heavy in mine for a girl to drive - dunno exactly when the hydraulic clutch was introduced, so maybe an Auto might be better for her (you could convert it to hydraulic clutch if you wanted). Steering is also a bit heavy for a girl, with or without the bigger rubber, so get her one with A/C and P/S (eg JLX spec).

Mines got 220,000ks and the last 20,000k's have all been hard offroad with 30" tyres. I've got a few oil leaks which were all there when I bought it - minor one around dizzy, sump and rocker cover gasket.

I've killed a couple of alternators, a wheel bearing and both brake slave cylinders but I hardly think that's a suprise with my driving style and the ground I push it through. After all it is a 15 year old car being pushed wayyy beyond it's limits.

How much you wanna spend? That one for $10000 sounded good, considering there's at least $5k worth of goodies on it.

PS I saw a injected JLX Softtop with a fibreglass top and retrimmed interior in it for $5000 a little while ago - they're getting cheaper all the time.

[BearX90]

Ok guys, the girlie keeps wanting to steal my 60, so its time for her own toy. She likes the look of the Vitara's, so I'm looking for hints/things to look for when checking them out.
Thanks for any info.

Al

Get Her a X90. a great car on or off road.

[Beastmavster]

Ok guys, the girlie keeps wanting to steal my 60, so its time for her own toy. She likes the look of the Vitara's, so I'm looking for hints/things to look for when checking them out.
Thanks for any info.

Al

Get Her a X90. a great car on or off road.

You can't say that until you're running muddies - noone will belive the second bit.


I saw somehting sying your guards may be smaller then amine - be careful with those 235's...... Send us a pic

[BearX90]

You can't say that until you're running muddies - noone will belive the second bit.


I saw somehting sying your guards may be smaller then amine - be careful with those 235's...... Send us a pic[/quote]

No mud here?
I have 205/70/15 on Bear now. here is a pic.

[Beastmavster]

205/15's or 235/16's were standard on Vitara. I had 205/75 and 215/75's on mine when I started.

You ain't on big wheels yet LOL. Long way to go yet.

Even 30" may be big for a Vitara - buit still not big enough.

I think you're gonna find the 235's are gonna be a really tight squeeze, judgine by your photo. 5.5" rims can take the tyres (I'vbe seen 31"s squeezed on 5.5 rims (NOT RECOMMENDED) but I dunno about those wheel arches.

I may have to get some metal body lifty blocks instead of my polyurethane ones since polyurethane aren't gonna be legal when I go for my safety inspection, but 2" metal ones are. I guess I'm gonna be FORCED by Mr Plod to raise my Vitara even further

To paraphrase the Christians, the LAW moves in mysterious ways

Get those spanners out......... you're gonna be forced to lift it. If you're lucky there's probably gonna be some cheap 1" body lift blocks on my bench soon. Just have to wait and see if I can get em past the Safety Cert or not.

Bear, if you need some help in getting parts up to you let me know. I'm sure there's a heap more Suzy specialists in Brissy than Proserpine....

[DAZ]

I live in shepperton vic half way between Albury and Melborne.Who would be the best wrecking yards to contact for suzuki vitara parts.

[christover1]

I live in shepperton vic half way between Albury and Melborne.Who would be the best wrecking yards to contact for suzuki vitara parts.

these days most of the wreckers can post stuff anywhere ya want, for an extra charge. suziworld in Heidleberg can, I assume the others can, too.christover