Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I wouldn't use Sierra diffs and spacers. One of the reasons to consider a SAS on a Vit is to increase the strength especially with the larger rubber you will most likely be running and IMHO there are stronger options available, especially for the money. Also the chances of getting it engineered on Sierra gear is probably not good either.

hilux or 60s, whatever you can find the easiest and cheapest, unless your more keen on one than the other.

both are strong diffs and can be upgraded to be even stronger.

and talk to some 4x4 shop like overkill and get a few opinions and ask why that and not this, see what they say.

in all honesty, most people here have never done what you want to do, except I know A1 has.and not sure that many of the others have.

definantly don't put leaves under there.

while your on, put an sr20det in there and a big write up on it so I can get ideas on how easy it will fit.

enjoy ashley

why not leaves.
its a common swap over here.

aren't leaves abit rough?? here we use sammy 1.3 difs and moddit to springs in front...a bit more confortable a gess...don't one an SAS vit but did ride one..and was kinda soft..

There is just no way that a 1.3 sierra/samurai diff is strong enough to work for long in the front af a vitara. A few people here have tried it and they don't last.

The CV's are marginal in a sierra with 33's in a heavier car like a vitara with more power and spacers etc they won't last at all.

Personally, I think suzuki did quite a good job of the rear suspension design in the vitara.(actually, I think they did quite a good job with the front too from an off road perpective) the front is not hard to do with radius arms off of the donor car -I'm thinking GQ patrol or 78/9 or 80 series cruiser here, and the finished ride height and characteristics will be appropriate. The chassis design lends itself to a radius arm suspension.

I love leaves and can get them to wrok very well in a sierra but just because they are easy to work with doesn't make them the best solution for a car that was set up with coils in the front and a rear suspension designed around that.

I think a vitara with a sierra front diff and sierra rrear leaves would be far less capable than a vitara running calmini with OME struts.

Steve.

hmmm.

we run them over here like that and they perform really well.

but i suppose we have less severe terrain than you do, ours is mainly mud, so we don't get much in the way of snatch on the axles.

I would agree suzota. We also travel longer distances to drive terrain as well, and depending on where we are in australia there will be a different preference on setting up a car.

Around Sydney, the terrain is quite rocky and technical so you will tend to see taller cars, whereas here in Melbourne we have more mud but lots of long steep climbs with big erosion ruts so the trend tends to be for us to run cars lower that can take more side angle and be more predicatable under power.

The shock loading on stuff is sydney is very high due to all the rock, so they tend to like hilux sized and bigger diffs even in sierras.

In Melbourne, we can get by with a bit less axle, but still have a fair amount of breakage.

A solid axle swap with sierra stuff will be just as much work as with a stronger diff but is unlikely to last so here in Australia we might as well step up to strong enough parts from the outset.

A1's vitara would be about the ultimate balance of height/width and strength IMHO for a vitara SAS. (Might even drive ok in victoria )

Steve.

from my perspective it just seems like you change your mind alot.
Think about this very carefully as your going to be throwing alot of
money into this to get it working good, and dont want to get to the end
of it and change your mind and sell it for $4g...
I would say, get a calmini kit, some decent tyres and wheel it.

I agree, wise advice spike.

A guy here in Vic had a workshop build a SAS conversion for him. the conversion was neat, and unlike many SAS conversions, the car sat nice and low.

However, it was based on Jimny components, and the car that it was ftted to had done a lot of off road work before the conversion started.

The car only ran for a few months once converted and due to a range of reliability issues both with the car and the conversion was parted out.

Ultimately, adding a SAS to a vitara will not make it into a different car - It won't add more power, make the rest of the car more durable or fis any of the other issues. A vitara with a clamini kit, (maybe with an anvil too) and OME struts will be strong, reliable and work very well off road. that is a fact. (and it will also be able to go back to standard to sell) but with an SAS conversion, many of these issues are unknown and maost of them never get as much use as they should, often being cut up or parted out (relaitvely) shortly after completion.

IMHO, if you want a capable bush car, buy a cheap sierra and leave your car stock or put a calmini kit in your car and appreciate it for what it is. The IFS in the vitara is a good design, flexes well and is relatively durable.

Steve.

mmmmm

looks like ill be going fot the calimi kit only reason i wanted the SAS was to fit bigger tyres other than 31's like 35- etc but yeh doesnt look like that lol anvil is that really needed if i get the bash plates??

cheers nick

An SAS won't actuallt allow you to run a bigger tyre as the limits to tyre size are gearing induced.

you currently have 5.12's. If you want a 35 and stock road gearing you would need diffs with a 6.63 ratio so that's not gunna happen really easily even with an SAS.

Otherwise, you need to swap to a sierra transfer case which is going to be a heap of work, but this would allow indurect high range gearing and therefore offset big tyres.

35's are not out of the question with IFS, but a narrower tyre like a 34X9 or 34 10.5 is more realistic. we had a vitara like your in the club here in vic running 33 12.5's with 1" of lift. It had lots of guard chopping but looked neat and was very stable and drivable. Gearing was an issue, but it did very well.

The anvil is not designed for impact resistance, it fits a stronger diff into the front to prevent breakage from overloading. A similar effect can be gained from using a steel housing and steel third member and some other tricks.

Steve.

so to run say 33's wat will i need to do??? with the calmini kit???

Cut the guards.

It cracks me up that people will lift their car to the sky, cut all sorts of brackets off, do SAS and all sorts of other stuff but will shy away from cutting the guards.

LJxtreem on this board (Mock) ran 33's on speedy 8" rims with bumpstop spacing, cut guards and about 1" of suspension lift. No Body lift.

He woudln't argue that it wasn't a bit rouh, but it worked very very well off road.

A calmini kit with OME struts, proper bumpstop spacing (especially in the back) and cut guards would run as much tyre as you could ever hope to gear on a vitara, it all depends on how far you are willing to cut.

Dealing with gearing, finishing the cuts off and other durability issues woudl still need to be dealt with, but the total work is a fraction of what woudl be required to do an SAS.

Steve.

Try_Me wrote:so to run say 33's wat will i need to do??? with the calmini kit???

31's will be more than enough.. i have wheeled my vit hard on 31's for years now. 33's are more trouble than they are worth.
yes i do have the calmini kit and have had for a while now. very good. would not bother with custom crap unlesss my car was used for offroad only.

i had a chance to my own a SAS into my vitara...

from this...



to this...





all the details of the cheapo build...

http://4x4ph.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=7401&st=30

why not jeep front and rear axle set up they sold a set on ebay for $600 the other week go to zuwharrie .com and have alook they have pages on it

Which jeep?

As a general rule, jeep axles are weaker than japanese axles, will have sky high axle ratios (3.08:1 anyone?) Often have the pumpkin on the wrong side, and will cost big $$$ in the long run due to the higher cost of service parts.

It's funny how trends here get influenced by the US, sometimes for the worst. Jeep axles (late model CJ7) might be a good choice in the US because Jeeps are like GQ patrols - everyone has one, but here, you'd have to be mad.

Actually, the same thing happened with Hilux axles. Because all the US tech was about hilux axles, lots of people did it here too despite there being better axles to swap in australia.

Steve.

their doing toyo and jeep swaps over there i think they use dana 44s

Wagoneer 44's most likely. for what they can get them for the US, they make sense. Doesn't mean it is a good idea here.

Steve.

Makoy - that's super cool
Unfortunately, I can't view your build up thread because the forum link you posted requires me to join.

Can you post some photos of the build here - it looks like you have done it very well and members here would get heaps out of it.

Steve.

ill do that when i get sober 8 hours from now....

ill be heading to geelong this december to visit my in-laws...i hope you can help me guys acquire a set staun internal beadlocks for my el cheapo buggy build









here's my photobucket...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v90/MAKOY/

Your photobucket is password protected too

I think your car is just photochopped and your a teasing us. Does it really exist???

Steve.

yo steve.
made a thread on my photochopped SAS

here's the link...

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/vi ... 22#1145422

enjoy
makoy

makoy wrote:yo steve.
made a thread on my photochopped SAS

here's the link...

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/phpBB2/vi ... 22#1145422

enjoy
makoy

Nice. I have been following the super cheap buggy built too on Pirate - very

[hijack off]

Layto....