Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Before i begin asking, a remark i feel should be made:
I'm from Israel, so please exuse any spelling mistakes or missunderstanding of technical terms in english. And yes, i have searched and read all the info i could find here regarding my questions before asking them. Of course, i may have overlooked something, so if a question i have has bees answered before, i will be very gratefull to get a link 2 it, since i have not found it.
Another small matter: I'm turning to u guys not only since this forum obviously contains a lot of knowladge, but also because THERE ARE NO SUCH things here. Perhaps 4-5 Zuks in the hole country have gone this far with the car, therefore i can't just go and compare with the nighbour - I need your experiance.

Now that that's behind us, lets get to buissnes:

I drive a 1989 Zuk, and everything is standard - factory settings (other than a couple of Lockrights, a winch etc'). Current tire size: 215/75/15. The time has come for the gear ratio kit, and i was wondering:
1. will a 5.14 gear ratio kit require any strenghthening of any parts? obviously, it would be better to do so (i understand the enlargment of momentom i will be applying), but will the factory parts take the punishment (on the assumption i'll be fairly gentle)?
2. On the assumption that they will, what happens when i fit in 31'' tires?Will they still hold?
3. is it possible to fit in 31'' tires on the original spring leafes (after bending them to lift the car- i don't know the term in english)?
4. In order 2 avoid Axle Wrap, i plan on adding 1 more leaf to each spring, making a total of 5 leafs per spring. will this surfice?


I realize purchusing a proper lift kit, strengthen parts etc' is better, but i just can't finance it at the moment. please take this into accound with your responses.

Thanks,
Alon.

are you

SOA / SPOA (springs over the axel tube)
or
SUA (springs under axel tube)

if it is still standard (SUA) u really shouldnt have to worry bout axel rap

just chuck some lifted shackles under it aswell as a 2inch body lift
and u should fit 31's with hammering down of the seems in the wheel arch

or u could go SOA an clear 31's quite easily

like i said, standard: SUA. SPOA and body lifts are not an option - illiagle here (sucks!!!!).
the additional spring is also there to prevent sinking (or leanghthen the time before the inevitable sinking).

Lifted shackels, how long precicely would you reccomend? Currently, i was thinking of 3 CM longer than the original, which is just of an inch longer.

do u work by inches or CM, by the way?

By the way, let's make life simpler 4 u - u use whatever term you c fit, and if i don't get it i'll ask.

Here's one to start off with:

"...all you need is a 2" body lift , but if your using f100 rims the 31x10.5's will hit the front springs at full lock and when..."

(taken from here: http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14004&highlight=gear+ratio)
What are rims? the edge of something, i believe?

and what is "swb NT"? (taken from the same disscussion)

Nexus wrote:By the way, let's make life simpler 4 u - u use whatever term you c fit, and if i don't get it i'll ask.

Here's one to start off with:

"...all you need is a 2" body lift , but if your using f100 rims the 31x10.5's will hit the front springs at full lock and when..."

(taken from here: http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14004&highlight=gear+ratio)
What are rims? the edge of something, i believe?

and what is "swb NT"? (taken from the same disscussion)

The rims are the wheels (Tyres fitted to them,)

SWB NT is a Short Wheel Base Narrow Track

The easiest way to tell a narrow track (NT) to a wide track (WT) is where the fixed part of the shackles mount to the chassis.
On a NT the front most mount is directly underneath the chassis whereas on a WT it is mounted outside the chassis (still underneath though).
If your vehicle is an '89 model, I would think it is a WT.

Also, when you say a 5.14 ratio kit, what do you mean?
Diff ratio?

i'm refering to the T-case ratio.

here it is: http://www.puresuzuki.com/Rockcrawler5.14.htm.

And yes, it is a wide track. I think they stoped making the NT after someone in america sued them, claiming that the car turned over because it was too narrow, sometime in 1988.

So that makes my car a SWB WT.

Do you have an opinion on some of the other questions i asked, with the limitation i have (that bloody law thingy)?

i just put 31's on my zook, same year as yours... standard gearing isn't toooooooo bad. i've got some 4.16:1 ratio gears that i'm going to put in, i don't think you'd need the 5.14's (or whatever they were) for 31s unless you're going to run larger tyres

not sure how you'll fit 31's under without a bodylift.. i've got 2" springs and 2" bodylift, and they still rub a little bit

heres what I have done.
I have 31 inch simex tyres on a standard SWB NT suzuki with standard springs and standard shackles.
I have moved the diff forward about 30cm, or as far as I could drill the plates out, and simply cut the guards out.
I have wide track diffs which means I don't have trouble with hitting the springs.
I do need a new steering arm, one that is inbetween the NT and WT length, due to NT chassis and WT diffs.
I am happy so far with the combo, but am going to put longer springs in front and rear. eg rear springs up front, and hilux in the rears or similar.

thats what I have done, not for everyone, but its the combination that I am happy with.
ashley

oh and I have 5.12 diff ratios, with the 31inch tyres, I want to go slower, but not too much, so am putting in a 1 litre transfer case, its a bit lower about 12% or something, correct me if I'm wrong.
ashley

ok, after checking a few possibilities i have, i'm going to try and fit CJ-6 and CJ-8 front springs onto my rig. so much for the lift.

no body lift, still can't do a damm thing about the law, but my 9'' cutting disk is ready 4 action...

i think, stumped, tha't you're forgetting that I have no diff ratio. therefore, an 18% reduction on my T case high mode is neccacery.
The question of parts breaking due to extrem forces from the Tcase on the drivetrain, all the way 2 the wheel still exsists, though. Any comments on that? does no one there ride 31's without diff ratio?

Nexus wrote:i think, stumped, tha't you're forgetting that I have no diff ratio. therefore, an 18% reduction on my T case high mode is neccacery.
The question of parts breaking due to extrem forces from the Tcase on the drivetrain, all the way 2 the wheel still exsists, though. Any comments on that? does no one there ride 31's without diff ratio?

i've got the standard factory diffs, and the transfer case gears aren't in yet... with the factory stuff and 31s it still goes ok, hillstarts just mean riding the clutch a bit more. it's nowhere near as bad as i expected it to be, but i was running 28s before (not the factory 26s)

love_mud suggested to me that i should beef up the transfer case arms to deal with the extra torque once i get the gearing in, and i think bigsteve may have done something like that in his build up....

Thanks. will do.