Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi all.

i have a 90 vitara SWB soft top with a 2 inch body lift in it. i have read that 180sx rear coils fit in the rear of the vit and give 2-3 inches of lift. would there be problems with lifting the vit this extra 2-3"? and what else do i need to do to fit these in? will i need vs/vr commodore shocks?
i was planning on doing a strut mount flip at the front and maybe a 1 inch coil spacer to level it up. would this cause to much strain on cv's etc?

does anyone see any problems with this? any opinion is appreciated. i am relatively new to the 4wdriving scene so i am still learning the ins and outs of my vit

Thanks simmo

It sounds good and it should work. But take it from a long time off roader and this is one of the hardest things to teach a noob. Taller is not always better. You want flex not hight. from the sounds of it you are going to add so much without making the springs softer. ard to explain untill you have been in a fourby with a lot of flex.

thanks V.W.Dave for your response.
yeah i understand that more flex is better than ride height mate. i really only wanted to extra height so i could put bigger tyres under it but i have worked out that 31's will fit with 2 inch body lift with the right offset.
i have been researching a bit more and have decided against the lift anyway now. i dont want to be busting cv's and joints all the time.

anyway back to what you said about flex; what is the best way to achieve that? longer shocks i presume. whats your take on removing the sway bar? good idead or a no no... this is not my daily drive, just a toy so it doesnt needed to handle like sports car...

Hey mate, yeah if you want more flex defo get longer shocks, but dont forget to get bumpstops so your springs dont pop out... And yeah theres no problem with taking the sway bar out if your gunna be doing more off-road driving in it, but theres still heaps of dudes that just keep them out and drive on the road too..

You may need a drive shaft spacer and a rear axle Heim joint spacer, to correct everything after its been lifted (for the back), and for the front you can get diff drop brackets to correct the angle on the cvs....

http://outdoorauto4x4.com/b/22764/1/vitara.html

Check that out, it has alot of those parts, you could probably track down some second hand stuff..

thanks Shane1992! thats great information. good to know mate.

and thanks for the link, just checked it out and looks like they got some good stuff. thanks for your help mate

most likely u wont break cv's with that set up unless u have grippy tyres and they grip hard at full front flex.

the 25mm coil spacer up front will lift your car up while fliping the strut mount will give u one inch of extra down travel from stock. some of this travel will be used up by the now lifted front from the coil spacer, if that makes sense. just so u know fliping the strut mount will give the same amount of travel as an OME strut, so its not that extreme to break cv's in a hurry, its more your tyres that will do that. this setup works very well from what ive seen in multiple vitara's and rarely break cv's.

as for the rear ive never tried that setup but would like to. if its only a 2 inch lift then i dont think u need that hemi spacer. u might have to extend your bump stops.

the whole setup is a very cost effective way to get sus lift and extra tavel.

gumtree wrote:just so u know fliping the strut mount will give the same amount of travel as an OME strut

No, it won't but it will give you more than you have.

cj wrote:

gumtree wrote:just so u know fliping the strut mount will give the same amount of travel as an OME strut

No, it won't but it will give you more than you have.

i could be wrong but i only said that coz when i lay my stock strut and OME strut right next to each other at full extansion, the OME was 2.5cm longer than Stock one. if fliping the strut mount adds 2.5cm down then i thought it would be the same.

Travel is the distance it moves from full compression to full extension. There is an amount of unused travel that can be gained by flipping the strut mount or adding strut spacers but it still won't have as much travel as the OME one. Droop which is what you are refering to is a separate thing.

thanks heaps gumtree good to know. done the strut mount flip now. i think i will try the 25mm spacers to level the vit up a little. then will check the cv angle and decide whether i need the diff drop brackets or not.

i think if i go with the 180 coils and commo shocks then i will see how much lift there actually is and check the lodging of the pivot on the heim joint. they say for 2' sus lift or more then a 2' spacer should be used.


not sure when i will get round to trying this setup but will let you know how i go

You may need a drive shaft spacer

what is the drive shaft spacer for shane? or anyone else who might know??

and yes gumtree, cost effective is what i am after

simmo64 wrote:

You may need a drive shaft spacer

what is the drive shaft spacer for shane? or anyone else who might know??

As you lift it the slip yoke will pull further out of the t-case so by adding a spacer you will push it back in. It is not needed on small lifts like 2".

i used grand vitara suspension setup on mine with 2"spacers. wasnt too bad, but perhaps better with proper shocks. was going to put ranchos in but never got around to it. sold the zook unfortunately...now selling up all me parts!

well after spending losts of $ and time on my lwb vitara 50mm lift and still having a low, mediocre 4x4, i know what i will do next time. i plan to later get a swb for my gf. this is the plan:

front:
flip the stut mount, FREE
20mm spacer $40

rear:
40mm spacer $40
shocks to suit, maybe cressida ive heard, or whatever is cheap and soft. $100 - $200


TOTAL COST : $200-$300 FOR 40MM LIFT WITH MORE FLEX.

cj wrote:
As you lift it the slip yoke will pull further out of the t-case so by adding a spacer you will push it back in. It is not needed on small lifts like 2".

my rear suspension is lifted 60mm. there is vibration coming through the drive terrain at 20-50km/h, more noticible when i accelerate. is this a result of this drive shaft coming out and needing a spacer? could be somehing else in the gear box or that i need a wheel allignment as i needed to take apart the front again.

for the sway bar why not just make up some disconnects, plenty of info how to make them on the net

gumtree wrote:

cj wrote:
As you lift it the slip yoke will pull further out of the t-case so by adding a spacer you will push it back in. It is not needed on small lifts like 2".

my rear suspension is lifted 60mm. there is vibration coming through the drive terrain at 20-50km/h, more noticible when i accelerate. is this a result of this drive shaft coming out and needing a spacer? could be somehing else in the gear box or that i need a wheel allignment as i needed to take apart the front again.

I would be more inclined to think and be looking at your pinion angle, uni joint and diff bearings