[Poita]

Hi guys and girls,

Finally got my car back! I have owned it for 13 weeks and it's been at the mechanics for 11! Really keen to do another trip now I don't have to worry about it overheating.

BUT... Scared myself coming to work this morning. Its still on the original suspension at 195xxxkms and its shot. Hit a pothole at 80kph and it really unsettled the car. Is really unpredictable.
Done CVs and ball joints so they are ok. New sunnies and tyres which have only done a few hundred ks.

The second issue is when we did the Border Track, the front crossmember kept acting like a plow and got us bogged twice.

So from what I have figured out from the search function I need a spring lift to solve both these problems.

But which one? I am looking at shocks and springs front and rear.

I have found plenty on Ironman here but most seems to say that it is very stiff and quality is a bit hit and miss. Its a daily so don't want to get a kidney transplant after every bone jarring ride.

I can get a Dosbinson kit for $970 and they have different load rated spring options. I am liking the sound of these but can't find many reviews on them.

There is also the LRTK combo.
LRTK 2.5" lift combo
I don't know what the DT3000 rear struts are...
Also I would think that postage would blow the cost out of the water.

Outdoor Auto 4x4 also do a kit:
Outdoor Auto 4x4 2" lift kit
I like the sound of this one as well but not sure how it would compare to an all round Dobinson kit.

I can also get a complete OME kit for about $850 but again hearing mixed reports on the quality of their shocks.

Looking for advice, experience etc

Thanks!
Pete

[Buddies72]

I can't speak to the quality of the rest of the kit, I have just replaced my Calmini Struts with Dobinsons 40mm extended struts, very happy with the quality of these units thus far.

In the dealings I've had with ODA, (I picked up the struts from there) i've found them to be nothing but helpful, and the pricing in my experience has been pretty good as well.

The camber bolts are a must in my opinion if you want to get a good wheel alignment done. Just be sure to find someone who can do a proper alignment with these, not everyone is capable of adjusting these correctly.

[Poita]

Yeah I rang ODA today and he was very helpful.

Has anyone had any experience with any of these kits?

[larry]

i have the dobinsons coils all round, with commo shocks in the rear and doing a strut mount flip on the front instead of buying new struts, for now
the spring/ shock combo in the back is nice and comfy and flexes well, cant comment on the front yet
the springs gave me exactly 50mm lift

if you deal directly with dobinsons it should be $880 for the full kit, plus postage or whatever.
thats a good price for the ome kit, and ive heard nothing but praise for it on zuks and other 4bys too

and i think when i was looking at the LRTK lift they quoted 5-600 for postage, which as you said kinda killed its value

[Chop]

Poita wrote:

Yeah I rang ODA today and he was very helpful.

Has anyone had any experience with any of these kits?

You can order in dobinson stuff through Fourplay 4x4 on North east rd, they got some dobi struts in the following week after ordering them.

[Poita]

Yeah I got a quote from Fourplay for $970 and the guys there are very helpful. I have got bits and pieces from them before.

[Poita]

Would I need longer brake lines?? Or is that only really needed for higher lifts?

Should I be doing other stuff like bump stops etc while I am at it and have it all apart?

[Shansh]

dank deals in dobinsons stuff, he will help you out

[got_bar_work]

Longer rear line would be good and a ball joint spacer
And the diff breather

[Poita]

Ok so I had basically decided on the Dobinson stuff and was going to order it in a couple weeks to install once exams are finished, when I noticed this:

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.ph ... ystem.html

What are people's experiences with Calmini? It's a pretty comprehensive kit!

[Reubs]

Poita wrote:

It's a pretty comprehensive kit!

The photo only shows 2 (rear) springs...

Is it missing front springs (expecting the extra clearance of the arms to be the same as a 2" lift)? How is that comprehensive?

Also, there are no camber bolts supplied.

[Poita]

Your right, I didn't notice the missing springs!
Camber bolts are an option you can add in there. The dobinson kit doesn't have them either.

Just saw that it had heavy duty tubular control arms, polyurethane pivot bushings and spring cup seats as extras not normal in a lift kit.

[atari4x4]

i've run the 3" lift for 6 yrs, it's pretty stiffly sprung in a SWB even with the extra weight of the tin top + all the accessories that i'm running. i'd be factoring in the cost of replacement extended struts (OME, Dobinson, Ironman) as the ones supplied with the calmini kit are still standard length & aren't that flash. looking at that 2" kit they don't supply a rear upper ball joint spacer & the pic is missing rear springs?

[Poita]

Ok well forget that then, I want to buy a kit and not stuff around buying missing bits and replacing brand new struts!

So back to the Dobinson or ODA kit.

[Poita]

hmmm from the 3" swb vitara lift thread the ODA might be out as it doesn't have a huge amount of flex.... not that I need a lot!

[Poita]

Just rang fourplay, the Dobinson kit does come with the camber bolts.

Standard kit is only 30mm lift, but they do a 40-50mm lift as well which is the one I most likely will be getting.

[Chop]

Get in contact with Dank on here, he will look after you. i got dobinson stuff through him for the gv

[Poita]

Have done and got pricing from him a while ago.

With something like suspension though I am a little nervous getting it posted as warranty is just that little bit more difficult being large items and time off road while replacements are shipped etc.

He was a little cheaper than the local guys though so may end up going through him anyway!

[Poita]

Is it possible to get the Calmini stuff without their shocks/struts? the control arm etc is great, but I am a bit loathe to buy all that only to toss away the shocks/struts and have to buy front springs as well.

[Poita]

OK I have ordered the Dobinson gear, should be here in the next couple days!

Question though... I was thinking I may as well do any bushes etc while I have it all apart, but who supplies a bush kit? Suzistore does, but its nearly $280 for front and rear control arm polyurethane bushes.

Some kits also mention castor correction bushes, what are these?

[Poita]

http://www.jimnybits.co.uk/shop/vitara- ... d_297.html

Is this suitable?

[Poita]

Rang FourPlay and Dobinson do a kit which includes:

Front Lower Control Arm:
2 x Front Bush
2 x Rear Bush

Rear Control Arm:
2 x Upper Bush
4 x Lower Bush

Is that all that is needed? Just waiting on them to ring back with a price.

[atari4x4]

yeah that's the right number of bushes, you'll need a press to push out the old bushes.

[Poita]

Got a press at work, so may have to take some time doing it over a few nights.

[Poita]

Well fitted the Dobinson gear and bushes today. Was a bit fiddly and managed to strip one bolt but other than that it was pretty smooth.

Didn't do the rear trailing arms as we couldn't get the bushes out. They were in good condition anyway.

Problem though...

Measurements before lift:
Font (left and right): 740mm
Rear (left and right): 780mm

Once finished I got 45mm lift on the right (front and back) but only 15mm lift on the left (front and back).
I have checked the springs are seated properly but other than that I have no idea what is going on. Can't notice anything unusual when driving.
Had a look and there were no markings for left/right on any of the springs/struts/shocks, they all had the same part numbers.

Any ideas?

Cheers
Pete

P.S makes a HUGE difference driving!!! After 200k it was still on the original factory gear!

[atari4x4]

any of the springs a thicker diameter wire than the rest & was it all back on level ground before doing up all the control arm/trailing arm bolts?

[Poita]

Yeah front springs were thicker, but that was the only difference. Will double check wire diameter.

I am pretty sure everything was done up while flat but will check later today (it was getting late!) Would it make that much difference though?
To clarify... loosen all of the control/traling arms while the vehicle is on flat ground with no jacks and once everything is settled do them up again?

[Poita]

Rang Dobinson this morning. No difference in the springs left to right on my model.

So will loosen all the control trailing arms tonight and retighten to see if that fixes it.
Other wise, it's quick to swap the rear springs to see if there is a problem with the springs.

[Poita]

Well i loosened all the control/trailing arms and tightened them with the car sitting flat on the ground. No luck so swapped the rear springs and no luck so will be taking it to Foreplay 4x4 asap to see if they have any bright ideas...

[Poita]

A HUGE thanks to gus (atari4x4) for his help this morning!

The problem is solved! Human error... when I originally put everything back together, I bolted one ball joint to the top of the control arm and the other once to the bottom on the other side! So once both were at the bottom, we got 50mm lift all round and it's nice and level.

A huge relief and it can go in for its alignment on Monday!

So there is no difference between the springs (left to right) and the later springs for the 2.0ltr vits fit as well. They are a 1mm thicker coil a slightly higher so a better option if you want to fit a bull bar etc.

Thanks again mate!

Pete