[cooo]

hey guys ive got a lwb v6 (h20a) vitara at the moment. I havent had it for that long. the things ive done to it are this:

5.12 diffs

steel diff front

40mm susp lift

its slow as and i was pondering putting a h25a in it, but then i thought maybe i should just get a gv instead, bigger motor, newer car probably a bit more comfy etc. so was thinking just keeping the good bits and reverting the vit to stock and selling it.

Obviously i can put my front diff into the gv, but is the back the same too? and also if i just put the diffs from the gv into my vit, will the gearing be ok for stock tyres? ( i dont really want to have to pull the diffs apart again to change the gearing back)

will i be able to use the struts and springs and shocks in the gv?

thanks alot guys

[Built4thrashing]

The Gv is definately a more comfy 4by. I know as we have 2. a 2000 model and a 2008. the 2000 model is what im assume your talking about. off road they are quite capable in stock form....but there are less mods available for them and tyre sizes are limited. You can just squeeze 31' tyres under them without the need for a body lift (not easy in a GV due to strut brace) and they are very prone to snap CV's if locked.

Check out my build thread and you can see what can be done.

Most mods are custom things, Vitara lockers and suspension can be swapped into earlier models. Tyres are the biggest hurdle. rims are 16inch and the stock rims are the only way. after market sunnies dont fit without a massive offset and then they will scrub into the guards on flex. Diffs centers can be swapped with 4door Vitara. Ratios available are 4.3, 4.6, 4.8, 5.12, and some hard to get aftermarket ratios.

You would be better to keep the Vit if you want to do hard core wheeling on anything bigger than a 31.

[cooo]

thanks for the reply.

so sunnies wont fit even if i shave the calipers slightly like i had to to make them fit this car? i dont really want to get extreme anyway, 5.12s and 31s is as far as i wanna go anyway, doubt i will lock it.

[Built4thrashing]

some have shaved the calipers but how safe is that......not very.....if ya not planning on locking it then you should be fine. pre 2000 came without abs and airbags......the ones to get if you wanna BL it.

[cooo]

i only shaved off like 2mm, not really keen on a bl anyway, now to find one with low ks... well thanks you told me what i wanted to hear

[Built4thrashing]

I stepped out of a heavily modded sierra into the gv and im very happy with it....only miss the zero carefactor of the sierra.

[sirbob]

Built4thrashing wrote:

only miss the zero carefactor of the sierra.

The best 4x4'ing mod you can do!

In regards to GV's, as others have said, they are a better car than a Vitara, albeit harder to modify for anything more than moderate wheeling.

The V6 manuals came with a steel diff anyway, so there's not much point in swapping over the diffs unless you want to go for 5.12's all round or airlockers (which require 5.12's anyway!)

As said, front CV's are delicate, as are rear axles when pushed hard.

All that as it may, the pre-2005 Grand Vitara's are a great all-rounder and when modified well, make for excellent trucks.

[ollies]

Built4thrashing wrote:

I stepped out of a heavily modded sierra into the gv and im very happy with it....only miss the zero carefactor of the sierra.

Ive seen you drive, your care factor is still only about 10%

[Built4thrashing]

ollies wrote:

Built4thrashing wrote:

I stepped out of a heavily modded sierra into the gv and im very happy with it....only miss the zero carefactor of the sierra.

Ive seen you drive, your care factor is still only about 10%

Yeh but when i had the sierra there was 0 care factor and 0 mechanical sympathy....The GV has mechanical sympathy built in........its called a rev limiter