[zook_ute]

hello people,

i have a swb vitara and it has come time for me to lift it up. what would be the best way to go about doing it. i would love to do the calmini kit but i just cant spend that sort of money at this stage.

is anybody using the oda 3" lift? it is $1400ish. seems to have alot in it though such as diff drop brackets, a arm spacer, camber bolts etc.

would i be best off trying to put together a kit?

any info would be great, i will be doing a body lift once it is on the road and i can get someone to modify my intercooler piping etc.

cheers

[banga]

If you go direct off calmini I got mine to my door for bout 1300 with camber bolts great to deal with I got it in 6 days

[atari4x4]

looking at the that the_ninja_kids vitara has with the ODA kit in it i personally wouldn't waste my money on it.

[FullyZooked]

Calmini Landed for $1250. For $1400 you can have yourself the Calmini 3", camber bolts and a spool all from Low Range.

Calmini is tried and proven on the trails and comp.

[Poita]

hmmmm do they do a 2"? I was nearly going to get the Dobinson kit...

Got off my butt and found it:
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.ph ... ystem.html

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a spool?

[Reubs]

atari4x4 wrote:

looking at the that the_ninja_kids vitara has with the ODA kit in it i personally wouldn't waste my money on it.

Why is that. I was thinking of buying the 2" kit from ODA.

Reasons were not many people have anything good to say about calmini struts and a lot of people complain the calmini springs are too firm (and I have a SWB soft-top also!) and the calmini kit doesn't come with camber bolts (WTF - how I am supposed to adjust that when the kit settles?), and after $300 shipping it's pretty expensive.

I figure at least if I buy from ODA I am getting gear that can be replaced in Aus under warranty and at least the ODA SWB and LWB springs are different rates. The calmini kit seems to be a one size fits all jobbie.

[Reubs]

Poita wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a spool?

A mini-spool is a mechanical diff lock - always engaged - same as welding the diff but it is removable to return the diff back to unlocked. Some people favour this method over welding the spider gears.

[Poita]

Reubs wrote:

Poita wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a spool?

A mini-spool is a mechanical diff lock - always engaged - same as welding the diff but it is removable to return the diff back to unlocked. Some people favour this method over welding the spider gears.

Thanks! How 'removable'? As in I could lock when required (start of a big hill for example) and unlock it at the top? Or is it more involved than that?

[zook_ute]

How would i go about getting a calmini kit?, sounds the go though. Probably pay for one this weekend. Does the calmini kit come with drop brackets etc. Do you need extended brake lines?

[atari4x4]

Reubs wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

looking at the flex that the_ninja_kids vitara has with the ODA kit in it i personally wouldn't waste my money on it.

Why is that. I was thinking of buying the 2" kit from ODA.

Reasons were not many people have anything good to say about calmini struts and a lot of people complain the calmini springs are too firm (and I have a SWB soft-top also!) and the calmini kit doesn't come with camber bolts (WTF - how I am supposed to adjust that when the kit settles?), and after $300 shipping it's pretty expensive.

I figure at least if I buy from ODA I am getting gear that can be replaced in Aus under warranty and at least the ODA SWB and LWB springs are different rates. The calmini kit seems to be a one size fits all jobbie.

i missed a word up there...

flex wise the ODA kit compared to the Calmini kit is rather lacking.





some of the mix & match combo's that people are running on here put the ODA kit to shame & for a fraction of the cost.

[Reubs]

Poita wrote:

Reubs wrote:

Poita wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a spool?

A mini-spool is a mechanical diff lock - always engaged - same as welding the diff but it is removable to return the diff back to unlocked. Some people favour this method over welding the spider gears.

Thanks! How 'removable'? As in I could lock when required (start of a big hill for example) and unlock it at the top? Or is it more involved than that?

Removable as in 'disassemble your diff to remove' - a days work. Think of the spool as doing the same thing as welding your spider gears but you can disassemble (as in remove axle shaft, remove pumpkin, undo a heap of bolts etc. etc. remove spool and put back together later to take it back to standard and the centre should be ok unlike welding the gears which cannot be undone.

[Poita]

Thanks again!

Gee that is a lot of difference in flex!

Any idea how the Dobinson kits compare?

[FullyZooked]

Buy the Calmini Kit and be done with it.

Or buy your dobinsons/ODA springs and what not, then buy a driveshaft space, then a V arm spacer, then diff drop brackets etc etc etc.

Calmini has the lot! Plus a shitload more. The front control arms of the Calmini are what really makes it beast, that and the mega flexatron Heim joint on the Cal V arm.

I too went with the Ironman 2" lift. Not 2 months after purchasing it did I realise its limitations. The new Ironman 40mm extended Nitro's are what im running with the Calmini.

[Buddies72]

In my experience with the Calmini 3" kit, you need to budget on replacing the struts within 12 months, if you use them at all.

The rear springs appear to be setup/load rated for the SWB. I have a LWB and they bottom out all the time.

The front springs are excellent on my LWB, I have seen a few people comment on here that they improve with the addition of a bullbar & winch.

The kit comes with an extended brake line for the rear, but you will need to get some made up for the fronts, or relocate where the brake lines come through the inner guard as some people have done on here.

The adjustment on the heim joint in the rear, combined with the new lower control arms at the front have meant that I can run 31's on my LWB with minimal rubbing, although I do have a 2" BL also.

Hope this helps.

[vitzookman]

Does yours have a body lift Atari? The other one from the pics looks to not have and yo have a whopping gap. - do you still run calmini shocks in the rear?

Wasn't he just checking the front for flex?

I have been watching that GV snorkel special and that GV at the bottom seems to have a whole lot of flex - would suit my Xl7 nicely

[atari4x4]

yes, mine is bodylifted but that has nothing to do with wheel travel or lack of it in the case of the ODA kit.

[vitzookman]

True , but I thought you were comparing pics with the gaps between the wheel arch and tyre to prove you point.

Country mile in difference.

[atari4x4]

look at the angle of the ramp & how far up it is, mine on the ramp day got an RTI of 545 on a 30* ramp, which was enough to beat your average lifted landtroll on 33's.

[banga]

i could of got my l series sports wagon up a ramp higher than that short wheel base on the gay flex ramp. alot of people complain about the calmini kit but for the money best bang for your buck and camber bolts are only $25 from low range aren't they and cal ones are about $30 i do agree that it is setup for a swb but offroad it is alot more capable than what i used to run and i dont mind the way it goes on road better than it was before cause all my bushes needed replacing and you get them with the kit.

[stocker]

im running the Calmini kit on my LWB and i would recommend it to anyone... the struts will be fine enough until you save up again for some Dobinson ones or what ever you choose to run ( picked up the pair of Dobinson front for 220 ) and the rears are alot cheaper.

I ran around fine on the calmini ones for a year and a bit and whilst they aren't the best shock they aren't too bad either...

As for the Camber bolts, im running 31's on a neg23 rim, and i can adjust all the camber out of my wheels.

Best bang for your buck like all the guys above are saying, i'll see if i can get mine up on a flex ramp today and take a few photo's

[Poita]

Would be great if you could just order parts of the kit and then get your own springs, shocks and struts... I hate paying for things twice!

[Chop]

The springs will be fine for the swb, the main problem is for people using a lwb and putting stuff in the back. The extra weight of lwb combined with camping or two adults in the rear will have it slapping in the rear.

I had the rear seats out permanently in mine, it was fine with trailer on for work but if i loaded it up with gear or people in the back it would bottom out across any decent bumps.

Just remember, you want a minimum 30" tyre with the cal kit.

[Poita]

Even with the 2" kit?

[zook_ute]

i will contact calmini and order a kit in the next week or 2.

i should really make a build thread for my vitara, everything is here. just need to put it all together. building it with touring in mind, but with 180rwhp+ to give the jap and commo boys a suprise lol.

the spools from calmini once fitted, do they chew axles? i already have a front lsd. wouldnt mind a spool in the rear it would probably complete it offroad.

[atari4x4]

zook_ute wrote:

i should really make a build thread for my vitara.

[Scorpvnm]

Hi guys, just a bit of a side question, i have a calmini 3" lift in my vitara that was in the car when i got it, and need to replace the springs (particularly in the front) Does any one know of a good place to get new ones? Having trouble tracking down suitable replacements.

[atari4x4]

tried calmini direct?

[Scorpvnm]

I'll look into it, but was hoping for something more local. Cheers.

[stocker]

can you get a set of 3" Lifted Kingsprings to suit?

[Scorpvnm]

There is a Fulcrum suspension place around the corner from work so i'll look into that on monday, thanks.