My 3" extended extreme struts have flogged themselves out after 6months so I was in the market for some new struts. I wasn't really keen on spending $450+ on ome struts and spacers. That was when Mrrocky mentioned he had a set of stock swb Ngv front struts sitting in his yard from his old car. So we did a bit of measuring/comparing against some stock 98-05 grand vitara struts and found that with a little bit of modifying we could get them to fit my car and they would be 85mm longer than stock!
First step was to grind off the coil seat that was on them as the old gvs aren't coil over like the new ones. We also cut off the abs line mount which was also not needed. ( I didn't get photos for this step but it's pretty self explanatory)
-2nd the end of the strut that needs to slot into the strut mount had to be ground down to 16mm. So i ground it down till it was flush with the thread and then installed a metal sleeve to keep it tidy. (I would have got them machined down but was doing this on a budget so grinding it was the best way).
-3rd the bottom end of the strut that mounts onto the hub was a little bit too big for my car soo the top hole had to be slotted to suit my car. I then cut the plates off my stock struts and mrrocky welded them onto the ngv struts to maintain the stock bolt hole locations. ( note. I've also slotted mine sideways for camber adjustment. This isn't needed if you use camber bolts)
4th the struts where painted up black prior to fitting them to the car.
5th as I've welded the plates from the stock struts onto the sides of the new struts the existing bolts weren't long enough so I bought some longer hi-tensile bolts to replace them. I then bolted them all in and now I'm ready too wheel with my 85mm extended struts that cost me $30 to make up compared to the other $450+ options out there.
They handle really well onroad and offroad. Would defiantly recommend doing the mod and saving yourself some $$.
If anybody wants to know any extra details don't be afraid to ask
