[zook_ute]

Hey Auszookers,

i recently bought a 95 soft top vitara, it has a 3" calmini lift with commodore shocks in the rear and a just cruising 2" body lift.

what are people's thoughts on this setup? reason I ask is my old man thinks it drives terrible and it's unsafe? I drove it and felt fine to me. It's tall but I don't think it is that tall, it also has 31 inch types on 15X8's

[atari4x4]

are you adopted, maybe get a new dad?

mine has essentially the same set up & it drives "fine" (if driven appropriately)

[zook_ute]

hahaha, i don't think it is to bad but he is dead against it. His vitara has a 45mm dobinson lift with spacers, his definitely handles better but it is super stiff.

I contemplated removing the body lift, i replaced the dodgy boat runner one that was in it with a just cruising one now. need to get some extended brake lines for the front, the car is actually mod plated for it aswell

I bought a sway bar to put back into mine but it sort of doesn't line up :/ I just putt around in, it's a tractor.

it is due for a new set of types, thinking 31" mud hogs I'll get a wheel alignment aswell. Hopefully will drive better after that

[atari4x4]

you'll need a 1.6l swaybar to line up with the holes in the calmini arms.

[alien]

What size tyres are on your dad's rig?

He may be picking up the difference in "Wander" that you get from larger tyres... Also check your and his tyre pressures. Too low and it will float around a bit on corners, but too high and it will bounce and chop all over the place.

[zook_ute]

Okay, do you run a sway bar atari?

he runs 30" dynapros on his car. You raised a few good points there, the car come to think of it has 1 tyre on the front with like 30% tread and the other has like 30% and to be honest I haven't checked the tyre pressures ether lol

[atari4x4]

have never run a swaybar & the silver thing was built in 2006.

[suzukiboy]

Same here never run a swaybar.

[vet 180]

zook_ute wrote:

hahaha, i don't think it is to bad but he is dead against it. His vitara has a 45mm dobinson lift with spacers, his definitely handles better but it is super stiff.

I contemplated removing the body lift, i replaced the dodgy boat runner one that was in it with a just cruising one now. need to get some extended brake lines for the front, the car is actually mod plated for it aswell

I bought a sway bar to put back into mine but it sort of doesn't line up :/ I just putt around in, it's a tractor.

it is due for a new set of types, thinking 31" mud hogs I'll get a wheel alignment aswell. Hopefully will drive better after that

Sounds like typical old man syndrome (no offense to your dad). "my sons vitara is too soft, floaty and unsafe. It doesn't feel stiff and planted like mine, so it stuffed." Your springs and shocks sound a lot softer than his and he doesn't like the way they feel.

[banga]

sway bar in would make it worse it would lift wheels around roundabouts i reckon

[DarkHorse]

I ran that combo for couple of years (with swaybar) in my first Vit and it was fine. It did have quite solid GV Tough Dog bouncy bits in the back and OME struts up front. Did lift wheels off road, but that was more about max strut extension than swaybar limiting articulation. I still enjoyed the fact that I could punt it around on road - the motor was the limiting factor, not the handling.