You're a bit off track - but it's understandable, almost everyone thinks the same as you - that lift is there all the time. It isn't, its only a new "rest" position of the suspension.
Lets think about it like this.
Lets say a stock GV has 180mm of suspension travel (the accuracy of this number doesn't matter, only the relationship). Stock, that might be 90mm of compression and 90mm of droop. If you lift the car 40mm, you now have 130mm of compression travel and only 50mm of droop. The compression limit is the bumpstop, the droop limit is the length of the strut. The springs don't have anything to do with those limits, they only change the rest position of the suspension.
Some aftermarket struts have added travel. In this case, some "headroom" or safety factor on the compressed side is taken up to add some extended length.
However, I believe that GV's and Vitaras run slightly different strut lengths, so what ARB do is rather than have two part numbers, they add a small bumpstop spacer to the bumpstop, so now the compressed length of the strut can be longer.
Remember that spring travel is 1/2 strut travel on a vitara/GV, and also consider that ARB are using up some safety factor in the strut length to get a longer strut in there, so even though the ARB strut is onger full compressed, there is probably 40mm of additional strut length in used-up safety factor (that's 20mm of bumstop squish being used up) , and the balancenof strut length being accounted for by the (required) spacer. I'm sure that when used with the correct bumpstop spacer these struts work just fine - but they do need the spacer.
It's basically impossible to make a shock that's longer extended than standard but the same length compressed. In fact most "long travel" shocks for "2" of lift" actually have about the same travel as standard. What the manufacturer does is eat up some safety factor, make a shock that's longer compressed by maybe 25mm, make it a bit longer full extended, and whack in heavier valving.
Hope this makes sense.
Remember that regardless of the spring used, wheel travel is a function of shock length and bumpstop position. It has nothing to do with spring length. Your car has the same wheel travel with the springs removed as it does with them in place.
Steve.
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