[bigdogdazza]

Just looking at my young fellas vitara yesterday and seriously wondering if it will take 31,s after we fit 3" lift? Looks to me like some major panel beating in wheel arch will be needed. Any experience guys in what size will go on without to much hassle?

[want33s]

Lift alone does not allow tyres any larger than standard to be used.

You need bumpstop extensions and or guard cutting/reshaping.

[atari4x4]

30's will fit with minimal fuss.

[Gwagensteve]

31's will clear with some small modifications to the rear edge of the front wheel arch and the rear edge of the front bumper.

In a SWB, they should clear in the rear OK, but bumpstop spacing will help if they are catching the top of the rear wheel arch.

Suspension lift doesn't fit bigger tyres. Bumpstop spacing, body lift and guard work fit bigger tyres.

Steve.

[atari4x4]

want33s wrote:

Lift alone does not allow tyres any larger than standard to be used.

You need bumpstop extensions and or guard cutting/reshaping.

Gwagensteve wrote:

Suspension lift doesn't fit bigger tyres. Bumpstop spacing, body lift and guard work fit bigger tyres.

While this is kind of true, there are still plenty of people running around with 3" lifted Vitara's & 30-31" tyres so they must fit somehow.

[Gwagensteve]

Absolutely. The fit irrespective of suspension lift, with minor guard work.

Steve.

[FullyZooked]

I am running 31" extremes which are a smidge bigger than 31".

I am running a calmini 3" kit in swb and all that was required was a bit of a message on the backside of the Front wheel arches and adjust the steering stops a bucket load. I am running a ARB front bar so there is lots of clearance on that side. In the rear with -13 rims the tyres JUST tuck under the guards.

[bigdogdazza]

Thanks guys, will have custom bullbar so no worries about clearance on front side of front tyres, I own a grinder and lump hammer so massaging shouldn't be a drama just the bumpstops... Guess I will just ask whichever shop fits them to sort it out.

[just_cruizin]

atari4x4 wrote:

want33s wrote:

Lift alone does not allow tyres any larger than standard to be used.

You need bumpstop extensions and or guard cutting/reshaping.

Gwagensteve wrote:

Suspension lift doesn't fit bigger tyres. Bumpstop spacing, body lift and guard work fit bigger tyres.

While this is kind of true, there are still plenty of people running around with 3" lifted Vitara's & 30-31" tyres so they must fit somehow.

Yeah, the suspension doesn't work. Because the springs are that high, they need to be ultra stiff and don't flex. But hey, it that's what you're going for it'll work. By the way, stock up on CV's

[atari4x4]

yeah 3" springs don't flex. fair enough it's got one of your body lifts in it & 31's but you can't say that it doesn't have a pretty balanced amount of flex front & back.









dead stock sierra for reference.

[just_cruizin]

Ok, I sit corrected

However most Vit drivers don't put the effort and research into the setup that you have.

Most 'kits' out of the box use a stiff spring to try and retain height rather then attain a setup that works, which yours obviously does well.

[just_cruizin]

stock leaf sierra is a pretty unfair comparasion too.

[atari4x4]

hahah, it was the only other pic with the car in the same spot.... sway bar & all.

[got_bar_work]

Vits dont flex at all

[shep]

doesn't matter if vits flex, as they are only any good if they are donating there bits to a sierra

[FullyZooked]

That's where calmini stand above the rest. All other lifted springs I've seen are Just thicker steel coils and slightly taller. Rough as guts.

The calmini rears are Monster springs! They are small diameter coil and long length. Even the front coils on my Vit will happily fully extend, compress over Rutted sections.

[got_bar_work]

But the calmini ones r to soft and cant take the weight of much camping gear

[shandy92]

Part of the reason why I use Nissan 180 coils, tall free standing height, soft.... Gives good height with good flex.

[atari4x4]

got_bar_work wrote:

But the calmini ones r to soft and cant take the weight of much camping gear

this is true, but i don't think they had touring on their mind when designing the the kit & i'm pretty sure it was developed on the SWB's

[got_bar_work]

Do they have different springs for lwb

[atari4x4]

not that i know of, i wonder how well the 2.5 GV rear springs would work? i run the GV calmini fronts in mine cause of the extra weight of the motor.

hang on, don't GV's have a slightly different top rear spring mount??

[got_bar_work]

I think they do

[DarkHorse]

I ran Tough Dog GV springs in the back of mine for ages (in fact they're still in there...)

Fit perfectly, but a bit too firm for my liking. For reference the Cal springs were nice in a completely empty LWB, but useless as soon as there was any load in the car.

35mm Tough Dog GV lift matches 3" Calamari Vit lift perfectly, so the Cal GV stuff might be close...

[bigrig91]

Can i just chuck this in there, i have a lwb vit and will be aiming eventually for around the 3 inch lift mark. But in the meantime i will be running the 40mm lift with spring spacers. I want to find the skinniest tyre i can and am thinking around the 30inch mark. It will be on 16inch rim and was wondering if anyone has found anyting similair? A 30 x 9.5 is skinny in a 15 and i think 225/75/16 is as close as u can get to that??? Thanks.