[zook_ute]

hey guys,

i am looking into lifting my swb vitara up and i dont really know what kit to buy or put together? my car has a little bit more weight up front then stock and is also fitted with a arb winch bar

my current options

-calmini 3"kit, i have read they arent great due to the poor quality of springs shocks and struts $1400

-lror 2.5 kit, havent read up on it to much still $1300

-dobinson 40-50mm kit from dank, most people running this kit are using different spacers and shocks etc $850 plus

-put together a kit using springs and shocks from different model cars?


what are you running in your vitara?

though your experience what works best, best bang for buck also?

i plan on doing gaurd trimming to fit 31s, i dont want to bodylift the car as i would have to replace intercooler piping cahange wiring etc.

any help would be great

[tom240]

recently bought my vitara and this is what the previous owner said he has done. im new to 4wding and this is the only 4wd ive driven so my opinion probably isnt great but it seems to flex really well and i have heaps of clearance

3" Full Calmini Suspension
Dobinson front struts,
Toyota 80 series rear shocks for extra flex ( added nearly 2 inches in the rear)

flex pic:


how it sits normally

[Mike_B]

I have recently fitted the standard Dobinsons 40mm kit from Dank, and it made a good difference. Ride on the road is a bit firmer but well controlled, currently running the front sway bar disconnected for better front suspension performance off road, does give a bit more body roll on road but it was very tight with the sway bar still connected.
Off road the car performs better in a variety of situations, with the diff height now being the limiting factor.

[VonDecoy]

In the front I've got a pair of Tough Dog 40mm springs, Swaybar removed, with an ARB bar on. Standard pedders struts.
Rear I have Nissan 180sx springs and Tough Dog 40mm "Nitro gas shocks".
Nanakang FT-9 30's, No guard trimming.
Everything else I think is standard.
At full flex the rear tyres chew on the mudflaps.

I had a pair of TD springs in the back but they were too firm.

[atari4x4]

altered ego

[got_bar_work]

Or try the calmini strut elminator
With xl7 front coils instead of the vit ones
Rear ur on ur own

[Chop]

atari4x4 wrote:

altered ego

you still ?

[atari4x4]

Someone has to give it a go.

[zook_ute]

Thanks for the replyies, still dont know what way to go.

hey tom240, your vitara tooks pretty tough. i would love for mine to be around that hieght. Have you got camber bolts fitted? any spacers?

[tom240]

zook_ute wrote:

hey tom240, your vitara tooks pretty tough. i would love for mine to be around that hieght. Have you got camber bolts fitted? any spacers?

thanks.
camber bolts on the front, hence the positive camber. coming from owning a silivia, when you say spacers i instantly think of wheel spacers, but i think you are talking about suspension? front shocks have spacers, not sure about the rear. can get a better look for you if you want?

[zook_ute]

Yeah i was reffering to strut and spring spacers haha

[atari4x4]

if it's the full calmini kit unmodified it would have the strut top spacers in the front & looking at the flex shot there is no rear coil spacer & it sits pretty level so i'm guessing there is no coil spacer in the front.

[BRAD]

sick profile pic almost looks as good as mine^

[Chop]

Nice avatar

[atari4x4]

it's a beauty, the clearance lights on the front make it look like a truck.

[BRAD]

hahaha mate you need to grow up one day what are you, like 40? get over your self

[Ausuki]

[/quote]
thanks.
camber bolts on the front, hence the positive camber. coming from owning a silivia, when you say spacers i instantly think of wheel spacers, but i think you are talking about suspension? front shocks have spacers, not sure about the rear. can get a better look for you if you want?[/quote]

Do you mean you needed camber bolts because you had positive camber or you used the bolts to get positive camber?

[tom240]

Ausuki wrote:

Do you mean you needed camber bolts because you had positive camber or you used the bolts to get positive camber?

its got positive camber because of camber bolts. i didn't set it up like that, new to 4wding so im not sure thats good or not? guessing a bit of positive camber is good because then when the downhill wheel is flexed up it will be at a better angle to keep grip?

[christover1]

With the Vitara front end, as you lift it, the front wheels tuck under.
as theres no adjustment built in,
adding camber bolts helps puts the wheels back to stock spot, or more if wanted.

Can be a bitch to steer at speed with the wheels tucking under.

[atari4x4]

you wan't zero or negative camber, you sure you're not getting your + & - mixed up?

when looking at the front of the car

positive looks like this \ /

negative looks like this / \

the camber bolts should have been fitted to achieve neg camber.

have a suss of this thread viewtopic.php?f=17&t=23387&hilit=camber

[christover1]

I learn summit every day. Always though + was bottom of wheels stickin out

[atari4x4]

successful thread hijack was successful.

[Ausuki]

Oops
back on track, these might help you decide what you need to do for 31s
dont forget to consider the effect on gearing, especially the already not so low low 1st in you vitara
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27564
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41155&p=746908&hilit=fit+31+vitara#p746908

[zook_ute]

i already run 30" tyres, power is not a problem at all for my setup lol.
eventually i would like to run 31"-32" mud tyres.

basically i need to decide on what lift to get which is giving me a headache at the moment hahaha

[Gwagensteve]

Power isn't the same as gearing. You can have all the power in the world and still have terrible gearing.

Just my 2C.

[DAB]

ok. ive spent abit of time looking onto this myself... I only just fitted a lift to my vitara last week.
to start with in NSW you can legally go 2" lift without having to get engineer report thingy.

this is the option I chose, and the reason why. I looked into alot of kits. long story short is
ironman leaks as has alot of bad reviews. tough dogs 2"kit is actually only 30mm. and alot of the rest
are far to experience and non are better then dobinson (but get the long wheel base kit) that way you can
carry more then 3 marshmallows without droping back down.

with this kit (not yet tested but hope to by the end of the week) you should be able
to get 30" muddys on which would bring your ride high up enough to challenge
most. some guys will disagree and say bigger is better but if you learn to drive and pick
the right lines then no dramas.

if you wanna tuff truck then thats another matter all together.

well this is my opinion but remember its your car.

p.s. full 2" dobinson kit is less then $1k with camba bolts. in sydney talk to
brad. tell him Dan from Toyota put you on and see if he cuts you a deal... he should
do. hes a good lad.

[Jerryx4]

I've been watching the Iron man sets on eBay for like $780
Then maybe some shock spacers at the front n spring spacers on rear if i need more than 3in

[Ausuki]

Jerryx4 wrote:

I've been watching the Iron man sets on eBay for like $780
Then maybe some shock spacers at the front n spring spacers on rear if i need more than 3in

from perth with free delivery?
i just got one and will be fitting it this weekend,
FYI if you arent home when they first deliver then you have to go to the depot to pick it up, so make sure you have an authority to leave made out toll ipec if you dont have someone to sign for it.


I know lots of people dont like iron man but i have run their coils on the front of my old Jeep XJ for over 20,000km including a trip to via flinders and Oodnadatta and on my forester and cant complain, this will be my first time using their shocks though.

[SierraDan]

Can you get away with some 2" coilpacers with no other mods?

[atari4x4]

would still need to do something about the shocks/struts.