[RIKSTR]

What is it with everyone hating SPOA?

I loved my SPOA Zook, had a 2" body lift as well, 32" BFG, tyres didn't rub on anything, drove so well, crawled rocks, mud anything I threw at it.
Sure I built it years ago when it was how it was done but why are there so many people against it these days.

Every time someone wants some advice about a SPOA, there are all these people coming out of teh wood work bagging it.

Flexed better than my mates SPUA, went better to.

Bunch of Haters!






Flame away Haters!

[brendan]

lol same setup as me. 2inch body lift spoa and 32 bfs.

my theory on it is so many people have done it dodgy and cut corners on the steering and spring setup make it scary to drive ect making 'all spoa zooks shit'

[joeblow]

99 percent are done like shit. all kits on the market are shit.

but when done properly there is still no guarantee that the driver behind the wheel will be any good



and before anyone says 'c,mon joe how can you say that without stating any reasons'.........................check my post history, have done many write ups.

[Rockhopper]

not against spoa's but i'll keep mine spua for a couple of reasons. My spua has 2" spring, 2" bodylift and 31's. It's scary enough as it is without raising it further. I reckon I'd shit myself in a spoa offroad, and would probably shy away from anything challenging. I also reckon it would'nt drive as well on road. As well as stability issues, the tailshaft angles I imagine you'd have would cause vibrations through the driveline, and make it a bit of a turd to drive around town and add to fuel economy probs. Add to this, it's already a pain in the ass getting my 2 year old daughter into the backseat, and my 5 foot nothing missus climbing in, so spoa is not a viable option for me at the moment. For my money, I'd rather invest in front and rear airlockers and some double tough axles. Horses for courses though, what suits me may not suit the next person. As I said, nothing against spoa.

[shep]

i would like to go spring over as i can get the lift and still have softish
springs.

[alex]

i would go spoa but Queensland Transport wouldnt like it

[mcwilly]

i love my spoa with 2 inch body lift

[TZAR]

its the steering thing.

NO steering component looks like a Z-Link on any road going car from the factory for a reason. They just don't work.

And a small car that is 3 gazzilion metres ins't that stable.

Also torque twist from the diffs being in position they were not designed to be in. Even factory sprung over cars have this problem (hilux has a small track bar fitted from the factory)

Suzuki made the cars well, SPOA isn't needed on a sierra.

[joeblow]

TZAR wrote:

Even factory sprung over cars have this problem (hilux has a small track bar fitted from the factory)

thats not there for axle wrap. its there becuase it has shackles at the back, and a steering box at the front, the rod stops the ball joints being torn out during suspension cycling.

[mcwilly]

So you run wide wheels to compensate the height with width and a decent steering setup and a wrap bar presto. People need to stop being tight arses and do things right not cheap. If you don't have the funds don't do the mod easy as that.

[Nik]

Because they are scared lol
Each to there own Im sure both ways have good and bad in different terrain but....
Back in the day I had spoa and z bar (there was no other way back then) and I understand now why its not such a good idea but it handled beautifuly (well the steering anyway) and did for years.
And the only thing I didnt like was climbing steps uphill, try it in a spoa shorty youll see why!
My current ride is a lwb spoa on toys. So as well as the extra wb I have a ruff so its longer again combine that with the toys and its fairly stable and it suits what I do.
But I think some of the problem is people get carried away with the hieght. Im running spoa with 35s no lift springs or b/l just correct bumpstops and some guard cutting.
Possibly if I built another swb Id stay spua but Im happy with my current set up.
Nik

[mcwilly]

I can corner very well wid my spoa fastr then.As fast as a standard one I'd say

[LAY80N]

I dont hate SPOA My rig is SPOA and is lower on 32's than most other 2 + 2 SPUA cars. The main problem is that 99% are poor jobs with poor steering, no though into axle wrap control and little or no though into spring rates or vehicle stability. I have flopped my zook both SPOA and SPUA (was 2 + 2 RUF etc) and as far as stability goes there wasn't much different. I have built both SPUA and SPOA setups and its more a personal choice. I have considered going back to SPUA with MQ's, but in the end im happy as it is. A few more inches WB would be nice though


Layto....

[Hybrid]

As everyone has said.

1. Most have been done dodgy and as a result people feel they are unsafe for both road/trail rigs
2. Most four wheel drivers do their best to minimise raising their center of gravity while still getting decent articulation and tyre size

Whats the minimum height you get out of doing SPOA? Is it just the axle tube thickness if it was on stock springs? If so then I could see the benefit as you'd effectively get 2 inches of lift with stock flexy springs. My rigs nothing special but I run 31s with only 2 inch RUF. Adding bodylift AND SPOA to that just to get an extra inch of tyre seems a waste when you take into account your COG is another 4 inches higher.

[LAY80N]

Hybrid wrote:

As everyone has said.

1. Most have been done dodgy and as a result people feel they are unsafe for both road/trail rigs
2. Most four wheel drivers do their best to minimise raising their center of gravity while still getting decent articulation and tyre size

Whats the minimum height you get out of doing SPOA? Is it just the axle tube thickness if it was on stock springs? If so then I could see the benefit as you'd effectively get 2 inches of lift with stock flexy springs. My rigs nothing special but I run 31s with only 2 inch RUF. Adding bodylift AND SPOA to that just to get an extra inch of tyre seems a waste when you take into account your COG is another 4 inches higher.

110% agree about the BL and spring over. Is your are SPOA the you shouldnt need a BL as well. During the change over from SPUA to SPOA my zook had the 2 inch BL in it for a very short period of time. I hated it.
My door handle height is the same as a 2 + 2 SPUA zook, im SPOA on 32 swampers at road pressure.



Layto....

[Rockhopper]

Ok. Now this is getting interesting. @ Layton. If your spring over set up is the same height as a spua set up with 2" bodylift, then why did you do it and what benefits did you get over going down the spua route?

[Brett]

ramp over angle is nuts on a spoa car.

how would the new lowrange rhd high steer go bolting onto the brake caliper mounts?

i've had a spoa car before and it had a high steer knuckle on it and it scared the shit out of me a few time but the more i think about it the more i want it again but with proper bumpstops and softer spring rate.

[twitchy]

don't see the point when the diff center is still the same distance from the ground. Might as well just get some portals & be done with it.

[zukenutter]

I had a mate back in the 90's who did a SPOA when they were quite a rare thing. He did the job himself and I was always quite impressed with the practicalities of the conversion.

His '85 Drover was totally for off road use so on road characteristics were not a major concern. That said, I thought it drove reasonably well considering.

I don't know what the current standards for SPOA are, let alone the legalities, and not worried. His was done by welding a spring pad to the top of the axle tube and then basically flipping the "U" bolts etc. He had a dropped pitman arm, which replaced the "Z" link he had made.

From memory the SPOA gave a 5 inch lift, give or take. He pulled a leaf from each corner to soften the springs which also lowered the drover by about an inch.

I don't want to comment on the on road characteristics of SPOA but for off road action, when driven properly, I think it's a great option.

[kenn]

TZAR wrote:

its the steering thing.

NO steering component looks like a Z-Link on any road going car from the factory for a reason. They just don't work.

And a small car that is 3 gazzilion metres ins't that stable.

Also torque twist from the diffs being in position they were not designed to be in. Even factory sprung over cars have this problem (hilux has a small track bar fitted from the factory)

Suzuki made the cars well, SPOA isn't needed on a sierra.

Engineered high steer








Rear torque rod

And that's how you do it properly..

[joeblow]

carefull Kenn, i'm sure gwagon will beg to differ.

[kenn]

I listen to the ENGINEER who said it was correct and safe to drive on Victorian roads.

[Built4thrashing]

Im guessing the engineer didnt see the drop shackles?????

[kenn]

Not on the car, but his words "if i could pass shackles this style would be the only one's".