[Gwagensteve]

Quote:

All they need is a better designed strut/spring combination...it's the age old mystery

Exactly, and what a heap of work it is to sort that out.


Jonno: I'm not missing your point at all. I'll reiterate my point so it's clear it doesn't contradict what you are saying.

Coilers are less capable and more troublesome to work with than a leaf sierra if you want to drive hard terrain - true?
Coilers are less comfortable on road than jimny's or vitaras - true?

Jimny's and vitaras have more available aftermarket equipment, along with factory available auto/power steer/EFI - true?

I'm sure it's possible to keep up with big cars with a mildly built coiler. It's also possible to keep up with big cars in a mildly built jimmy or vitara, whilst not having the coiler headaches and better on road behaviour. Whilst your point is valid - coilers make OK mild off road cars with bolt-on mods, a coiler would still have to be the second worst choice behind a vitara or jimmy (but better than a leaf sierra) if that's all you were looking for.

I don't think your car "required" much of the work that was done to it. That's beside the point.

Steve.

[JrZook]

Gwagensteve wrote:

JrZook wrote:

Ay Jonno as the coilers have there fair share of design issues what are the issues the leafies have? Seems like the coiler design issues need to be fixed via a grinder and a welder which the average wheeler does not seem to have, where as leafy issues can be solved by heading down to a shop and buying a bolt in replacement part.

And that's almost exactly it, except it's a little but more complicated than that. Even ruf, whilst fabrication heavy to do properly and a mod which requires a welder and grinder, is a well trodden path and guaranteed excellent results if it's done the way that many others have done it.

RUF does make a huge difference in how the front end of the leafies work but in saying that you can still wheel this piss out of them with out it and by just bolt on aftermarket parts ie RUF is not necessary for a well setup and reliable weekender.

The point I was trying to make Jonno and you pretty much answered it, is that more often than not you will need to know someone with a welder or have one to fix stupid crap like ripping brackets off diffs and punching shocks through towers. To you these many be small issues but to the prospective buyer this would be down right annoying to get fixed up properly.

So if you owned a leafy what brackets and things crack off and generally fail that require welding attention??

[Fatzook]

I owned a coiler for a while.

I must admit, that I liked the look of it over the leafys. At that point I had owned many sierras, including the black sheep hi-top, which I also liked

The coily was not a good example. It had its fair share of rust, which in the end led to its demise. Other issues were the bendy radius arms ( same issue that plagues the Jimny), stupid radius arm mounts, and strut tops. Having lived with these issues, I'm not sure I could own another. This being said, I still enjoyed wheeling it. It was my daily for 6 months, and other than for the problomatic M13 conversion, I had no arguments about its onroad manners.

I have worked on many since then, mostly for the mundane repairs of the above mentioned issues.

However, I have enjoyed working on Rushos' coily. It was a good oportunity for me to try and solve some of the design issues that were left behind by suzuki. And one thing worth mentioning is that even though it may have been the same amount of work starting with a leafy and coiling it, the SJ80 is already a coil sprung model, so making changes to suspension design and geometry is seen as a lesser modification in the eyes of an engineer/ DOT, rather than converting from leaf to coil. Obviously, extreme care and attention to detail is needed to ensure you don't fuck it all up, but IMO its the same amount of effort.

Rusho's coily is probably not the best example of how a coily should be improved, as alot of the mods are not within reach of many people, due to a lack of knowledge, know-how or skill. And just because you know someone with a welder, does not mean they should be let loose on your car!! I've fixed my fair share of backyard repairwork.

Anyway, lets continue this futile argument

[31zook]

Fatzook wrote:

And just because you know someone with a welder, does not mean they should be let loose on your car!! I've fixed my fair share backyard repair work

Don't let ghetto work danger other people's lives.

If my jim turns out half as nice as rusho's coiler I'll be stocked

[Fatzook]

31zook wrote:

If my jim turns out half as nice as rusho's coiler I'll be stocked

He needs to bring it back to finish the rear end, roll cage, Virt. lift, and rear bar. That should see the last of the disease ridden coily parts to the wreckers

[Rusho]

Fatzook wrote:

31zook wrote:

If my jim turns out half as nice as rusho's coiler I'll be stocked

He needs to bring it back to finish the rear end, roll cage, Virt. lift, and rear bar. That should see the last of the disease ridden coily parts to the wreckers

You forgot brakes

[DiscoS]

Massive thread revival, but figure this as good a place as any.

I'm looking for info (or even better, pics) on how leaf front / rear bumpers and skirts fit on a coily.

Saw talk about TSOR bumper being specific for a coily but couldnt find any pics of it, and I'm more interested in rear bumper anyways.

If anyone has any experience with these, that would be huge, they look sweet!

This also looks awesome, but dunno if it aligns with stock wheel arches

[jdk81]

Tsor stopped trading yonks ago.
You may find a second hander though.

I havent looked to closely at a coiley to help otherwise.

[Gwagensteve]

The rocky road product is just heavy gauge SHS. Very easy to make. However, I don't think the mounts would work on a coil sierra because the rear radius arm is in the way. In any case, the steel for these would cost less than the shipping from the US.

The mounting design doesn't excite me at all. The closed box design of the chassis means bolting through it requires a welded in crush sleeve to be installed. Rocky Road Outfitters products are generally poorly designed and the company has a poor reputation. Sad because Glenn, the owner, was one of the pioneers of developing Suzuki parts, his ideas and build quality haven't really advanced in the last 20 years though and there's now better parts available.

If you're referring to the version that requires the sill to be cut, cutting the sills in Victoria writes the vehicle off.

The rear bar looks cool and should fit a coil sierra with little issue. It doesn't align with the wheel arches at all - only WT leaf and coil sierras had bumper end caps that aligned with the arches and you can see in the photos there is no end cap that continues to the flare. Whether its worth the money (particularly once shipped) is a different issue. Low range quote a shipping weight of 150lb, which seems incredibly high, and if it weighed any more than about 15kg it would be too heavy to justify.

[greenzook89]

DiscoS wrote:

Saw talk about TSOR bumper being specific for a coily

when a front bar is coily specific it is generally only because the coily has a rounder shape nose and leaf cars are a flatter nose.

[DiscoS]

So after looking into it for a bit, it seems leafy and coily rear ends are identical. How can people like the look of the stock flares just floating?
And with all that awkward metal just exposed..

Anyway, next compatibility question is steering dampers.

Leafy came with one stock, and many reputable companies make one for leafy, but not listed for coily?
Only company with coily is tough dog, but I'd rather OME, which has a leafy model.

[Gwagensteve]

It's not about "liking the look" - that area of the car is extremely damage prone and a location where the car gets snagged on banks etc. With the body of the car flopped over on a side angle that area overhangs the tyre so it gets dragged. Keeping the car as narrow as possible there is a matter of capability not aesthetics. The narrower the car is down low the better.

Anything you put there will need to be extremely strong - stronger than the traction the car can generate. At which point it's an anchor.

Leaf Sierra chassis and pitman arms have provision for a damper as one was fitted standard. Coil sierras need to have all the mounting locations provided as part of the kit. I wouldn't bother with a steering damper. At low speeds they just make the steering heavier. The mask other problems with the front end (kingpin wear) and they're another thing to damage off-road. They do prevent aggressive steering kickback when off-road, but so does power steering, which is a much more worthwhile modification.

Steve.

[DiscoS]

I understand you completely, I just feel there's a better way.

And yes, I get you, but I'm not going to fit power steering any time soon, and I'm tired of getting wrecked by ruts. Seriously, went full lock left, to full lock right in maybe 2 seconds, steering wheel was spinning so fast I couldn't even catch it. I'm planning on a very low resistance one, I really don't want to know it's there until I hit something.

Here are the dampers, SV5610 is the one I'm going for

[greenzook89]

Coily rear ends have a lip under the tailgate where the bumper sits on. My leafy doesnt have this.

[Gwagensteve]

DiscoS wrote:

I understand you completely, I just feel there's a better way

Not having anything there to hit is the best way. Hell, the flares cop it hard enough and they're sitting higher.

DiscoS wrote:

And yes, I get you, but I'm not going to fit power steering any time soon, and I'm tired of getting wrecked by ruts. Seriously, went full lock left, to full lock right in maybe 2 seconds, steering wheel was spinning so fast I couldn't even catch it. I'm planning on a very low resistance one, I really don't want to know it's there until I hit something.

You will know it's there. Sorry, that's just the reality of it. I'm quite sure the manufacturers of steering dampers know how to make and valve them and they're trying for the least resistance at "normal" speeds but a damper introduces inertia and friction regardless of how effective the valving is. This is direct experience with your preferred choice - OME.

They do not eliminate kickback and you will still experience the wheel slamming from lock to lock if you catch something hard enough at enough speed. that's why you keep your thumbs out of the wheel.

Steve.

[Gwagensteve]

I assume you're using planning on the adjustable one? Does it adjust only low speed damping?