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More advice on lifting my vitara


 
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tecs10
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Joined: 12 Jan 2010
Posts: 43
Location: crickhowell

PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 21:01    Post subject: More advice on lifting my vitara Reply with quote

hi guys, been a while since ive been on here,

Since ive had my vitara i spent so much money making it good that i ran out of money to be able to mod it as much as id have liked (which is why iv not really been on here as this place makes me want to spend too much)  anyways its been on the road for just under a year now and its been awesome in the snow and in some muddy situations that ive decided to have a bit more fun in it.  now iv got more money too so im looking to lift it,

ive already bought some insa turbo mud tyres, alrady got winch bumper, ive bought a 2" body lift kit (havent fitted it yet because im gonna do it all at once)

Anyways, to the point,  i would like to lift the suspension as well as body but i dont know what sort of set up to use,

i would like something
-simple and easy enough for a capable but amateur to fit,

-something not too costly as im running out of dosh very quickly

looking around the net there doesnt seem to be many kits available for mine, its a 2000 jx hardtop swb

can anyone send me in the direction of somewhere that does decent kits?

sorry to go on,

any help will be greatly appreciated  

ed
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 21:01    Post subject: Google Ads keep this community free to join!


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pearsorm
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Joined: 20 Jun 2010
Posts: 21
Location: Lakenheath, United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 20:14    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I was you I would bin the body lift and fit the following:

2 inch Spring spacers on the rear - you can get them from Bits 4 Vits or make your own I made  mine out of mild steel discs
2 inch longer shocks from a Vauxhall Astra or shock spacers also available from Bits 4 Vits
1 1/2 inch spring spacers on the front - you can get them from Bits 4 Vits or make your own I made  mine out of mild steel discs
Front strut spacers also available from Bits 4 Vits

This will allow you to fit upto 31x10.50R15 tyres any larger and you will need to alter you gear ratios.

The body lift will only allow you to fit larger tyres and will give you no other advantages offroad or on. If you still want the extra height of the body lift then keep it to no more than 2 inches any higher and you will have nothing but problems with shifter levers steering column etc.

Also do not forget the most important mod on a vitara FIT a front diff guard. This will be the lowest part on any vitara
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tecs10
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Joined: 12 Jan 2010
Posts: 43
Location: crickhowell

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 20:20    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for you reply, as it is I have already lifted the body 2" and suspension 3", was hard work but relatively simple to do, thought I would find it much more difficult
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Tempman_
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Joined: 15 Feb 2012
Posts: 26
Location: Cornwall - Sussex

PostPosted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 1:30    Post subject: Reply with quote

tecs10 wrote:
Thanks for you reply, as it is I have already lifted the body 2" and suspension 3", was hard work but relatively simple to do, thought I would find it much more difficult


Allow mate, sounds good! Any pictures?

How mechanically mined would you say you were as what you have done is exsacally what I'm looking to do know. I've seen a how car online which I'm going I view on the weekend. Probably nicer than mine, the new Vit has all the bits so I'm going to strip want I want and sell the car after. Lol

I am going to be removing the 2inch body lift and pinching the 3inch springs. (gv I beleive) and the Astra mk3 rear shocks. I'm then going to fit them to my vitara which I've had just under a month.

Anything I need to know about the winch bumper not fitting right? Spring/body lift.

Cheers Tom
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dely
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Joined: 18 Nov 2010
Posts: 70
Location: Wales

PostPosted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:24    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi pearsorm why would you not fit the body lift?
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pearsorm
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Joined: 20 Jun 2010
Posts: 21
Location: Lakenheath, United Kingdom

PostPosted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 23:06    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will not run a body lift as they will all cause the body to crack  around the mounts due to the extra leverage applied which is not hte safest combination as you can imagine. Also they offer no real performance gain. Yes they will allow you to fit larger tyres. But a suspension lift will do the same and give you more axle travel and more off road capability. In my opinion the suspension lift is actually easier to fit and can be done safely by 1 person the same can not be said of the body lift. Plus body lifts just look stupid with the big gap between the body and chassis. But that said at the end of the day it is up to the individual as to what theydo with their trucks. On my Vitara I have a 3 inch suspension lift  and I am running 30x9.50 Mud terrains. This combination gives me 11 inches of ground clearance at the front and 10 inches at the rear measured at the diffs and it still fits in a domestic garage with a full external roll cage installed.
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Tempman_
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Joined: 15 Feb 2012
Posts: 26
Location: Cornwall - Sussex

PostPosted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 23:39    Post subject: Reply with quote

pearsorm wrote:
I will not run a body lift as they will all cause the body to crack  around the mounts due to the extra leverage applied which is not hte safest combination as you can imagine. Also they offer no real performance gain. Yes they will allow you to fit larger tyres. But a suspension lift will do the same and give you more axle travel and more off road capability. In my opinion the suspension lift is actually easier to fit and can be done safely by 1 person the same can not be said of the body lift. Plus body lifts just look stupid with the big gap between the body and chassis. But that said at the end of the day it is up to the individual as to what theydo with their trucks. On my Vitara I have a 3 inch suspension lift  and I am running 30x9.50 Mud terrains. This combination gives me 11 inches of ground clearance at the front and 10 inches at the rear measured at the diffs and it still fits in a domestic garage with a full external roll cage installed.


Nice, What else did you fit for the suspension lift? Im thinking about getting gv springs alround as i have heard they give 2.5/3inch lift, not 100% what years of gv springs to use, i have a jlx 1996 2dr soft top.

Ive also heard astra mk3 rear shocks, but again not 100% what to use on the front?

What tools will i need for the job too, Any feeback woud be very helpfull.

Also the external roll cage, is something i really want to invest in. I have looked online, rhino rays got one for 850 though. Does yours have rock sliders? rear heavie duty bumpers and winch bumper? where did you get yours from.

Tom
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pearsorm
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Joined: 20 Jun 2010
Posts: 21
Location: Lakenheath, United Kingdom

PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 0:20    Post subject: Reply with quote

Grand Vitara springs will only give you a 1.5 inch lift. I lifted mine as follows:

Long Wheel Base vitara springs (give 1 inch of lift) front and rear plus spring spacers I made at work ( give the additonal 2 inches of lift)
Rear shocks are Astra shocks sourced from Ebay ( 2 inches longer than the stock shocks)
I made spacers for the front struts copying ones available from ebay and others

I have also made rear axle limiting straps out of 2 1/2 inch military webbing (rear axle is able to exceed the travel of the springs when not limited by the straps)

The roll cage was also sourced from Ebay. I do not know who made it originally but it looks jsut like a Rhino Ray cage.

I have removed my front and rear bumpers and modified the bullbar to mount a 4500lb champion winch.

Check out www.facebook.com/myvitara I will be posting new photos there soon of the external cage.

tooling required to perform the lift is as follows:

good trolley jack
jack stands
coil spring compressors
Basic tool kit

Let me know if you need any more help
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pearsorm
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Joined: 20 Jun 2010
Posts: 21
Location: Lakenheath, United Kingdom

PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 0:21    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also use an inernal rolage made by the Offroad Armoury
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Tempman_
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Joined: 15 Feb 2012
Posts: 26
Location: Cornwall - Sussex

PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:05    Post subject: Reply with quote

Result then! How much did you pick the cage up for? Good find!
Does it include rock slider etc?

What if I didn't want to use spacers in the spring area? I want a natural spring but not a custom 3" lift spring as this will be too much (need to be feaseable, as this is a second car). I've heard it give better articulation!
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pearsorm
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Joined: 20 Jun 2010
Posts: 21
Location: Lakenheath, United Kingdom

PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 20:18    Post subject: Reply with quote

THe Cage cost me 200 pounds on Ebay. Yes you can use spacers on your springs and it will give you more articulation. As I posted above I have used LWB Vitara Springs and spacers I made myself. I made mine out of steel. They are fairly cheap to buy also. Check out Bit 4 Vits or Jimnybits. If you lift the suspension higher than 2 inches you will also have to install Diff lowering brackets this will reduce the angel at which the drive axles work at.
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