Ok... I took another look at the kit, and here is the grand total....

Basic Spring Over Kit $223.57

*Cross Over Steering System $375.00 complete (ouch)
*Drop Draglink Steering       $127.25

Drop Link Shackles
5" - 10"  Suzuki Samurai $ 185.00 / pair

Plus extended brake lines....

$828.943 not including brake lines, plus I still need someone to weld the shock mounts for me... Personally I'd like to be doing as little modification to the frame/axles if possible.

So would you guys say the reverse shackle and the BL would be a complete waste of money? Or does reversing the shackle make my steering and handling go to hell? I am not 100% knowledgable about all of these kits, I have been a lurker on this forum for a long time but I was mainly focusing on Sidekicks until I realised how much better a sammi is (mod wise)

What exactly is the benefit of a spring over axle vs. a reverse shackle?

Dang!  I wish I could put my finger exactly on this, but I know that, with a Spring Over (SPOA, SOA, etc.) you have less hanging below the axle to catch on the passing terrain and better control over your pinion angle -- which is an important detail to familiarize yourself with when doing a SPOA!

If you decide to point the front differential upwards in attempt to improve the pinion angle and promote u-joint life, you will thoroughly mess up the on road steering characteristics!

I am sold on the Breeze SPOA.  It has worked perfectly for three years now on my truck.  I bought mine with Doesch Tech shocks, rear shock mounts, driveline extenders and extended brakelines from North Coast Offroad http://www.northcoastoffroad.com/Samurai%20Main.htm

It is not sold as a complete kit mainly because you can get brake line extensions at the junk yard (off various hondas, etc.), you can buy shocks, buy or build you own rear shock mout  and you can make your own choice on driveshaft spacers -- all in the interest of saving money by doing it yourself.

I would NOT rush out in a buying frenzy and get some trailer perches.  They may be cheap  but they are nowhere near as good as just about ANY SPOA vendor's perches.

I imagine that there are a bunch of links to vendors that sell SPOAs here on this site.  One in particular has a decent SPOA that does not require welding.  There are other vendors  that may not be listed on this site (no site has everything as much as we wish it...but it is good to try and ZukiWorld is doing excellent job at covering everything!)  that are worth looking at too.  Do a Google search for "Suzuki Samurai" and see what pops up...

You spent too much time worrying about conversion rates and forgot that the breeze setup is a single arm and the CALMINI is a dual arm.   Canadians  
Not trying to turn this into anything out of control, but you can get trailer spring perches at any trailer supply store for even cheaper than the breeze kit.  The idea I was trying to relate was that actual engineering and design went into one kit as opposed to the other.  That's all.

You asked me how I came to the conclusion of how he can get the Breeze lift parts for less money.  I showed you the math... hmm seems pretty simple to me.  As for the "actual engineering" that went into the Calmini parts what can I say I am in awe of all that hardcore engineering.  It seems to me I used to see Calmini adds saying how bad spring overs were.  I guess their "actual engineering" fixed all the problems they used to have with spring overs so now they figure its a good way to lift a zuk   .

For the steering parts I did not forget anything about the dual arm Calmini parts.  Actually I said that it looks be a pretty good product.  But he did not ask about crossover steering in the original post now did he.  

Just for the record I like a lot of Calmini products and I was just trying to answer the questions.  I'm not really all that brand loyal I'll buy whoever has a good product for a good price along with good service.  In this case I feel that he can do better with Breeze.  

As for the   Canadians bit.. yup I am  .

Enough with the small Breeze vs Calmini soap opera that is developing with DaddyDave and I and back to the topic at hand.  

Since you seem to be on a tight budget get a basic spring over, get some brakelines or extensions from Napa (search for part numbers),  add some cheap shocks and a Z bar for steering.  Skip the drop link shackles.  Give a buddy a case of beer to do the welding, throw some 31s on it and get wheeling.  

If you have a problem spending that much get out now before you get hooked and are spending on lockers, gears, winch..............

haha, well like I said, I am trying to buy a truck that already has some of the lift components in it to save me some coin. I am not a cheap ass when it comes to things, (I have 3 grand in my ATV already) but I just want to know whats best and affordable, the spoa looks like the way to go and my uncle CAN weld so I guess I just have to buy him 2 24's  .

Ok so for this kit I am looking at about $403.44 which isn't bad at all, with an SPOA how much actual lift does it give? Breeze doesn't say how much lift it gives on their site.

Ok so for this kit I am looking at about $403.44 which isn't bad at all, with an SPOA how much actual lift does it give? Breeze doesn't say how much lift it gives on their site.

You should get around 4 - 4.5 inches of lift from a  Breeze SPOA.

Since you seem to be on a tight budget get... a Z bar for steering...

I have seen FAR too many cheap Z-bars twisted to the point of uselessness at ZookiMelts to wish that kind of agony on anyone!  Maybe they were homebuilt, maybe they weren't, but I'd drive with the stock draglink before I'd use a Z-bar.

Sure, it would be great to have an over-the-top (OTT) setup.  Nearly ZERO bumpsteer on the highway would be cool!  I went with a Breeze draglink (forgot to mention that) because I could not afford OTT. I drive mine on the interstate to and from work everyday with no problems.   And, it works offroad, too!



It needs to get offroad more...

Everyone seems to be a little touchy lately. The only point I was trying to make on the steering was that for the same price, you can get the dual set-up from CALMINI and improve the overall handling when compared to a single arm or Z-link setup.  I have it on mine and I can drive with my 32" with no wobble or walking around at all.  Nothing personal...

The Q wasn't about steering ... he asked about lift.

Also, you simply can't compare weld-on perches to this http://www.puresuzuki.com/bolt-on_spoa.htm .  

I agree ... much better to have weld on perches.

i agree also ,and ive always used trayler perches ,they are cheep ,and i have had no problems with them . im all for someone saveing $$$ if they can . and all for do it yourself mods . IMO
ive seen a lot of rigs that have home built soa's on them and you cant tell much difference between them and aftermarket kits ,some even look a lot better.
so if you think you can do it yourself ,go for it , save your money for gears and lockers .

Cross over steering for a Sammy is easy and cheap to have done.  No need for a z-link or expensive OTT setup, find a 300 or 400 series mercedes and grab the steering arm off of it.

It nearly bolts right onto the sammy caliper mount.  Just oval out one of the holes a bit and POOF.  Instant cross over steering.

Here is a pic of it installed on our Sidekick.



Front view



Take it someplace and have the hold re-tapered and you can get it even higher.

Sorry to jump in so late, but I have been wondering about this for a long time.

I bought my Sammy pretty much already done with a lift kit and the steering bar etc.....

Its a 6" SPOA with stock springs etc.  The guy who did it made all his own parts,- ie.... shackles, steering bar, etc.

My problem is that the handling on road is insanely bad, its definently driveable and i use it every day, but it wanders, slides to the right when I take the power off and brake, typical lifted sammy stuff i would guess.

The stock bushings and springs look pretty bad, and i think the shackles may be leaning, so im thinking about switching to something like the Calmini 5.5 SHackle reverse lift.

If my goal is better on-road driveability while keeping the offroading as fun as it is.......whats your advice?

thanks
Chris