I was curious as to how the Calmini kit works to lower the front diff. I can see in the pictures that they have two brackets that look as though they would lower it, but how does this work? I notice on my Tracker that there is a crossmember that supports the front diff. It doesn't look like it can be lowered, what am I missing here?
  I also read that they have lengthened the control arms but kept the stock width. How is this? I feel a little stupid asking these questions but I'm really not getting how there kit works and I would really like to fully understand it before I start messing around in there myself.
Any info would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Jim

The diff drop brackets rotate the front of the diff downward so the centerline where the axles are is lower.

Yes, thats it really, the brackets rotate the diff so the front can be dropped lower. The arms are wider than stock but the wheels move inwards with downward travel because they are travelling in an arc, therefore the longer Calmini arms restore the stock track at rest.

sure they do:)  With a minor camber adjustment lol.  By minor.  I mean major lol.  Both kits though.  The 2" and 3"  are excellent kits.

Thanks, that's a clever idea. Now I understand! Anyone know approximately how much they rotate it?
Jim

sure they do:)  With a minor camber adjustment lol.  By minor.  I mean major lol.  Both kits though.  The 2" and 3"  are excellent kits.

The camber adjustment is because of the lift and isn't related to the diff drop. You do need to watch out for the oil level though. The rotation puts the level plug lower down so you need to jack it up or park on a slope to get enough oil in.

I understand thet the diff rotates , but what happens with the rear support? As I see on the Calmini kit it seems to be a smaller or may be lower rear support? Does it have a different angle ?

thanks..

The angle is the same they've just lowered the mount a little. Its not a lot lower because there just isn't the room to drop it that much. IIRC its around 3/4", I can check the exact amount at some point because I had to make a jig up to modify the original because my Calmini mount got lost when I moved house (I borrowed another Calmini bracket from Tony Bennet). Some time back I posted pictures showing the Calmini brackets up against the stock brackets, if you do a search back a year or so you should find the pics.

old thread, i know, but there are so many on this topic already, i cant see the pro's of starting a new thread.


well, i tried to make new drop brackets for the front diff to lower it, or rotate it.

doesnt work.

if you lower the front of the diff 2", the rear mount binds too much, the pinion flange points upwards, may hit the sump under load, and the steering arms may hit the diff.

apart from that, just making longer drop brackets will not work. they do not fit properly on the left hand side. the right hand side is easiest, but the left, because it is mounted to the front of the diff, needs an angle in it.

so, maybe 1" - 1.5" may be max drop on the two brackets.

has anyone made any yet? or tried? i'm very interested to see how other did theirs. anyone?

and i'm also thinking about strapping the pinion down too, good idea?

thanks

well, i tried to make new drop brackets for the front diff to lower it, or rotate it.

doesnt work.

I suspect the problem is with the design of your brackets, the Calmini brackets are really very cleverly designed. I should also have mentioned that the Calmini centre bracket uses a half thickness poly bush to lower the centre mount a bit further.







The old Procomp 2.5" kit also lowered the diff in a similar fashion but not by as much. That kit retained the stock centre bracket. Of course I don't advocate copying Calimini's design, the pics are just for reference 

i  think  that  my  qestion is   still  on  topic :
supose  i  install  those  bruckets   front  and  rear ,
1)  what  is  the max lift  that  is  recommended ?
2)supose  i want  to  lift  the  GV (3  doors  1.6)  about  5 cm what  is  the  spring  rate/length    that  i  should  use,  is  there  a formula that  givs (spring-parameters vs  hight)   for  the  gv ?
3) the  same  data  for struts  is   usefull  too ...

thanks 

Quote from: SiKiD_01 on May 04, 2006, 06:27:32 AM

well, i tried to make new drop brackets for the front diff to lower it, or rotate it.

doesnt work.

can you or anyone take a side on pic of this mount. i think it is the left hand side mount. i just want to see if it is straight all the way down, or if it has rotation built in.


thanks