What travel length schocks would be required for a 6" spoa lift for a Sammy? I found a couple for a fair price but want to review the shock cost into the package before I pull the trigger.

Heck I might as well ask another ? while I'm at it too. Does anyone know if this lift would allow 12.5 x 35 tires to be used underneath?

This is the direction I want to take my Sammy. Based on the current gears i am pretty sure the 1.6 will move these down the road and moderately off road as long as the mud holes aren't too gooey..... 

                                                                         Tux...

To get it on the road you can just switch your spring pads to the other side of the vehicle and use the stock shocks.  You won't gain any flex but it will get you going without any additional investment.

35" tires will most likely be a bit much without heavy trimming, standard tires for a SPOA is 31x10.5" tires.  I ran 33x12.5" on mine originally with some hammering to the inside of the front fender well and the rear fenders cut out quite a bit.


SJ-410 w/SPOA and 33x12.5 BFG MTR


Samurai with SPOA and tired 31x12.5 Swamper TSL

Wow that seams weak for a 6" lift... I am running 9.5 x 30 Buckshot Mudders now on 2" shackles 3" springs. Thanks for the heads up though. My goal is to use the tallest profile and most narrow width tire I can find.

12.5 x 35 is it so far. If I have to add a body lift to make it happen then I will do so.

What size tires are you running now?  Are you planning on using your existing setup with the SPOA or are you going to switch back to stock springs and shackles?

Those are 9.5 x 30 Buckshot Mudders under 3" front springs and stock rear springs with 2" lift shackles front and rear. Yep, I plan on using the same springs but changing to rotating shackles or beefing up these more.

Here in my corner of the Midwest most of the trail riding is mudding with some rough country hill climbing. Only rock crawling I might see is blasting through some river beds.

Maybe that helps to clarify the highth factor.....

The best way that I have found to get the correct shocks was just to measure it both compressed and extended and go from there.

I am running YJ springs with an additional main leaf added and spoa...
The TT YJ kit is good for 6.5" of lift but since I have another main leaf added I would guess that I am easy pushing 7"+ of lift.
I am currently trying to wear out a set of 31" x 12.50 tires so I can go to a 33" tire but I have no plans of going any larger than a 33".

Are you running an upgraded axles ?
I don't have any experience with it, but others claim that anything larger than a 33" tire and a person should think/look to upgrade axles...

Here is my currect setup :



anytime I hear/read someone talking about mud and a Sami I think of this video (click the video pic - not the words) :
Suzuki+Samurai+showing+the+big+trucks+how+its+done

If your going to use your existing springs then your actually looking at 8-9" of lift, not the 6" that a standard SPOA will give you.  I prefer to keep my vehicles as low as possible to fit the tires, but it really depends on your wheeling style and trails that you are running. 

my996duc1 is correct about needing to look into beefed up axles.  You will probably want to jump to some Chromoly axles from Trail tough or a set of Toyota axles.

Help me to understand the change of axles? Are the Zuk axles to wimpy and may twist under extreme conditions? If so I may do this later on down the road. I want to get the look 1st and then beef stuff up as good buys come available from individuals.

I'm not much on shoveling out big $$$ to suppliers if I can get a quality used item.

You may brake an axle, but it really depends on how you drive it.  I used stock rear axles for quite a long time before they finally broke with 33x12.5" tires and a spool in the rear.  With an open/unlocked rear end you will save a lot of wear and tear on the vehicle.  in light trail and road use you will probably never break a thing.  But each person is different so your mileage may vary.

One may s-curve the rear springs while performing climbs and on rocks, I actually ripped the spring pads off of the rear axle due to climbing up hills in 2wd when the front end wasn't working properly.  Every now and then the rear tires would catch traction and I would pull the front end off the ground.  Great fun.  The installation of a traction bar will fix that issue.

There are quite a few ways to build a rig.  You can go with Toyota axles, Ford 9" or Dana 44's, or just beef up the stock units.  Only time and research will help you decide what is best for you.  I recommend checking out the Readers Ride section and reading up on some of the builds in the Builds section to see what other people have done.  Don't be afraid to ask questions, most of us are happy to put in our 2 cents. 

Kewl, I appreciate that! That's kinda what I thought. I am not going to be overly aggressive with this rig. Been there done that in an earlier life. Pretty hard on the Powerwagon / CJ7 / F 150. Most of that was young / dumb / and Alcohol induced.

Now I'm older I view things as though my kids were looking after me as a role model. Quite Different.... Kinda like this build.

I think I will stick with my gameplan and purchase some beefy stuff along the way.... as replacement parts.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.....!

                                                                              Tux...