ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Model Specific Suzuki Forum => Suzuki Grand Vitara, Vitara, Chevy Tracker (Gen. 2 Platform) 1999-2005 => Topic started by: toofaroffroad on June 04, 2007, 06:20:23 PM
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Anyone got any idea what's going on with this suspension lift from Alberta that I keep reading about. What is going on with this thing and when can we see it?
Any info would be great, thanks
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i have heard nothing but i just supplied a local with 35 mm coil spacers for the front of his XL7 ( 70mm of lift ) ( 3 inches = 75mm ) and he has promised to supply Pics so i will pass them on, should be interesting.
tim
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I have a gut feeling that we are years away from anything decent being released for our platform....which sucks. Too many people still focused on Samurais and Sidekicks. The Suzuki brand is synonymous with cheaps-ass 4x4'ing (mainly because we take our rigs off-road versus the silly nim-wits who dump thousands into a new F150 and lift with monster tires and they never see gravel)
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So what we need is some really rich guy to get into Grand vitaras and start experimenting with different lifts.I'll start buying my lottery tickets tomorrow.
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that is it i am going to be a rich guy and start for us .....now how do i get rich ??? what is the most lift using springs not spacers that is done on the GV.....what about the guy from iceland who has 35's how did he get it
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I don't get that either. 35's and no gearing or engine mods. My 2.0 ltr is sluggish with 31's. 35's would be a joke. I just got a set of those Ironman Coils. I'm gonna try to squeeze 2.5 out of my truck without major modification. I've also got 2" diff drop brackets.I*'m sure there will be issues with steering. We'll see
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(mainly because we take our rigs off-road versus the silly nim-wits who dump thousands into a new F150 and lift with monster tires and they never see gravel)
That is to dang funny and true.
LOL ;D
I think I laughed up a lung......................
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I haven't talked to the guy from zukination as of yet... I doubt he's finished his R&D as I think he's been quite busy...
There are really a number of problems of which why our vitrackers are not as easily moddable as their older kin
I think the body design was developed cab-forward style to maximize leg room and space... problem is it doesn't leave much fender to cut (if any) and reduces the ability to put larger diameter tires
Solution? Body lift
Then you run into another problem... brake lines etc.. of which will need to be extended if you are to install a combo lift of over 4"
I think the Frame is too wide as well.... This comes into play when installing a suspension lift as the front stock a-arm will pull in (in my case over an inch)
Solution? Only Calmini I know of has a set of a-arms of which they will not separate
Then the next part... the front diff... ugh
CV joints start getting quite aggressive after 2" of lift
Solution? Diff drop bracket, but I have not heard of any success as of yet
Talking to Jeff & the guy from Boondox, there is a potential of the diff drop bracket causing issues with the carrier/3rd member due to the driveshaft angle
So you might give one issue up for another (I'd rather deal with a much cheaper rebuilt CV)
It'd be great if there was a perfect kit
but even Jeff's kit was quite cumbersome... meaning that new rear shock perches and links would have to be replaced and even re-welded (using curry joints)
Thinking about it...
With the coil spacer lift I have in right now... I think I'll be happy with the RRO 2" BL, and a set of front wheel spacers running 32" pizza cutters (235/85/16)
build up some cosmetics and functional things like tow points and winch mount bumpers
and if required Gears/locker
anything more hardcore... I hate to say it, but I'd probably buy something domestic and cheap to use only on the trail
Always wanted a Ramcharger :D
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ah dude don't kill the dream!
Honestly, when creative minds and money go to work then the sky is the limit. Just think, if half the effort that has gone into engineering a SAS kit for the tracker was put towards the Grand Vitara we'd be getting somewhere. And if bright people like Mike Hagen were to tinker with a Grand Vitara he'd get around any difficulties with some genius and a welder! I'm not saying the Grand Vitara isn't harder to mod then a Tracker but I don't think there are any obstacles that a properly engineered kit can't over-some (control arms and what not).
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i see a calmini kit with a 1inch coil spacer in the front possibly working.. possibly blowing the aluminum front diff also... so after the kit and new diff hoursing/3rd shortly after how much money has gone into this? 2grand, probably more. solution.........samurai front axle on leafs with wheel spacers for width. as much as this involves some fabbing which i can't do myself i think i'd rather pay somebody to do this than piss away all my money on the options out there. even if we were only running 33's like this, the extra height could easily be gained under the frame. but then is the samurai axle to weak for the weight of a 6cyl GV or 4door tracker? not sure. maybe this is just a dream but i think it's more of a reality than anything else in the air right now.
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a proper kit needs to be engineer'd to have the following:
3" taller Coils/Shocks & Struts for our vehicle weight
Bumpstop extenders
Longer A" arms with perhaps a longer axel half shaft
Diff drop bracket
Driveshaft spacers for both the front and rear driveshaft
Simple 3" BL w/ all the required tubes and cables that need to be extended
when you start pushing past 3" for IFS, there is a tendancy for the coil to bind... so perhaps the A" arms will have to be a floating design for the seat
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Gv's have rack and pinion steering and this is a big obstacle to work with. The early Kicks have recirculating ball steering boxes and tie rods / drag links - easy to work with.
Early licks have an upper "A" arm bolted to the diff - easy to fab up a new mount bracket to compensate for lift. GV's have a 4 link with panhard rod - geometry gets out of wack with a decent lift and is not easy to correct.
Diff drop brackets seem to help with cv angles but big lifts get the angles up.
Calmini have done a good job with their GV kit and until someone else builds something better it is the best option out there. One day someone may build a better kit but so far I have read good intentions but NO RESULTS so far >:( - less talk and more action people ::)
ZeusZuki 8)
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that is it i am going to be a rich guy and start for us .....now how do i get rich ??? what is the most lift using springs not spacers that is done on the GV.....what about the guy from iceland who has 35's how did he get it
The same way they get all of their trucks on big tires. A short lift and then lots of fender cutting covered by big custom made fender flares.
How they drive them is either regear (if an option), live with it and only offroad in 4lo (which is the only place you'd find me when wheeling on super deep snow/ice pack), or go to extremes to get power out of the engine.
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Updated -- My truck is now the project truck for Zukination
once finalized --- will be posted on their website of: http://zukination.com/
It going to be a 4" lift comprising of the following:
-Diff drop bracket
-New "A-arm" to relocate the wheel forward by about an inch or so (no added length so stock CV's are fine)
-3" Strut spacers (he's a firm beliver that the stock struts are a great match for the vehicle, and that even long travel struts will only add about 1" of uptravel, so not really worth buying as the downtravel is limited to the CV length anyway)
-4 coils matched to the application of the vehilcle (2.0 2dr - 2.7L XL-7) to add the 4" of lift
-Shocks to match the dampening of the front strut (again depentant on vehicle)
more stuff to be worked on shortly
Plus he will have other goods on the way
i.e. bumpers (i'm getting a tube pre-runner style (weights only 35 lbs) or a full anvil style which weighs closer to 70 (using 3/8" steel)
Rocker guards
Armour etc..
I'll post pics soon
p.s. I will be coupling this with a 2" BL
For the Track/Kicks 89-98 His kit is ready and looks awesome
Full 4.5" suspension lift... all bolt in with required hardware (i.e. A-arms w/ floating coil spring isolators)
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I see me and my 35 inch GV have been mentioned... since its dark outside now here in iceland i´ll take pictures of everything that was modified when lifting it tomorrow :)
But keep in mind that these 35 inch tires are not there for rock crawling and suspension stretching. Its for snow floating :) And the suspension length is okey but would propably never work for most of you guys :)
Also the fenders were cut alot and Custom fender flares put on as seen on the photos I have posted :)
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technically the 4.5" suspension lift w/ either a huge BL (like 5") or a frame lift would be able to fit those 35"ers on
but yea totally different application
In Canada our wheeling consists of everything.... Mud mud mud, dirt, gravel, snow snow snow, ICE
etc...
requires alot of suspension articulation and grip rather than pure flotation
Though my truck on 35's would look sexy... hrmm..
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Wow, keep us updated!
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i have been in contact with a guy who can do a frame drop in the front to gain 6 inches. suspension can then be left stock or lifted another 2in, in the rear suspension lift and extend all parts to match. roughly 2500 in parts and labour, so say 3000. not bad at all.. i just can't say that it would be better than the same money going into a basic SAS since i'd still have the aluminum front diff.... time will tell with this...........
great that your truck is the project truck now! can't wait to see what comes out of all this! the rear should be fairly simple to get done, just curious about how the 3rd member issue is going to be addressed in the front and the steering. obviously these things have been thought of, i'm just jumping the gun as i'd love to get a real 4inch suspension lift in a box that bolts on!
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-New "A-arm" to relocate the wheel forward by about an inch or so (no added length so stock CV's are fine)
With a separated sidekick's ball joint?
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Well this is going to be a long post ? But I am going to try to show you what was done to fit those 35inch tires under my GV.
Here we have a picture of my front, still original, no calmini, front suspension
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/1402999621_d34d56681e.jpg)
Here is a picture of my front suspension raising and you also see how much has been cut
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1368/1402999815_2c2bfd90f1.jpg)
Body lift in front
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1363/1403000483_5335de7d98.jpg)
Here is the body lift in front/middle
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1329/1403887520_1e254b1b79.jpg)
Body lift in the back/middle
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/1403000143_4ae0a5192c.jpg)
Suspension lift rear
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1359/1403000305_d6eacb96c4.jpg)
Here you can see how the body was cut around the shocks on top
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/1403888848_4a69e0e780.jpg)
Here is the steering extension..is the original?
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1064/1403001437_a31cdd2772.jpg)
And here are some pictures that show how much cutting was done
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1244/1403888164_a12fb6fd4b.jpg)
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1431/1403888328_0be32889b4.jpg)
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1069/1403000919_e01e269753.jpg)
And I have differentials from an automatic wich are lower…and the car is absolutely not slow or heavy on rpm´s
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Icelandic,
From the looks up those pic's. It look like you just have a 2" body lift and a whole lot of frender cutting to fit these 35" tires.
On a side note I contacted arctictrucks who pointed me to www.samtak.is/Fender%20flares.htm (http://www.samtak.is/Fender%20flares.htm) and www.brettakantar.is (http://www.brettakantar.is). Got an email back from Brettakanta stating to try Samtak but when I try them I get failed email return back. :( So I don't know if their ISP is blocking Yahoo mail or what. The only two email that I could find for them where snorri|removethispart|@samtak.is and samtak|removethispart|@samtak.is So if someone else wants to try.
George
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I just called www.samtaka.is they dont have these fender flares... this is getting to be a mistery..
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Guess I will re-email ArticTrucks and push for more info. as I'm guessing that who did your Zuk.
Also thanks for calling www.samtaka.is
Geogre
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Anyone got any idea what's going on with this suspension lift from Alberta that I keep reading about. What is going on with this thing and when can we see it?
Any info would be great, thanks
They have their site up and running!
http://www.zukination.com/ (http://www.zukination.com/)
I just read their site and found this!!!! *pasted below*
"98 - 2005 Tracker/Vitara 4� Lift
This lift kit is currently in the research and development stage. As of now we are only working on the 4� lift kit which will contain many of the same traits as the 89-98 Sidekick/Tracker Lift. Being that this suspension utilizes a 5 link rear and rack and pinion steering, it poses its own unique issues when lifted. When we have these issues ironed out and the kit working the way a Zuki Nation kit should (maximizing travel and minimizing bind, all while staying reliable) the kit will be released to the public.
Stay tuned for this exciting new product!"
WOOT WOOT!! If they can pull that of (4 inch lift with not body lift) and it costs roughly the same as the Tracker version ($1099 Canadian) then I'll be in line to get one! Better yet I live in Calgary.... no shipping!
Pic of 4 inch Tracker kit:
(http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff22/sean222_photo/HPIM0263.jpg?t=1190832749)
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So today I brought my Tracker to Zukination
They are creating a pre-runner style tube bumper for me and removing my origional tow point on the front frame. This bumper has a winch mount plate and D rings for my shackles.
In order to save weight, and not have to shim the front coils, I decided on using the tube instead of the anvil style, as this bumper will weigh in only at 35lbs
-I'll post pics soon
In regards to the R&D of the 4" lift for the tracker... it is still in progress
Jeff's solution is to create tough tie-rod extenders (that screw into the stock tie-rod) to adapt to make the lift work
He is planning on everything to be bolt in and packagable shortly
I hope to pans out soon too as my truck is the test truck
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They should blueprint the bumper, so they can make more of 'em. I would like to get one....only problem is I've got a 99 Grand Vitara (might be some subtle differences in the mounting versus the Tracker), and I've got a two inch body lift (I would need a special bracket or something so there are no gaps). If they come up with a nice lookin' tube bumper that will fit my bodylifted GV, I'd get it. At this point, I don't even care about the winch plate, as long as there are a couple of shackles/recovery points.
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I'm getting him to do my 2" BL so he's buildling a bracket...
So far he is adiment that the Sky mfg body lifts are by far the best, and he's right
I looked at them, compared to a set of other "generic" brands and Sky's are the nicest for the hardware (bolts etc...)
Just he's going to make a version of the steering extention
He has mapped my bumper and can make it for the 2" bl
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looking forward to seeing the bumper.. and suspension kit of course! any thoughts on a rear bumper?
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Checked out their site. Seems to be a well thought out kit. There will be some RRO/OME stuff for sale after this hits the streets. RRO's taller lift, tube bumpers, and skids have only been "in development" the past 3+ years I've had my Track. To be fair, I run their stuff, but I'll buy from whoever has the goods. I say: BRING IT! The sooner the better for me.
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This is a new pic of ther 4.5'' lift for sidekick. Look very good!!(other pics are on the site right now).
(http://www.zukination.com/images/4-5alteregolift_lrg.jpg)
For vitara/tracker and Grand vitara, We NEED real new A-arms like in the pics. I realy hate the stock one peice ball joint/a-arm...
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"For vitara/tracker and Grand vitara, We NEED real new A-arms like in the pics. I realy hate the stock one peice ball joint/a-arm..."
You would also want that new arm to move the center of the wheel forward and push the rear out some too.
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You would also want that new arm to move the center of the wheel forward and push the rear out some too.
You'r right!!!!
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i must absolutely concur with a slight wheelbase extension! >:D
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updates to follow....
might go to a dual-A arm setup
Easier to provide travel w/o causing bind to struts
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that would be the best... like the baja kits for toyo IFS... just longer arms, switch it to double arms, ditch the strut and just use shocks... in the end it wouldnt cost that much... 4 new arms 2 new adjustable coil over shocks and some ajustable control arms for the rear with shocks and springs and wheel spacers to match the fronts new width... would just have to keep it in the CV operating range... probably break a few cvs figuring it out but could get more lift and more articulation outta that setup... and would be way stronger still would require fabing up the top arm... probably ditch the stock spring location cut the cup out mount the new arm there and just use the coil over in the stock strut location and mount it on the new top a arm..
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that would be the best... like the baja kits for toyo IFS... just longer arms, switch it to double arms, ditch the strut and just use shocks... in the end it wouldnt cost that much...
Yeah...wouldn't cost much...then you say this...? ???
4 new arms 2 new adjustable coil over shocks and some ajustable control arms for the rear with shocks and springs and wheel spacers to match the fronts new width... would just have to keep it in the CV operating range... probably break a few cvs figuring it out but could get more lift and more articulation outta that setup... and would be way stronger still would require fabing up the top arm... probably ditch the stock spring location cut the cup out mount the new arm there and just use the coil over in the stock strut location and mount it on the new top a arm..
That's a lot of custom stuff there.
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still would be cheeper then a SAS kit maybe more then a calmini, but atleast it would be giving the vehical more capability... anything over just a suspension lift based on the exsisting will take modifications though, not alot of people are willing to jump into cutting and welding on there vehical... i bet it could be done for 1500 bucks once you get the jigs setup for the control arms, you wouldnt need as much steal into it because you wont have a spring seat section... would be basically tubular a arms like alot of people use to improve sports cars, and then just put a mounting point on the top one for the coilovers, rig the upper ball joint on the stock "strut mount location" and use the factory spindle... 3 custom parts... everything else you could use whats already on the market...
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Go price some of the desert running setups for Fords and Toyotas. That's about the equivalent to what you guys are talking about.
This isn't just a lift kit or even a lift kit with entirely new suspension pieces...this is a completely new suspension that would require modifications beyond most home garage mechanics who can't weld.
Go to their site and price out their kits for the Sidekicks and Trackers. Then consider that a Calmini 3" kit goes for almost $900 and doesn't include half of what a double arm setup would run...
...when and if a double arm setup arrives on the market it will be multiple thousands of dollars. On the realistic side I can see $3000 or so unless they get orders for a few hundred.
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no matter what comes out if it gives a true 4 or more inches of suspension lift it will be nice, the calmini is only 2.5 inches. i don't think we can expect to get much more flex out of the front end than we are now with various lift setups. the diff's and cv's unfortunately aren't designed for that. hopefully the rear suspension will flex nicely and make up for our ifs setups!
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Unless they drop the lower a-arm mounting brackets we're starting to also run out of down travel.
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Unless they drop the lower a-arm mounting brackets we're starting to also run out of down travel.
I see your point but then agianyou get must of your flex from the rear.
George
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agreed, no matter what, unless we have a different diff and cv's that handle major angles NOTHING is going to make the front flex very much >:(
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A diff drop like most fullsize IFS truck lifts do, or Whitfield's Tracker lift over on Zuwharrie, would be the best way to lift our front diffs and keep the proper range of motion as we have now.
Simply forcing the arms down in their arc is kinda cheesy to me. You're gaining clearance at the expense of downtravel and might not be making up for it in uptravel.
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but whats the point of dropping the diff and a-arms all that work to keep the same setup that it has stock just pushed lower on the vehicall....
for the kinda money and work to get that much lift it should atleast improve its capabilities not just let you fit bigger tires....
the rear axle is fine for most of what you will do and you can lift it cheeply... its the front that needs to change... even a sammy axle in the front would be better than what we have for everyday wheeling sure its the same 10 bolt and everything but atleast it would be a solid axle... we dont need a full axle swap kit just something to make it easy to toss a front axle in... wheel spacers to match the width, and a basic 3 link setup... then lift size isnt really an issue just depends how crazy you feel like going... why pay over twice the amount of any other kit on the market for an extra inch and a half... when you could save 1200 bucks and just do a body lift for the same effect... im not a fan of body lifts but when it comes to wasting that kinda money with no real gains... its just retarded...
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something along the lines of a tacoma lift kit would be perfect... differential drop kit with some a-arms to match the lift and controable travel with adjustable coil over replacements.. its basically setup like ours but with double a arms which you dont need its just nice for strength... you cant get to crazy with the newer IFS because of our rack and pinion system and the cv angles.. but with just the diff dropped to the cross memeber 1 inch... no a arm or cross memeber drops we know you can do about 3-4 inches of lift without breaking stuff... that with a coil over inplace of struts way better offroad system... and for our size vehical not expensive 500-600 for a pair if not less... and you can fine tune the coil over to perfect levels... to drop and lift right at the limit of the cv operation range... and outside of rack and pinion failure and bind...
http://www.allprooffroad.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=95
thats about as best as your gonna get on a stock setup... lowering arms and cross memebers is just lowering ground clearance defeating the purpose of the lift... your still going to need a big tire to make it any higher off the ground.
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Longer arms and kits that don't drop the arms will allow you to have more ground clearance under the diff but again, you're forcing the suspension to operate further down in the travel cycle. You're also making the ball joints, cv-shafts, and steering operate at angles they weren't made for.
A short diff drop and longer arms on the stock pivots is basically what the Calmini lift is.
These trucks are setup so that a 2" lift or so is easy and not that had to do. Beyond that and the lifting gets murky. However by the time you can fit a 31" or so tire (as some have done with 2" and trimming) you're starting to get to the point where things are going to break and you're also now highgeared no matter what you do.
If you want to run 29-30" tires it's totally doable with the kits out there for these trucks. Start thinking about 31's and bigger and while the suspension becomes a problem the axles just aren't up to it for actual wheeling use not to mention driving capabilities will suffer. There's just not a lot of options for these things.
Time to start looking at Toyota axles if you want to go truly big.
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Think what we are looking for is the 4.5 system with with droped a-arms/diff. The real question is what are you willing to pay for. A system like this would cost 1500 or better.
George
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That's the thing with Whitfield's IFS drop setup...I believe it's a 4" lift but with the 2" coils it's a 6" lift and rides and acts just like the stock suspension with a 2" lift.
For 90% of the people out there this setup, with a nice skidplate, will out perform anything else on the market for their uses and really wouldn't cost much more than the Calmini lift after production was established.
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FYI -- bumper
Lift details to follow
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/IMG_1915.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/IMG_1920.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/IMG_1919.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/IMG_1917.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/r3cc0s/IMG_1921.jpg)
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how tight is that spare? im tossing 31's "30.8 tires" on mine soon wasnt sure if they would clear i know it will be close... 245's is about 30.5 depending on brand
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how tight is that spare? im tossing 31's "30.8 tires" on mine soon wasnt sure if they would clear i know it will be close... 245's is about 30.5 depending on brand
I was wondering that as well. Plus, having a two-door, I've got the brake light suspended right in the middle to clear with a 31" tire, also. Plus,
Q1: Is that the bumper Zuki Nation manufactures and doesn't just claim to manufacture like some companies?
Q2: Is it bolt on, or do some things need to be welded? No worries either way.
Q3: Cost? I really don't care. Mostly for the benefit of the forum.
Q4: Is a rear bumper in the works?...preferably w/ an integrated receiver for towing and a swing-away tire carrier
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Zukination builds everything there
He has pipe benders, all sorts of welders (tig, mig etc...)
He does however have his coils and shocks/struts made for him based upon specs
Um... bracketry etc... are all built by him
The lift is still in its infancy stages so I cannot answer anything in regards to whether it being just a bolt on lift... I know he really wants to build a suspension "solution" rather than just a lift
This being... taking advantage of the 5 link rear, and building the appropriate geometry to provide as much flex as possible (i.e. jonny joints instead of bushings)
This goes to the front as well, so an A-arm relocation or a double wishbone dual a-arm setup might be another solution as opposed to just strut based
Cost... Dependant on where he gets with this lift
Rear bumper? I might get him to make me one... just not sure how Tube would look in the rear, but so far I'm quite happy with the front
Cheers!
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Hmmmmm....I really wanted a steel plate bumper in the front. IMHO, it looks a little better and covers up a lot of the underneath junk that I don't want to look at. However, this tube bumper doesn't look too bad, and wouldn't weigh as much. I would want mine in silver/grey, though. The black looks good on a black truck. Is Zukination planning to put this on their site and sell it soon? Or, are they looking for pre-orders? How much? This truck has a 2" body lift, right? Looks sharp :)
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only problem i have with that bumper is the radiator is still exposed. add a body lift and it is even more exposed. something simple like a thick metal screen would cover that area up nicely and cost very little. otherwise i like the look. i think a simple tube bumper on the back with a built in receiver would be perfect. i've already torn the crap sheet metal bumper off on a hidden swamp stump.
your tracker is looking good, can't wait to see the new lift on it!
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What ever happend to the suspension kit? I am redoing my GV and would like to know about this kit.
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What ever happend to the suspension kit? I am redoing my GV and would like to know about this kit.
Ditto
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Same situation. I'd like to totally redo my suspension. Their site has pics and says "in development", but that's also been Rocky Road's story as long as I've owned my Tracker.
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I did phone them the other day, he said they are busy with hunting season and hope to get on the kit again. He said they make a good lift and do not want to rush it so we will be pleased with the kit, he did mention they will have a new rear link that will be adjustable. I mentioned the 99-05 Trackers are readily available and priced right so we as owners want aftermarket products. We have to be ready to put up the funds, what do you think it will cost?
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i think the price should be comparable to the 4.5" lift they sell for the sidekicks..hopefully not too mucn more :o....i want one!
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Sent them an email yesterday asking for an update on their 4.5" supension kit and they replied right away - "We plan on finishing it up over christmas break..hoping to have it in a truck testing again in early Jan. Keep in touch." So hopfully we will see something soon. I have no idea how long they will "test" it before they offer it for sale but hopefully we won't have to wait for months. Rocky Road has had a message up on their site for literally years saying they will "soon" be coming out with a long travel kit or something like that, but still nothing.
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Subscribed.. Would like to see how they handle the steering limitations..
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I have a gut feeling that we are years away from anything decent being released for our platform....
Ha, posted 2007, you called it! :P
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What about a Samurai front axle, your lifted coils or possibly coil overs if you have the money, wheel spacers, some links that copy the rear and an above axle steering kit? Am I way off base? You can keep your rims and tires plus a steel third member. With all the Gen 1 Trackers getting harder to find a clean one and all the Gen 2's now going for about $4K could these be the next Suzuki to modify? Comments...
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Sami axles aren't terribly strong.
Also, IFS coils have WAY too much lbs/sq in for a solid axle rig.
Last thought on it off the top of my head, the rack in pinion steering might be problematic.
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Have you looked at Hagen's ZR3 project. That is 4" of lift on 33's, and seemed to perform very good in Moab this last spring.
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The thoughts that keep running thru my mind are. Get a dana 44 out of a wrecked heep tj with the steering box, trackbar, and link bars Switch the axle tubing from left to right to make it a passenger side drop. Do some research about spring rates and go from there. FYI the frame width difference at the front end is about .5 in with any luck the spring mount width on the axle and spring pockets in the frame will match. Unfortunately I can't weld and I don't have time to do it on my DD.
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Sorry I hijacked the thread. I'll try not to again.
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Wow, it has been nearly 4 freakin' years since anyone one has posted in this thread - and guess what - there has been no change to altered ego's web site. It still says the kit is "in testing" and "coming soon." I guess some of us have a different definition of "soon."
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yeah been waiting for alter ego to release it as they are close to me and I could pick it up from there shop so no shipping, I even called them and asked it they new of a release date and they said that at the moment they were moving into a bigger building. also a straight bolt-on system would be awesome
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Hi all, I just got a 41/2 lift from alter ego for my new project 2002 GV. I will post a write up as soon as I'm done. They seem like a good company.
Kevin
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Have you installed it yet? I'm in the middle of installing mine and ran into a problem. My buddy broke off one of the passenger side front diff bracket bolts....inside the diff, and then snapped the easy-out off while trying to get it out! So I went to pull the front diff out to make things easier to work on, but the driveshaft flange connection will not seperate. All four bolts have been removed. I tried prying them apart with a pry bar and got the shaft flange to move about 1/4". But now it's frozen in place and won't budge! Am I missing something? Are both halves of the flange mount maybe engaged by the pinion shaft splines? If so, could those splines could be rusted and binding things up?
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I've been running the alter ego lift and can say it works well. I ran it as it came out of the box and it was very soft and real comfy on the street and gravel roads. But where i live we do more desert type, fast lots of whoops etc. I found it to be too soft. I went with Dochtec struts and shocks and It is a bit harsh until the suspension warms up. I have a rear locker with 31s some minor trimming also have 5.12s for gears. I have a 2" body lift in a box I will be installing soon just to get it up out of the rocks.
Kevin