Hello,
  I ordered some 1 inch (2" longer i belive) lift shackles for my samuari. when I climbed under to pb everything I noticed that the po has hacked the rear spring pack up. So I have ordered some ome springs. Now I am wondering if I can run the springs and shackles together for roughly 2.5 inches of lift? I would like to aviod haveing to mess with the steering, brake lines, shims, ect. I want to run a 235/75r15 on the stock wheels. my driving will be about 80% hyway, 15% gravel, and 5% mild off road. I would like that amount of lift but of course decent on hyway manners and safety first. Thanks for any advice.

You may have steering issues anyway. You will probably have to do some trimming on the front bumper and mash down the pinch weld inside the wheel well on the back of the front fender.. Also with the 2" Calmini they give you bump stop extensions and say you will need at least the front ones for sure. I would say longer shocks would be needed too. Basically, anytime you change something, it affects something else. Oh yeah, when I put the 235's on mine,they rubbed the springs on full turn and I had to get rims with less backspace. The tires are usually wider than stock as well as taller.

lv2 is correct. Once you start a lift on any rig, you change the geometry of Ced vehicle.
 By adding even 2.5" of lift you will end up with bump steer, short brake lines, short shocks, and bad caster angle.
A drop pitman arm will solve the bump steer.
 New longer shocks and brake lines.
and a set of 2 - 3" wedges for the caster.
 Unfortunately, there are no short cuts in this game....Boxcar...

By adding even 2.5" of lift you will end up with bump steer, short brake lines, short shocks, and bad caster angle.

Curiosity question here - why would lift on a leaf sprung vehicle cause the caster to change - let's assume a spring lift, rather than extended shackles.

I understand why a spring lift causes caster change on a coil sprung live axle front end and camber change on a MacPherson strut IFS front end - but I don't see why a longer leaf spring with more arch would cause a caster change

Go with a 225/70 instead of the 235/75... that's what I ended up deciding and trust me it was a good decision, only trimming I had to do was on the front bumper so I could turn all the way to either side.. then I threw 1.5" of lift via shackles and I have tons of clearance and I still run my stock shocks... and like everyone else said, your steering is gonna be affected, mine always had a little bump steer but now if I'm riding on the old back roads here in the mountains and I hit a dip or a patch it bumps me to the other side of the lane like I'm swaying all over the road, makes you nervous if there's a cop behind you 

  Thanks for all the advice. It is really great to be able to ask questions of people who have already done what your thinking of doing. I really want to run a 235/75r15 as I have not found very many mud tires smaller than that. So I will get the drop pitman arm, longer shocks, longer bump stops and do it right.
  So a few more questions, With the 1 inch lift (2 inch longer) shackles what degree shims do I need to correct caster? With the 235's how badly do I need to regear? 55 mph is as fast as I will ever need to go.
  As I have never driven a samurai what would the recommendations for a daily driver be? the above set up or just the ome springs and 215/75r15 bfg mt km2? There will only be light duty logging road type of off roading. Thanks again.

  Hello,
  I ordered some 1 inch (2" longer i belive) lift shackles for my samuari. when I climbed under to pb everything I noticed that the po has hacked the rear spring pack up. So I have ordered some ome springs. Now I am wondering if I can run the springs and shackles together for roughly 2.5 inches of lift? I would like to aviod haveing to mess with the steering, brake lines, shims, ect. I want to run a 235/75r15 on the stock wheels. my driving will be about 80% hyway, 15% gravel, and 5% mild off road. I would like that amount of lift but of course decent on hyway manners and safety first. Thanks for any advice.

It's the shackle lift that will change the caster angle Fordem.....
 An all spring lift won't.
The PO is asking about a combination lift.....Boxcar

  Thanks for all the advice. It is really great to be able to ask questions of people who have already done what your thinking of doing. I really want to run a 235/75r15 as I have not found very many mud tires smaller than that. So I will get the drop pitman arm, longer shocks, longer bump stops and do it right.
  So a few more questions, With the 1 inch lift (2 inch longer) shackles what degree shims do I need to correct caster? With the 235's how badly do I need to regear? 55 mph is as fast as I will ever need to go.
  As I have never driven a samurai what would the recommendations for a daily driver be? the above set up or just the ome springs and 215/75r15 bfg mt km2? There will only be light duty logging road type of off roading. Thanks again.

Why MT tires? Just wondering why you are going this route on a DD, and KM2s wear terribly on smaller trucks like the samurai, I took my BFG A/T KOs on a pretty rutted out trail with all kinds of obstacles and water breaks in some spots and I never got stuck, plus the ATs don't beat you to death on road and roar so loud. As for the speed question, I have hit 65 downhill haha but i avg 55-60 no problem

General Grabber AT


BFG


Toyo


All available in a 225 it's less than an inch and you won't miss it I promise. But if you want MT that bad then you may have to go up.

  87SUZI, Thanks for the pictures. I really like the looks of the general tire, and they have a great price. I am leaning twords leaving the shackles off and running just the ome springs with a set of the generals in a 225/75r15. Thanks for the advice.

I just put 3 inch springs on mine and the front shocks were topped out (no down travel).

Rear has some but haven't fully checked with the local rain.

PO had some HD truck shocks on the front, and I just got 2 Monroe 33049 for under $30 shipped.

I put 235/75-15 forceum tires on stock rims it looks just right. Also moved the front axle 1 inch forward.

Front brake lines look OK, but a little longer would be better. I think longer lines vs extensions since they are 25 years old!

I can see if someone put real long shakles on the front it would change the caster, but with just a 1 inch lift I bet it is less than 1 degree.

I will also bet you need driveline spacers, I do.

I also need to re-gear even though mine will be 90% off road.

235's and stock gears = burnt clutch and no climbing power. With 235's and 416 t case gears I run out of traction before engine. Before I put them in, I would run out of power climbing a steep hill before I broke traction. Without gears on flat ground, you can get by but it is hard on the clutch to start up. Throw even mild hills in there and get used to 3rd or even 2nd gear to keep going.

It's the shackle lift that will change the caster angle Fordem.....
 An all spring lift won't.
The PO is asking about a combination lift.....Boxcar

Thanks for confirming that Boxcar - that was what I was seeing in my mind.

I just got 2 Monroe 33049 for under $30 shipped.

Where and will they fit all the way around? I am in need of new shocks and a steering stabilizer but I don't want to go in debt and I don't want to run stock shocks because I've got an extra 1.5" of lift added so It may help my ride a little to have some a little bit longer.