i bought a calmini 5.5 susp lift. put it on and wow this gonna be great. test drove it hated it. it rides so rough with little to no susp travel at all.has any one else had this problem. what can do t fix it? thanks brian

MOST LIFTED RIGS ARE ROUGH AFTER PUTTING IN A LIFT...  THEY DO GET BETTER WITH A FEW WEEKS OF DRIVING THEM...BUT SAMMYS RIDE ROUGH ANYWAYS :-/ ATLEAST MINE DID ...THERE NOT MADE TO HAVE A SPORTS CAR RIDE    HOPEFULLY AFTER A FEW MILES IT'LL GET BETTER..AS FOR TRAVEL IT SHOULD BE MUCH BETTER I KNOW MY KICK GOT A WHOLE LOT BETTER WITH JUST 3" SUSP. LIFT HAPPY ZUKING MATTY D..

thanks for the info but ive had it on for about 2 months now and it hasnt gotten better. i even removed the two lower springs. this helped a little but not much. any body got any more ideas. thanks brian

try rancho 9000 shocks they are adj. can be set real soft.

thanks for the info but ive had it on for about 2 months now and it hasnt gotten better. i even removed the two lower springs. this helped a little but not much. any body got any more ideas. thanks brian

My question would be... What are you looking for in a ride? This is a samurai and with pretty much any leaf package it's going to be a short, choppy ride. The idea of the adjustable shocks are good but even that won't be a miracle if you're looking for a cadillac ride. To get an idea if the shock change will get you there. Go to a secluded road and take your shocks off, drive around, and see if that is what you want. CAUTION: the rig will be unstable without any dampening and will probably begin to oscillate.

What kind of tires are you running? I've noticed a huge difference in ride quality with different tire sets on the same suspension.

Good luck and keep us posted!

-Eric

I would bet most of you guys run your tire at the
recommended sidewall rating, like 35 PSI or so.
this will make your ride really rough, on the drivers
side, in the door sill you will find the tire placard.
Mine says 205/75x15 tire 23 PSI
so if you got 235s or 30s or 31s or 33s
your pressures will be less for the same ride,
I run my 33s at 10 PSI on the street, and the
ride and handling is fine, but get used to your
rig before you go through some S curve moves
with these lower pressures.

Darrin

Welcome aboard, Brian.

First, a quick tip. Fill out your Bio.  This helps us know who you are, what you have, where you live and wheel.

Example:  Are we talking about a Sammy or Sidekick?  How much added weight is on the truck like skidplates, bumpers, winch, etc.?  This info will help get you better advice.

Now, I will assume you have a Sammy.  You say the CALMINI 5.5" lift?  Do you mean the Super 5" (aka the 5" shackle reversal), or the 6.5" bolt-on SPOA, as there is no 5.5 inch lift.  The title line mentioned Super, so I assume it's the S/R.

Get system, I had it for quite a while before going bigger, and I loved it.  But it will ride harsh for a while until spring break in, and you will gain more than 5" of lift when new (I had just 6" total lift when new).

The shocks CALMINI uses are a soft rate, but perfect for the weight of the truck.  The springs are the thing you need to work with.  They are designed to settle to a ~5" total height when broken in.  That takes time and plenty of flexing, which requires lots of wheeling.  They are also designed to carry the weight of 2 H/D steel bumpers, rock rails, big skid plate, roll cage, a winch, high-lift jack, 31" spare tire, full spare gas can, roof rack, cooler, weekend of camping gear, and 2 adults.  

That's a lot of weight.  If you had springs that rode real comfy when unladen, they would sag and tire quickly if subjected to the added weight one might expect to have when crossing the Rubicon, trekking in South America, or taking a weekend trail outting thru the Canyonlands.

Give it some time, and wheel the snot out of it with as much weight that you can safely carry inside.  As you add rock protection and other things that add weight, you'll be glad you have a firm spring rate.

thanks yankee tim it really sounds like u know a thing or two about zuki's. i really hadnt thought about all the weight i will be adding. as for filling out my bio are u talking about my profle? i went in and changed some thing but i didnt see a place to put anything about my sammy.

I'd definitely check the tire pressure as mentioned above.  Makes a huge difference in the ride on a Sammy.  I run my 32 x 11.5-15 BFG M/T's at about 20 psi on the highway.  Handles fine and ride is MUCHO better than at 35 psi.  

On the road, you won't get much suspension travel.  The zuk is so light it just bounces along.  In my experience with lifted zuks, tire pressure has much more to do with ride quality than shocks or springs.