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lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms

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Offline vitaradownunder

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lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« on: May 14, 2005, 01:32:58 PM »
Hi all,

has anyone tried to lengthen the front control arms which will give a wider track and longer travel.

If so what did you do.. if not.. who has suggestions...

Seeya
James ;D
Lets get wild and show the big  toys how to do it suzuki style.

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Offline madvitara

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2005, 07:17:56 PM »
Hi
I plan to widen my front wish bones, just going to cut the existing flat area where the ball joint is bolted and replace it with a new section, will weld some flat strips to the sides to stop it bending, it should be no problem?

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Offline real_red_wagon

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2005, 02:05:13 AM »
   How much do you want to widen it? you could just do the Mike H widened front end and change were the arms bolt to the crossmember :-/ there's an article on here about it
At Lakeview Motorsports, were wasting your time already!

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Offline vitaradownunder

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2005, 09:07:23 AM »
I was looking for about an inch and half either side.

Have obtained some front control arms for a very good price..

Bu also relieased can't move the hub out to far otherwise the angle for the strut could be ugly.

Seya
James
Lets get wild and show the big  toys how to do it suzuki style.

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Offline wildgoody

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2005, 09:10:36 AM »
Too bad you are down under, I was going to
prototype some 4-6 inch wider and 2" forward
moved A-arms, requires upper control arms and
eliminates the struts, also eliminates the stock
half shafts with some stronger slip spline custom
units, ohh did  I mention it will also give about 6"
front suspension lift ?

Sorry this isn't built yet, the Turbo SideKick is still
a non runner after the loss of oil pressure on the
way to Moab

Wild
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And Chrome Don't Get Ya Home.  

An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

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Offline mesjr2004

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2005, 11:28:21 AM »
i have ben tossing around the idea of replacing the cv axels and makeing some u joint axles wiht slipshafts myself but didnt know how well it would work ,but have too much other stuff going on to try it.

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Offline wildgoody

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2005, 01:47:14 PM »
Hey dude, was good to meet you in Moab  ;D

I don't think U-joints can take the angle, DCs
could but I don't think those can be put on both
ends of the half shafts.

CVs however can take 40* angle and live to
tell the tale   ;)

Real Trucks Are Built, Not Bought,
And Chrome Don't Get Ya Home.  

An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

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Offline mesjr2004

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2005, 03:14:11 PM »
so would the cvs stay togather with a slipshaft ?
i probably will never try it i was just brainstorming .
i am however going to build a ifs prerunner type suspension if i can get it figured out . going to start with a bare frame and if i cant get a minimum of 10" of wheel travel ill scrap it .

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Offline wildgoody

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2005, 05:52:48 PM »
CVs that don't have the cups is what I'm
going to use, they should stay together
Real Trucks Are Built, Not Bought,
And Chrome Don't Get Ya Home.  

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Offline kozaz

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2005, 10:06:31 AM »
Too bad you are down under, I was going to
prototype some 4-6 inch wider and 2" forward
moved A-arms, requires upper control arms and
eliminates the struts, also eliminates the stock
half shafts with some stronger slip spline custom
units, ohh did  I mention it will also give about 6"
front suspension lift ?
Wild

Wildgoody,
Did you ever do anything more with this?

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Offline Rhinoman

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #10 on: December 08, 2005, 03:02:21 PM »
Funny this thread should pop up again, I was thinking of something like MadVitara suggested, but with some spacers between the hub and the struts to restore the camber angle. Maybe if it works OK I could fabricate new strut mounts, further out and a couple of inches lower so I wouldn't need the strut top spacers. I wondered about moving the wheels forward at the same time but if the wheel centre moves away from the axle centre line then it will reduce the maximum angle that the CVs can run. I might have a look this w/e to see how it looks at the moment. During the week its dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home too. I think it would be a good mod with the Toy CVs.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2005, 03:04:58 PM by Rhinoman »
2000 Vitara 1.6, 3+3 Lift, 33"MTs, 5:83s, LWB brakes, Winch, Snorkel, Safari Rack
1986 SJ413K PickUp, 1.6L conversion.

OBD1 - Full diagnostics on a PC/Laptop: http://www.rhinopower.org

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Offline kozaz

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #11 on: December 08, 2005, 03:20:25 PM »
I think it would be a good mod with the Toy CVs.

Can you show me a pic of what part of the Arm is called the wishbone?

If I understand it right, the Toy mod uses 86 and up CVs.  An upgrade for the 86 and up toyota truck, is 3.5 inch longer arms offered by Total Chaos (gives the Truck 12 inches of travel with 3.5 longer arms).  To retain 4wd, we install Tundra or T100 Cvs which make up the 3.5 inch difference per side.

With the above in mind, I would imagine with the mod you are talking about you could extend it enough to fit the T100 axles and have some really long arms.   Just trying to get those creative juices going for the gang!

Let's take this one step further, ususally with such a long lower arm, I would think a upper arm would have to go with it to help retain liability.  But lets say no upper arm is created, do you guys think the struts could be replaced, with coil overs instead? 

Or, do you guys think one lower control arm is enough to keep everthing working, or should it be complemented with an upper control arm as well?
« Last Edit: December 08, 2005, 03:29:21 PM by kozaz »

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Offline wildgoody

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #12 on: December 08, 2005, 08:16:16 PM »
Quote
Wildgoody,
Did you ever do anything more with this?

I have to fix the engine before I can get to
Wayne's shop, where the bending machine
is and fabricate the other parts, then get the
driveline fabricated, a work in process, tho
a slow one, pesky things like time and money


Real Trucks Are Built, Not Bought,
And Chrome Don't Get Ya Home.  

An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

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Offline Deathrunner

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2005, 01:13:02 AM »
I'm all for the use of toyota components and aftermarket lengthened arms.

I run a similar setup on my 4runner and flexes great. Total Chaos is overated in my opinion(although a good company). I run the JD fabrication T-1 kit www.jdfabrication.com

It allows you to use coilover's instead of that strut. You just need to build custom shock hoops and a cross over bar. 12" of travel, probably more if you use porsche cv's instead of the stock yota ones.

Here is my kit flexing:


T.O.Y.O.T.A.

Take Off Yer Oversized Tires A$$hole

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Offline Rhinoman

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Re: lengthening front Vitara/Sidekick control arms
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2005, 04:49:36 AM »

Can you show me a pic of what part of the Arm is called the wishbone?
Or, do you guys think one lower control arm is enough to keep everthing working, or should it be complemented with an upper control arm as well?

The wishbone is the A arm, I guess its just a UK term. I was looking at the pics of Stan's set up and was thinking that with a small extension on the A arm then you could fit a spacer on the back of the hub, rather than behind the lockout. The Calmini arms look easy enough to modify as they are quite flat on the underside. Making the wishbone a bit longer means that the camber will change less and you will get a bit more travel from the CVs. I wouldn't want to extend the arms very far as the stresses involved could get quite scary. Wild's idea would be the best solution if you want very long travel, Mike H's solution is probably the easiest.
2000 Vitara 1.6, 3+3 Lift, 33"MTs, 5:83s, LWB brakes, Winch, Snorkel, Safari Rack
1986 SJ413K PickUp, 1.6L conversion.

OBD1 - Full diagnostics on a PC/Laptop: http://www.rhinopower.org