Ok so I am trying to decide between some lifts and looking for input from people that have them.

Trail Tough 2.5 lift
Rocky Road Outfitters 2.5
Calmini- possibly out due to budget anyways
Old Man Emu- good but another $150+ over first two listed.

  I have a 2004 4 door tracker V6 automatic. Does anyone have any input on how their lifts work good or bad without being to bashing. I might add a 1" body lift later on as well as front winch bumper and rear bumper.

I won't bash either lift kit, but I would make a couple observations about the differences.

Trail Tough's - I only notice one set of springs.  You might call Brent and ask him if different weight springs are available for your 4-door with the V6 engine.  A 4-door truck is slightly heavier than a 2 door and a V-6 is more weight on the front than the 2 liter, right from the get-go.

Rocky Road's - the base of their lift is the proven Old Man Emu springs and struts.  Rocky Road substitutes different shocks (than the OME shocks), but you will notice they offer various spring rates for 2-door and 4-door trucks... because OME knows there is a difference in vehicle weight and they have factored all this into their OME suspension, to work together as a designed suspension system.  The question I would have for Rocky Road is WHAT is the coil spacer they sell with their lift kit made of?  Call them and ask.  If it is still made of that soft rubber that they use to sell, then that would be the weak part of their lift, in my opinion.  If their coil spacers are still made of the soft material, they will continually deform and as a result, your lift height will continually decrease as well, and your camber will continually change on the front end of your truck, which will be hard on your front tires.  The coil spacers need to be solid, preferably that super dense urethane or at least metal.

Calmini's - they make great components, but again, are their springs adapted to the vehicle or are they one size fits all?

Of the three, I would go with OME suspension components, but I would want to know what their coil spacer is made of.  Without coil spacers, the OME suspension will only provide you with about an 1 1/2" of lift over stock max, and that comes in the form of stiffer springs designed to allow you to load your truck without compressing your springs.  The OME suspension provides a greatly increased ride and handling, though.  I've run an OME suspension on my truck for about four years and I love it.  If Trail Tough offers various spring rates for different model trucks, their stuff is always quality as well.

I think Trail Tough use to handle the OME suspensions and maybe they still do.  I bought my OME suspension from them four years ago.

Thanks for the response. Brent said it is only one spring rate and with the 4 door it is more like a 1.75 lift but main difference is in the articulation I would get compared to others and no spacers. That is why I am seeking input from others since I know that OME stuff is good I was hoping for other opinions. Talking to Brent he seems like someone I would prefer to do business with as he is just down to earth and friendly. RRO leaves a bad taste with me since majority of product information space on their website is spent bashing Calmini.

There are a short-dozen of trusted, reliable and dependable venders that are regularly used by this forum's members  and other Zuki forums.  Brent at Trail Tough is certainly one of them.  Low Range off Road, Petroworks, Zuks Offroad, Sean Devinney at 4X4AFTERMARKET, Roadless Gear are a few others that come to me, off the top of my head. 

there is alter ego motorsports they are working on a true 4" lift, they are in Canada and seem to be a good vender. I run a 2" coil spacer lift from jeff on here and a 2" BL I have a steering extender and pan hard relocation bracket . it works for what  I do for now, and cheap. you also need to ask yourself what you what out of your truck. im personally wait for the 4" lift from alter ego cause there aint lot of lifts out for the newer trackers and I have a 2002 2dr 

nprecon- I have looked at the other vendors and most of them focus on the Sammies or earlier model Tracker/Sidekick. I helped a friend build his Samurai 10 years or so ago with mostly Petroworks stuff and Gary was very helpful and would gladly give my business to him if he offered products for me. These Gen 2 Trackers are limited I am finding out for true hardcore aftermarket support.

Beagle- I have looked at alteredego and even talked on the phone and emailed about other products and have been told they will get back to me and it has been a month of me trying to get information and them saying they will send to me(cost to ship complete skid plate package to So.Cal).I have also asked about their bumpers since they said they are doing some redesign of the rear.  I understand they just moved to a new shop a couple months ago and are still getting set-up and staffing up for increased production. As of now they are not sure when they will resume testing and finalizing the 4.5 kits.

   What I want out of my truck is good articulation which in stock form it does not have. I wheel my vehicles regularly and require them to perform well off road but still have decent road manners. Ideally to end up similar to my  Runner in build and capability for next couple years while I finish getting back on my feet. Then I would love to do full link and coil over conversion. 

  My previous vehicle was a 98 4 Runner with 3" lift and 33" tires. I took it on all the trails in San Bernardino Mtns, John Bull, Holcomb Creek, Dishpan, Gold Mountain, Motino Wash, some of the rock trails in Johnson Valley and all over Calico and other So Cal areas.

  I understand that due to tire size restriction and other things i may not get to go all the places i went in my last vehicle. I do know that I am pleased with where it has gone so far with just tires on it. 

The IFS on these trucks are a bit of a limiting factor, but the available wheel well space is a larger limitation.  Gaining wheel well clearance and higher diff gears and transfer case gears would open up these trucks to much more possibilities. 

As the Sammy's continue to age and gradually turn to rust and are scrapped and the first gen trucks follow, there will be a few more options available for these 2nd gen trucks.  I don't think there will ever be the aftermarket the Sammy and the 1st gen trucks enjoyed however.  Both of those trucks had a fairly long production run.  The 2nd gens started in North America in 1999 and then Chevrolet quit on the Trackers after the 2004 model year, Suzuki made significant design changes to their GV in the 2006 and newer model years.  So there aren't as many trucks on the road to warrant a lot of expenditure on aftermarket fabrication sales.

On the second page of the thread of the link below, Samicrawler cut the frame on his GV, moved it 4" forward and dropped it downward about 4". Pretty slick.  The cut was behind the cross member where the front diff rests on, so he simply had to extend his front drive shaft by about 4 inches,  reposition and weld new engine mounts, radiator support and probably had to modify his steering shaft.  In the end, he runs 33s, increased his ground clearance significantly and with the 5.12 diff gears and the crawler gears he installed in his transfer case... he now has a pretty capable little Zuk.  It looks pretty damned good as well.  In fact, it looks similar to your old Toyota.

With stock suspension coils under it... add OME's struts and coils or Trail Tough's longer strut and spring suspension and it would be even more better.  IFS will never flex like a straight axle set up, but these trucks still go off road very well and the ride is great to boot.

So, yes, while there are limitations , you are really only limited by your imagination, your skills and the money and time you want to invest in your truck.  I like mine and wouldn't want another model of truck.  It just fits me and suits my needs.  To date my Tracker has taken me everywhere I wanted to go  and has never failed me.  That's all I can ask of a truck.


http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?s=32dea5ec3de5674da185ee5003ecabaf&t=54699&page=2

Thanks again NPRECON. As mentioned I have been very pleased with these little trackers and where it has taken me without a lift.

  I started this thread to hopefully gain input from people that had any of the lifts mentioned above. So far I have only had my opinion confirmed about Trail Tough being a good company to do business with and that OME is a nice set up.

I have a 2 dr with a 2" spacer lift (lowrange/jeffs kit) and a 2" body lift (lowrange) with 4dr vitara front springs to counter winches weight. I am happy with how it performs allows me to put 31" tires and I think there room for at least 32's.shorter wheelbase allows me to get away with smaller tires so I have been sticking with my 30" tires 31's only needed for rocks to get clearance.I have 5.12 gears which pull tires fine and a Locker and so far I can go anywhere a jeep can with 33" tires.