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96-98 Sidekick 5.12s into 5 speed steel GV carrier and housing

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Offline nprecon

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Re: 96-98 Sidekick 5.12s into 5 speed steel GV carrier and housing
« Reply #15 on: September 17, 2008, 11:47:54 AM »
The OME springs ARE a significant improvement in ride quality (as Ian has attested too many times), even with just strut extenions on the front end.  You'll gain a little over an inch (1.25 to 1.50) of additional lift with the OMEs after they settle in.    Adding the OME struts (or other brand longer strus... if they exist anywhere) you get to take advantage the additional 1.25 or 1.50" of OME spring travel (in theory) in the front end.  To push the suspension lift to 2" or greater on these porkers, unless I have missed a really good idea on the forum here somewhere, it appears you will still have to resort to coil spacers... and it appears you'll still have to rely on strut extensions/spacers and the diff drop brackets (beyond 2") until someone discovers and markets a "more better",  affordable ($800 - $1500) "better idea" for the front end suspension on these trucklets.   

Appears Calmini would be best positioned to do this IF they are indeed working towards the production of longer travel struts.   I mean, WHY stop making after market struts with just  a 1.50" longer stroke?  Why not produce some struts for these trucks that truly have an additional 3" stroke to them????   With their diff drop brackets (or VTTR drop brackets), 3" appears to be both safe and doable.  Hell, if CALMINI (or anyone else for that matter... ARB or BITS4VITS?)  marketed a set of QUALITY struts with a 3" longer stroke... they would virtually own this market niche!  That could put pressure on OME to do the same as well to produce and market 3" springs to match them.  If a 3" suspension increase is as good as it gets on these trucks with the IFS set-up, I'm sure several thousand owners around the world would jump on them versus going the coil spacer and strut extender route.  1st generation trucks are slowly disappearing.  These 2d generation trucks will be around for about another 10-15 years and as they are paid for MORE people would be interested in (and could afford) modifying them as well.  Trail runners and mall crawlers both!

Calmini could put together a bolt-on package containing: their blue tube control arms (which they already have), diff drop brackets (which they already have), with a set of their 3" extended struts (strike a deal with Monroe... who manufactures in Mexico?"), 3" springs (these are out there on the market in some form now), shocks (these also exist already out there on the market now but maybe listed as OEM for some other vehicle) along with their pan hard bar (which they already have) together with bushings (which they have) and come in around $900 to $1200 for the entire kit which is a price that wouold be agreeable to most (as compared to $2500+ or more for the SAS kit option, plus the costs of new rims, tires, etc for the toyota axles).

Yeah... I know... a good idea but only if I'm the guy with the sack full of money or accepts the market risk for  creating the new struts for this venture.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2008, 09:53:20 PM by nprecon »
'02 Chezuki Tracker with a 2 Liter and 5spd.  It works for me!!!