Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by buzzuki » Sun Jan 15, 2017 6:58 pm

ScottieJ wrote:It's all good bud, just trying to save you money in the long run :thumbup: Your springs actually look pretty healthy, there's never much arch on Standard fronts.

There's not really any off-road tyres that will fit and work well on your wheels if they are 10" wide, any off-road tyres less than 12.5" will have issues holding its bead off-road and you'll end up with loads of crap in the beads..... it used to happen to me with 31x11.50s on 15x10s all the time :lol:

What height tyres do you ideally want to run?
Oh ok I thought from what Mike said that the springs were too flat.. as for tyres I don't know really, was going to sort the suspension first then see what room I've got - it's got to look right as well as work though stance is important to me - I'm not sure of the rim width I'll have a Google I was hoping you'd tell me lol.

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by ScottieJ » Sun Jan 15, 2017 7:13 pm

They could be 8 or 10" only way to tell is look for markings or measure them.

They aren't actually Suzuki wheels, they are aftermarket, the wide boy and fat boy vitara isn't really a factory model; they were made by dealerships.

Surely if you want stance, you want the least amount of lift for the tyre size that you want to run :lol:

Mike was on about the rear springs, as they do have quite a bit of arch.

If you don't want to do any fabrication work I would go for the lift springs Mike has for sale, then you just need some longer shocks and brake lines.
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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by ROBBIE » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:08 am

ScottieJ wrote:
ROBBIE wrote:I ran insa turbo special tracks 195/15, somewhere between 29-30" tall, with reverse shackle and add a leaf springs. On compression the tyre would move into the bulkhead, bit of work with the hammer problem sorted :D
That's a pretty small tyre really to have clearance issues with lift though. They should clear on standard suspension.
That was what I was thinking when they went on, but with the spring set up they would catch. So just pointing out the problems that can occur with a reversal kit :tongue:
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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by buzzuki » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:12 pm

How about moving the axle forward to negate the issue caused by reversing the shackles? I know on Jeeps you can buy adapters I'm not sure about Suzukis but it can't be that difficult.

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by ScottieJ » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:17 pm

The maximum you can move the axle is 25mm forwards, that won't give a lot of extra tyre clearance when it comes to shackle reverse.

Depending on the amount of arch in the spring it also increases caster, this could lead to the UJs on the prop binding even sooner during droop travel with shackle reverse, it doesn't really cause any issues with the shackles up front, in fact it can be better to run more caster with bigger tyres. I run more than stock with the 33s, IIRC i run around 5-5.5*

Honestly if you want to run any decent size tyres with minimal work it would be best to keep the shackles up front where they belong.
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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by buzzuki » Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:55 am

ScottieJ wrote:The maximum you can move the axle is 25mm forwards, that won't give a lot of extra tyre clearance when it comes to shackle reverse.

Depending on the amount of arch in the spring it also increases caster, this could lead to the UJs on the prop binding even sooner during droop travel with shackle reverse, it doesn't really cause any issues with the shackles up front, in fact it can be better to run more caster with bigger tyres. I run more than stock with the 33s, IIRC i run around 5-5.5*

Honestly if you want to run any decent size tyres with minimal work it would be best to keep the shackles up front where they belong.
Yep, got it, consider shackle reversing OFF the list. ;)

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by Anton » Tue Jan 17, 2017 2:19 pm

Don't do an SPOA conversion either, it's a bit of work, and lifts the truck too much (especially when you have a narrow track like mine). Don't get me wrong, I love my SJ, but if I were to do it all again, I'd virtual lift it instead.
1985 SJ413VX (SJ50V) with SPOA, rear disc brakes, 31x10.5R15 Kaiman Malatesta tyres, an MOT and a lot left to do!

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by buzzuki » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:44 pm

Anton wrote:Don't do an SPOA conversion either, it's a bit of work, and lifts the truck too much (especially when you have a narrow track like mine). Don't get me wrong, I love my SJ, but if I were to do it all again, I'd virtual lift it instead.
Got enough track for SPOA but I'm still cramming.. I want to fully understand all the options popular/trendy or not.. some of it will come down to if something drops in my lap of course, everyone likes a deal even at these crazy low cost levels (compared to modding LRs) - end of the day if it don't work it gets took off and sold on lol :)

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by Anton » Wed Jan 18, 2017 12:50 pm

To my mind the issue with SPOA is that you change sooooo much, it's difficult to get everything working as well as a stock SJ. Brake lines, steering bars, pitman arms, half high steer vs full high steer, incorrect Ackerman angles, yada yada yada. With a virtual lift everything is mechanically the same, you just cut the arches, weld in a little metal, put bigger tyres on and you're done.

Sooooooo much easier. Doesn't look as MoNstER rolling down the road, but it's more stable and less complicated/expensive by a country mile. Also doesn't kill leaf springs anywhere near as fast when you stay with SPUA.
1985 SJ413VX (SJ50V) with SPOA, rear disc brakes, 31x10.5R15 Kaiman Malatesta tyres, an MOT and a lot left to do!

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Re: Calmini 3" lift kit - UK equivalent?

Post by buzzuki » Thu Jan 19, 2017 6:48 am

Anton wrote:To my mind the issue with SPOA is that you change sooooo much, it's difficult to get everything working as well as a stock SJ. Brake lines, steering bars, pitman arms, half high steer vs full high steer, incorrect Ackerman angles, yada yada yada. With a virtual lift everything is mechanically the same, you just cut the arches, weld in a little metal, put bigger tyres on and you're done.

Sooooooo much easier. Doesn't look as MoNstER rolling down the road, but it's more stable and less complicated/expensive by a country mile. Also doesn't kill leaf springs anywhere near as fast when you stay with SPUA.
I guess it depends on what ur building and the starting point really - think I'd have to deck anyone approaching my lovely shiny noo paint with a cutting implement grr! :mrgreen:

Congratulations on your wedding btw, the pics look great! :doublethumbs:

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