'93 Vitara 6" lift handling test worries

Sounds highly revolutionary and inovative - keep us all posted as to how you go with it all.

Searh for the NCOP (National Code of Practice) related to vehicle modifications (try the RTA website). Pretty explicitly says 2" spring, 2" body, and up to a total of 6" lift with tyres. Something is going to have to give.

What may have been done/allowed in the past may not apply now.

Have seen the big lift on a Vitara that popped up in a 4 x 4 mag a while back as a project.

They forgot to mention the steering binding problems, the overloaded mounts, the constantly breaking wheel studs and the diabolical handling. looked good standing still though. It got put off the road till they made it safe by undoing half the work. Expensive way to learn.

regards

A

The 3" bodylift is just square tube and you may have problems getting that engineered to begin with. The 3" suspension lift does not always measure 3", in fact it can be up around 4". The Calmini suspension is designed to be used with the weight of a winch and winchbar fitted. The springs are also very firm at first but they can settle a bit after some offroad use. The handling will depend on a number of factors. The swb has a tendency to let back end step out quite quickly at times and you need to be ready to catch it (the lwb is more forgiving). You will want to keep the swaybar on for engineering as although it works quite fine without it, every little bit is going to help on the test. The tyres you run and the pressures will have a big impact on it's handling so would suggest you try to use A/T's instead of M/T's and figure out the appropriate pressure to use before submitting it. The rear a-rm mount to the diff uses a heim joint and that may not be acceptable by the Engineer for road use so check that out. You will also need to add flares to cover your tyres.

Firstly thanks for the info/gossip/hearsay guys.

The engineer who I had a chat to (who also charged me $275 for the privelage!!) wrote a letter to the RTA and they, who I assumed to be also an automotive engineer, said that all the modifications I wish to do are within the new regulations... "however I gravely doubt the vehicle will pass the lane change handling test."

I was looking at also ordering the sway bar kit which gives you a fatter sway bar for the front and one for the rear(which previously didn't have one). Will this greatly reduce the ammount of articulation I get and hence be counter productive?

C J have you done one of these kits before? You seem to know a fair bit about them.

Thanks,
Jim.

The engineer has the letter form the RTA but I'm from Canberra. The mods I want to do are all cool however I may now consider ditching the body lift as this is still a daily driver, when i'm not on my bike.

Thanks again for the help and forgive me if my replies are a bit slow, I'm currently writting this e-mail from singapore airport.

Jim.