just got myself a vit :) need info/help

fatdaz · Last edited by fatdaz on Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

its got a calmini 3" suspension kit on and a 3" body lift and i have been given some td driveshafts with it, and have read that its good idea to get a steel diff.

can i get a steel diff from a 2.5 v6 vit? or does it need to be a td diff?

also just found a thread about the 5.12 normally in mine, what is it in those from 2.5 v6 and from 2.0 td?

can i just swap the axle from either of the above for mine with the driveshafts or is it more complicated?

if so can someone supply me what i need ready to swap for mine Very Happy

as you can tell i have no clue but picking things up quickly lol

vitara_mad · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:36 pm Post subject:

steel diffs are found on some lwb td vits & some v6 grand vits & all td grand vits

if you get one from a grand vit you will deffo have to swap all internals over from your alloy diff as the grands have a vacume operated freewheeling diff so will not work on a standard vit

if you get one from a lwb td vit the ratio will be wrong so you still have to at least swap the ring & pinion over

unless you know what you doing with diffs you will need to get someone who can do it right or you will just destroy the diff very quick

fatdaz · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:33 am Post subject:

ok thanks for the info, il think il wait for now until im clued up more!

another question..

the angle of my driveshaft are pretty steep, iv read that the bits4vits drop brackets are longer than the calmini ones i have on at the moment.

is it worth me changing to the bits4vits ones to try and reduce the angle a bit more?

its also got spring spacers in as it used to have a winch, but the winch was removed before i bought it, should i take these out now?

vitara_mad · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:39 pm Post subject:

im not sure if the bits4vits brackets are longer than calmini ones or not but if you email dave at bits4vits he is a great guy will will be able to give you some good avise & if they are longer get some as they help alot to correct the angle of the shafts

if its just got spacers on the front & it sits level i would leave them on cus if its had a winch fitted at some point in the past the weight might have caused the springs to sag a bit so they fitted the spacers to correct it

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:07 am Post subject:

im starting to think i have bought the wrong vit Sad

im worried that because of the high lift im either going to have to spend a fortune to make it useable without breaking things all the time?

so is it not better to have sort of saggy springs and take the the spacers out the springs, would this not lower the agle of my shafts more?

i reversed out of a parking space the other day and turning left at the same time, theres a nocking noise which i can only presume is a cv or diff as everything else looks ok, we had the passenger driveshaft off, the inner cv gaitor was twisted, so we guessed it was something to do with that, took it apart checked/cleaned it, new grease back together everything seems fine, didnt take the outer cv apart but that seemed to be ok?

could it be my diff that damaged?

i cant get my head round what to do next?!
do i buy a winch to weigh the front down again (seeing as this is what it was set up for)
do i take the spacers out the springs
shall i buy a standard diff just to swap for now as everything else seems ok
or bite the bullet and get a steel diff with correct internals?

if anyone lives local to me and fancies having a nose theres a drink in it for ya Wink

lol

oh and it appears i need a power steering box too as i have a puddle in my garage lol

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:14 pm Post subject:

if anyone has a steel diff with the correct internals please pm me as i think im gonna need one! Laughing

scholesy · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:59 pm Post subject:

It will be the CV making the knocking noise when on lock, if you are not aggressive off road, your diff will be fine even with a 3" lift, you won't break your front diff under normal on road conditions as it isn't even driven when the transfer box is in 2H (rear wheel drive high).

Lifting a vit won't break the diff per say, driving it hard off road will, lifting a vit excessively using springs will however put extra strain on the CV's, even under normal road conditions, unless you use a drop bracket to reduce the angle and therefore stresses on the CV joints.

In your case, it might be worth going for longer diff drop brackets to try and reduce the angles of the CV as much as possible.

I have just got myself another vitara today, all it is getting is 1.5 inch suspension lift, a 2 inch body lift and a steel diff to take the extra abuse of off roading.

Unfortunately, being an independant front suspension vehicle, the vit will always be more liable to breaking when used roughly than a solid front axle truck, but the pay off is the vit is much nicer to drive on the road in my opinion!

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:09 pm Post subject:

cheers for the info

its not the usual clicking noise associated with nackered cv's when on full lock etc, its more of a nock/grumble noise doesnt seem to do it all the time either, i drove it from my garage to my work, and drove it around the carpark over the curbs etc trying to get it to make the noise and it didnt?! until i left later in the day and reversed out the spot it did it, then drove fine back to my garage but i was being very carefull?

vitara_mad · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:52 pm Post subject:

have you checked the uj's on the props ????

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:54 pm Post subject:

no not yet, im going up the garage in hour to have a look Smile

will check those first.

Munkee · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:28 pm Post subject:

The calmini drop brackets from the 3" kit are longer than the B4V ones.

HTH

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:07 pm Post subject:

ok everything seems fine nothing obvious anywhere

however
i do have the leaky power steering box!? could it be something to do with that ausing the noise, i drove it to the garahe to jetwash it and on the way it did it a few times and once i noticed it started to drift to the left if i let go of wheel, then unless i imagined it?! it clunked again and started to drift right instead? i think!
theres no play in the uj,s but do i need to take em off to chk them properly? after i washed it i droe back and it was fine all the way back?!?!

weird!!

on another note
i spoke to dave at biys4bits today and he did say that the calmini drop
brackets are longer than his.

sorry for typo's im on my iphone and got SPAM fingers!!!!

scut44 · Guest

Before driving again best check your brake caliper bolts & check that there are brake pads with a decent amount of meat on them.

Then when you get to it check to see if the caliper is seized enough to be causing the disc to heat.

Sorry for mentioning if this has been done already
& the bearing already checked for play.

george

.

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:58 pm Post subject:

thanks for your help, i will chk brakes over tommorow. bearings do seem to be ok too.

scut44 · Guest

Have you checked that by jacking it up with the wheel still on
& hands grasping the wheel at 3 & 9 o clock & feeling for the amount of play,
& then the same at 12 & 6 o clock?

george

.

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:24 pm Post subject:

to be honest no i only did 12 and 6 oclock so will double chk tommorow

fatdaz · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:20 am Post subject:

ok looks like its the steering box hopefully, just got another one today and hopefully swapping it later so will let you know how i get on Confused

another question if you odnt mind - i have had a search and not sure which route to go...

i have some 15x10j fatboy alloys currently with 265 50 15 road tyres on.
and i have a set of gv steels with big special track tyres think they work out around 32" tall.

i would really like to use the fatboy wheels and put the same special track tyres on these, and sell the 16" steels with special tracks (as new) purely as they look better and they stick out a lot more, as my vit has been lifted quite a lot!

iv read that ideally need 33"x12.5x15 tyres but am i going nacker my gearing etc? i know i wont have 5th but will it still be ok, or am i better off getting some 8j fatboy wheels instead with 31's and getting rid of 10j wheels????

scholesy · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:53 am Post subject:

knackering your gearing isn't such a massive concern as long as you have the power and torque to keep on pulling with the raised gearing taller tyres bring, because the vit already has a 1.6, it doesn't suffer with big tyres the same way a 1.0 or 1.3 SJ will, but 5th gear will become a tad useless unless you have the wind behind you or are downhill when you have seriously tall tyres like you are talking about, the accepted norm on a vit is 31 inch tyres, they fit and allow plenty of room around them with a decent lift like you have, and aren't too bad on gearing.

Personally with the lift you have I would be looking at getting a nice wide track to keep it stable as possible both on and off road, as you have quite a high center of gravity, so 10 inches wide sounds cracking, but the tyre size needed to fit are a bit extreme, so maybe 8 inch would be best.

Up to you how big you go really, don't listen to the inevitable naysayers, do what you want to do, just do it safely!

fatdaz · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 12:03 pm Post subject:

ok, so if i put 33x12.5x15 tyres (im sure they will fit) will it be ok for its main purpose in 4wd off road at pay and play sites or will it struggle?
if it will be ok, then i just need to decide wether to splash out on some 33's and sell my 16's or sell my alloys and get 8js' and still splash out on new tyres and sell my 16's lol

think im mad!

scholesy · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:47 pm Post subject:

It will be ok on 33's off road, as you will be using low range, if that is its main purpose, go for it, I would advise you not to go for anything to aggressive at that size tyre though, as the strain on the front diff from a 33 inch tyre getting sudden grip (say if you had special tracks) could see you busting front drivetrain parts regularly. I reckon something like insa turbo sahara or similar would be ideal, I reckon if you go for a special track or one with massive side lugs, it will be a bit much for drivetrain up front.

As for if those tyres will fit, I presume your truck has a decent bodylift? you will need a slightly bodylift to be able to "use" 33 inch tyres off road.

I would see if your driving style breaks your front diff, then consider replacing it with a steel one, I am very gentle on my trucks off road and try not to spin my wheels at any time. (after all, if a wheel is spinning, it isn't getting any grip) consequently I used my SJ offroad with nothing breaking on it for over a year. I hope to get the same sort of reliability with my vit when I start using it for real.

bigredzook · Guest

get a steel diff its the best thing that i did to my vitara. I was running 29 insa turbo saharas and was breaking diffs all the time. upgraded up 31's and put a steep diff on it - never broke a diff yet ( and i drive my vitara hard ) but you will break shafts depending on your driving style !

33's in low range and stadrard gearing isnt the best even in low range ! ive noticed any time i shift into 2nd and try get up hills it just dies so always first and rev the balls off of it.

Im going to 35's in march but it willl have gear reduction and / or a supercharger possibly aswell . Its road legal aswell so alot of work to make it legal and run 35's and make it perform off road aswell and not just look good !

But anyways special tracks - brillint tyre but watch for cv's and diffs ( unless you go steel )

markyb · Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:20 am Post subject:

your catch 33s on the front unless yo do some chopping and floor plan work with the 6 inch combo.

Are you sure its your steering box and not the steering linkage?

I found on 33s, 35 gearing pants even with lower R&Ps so i fitted the low transfer box calmini do but thats expensive.

The calmini springs arent effective until they sag abit , i think in my opinion they didn't get the spring rate right as they tried to make one spring fits all and thats not right.

Keep tyres to 31s fit a winch and have fun. add a rear locker of some description and your go places, Locrites worked great.

suzukivit1 · Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:51 am Post subject: .

33" wont fit unless you bash - cut the floor they will fit on but when you turn the wheels and on aticulation they wil rub something else you may want to look at is the widening mod that will push the front wheels forward to, i run 30" tyres and even they used to rub till i done the mod
colin

fatdaz · Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 5:59 pm Post subject:

thanks for all the info. think i will goto 31 10.5 15,s on some fatboy alloys.
what are my insa st 's worth as new on grand vitara wheels? will run out n get size in a mo....

on another note its now fixed, steering box swapped and works a treat Smile

scholesy · Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:29 pm Post subject:

worth about what you can get for them mate! seriously though, a lot of people are asking silly money for tyres right now, when you can get brand new ones for not far off, if they are about 28 inches all told, they are worth around the £200/£250 mark depending on condition, as you can get a new set of 29 inch special tracks for £200 fitted and balanced, so you just add the price of GV wheels to that, they go for about £50, so yours are worth between £200 and £250 depending what condition the tyres and wheels are in.

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:03 am Post subject:

ok the tyres are 265 75 r16 insa special tracks and stand just over 31 1/2" tall whilst on the vit!
no cracks in tyres etc, look as new apart from a bit dirty Very Happy

£383.76 delivered from 4x4 tyres.com new.
plus the fitting probs £40 round here
plus the wheels

so £423.76 for tyres and fitting, wheels on ebay £80 so prob cost just over £500 all in.

scholesy · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:08 pm Post subject:

well general rule of thumb is often 75% of new price if something has only been used once, since off road tyres are popular this time of year, lets round that to 80% - I would say they are about £400 worth to actually sell them, otherwise you might be sitting on them a bit, not a penny piece less though!

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:02 pm Post subject:

cheers for that, id sel them for £400 as long as i can get some fatboy alloys soon.

i have taken out the 2" spring spacers that were on the front, as they seemed to be making the spring curve, they were put in as it used to have a winch, it still has a winch bumper on,
anyways now it looks daft

should i put them back in, or cut them down to 1"? or put them back in and get a winch?>?>

whats the best way to resolve it? from all angles it looks like its about to pounce at ya!

this is how it sat with the 2" spacers in

scholesy · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:37 pm Post subject:

personally I would hate to have my springs bent at such a crazy angle, it is 100% up to you though mate! It will however wreck your springs having them bent like that over time, it could even cause them to snap which would be pretty dangerous! however lots of people run their springs like that, I just wouldn't personally.

fatdaz · Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:50 pm Post subject:

i dont reallant to run them like tht, but on the other hand i dont want to run it like the first picture either, having the spacers took down to 1" tommorow will see what they look like. need to get the front up a bit i cant drive it like this it looks like its on hydraulics or something!