hey guy im looking to get my first sami and iv been doing alot of research but i still dont know what would be a good lift setup so i turned to you guys.


http://www.zukiworld.com/month_110105/images/readers_action/reader_johnbonebrake.jpg

i want my truck to stand like that...tall,stable, but still functionable.

i am going to be driving it as my daily driver and trails and mudd on the weekends. i just wanted to know what you guys thought and what would be the cheapest way to achieve it.

thanks alot and post pics if you can of your rides...thanks again!!

do a spring over and put 31's. and a front auto locker. most people will say put it in the back first, but you don't seem very hardcore yet. in the front, you can unlock the hubs and it won't matter what's in the diff.

jd

ok, how much spoa do i want. i want to run about 33's.

ok, how much spoa do i want. i want to run about 33's.

Sounds like you're looking for appearance first, off road capability second. Keep in mind that if you want to put those 33's on there you will need a YJ SPOA kit and some serious gearing to turn the tires with that 1300. It will also be difficult to steer and slow which may frustrate you as a daily driver. You will also need crossover steering and all the usual SPOA stuff along with some additional modifications. You mentioned building it "cheap" in your first post. Factor in the cost of either gearing the axles or the t-case, or both with your build. Write it all down and figure out what your budget is prior to starting off on an adventure that you may not be able to finish. I don't want to burst your bubble about getting one of these but it can be a slippery slope once you start trying to build a vehicle to a certain tire size. I can tell you it isn't cheap unless you fab everything yourself. You may be better off buying one already built if you aren't mechanically inclined. Go drive one that already has the setup you're looking for and see if you like it. You may find that you won't like the way it handles or accelerates. That one you have pictured is definitely not "stable".

As stated above, a simple SPOA lift and running 31's with a single locker would be a great place for you to start as a sammy newbie. I also like the idea of running one locker in front for good road manners since this will be a daily driver. Build it as you go and have fun with it. You don't need 33's for the type of wheeling your describing.

P.S. Look at the size of those shackles in the front that the guy used to fit those tires in that sample pic. Scary!

that thing is not that stable. the wheel base is to short for what it has on it. and the stuff to put all that on wasn't cheep. buy one that is all ready done or has some of what you want. if you keep the tire size small, you will be able to steer it. 33" will be ruff with out power steering and if you are going to do that you might as well go with the toy box. the two wheel drive truck (of the same years of the IFS 4x4 ) works well. it has two bolts side ways and one up and down. same bore as the IFS.so you can use a pitman arm from just about any place. but all of this is not cheep! gears are like $160 lockers $250ish, the SPOA kit is 6 or 7 bones. then you got the cost of tires on top of that!

ok thanks for all of the answers. i used that pic as a reference of what im looking towards such as how the truck sits. i dont want it too tall because of the virginia height law but i am building the truck mainly to perform off road and to get me to and from school and work. i can fab or make almost anything i want so thats not a huge deal. um i did some research and i wanted to ask you guys what do you think about a 6" SPOA and yj springs? what tire size would run best for that and what do you think about that setup...

thanks

The 33's would fit on that, and the Yj's would give you a good ride, and good offroad performance. They flex very well.

ok what do you guys think about a 6" SPOA trail gear 3" springs? or should i go with stock yj or lifted yj springs?

You're on the right track with SPOA and YJ springs (search for more info). You can't do 33" on-the-cheap. 31" is probably a couple grand cheaper, better on gas, and will get you through all but the most extreme rock crawling.

Search:
OTT steering (especially Mercedes arms)
Power steering
T-case gears
Hybrid axle (if you want diff gears)
Wheel backspacing
Fender trimming (aka virtual lift)
Strengthened axles
ARB, Lockrite, spool, welded, lincoln lockers
Extended break lines (toyota and geo metro)

Common zooki issues: http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=14056

you can go with YJ springs but ive heard that it rides like a buckboard once u throw those under there. u said u want to roll it around town so id go with something more comfortable. i just sprung over my sami in my driveway and threw 3 1/2 inch home made shackles under it. im in the same boat as you (im goin as cheep as possible). 31's are proboblly your best bet for tire size. thats what im runnin right now. i was runnin 33's when i first lifted it and it looked SICK. but the problem is the tires are way too big and heavy for that little truck. not enough power to turn them (hard to roll around town. litterally could not go wheelin) also the front end would start shaking around 30mph. the truck was too dangerous to drive. so i made a drop pitman arm, which helped but it was still a little wild rollin around that high with such a short wheel base. even with 31's my truck is still boggs out around town and when wheelin. gear your T-Case and get High-steering then you can think about 33's. good luck with your rig, im on my first also. building it is the fun of it.
josh
ps. heres the suspention set up im gona go with. dont know if ur interested or not but its the cheepest i have found.
http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/

alright thanks to all who replyed, what do you guys think about doing the SPOA and the 5"toyota leaf springs from here http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/

To answer your question the 6" SPOA lifts are too tall and dramatically increase your axle wrap (the higher the spring is above the axle the more axle wrap you will have) which means bent springs so you want a 4-5" SPOA lift at the tallest and you will easily get enough lift with stock YJ's to run 33's.

you can go with YJ springs but ive heard that it rides like a buckboard once u throw those under there. u said u want to roll it around town so id go with something more comfortable.

UM nope, stock YJ's ride better than most suspension setups......we even used to say that the YJ's make the Samurai "Ride like a Japanese Cadillac"

MOPE : The 33's would fit on that, and the Yj's would give you a good ride, and good offroad performance. They flex very well.

Everyone has a different opinions of what is a good ride and a good height for a Sammy. Your best bet is to decide what tire size you want to go with and build around it. If it is mainly a daily driver and gas mileage is a factor you may want to go with a smaller tire near 31" or so. The largest tire I would recommend for your average daily driver is a 33".....not to say you could not go larger, this is just the largest size I'd recommend for most people. Next you need the proper gearing and for 31's I'd recommend 4.62 gears and for 33's I'd recommend 5.12 gears in the differentials OR T-case gearing is also an option since it gives high and low range reduction when you re-gear a Samurai T-case. Sooo much to think about.....Now go find you a Sammy:

http://members.cox.net/suzukispecialists/samurais4sale.htm


Sean DeVinney
(757)685-6161

to me it sounds like you're a little confused. if you do a spring over, that alone will give you a 5" lift and plenty of room to clear 31s. or if you run stock yj leafs 33s will fit. if you were to do a spring over along with those 5" yota springs that'd be about a 10" lift. I have a geo tracker with yota axles and 2" lift yj springs and clear 36s with no problems. but like what was said it wasn't cheap between gears, tcase, stearing and lots of other things you dont plan on.

if the yj springs ride good then i might go with those. i just heard that it rides rough from someone online. so you throw your rear stock sami springs under the front and throw front yj springs under the back? my truck is already sprung over with shackles. would i be good goin with yj's? also whats the deal with the shocks? would i have to make new mounts? where do i put the shock mounts? do the yj's just bold up to the rear axle or do you have to make new mounts? basiclly what would i have to do to go with this suspention setup?

i ran spoa and 2" yj's with m/l up front along with a panhard bar on 33's when i used to DD mine it was very smooth (for a sami) on the road and more stable than when it was stock... wow that feels like a long time ago

thanks for all of the help. you guys really help alot!

so it looks like a basic SPOA such as a 4" or 5" with yj springs.

run 31's or 33's(i want enough tire to have the axle clearence for heavy offroading)

and for gears, 4.62 gears and for 33's 5.12 gears in the differentials



what else would be required? such as steering, hoops, shocks, brake lines?


once again thanks alot for all of your help guys!

Check out these guys suspension kits, it will give you a good idea of what you need.
http://www.trailtough.com/

As for needing 33" tire for "heavy offroading" I wheeled my Zuk for years completely STOCK and would blow people away. All I had was some nobby 28" tires, and could keep up with modified Heeps. I then stepped up to 31" tires for awhile, and they give you plenty of clearence for the little Zuk off road. I now run 33" tires, and, if I wasn't geared to shit, I don't think I could get outta my driveway ! I would suggest maybe finding some cheap, semi-used 31" tires for now, save up for the gears. I also wouldn't suggest more the 4.62 in the dif, too many problems with the thin teeth on a lower gear. I have seen too many guys gettin it, and then gettin towed home. The best bang for your buck would be the T-Case. Go 6.5: 1 ($499 - from place such as LowRangeoffroad.com). In high range, you are golden, gives just enough extra gearing to move bigger tires. Then your low range will be damn low !

That my 2 cents, anyways.

Check out these guys suspension kits, it will give you a good idea of what you need.
http://www.trailtough.com/

As for needing 33" tire for "heavy offroading" I wheeled my Zuk for years completely STOCK and would blow people away. All I had was some nobby 28" tires, and could keep up with modified Heeps. I then stepped up to 31" tires for awhile, and they give you plenty of clearence for the little Zuk off road. I now run 33" tires, and, if I wasn't geared to shit, I don't think I could get outta my driveway ! I would suggest maybe finding some cheap, semi-used 31" tires for now, save up for the gears. I also wouldn't suggest more the 4.62 in the dif, too many problems with the thin teeth on a lower gear. I have seen too many guys gettin it, and then gettin towed home. The best bang for your buck would be the T-Case. Go 6.5: 1 ($499 - from place such as LowRangeoffroad.com). In high range, you are golden, gives just enough extra gearing to move bigger tires. Then your low range will be damn low !

That my 2 cents, anyways.

hey do you have 6.5:1 gears in your t-case? cause i just bought the exact same setup but i was wondering if you are geared that low if you have any problems with breaking other stuff. i got a spring over lift and a locker in the back the rest is stock. after i bought the gears i was worried about breaking other stock parts. i was also worried about axle wrap. do you know if im allright or if i should look out for breaking stock parts.

hey do you have 6.5:1 gears in your t-case? cause i just bought the exact same setup but i was wondering if you are geared that low if you have any problems with breaking other stuff. i got a spring over lift and a locker in the back the rest is stock. after i bought the gears i was worried about breaking other stock parts. i was also worried about axle wrap. do you know if im allright or if i should look out for breaking stock parts.


hey dude you have a sick truck. looks good!

the YJ springs are wider than the stock ones. if you can fab you can deal with this.the spoa kit from TT has the new sprig perches that you will need and the spring plate for the top. i would use a stock set of YJ springs. these will give you life anyway. the SPOA is worth 5.5" of lift to start with, but then add in the springs and your in the 6-7 inch range. if you have the time and can find them do the toy axle swap at the same time. your gonin to be snaping the crap out off the front zuk stuff. you can build them to live under there but for the cost you can get the toy's and do the OTT on them when you put it all in to start with. so hears what you need to find.

toy axles front like an 80-84 would be best, rear from the 85 or newer.
toy IFS ( 4x or two wheel drive) steering box.
sky manufacturing OTT arms and steering kit.
shy pit man arm, 3/4" drop or the stock one, the stock one will work well for your lift.
gears front and rear, 4.88 for 33", or 5.29's for 35" plus.
lockers, detroit or weld the rear. weld it and save your money for the front, lock right will be just fine for you front.
steering pump, get a T/C type of pump. lowrange offroad has a goo kit that has every thing you would need but the pump bracket. that you can make or get from PSC for $50 bucks.
1" wheel spacers for the front axle.
some used YJ springs. these are easy to find and you could even get them FREE! the ones from the hard top are a heavy duty set so the these would be better than the soft top ones.
drive line adaptors.
two front toy drive shafts from a junk yard will be fine. you want both to be a dual cv type. you can shortn these ar make them longer using some 2 1/2 inch sch 40 pipe. or spend the cash to have them built, but got thicker if you have them built. the stock toy stuff is like .063 wall the sch 40 is like .240 in comparision.
some 6.5 t-case gears, these you can do your self for like $700 or get a reman box for $1200 we did the reman box. it better insurance that its all done right to have them do it they will replace it if it fails.

so there you got go find it and have fun building it.

thanks for all of the help. you guys really help alot!

so it looks like a basic SPOA such as a 4" or 5" with yj springs.

run 31's or 33's(i want enough tire to have the axle clearence for heavy offroading)

and for gears, 4.62 gears and for 33's 5.12 gears in the differentials



what else would be required? such as steering, hoops, shocks, brake lines?


once again thanks alot for all of your help guys!


Pretty sure I covered most those questions already...


You're on the right track with SPOA and YJ springs (search for more info). You can't do 33" on-the-cheap. 31" is probably a couple grand cheaper, better on gas, and will get you through all but the most extreme rock crawling.

Search:
OTT steering (especially Mercedes arms)
Power steering
T-case gears
Hybrid axle (if you want diff gears)
Wheel backspacing
Fender trimming (aka virtual lift)
Strengthened axles
ARB, Lockrite, spool, welded, lincoln lockers
Extended break lines (toyota and geo metro)

Common zooki issues: http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=14056

the YJ springs are wider than the stock ones. if you can fab you can deal with this.the spoa kit from TT has the new sprig perches that you will need and the spring plate for the top. i would use a stock set of YJ springs. these will give you life anyway. the SPOA is worth 5.5" of lift to start with, but then add in the springs and your in the 6-7 inch range. if you have the time and can find them do the toy axle swap at the same time. your gonin to be snaping the crap out off the front zuk stuff. you can build them to live under there but for the cost you can get the toy's and do the OTT on them when you put it all in to start with. so hears what you need to find.

toy axles front like an 80-84 would be best, rear from the 85 or newer.
toy IFS ( 4x or two wheel drive) steering box.
sky manufacturing OTT arms and steering kit.
shy pit man arm, 3/4" drop or the stock one, the stock one will work well for your lift.
gears front and rear, 4.88 for 33", or 5.29's for 35" plus.
lockers, detroit or weld the rear. weld it and save your money for the front, lock right will be just fine for you front.
steering pump, get a T/C type of pump. lowrange offroad has a goo kit that has every thing you would need but the pump bracket. that you can make or get from PSC for $50 bucks.
1" wheel spacers for the front axle.
some used YJ springs. these are easy to find and you could even get them FREE! the ones from the hard top are a heavy duty set so the these would be better than the soft top ones.
drive line adaptors.
two front toy drive shafts from a junk yard will be fine. you want both to be a dual cv type. you can shortn these ar make them longer using some 2 1/2 inch sch 40 pipe. or spend the cash to have them built, but got thicker if you have them built. the stock toy stuff is like .063 wall the sch 40 is like .240 in comparision.
some 6.5 t-case gears, these you can do your self for like $700 or get a reman box for $1200 we did the reman box. it better insurance that its all done right to have them do it they will replace it if it fails.

so there you got go find it and have fun building it.


awesome thanks alot man!

hey do you have 6.5:1 gears in your t-case? cause i just bought the exact same setup but i was wondering if you are geared that low if you have any problems with breaking other stuff. i got a spring over lift and a locker in the back the rest is stock. after i bought the gears i was worried about breaking other stock parts. i was also worried about axle wrap. do you know if im allright or if i should look out for breaking stock parts.

Haven't had too much of a problem yet. I bring extra driveshafts and extra axles with me whenever I head out to wheel, haven't needed em yet.

I would also highly suggest picking up the Mighty Kong Tranfser case mount. The stock mounting system will rip off/bend and break when the torque load travels through it. I would also suggest beefing up your frame mounts (where the kong mounts to the frame.
http://lowrangeoffroad.com/samtcase.htm

Also might want to think about replacing the stock front output shaft if your Zuk is a 93 or older. Since your case will already be apart, its a quick drop in part, that helps dramatically.

Here is another great Zuki website. Full of useful info. Also, this thread shows a way a guy has upgraded the Mighty Kong even more.
http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=17139&highlight=MIghty+Kong

good luck. Any more questions, feel free to ask. I'm RP-Zuki over there (my Merc name was taken)

if you want to go the cheap way they have you on the right track with the spring over all you need is new spring purches and a z link you will be out the door for about 70 bucks on purches and bout 85 on the z-link and about 3 hours of work :D

you dont have a Sammi yet? Want one?
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p230/dennis1209/Zuki/IMG_1090.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p230/dennis1209/Zuki/SuzukiSami.jpg
the wheelbase is stretched to 98", it has Toyota front and rear diffs with 5.71:1 gears, locked front and rear. 5 speed with a 4.89:1 t-case. In first gear in 4 lo it will crawl like a MOFO!!! In the pics it has 35" Boggers but now it has 35" BFG Krawlers. Full exo cage, fuel cell. 94 Geo Tracker 1.6 liter engine with Weber carb. Rock lights at all four corners. Mitsubishi Eclipse seats with 4 point harness. This Samurai is a rock crawler that will kick ass on the trail! Let me know if you are interested and we can deal.

a guide to all Sammi's
www.lepayne.com/gears.html
this should help you a lot

86 sammi
Rocky Road 8" Coil conversion
Trail Gear 6.5 T-case
'83 Toy axles
4.11 gears
Det Locker Rear/ ARB Front
33"s
overall lift 13.5"
Sidekick PS box w/Toy pump(power steerong is awesome)


GL
Evan
RRH

http://lowrangeoffroad.com/samtcase.htm[/url]

Also might want to think about replacing the stock front output shaft if your Zuk is a 93 or older. Since your case will already be apart, its a quick drop in part, that helps dramatically.


good luck. Any more questions, feel free to ask. I'm RP-Zuki over there (my Merc name was taken)

mmmmmmmmmmmm NO! on the mighty kong. the t-case tries to lift out of the thing next thing you know the four bolts on the drivers side are gone and you case is trashed. build one that goes over the top not under it. and it sould tie the drivers side to the pssenger side. and go to the frame in two places on the drivers side. PM me and i'll email so pics of the one i built. the t-case stays put now.

The kong has worked very well for me. Whenever I service the zuk, I just make sure everything is nice and tight still (driveshafts t-case etc.)

mmmmmmmmmmmm NO! on the mighty kong. the t-case tries to lift out of the thing next thing you know the four bolts on the drivers side are gone and you case is trashed. build one that goes over the top not under it. and it sould tie the drivers side to the pssenger side. and go to the frame in two places on the drivers side. PM me and i'll email so pics of the one i built. the t-case stays put now.

Don't have to be a fawking asshat ! :flipoff2:

Here is the upgrade I did to the kong fawker :
http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=17139

Shit wont move now. Didn't know if this guy was that hard on the rig. I have had buddies running mild rigs, 6.5:1 cases with a normal Kong and they are fine, running on a couple years now. Its up to you. I did NOT come up with this way to strengthin the kong, but I know the guys who wrote that thread, I copied it, and it works DAMN good. I like it a lot. I have also tucked mine up a little bit, giving me a flat belly.