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4-door Sidekick buildup, cool daily driver

122K views 85 replies 34 participants last post by  PackMan222 
#1 ·
Some of you will recall my solicitation for advice regarding my planned buildup of a 4-door Sidekick or Tracker primarily for use as a daily driver. Well, I finally found a low mileage 95 Sidekick automatic and figured out how I was going to build it. Here is a picture of what I started with.
 

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#27 · (Edited)
Its IFS may not flex like my Samurai's or Toyota's long-travel solid axles do, but it definitely gained some travel from the OME springs and struts. I could flip the upper strut mounts if I wanted more downtravel, but I'm afraid that will cause the CV to pop out of the diff. I could also add one of Boondox Motorsports' rear upper link ball joint spacers, which would allow me to take advantage of the additional downtravel from a set of Rancho RS99168 rear shocks, but I love the OME shocks, and honestly, I don't need anymore wheel travel than I have. I have my Toyota for rockcrawling. I'm just trying to build the ultimate daily driver with this Sidekick.
 

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#28 · (Edited)
I'm also having some real 2nd thoughts about even installing a locker in back. In this long, deep, uphill rut, I spent a good 100 yards with 1 or more wheels high up in the air, and I didn't need lockers to make progress. This is one thing I've really learned to appreciate about the automatic transmission: the "poor man's limited-slip-diff" trick where you ride the brakes while applying throttle to transfer torque from the wheels in the air to the ones on the ground. I never would have believed how effective this could be, because I've always driven manual transmission vehicles in which this is much more difficult to succeed.

This picture, for example, was taken right after the vehicle's weight transitioned from both rears and 1 front tire on the ground to both fronts and 1 rear on the ground. Even with such limited traction, I was able to drive right through it by applying just the right amount of braking force. Obviously, this isn't as easy or as effective as having dual lockers and gobs of articulation, but it's at least safe to say that everyone who saw my Sidekick on the trails was surprised and impressed by its capabilities. I can only imagine what it'd be capable of with a locker or two!
 

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#29 · (Edited)
Nice write up :smokin:

My 4-dr is alot of fun, it is amazing the places it will go.
34" LTB's, 4.24:1, Locked rear, 4" IFS drop = 6" Suspension, 2" body.
http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,38154.0.html

The best suspension mod I MADE was the rear upper 3-link drop bracket. Min is a 3" Drop and it moves the top of the rear axle 2" back. I extended my lower 3-link arms 1.5". With my modified rear lower shock mounts (Flip rt to left and left to rt.) This allowed the rear axle a much greater range of motion and helped to get the back tires out of my back doors. A sammy drive shaft spacer still keeps the slip yoke happy.










 
#31 ·
I emailed Steve at Boondox and he said it's no problem to order individual components. He seems like a great guy, and with the great prices he has on the rest of his stuff, I'm sure the spacer would be very reasonably priced.

Speaking of pricing, some of you on here know that I work for 4 Wheel Parts. I've made arrangements with my manager to offer any Pirate board member special pricing. For example, all the above parts to duplicate my suspension would cost $663.23, including the OME springs, struts, shocks, and the Daystar spacers to level the rear. If you wanted to substitute Rancho shocks or whatever else, just let me know and I'll get you wholesale pricing. Pirate pricing for the Bull Bar would be $702.98 (or for the 2-door 'Kick, $676.64). Just give me a call at 510-436-4979 and ask for Geoff.
 
#33 · (Edited)
The install could hardly be any easier. The hardest part was doing the research and coming up with the correct part numbers that would get me the desired height and ride quality with no compromises.

Preparation:
Jack up the truck.
Unbolt the wheels.

Front:
Unbolt the tie rods.
Unclip the brake line retainers
Unbolt the struts.
Remove the front springs.
Slide out the passenger side CV slip connection.
Wrestle the new springs in place.
Reinsert the passenger side CV.
Install the new struts.
Clip back on the brake line retainers.
Reinstall the tie rods.

Rear:
Unbolt the shocks.
Remove the springs.
Slide the coil spacers over the bumpstops.
Install the new springs.
Install the new shocks.

Finish it up:
Reinstall the wheels.
Lower it to the ground and test drive.
Take it to an alignment shop to adjust the toe and center the steering wheel.

The springs will settle a little bit after a few days, correcting the front wheels' slightly excessive positive camber. You really don't need camber bolts; the OME struts have enough correction built in even for the taller springs. You also don't need to worry about the CVs pulling out because the OME struts limit the downtravel before it becomes a problem. Flipping the upper strut mounts for increased downtravel may be problematic with full droop. I haven't tried it, but I'm curious if anyone else here has done that with the OME struts? Any CV problems?
 
#36 · (Edited)
Jeff@TheQuadShop said:
Nice looking 4 door, I'm thinking about building one myself. What brand of roof rack is that?
I got that rack from Sportsrack/Rack'N'Road. It's quite a nice rack too, heavy duty hammertone type powdercoating, quite lightweight, very reasonably priced, and plenty strong. It mounts perfectly on the Sidekick's factory optional roof rails. You can find it here.
 
#37 ·
TheBanjoman said:
What.. You don't answer to ZUKIMAN anymore?? :grinpimp:
Actually I do, but in 4 years at this store, nobody has ever called and asked for ZUKIMAN. :flipoff2: But anyone who's looking for Suzuki or Toyota stuff comes right to me, since almost everyone else here are Jeep or Full Size guys. Most people just know me by "Geoff." Or they'll ask to talk with "the guy on the Pirate board" because they know I'll hook them up. :beer:
 
#39 ·
I don't have any experience with the Boondox kit, so I can't compare it to that. But I've seen many of the Calmini kits, and I have a friend who owns a shop that has built countless TracKicks with the Calmini kit, and after seeing my modified OME setup both on the street and on the trail, he was so impressed that he told me he wasn't going to do anymore of the Calmini kits. Then I took him for a ride and he said it rides WAY better than his own Tracker and 'Kick with the Calmini kits. Of course, this is always a matter of personal preference, but he's now installed the OME struts in front and Rancho adjustable shocks in back, in part to get rid of the silly silly strut spacers. BTW, I installed the OME suspension on my sister's X-90 and she saw a huge improvement in ride also, so obviously ARB has put a lot of R&D into their shocks and struts to make them worth the premium over cheaper shocks.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Well, I've pretty much quoted you all the expenses already.

$3,700 for the truck with 70,000 miles.
$663 for the suspension.
$703 for the Bull Bar.
$212 for the roof rack.
$125 for the IFS skid plate.
-------------------------------------
$5,403 total.

I'm still contemplating adding a rear locker. I'll soon be getting Shrockworks' rock sliders, and I'm anxiously awaiting Aftermarket4x4's 4-door gas tank skidplate, since the tank is by far the most easily bottomed-out part of the vehicle.

I added a new CD/MP3 deck, but let's not count that because we're getting a little too far from the technical discussion that separates the Pirate board from the pussy boards. :flipoff2:

outlaw.308, I see that you're in Petaluma. Why don't you drop by the 4WP store in Oakland one of these days and I can show you the truck firsthand? If you pick one up, I'd be happy to help you build it, and then we can go 'wheeling together too.
 
#43 ·
RockMolester said:
Well, I've pretty much quoted you all the expenses already.

$3,700 for the truck with 70,000 miles.
$663 for the suspension.
$703 for the Bull Bar.
$212 for the roof rack.
$125 for the IFS skid plate.
-------------------------------------
$5,403 total.

outlaw.308, I see that you're in Petaluma. Why don't you drop by the 4WP store in Oakland one of these days and I can show you the truck firsthand? If you pick one up, I'd be happy to help you build it, and then we can go 'wheeling together too.
I'll definetly take you up on that deal when I get one. I'm waiting for school to get out, and for my truck to fix itself. after that, I'll start seriously looking for a sidekick. cheaper than yours, though.
 
#44 ·
Just so you guys know, one of our techs at the shop here who's never driven a Suzuki before drove my Sidekick over the weekend. His unsolicited comments about it when he got out were "Wow, this thing drives really solid!" I asked what he meant, since obviously at 4WP he drives just about every type of vehicle out there, both stock and lifted, new and old. He said that the Sidekick as a whole feels like it's carved from billet, and its steering is real sharp and precise, and it rides better than most of our customer's 4x4s. He was really impressed with its road manners. That's saying a lot for such a lightweight truck!
 
#46 ·
A few pics of mine

I wanted to add my hoopla to this post, I like the 4 dr, I think I am going 4 dr auto on my next one. straight axle with waggy axles.








It has 32" tires, some trimming 6" Calmini lift, will be putting in spacers and the fornt end calmini housing soon, have em in the garage. Also have the rear 5.83, sitting out there.

Locked in the rear, locker coming in the front when the housing goes in. snorkel as you can see, and of course a K&N. Bumper built by my brother who has the yellow xj in these pics.

Centerforce clutch, blah blah blah.


Ill make a post on this last trip and my ride soon just not enough time in the day for everything.
 
#47 ·
elotsip said:
With this could I clear 31"x10.5 tires with this set up with no or minimal rubbing? I ask because I already have a set of 5 31" BFG ATs that are almost new.
Well, depending on what wheels you use (width and backspacing) you'd have mild to moderate rubbing with 31's. You'd probably want to use an 8" rim instead of the 7's I'm running. My backspacing is 3.75, which you'd need because you'd want to keep your front tires off the frame when steering. So the short answer is yes, you'd have to do a bit of trimming with my exact setup. Otherwise, if you added a 2" body lift, you probably wouldn't have to trim anything. I wanted to run 31's originally, but then I saw that the 30's are what I consider "perfect" for my intended use of the truck, and they kept the cost down. With 31's I'd want to do a body lift, and would have to regear it for adequate highway performance.
 
#50 ·
ha ha thats great. wheeling a rig only so slightly built must be fun. i will be doing the same thing to a Bronco II that im getting.. but im just gonna throw on 30s and trim the fenders. im more of a 2door truck fan, but i like your sidekick a lot. nice job
 
#51 ·
RockMolester said:
Well, depending on what wheels you use (width and backspacing) you'd have mild to moderate rubbing with 31's. You'd probably want to use an 8" rim instead of the 7's I'm running. My backspacing is 3.75, which you'd need because you'd want to keep your front tires off the frame when steering. So the short answer is yes, you'd have to do a bit of trimming with my exact setup. Otherwise, if you added a 2" body lift, you probably wouldn't have to trim anything. I wanted to run 31's originally, but then I saw that the 30's are what I consider "perfect" for my intended use of the truck, and they kept the cost down. With 31's I'd want to do a body lift, and would have to regear it for adequate highway performance.

When I installed my 32" tires I could NOT turn that well in the fornt due to frame. I have the calmini combo lift but that doesnt do much for the frame clearing the tires :grinpimp: You need to either have 2.75-3.25 of spacing on the 31" or go smaller. I have 4" BS rims, had to add 1.5 spacers to clear my 32/12.50's BFG mt's.

I have since added new rims, but only removed the spacers in the rear for now. I dont know how well the new rims would keep me off the frame ill eventually take them out I think and drive around town to check it out. Spacers normally are a terrible terrible idea, I have my own horror story of why my rear spacer's are GONE :D

I have had 31" tires on a 3" body lifted sidekick, a 95 and it didnt rub on the inside of the frame, just the body.

Anytime you want to run a bigger tire on these you have to trim the rearside of the front wheel wells about 2" back due to uptravel when max turned radius and tire being stuffed up inside the fender well, the floor panel on mine is POUNDED in with a huge deadblow hammer, and a sledge, so that it pushed in the floor wall in the front where you rest your clutch foot, you dont rteally notice inside I am planning on cuttuing the floor out and taking out some more and just filling it back in as I do plan on 35" someday and a straight axle on this ride.

That is a long ways down the road tho. I know I got really off topic there sorry :)

31" tires = trimming with only a body lift as he said earlier, 30" you will rub the frame without having moderate backspacing.
 
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