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.
4-door Sidekick buildup, cool daily driver
RockMolester
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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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Here's another picture showing just how much of a lowrider these things are with stock springs and stock tires. Before installing anything, I took some baseline measurements so I could get an idea of just how much height was to be gained. The top of the arch of the opening of the wheelwells measured 30.0 inches in front and 30.5 inches in back with stock wheels and 215/60R15 tires.
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I decided to use ARB's line of Old Man Emu springs, shocks, and struts, but I decided to try something a little different. I used the OME962 springs in front, which is actually designed for the front of the 99+ Grand Vitara. It has the same spring rate as the medium-duty front Sidekick LWB springs, but a 15mm taller ride height. In back, the GV uses a different rear coil, so I chose the medium-duty Sidekick rear springs in back, OME955. Along with these springs, I used the N103S and N32 struts & shocks.
After driving about 100 miles to settle the suspension, I took measurements again and found that the front sat at 33.0 inches and the rear was at 29.75 inches. It sat visibly lower in back than in front, a slight bit of a prerunner look. The attached image shows what it looked like.
After driving about 100 miles to settle the suspension, I took measurements again and found that the front sat at 33.0 inches and the rear was at 29.75 inches. It sat visibly lower in back than in front, a slight bit of a prerunner look. The attached image shows what it looked like.
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Luckily, I had planned for the rear to be sitting low so I then installed a pair of Daystar 3/4 inch coil spacers for a Jeep TJ (part number KJ09107BK) into the rear, which required absolutely no modifications. This brought the rear up to 33.5 inches, giving it the exact same stance as it had when it was stock, except that it was 3 inches taller front and rear. I snapped one photo of it with just one rear coil spacer installed so you can see what a difference that one little spacer made.
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With the coil spacers in back, it was sitting at just the right height, but those stock wheels and tires just had to go. Since this is primarily a daily driver, I didn't want to mess around with a body lift or cutting the fenders or regearing it just to run 31's or 32's, but I sure wasn't going to leave it looking like this.
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I then installed a set of BFGoodrich 30x9.5x15 All Terrain tires on a set of Pro Comp's wheels, 15x7 with 3.75 inch backspacing. Measuring again, my wheelwells sit at 34.5 inches in front and 35.0 inches in back.
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I have absolutely no tire rub and the body is now 4.5 inches higher than when I started. Ride and handling are brilliant, and power on the road is not at all an issue with the 16-valve engine and the 4-speed overdrive automatic. For a daily driver and mild 'wheeler, I couldn't be happier.
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All it needs now is a pair of Air Lockers and a Bull Bar. The Bull Bar is actually already on order, but ARB didn't have any in the U.S. so I'm waiting it to arrive from Australia. I will take measurements again once I get the Bull Bar installed, but that will be a while. I'll be getting one of Aftermarket4x4's front skidplates for it, and perhaps a new gas tank skidplate. Eventually I'll probably get a proper rear bumper for it too, but for the time being, I'm very happy with how it turned out.
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I dig the black on black look, that thing is gonna look badass with new bumpers
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Thanks, I love its look too. I just installed a matching spare to replace the dinky tire and tire cover, which has made a big improvement in the rear as well. The 30" spare just barely clears the top of the bumper, so again I'm glad I didn't go up to 31's because that would be one more problem I'd have to address. I'll be getting the rear and side windows tinted as well, so it'll look totally stealth. The 'Kick looks a lot bigger in person than in these pics. Out on the road it really stands out from the crowd. I'm anxious to get the bumper and to try to find an appropriate roof rack, since Con-Ferr was absorbed by Off Road Unlimited and their new racks cost an arm, leg, and a left nut; I'm not going to cough up that much dough for a rack.Toyoland66 said:
Hey, as much as people want hardcore tech, this is some awesome info. Thanks for including the part numbers as so many people just say "Look what I did!" and leave you wondering what needs to be done to do the same. The only change I would recommend is to ditch the Bullbar and go with a Shrockworks front winch bumper. they are SWEET!!!!!
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I agree, Shrock's bumper is sweet. But I still prefer the ARB bumper, not only for looks but also because it will allow me to fit lights in addition to a winch. I've had such good experiences with my previous Bull Bars that I decided to stick with it.NC Zuk said:
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Geoff- That looks pretty sweet. I had no idea you were getting back into Suzuki's. Whats the deal with your 4runner now?
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Hi Pat, long time no see! Remember that Honda I was daily driving? I got tired of hitting my head on the sunroof, and it was boring as hell to drive unless I was driving like a maniac, and I don't need to start collecting tickets, so for what I sold it for, I was able to buy the Sidekick AND modify it to what I wanted.red90runner said:
My 4Runner is the same as when you last saw it. Its tires and gears are too expensive for me to wasted sitting in commute traffic, plus the tires stick out so far I'm tired of getting warnings and fix-it tickets from CHP. So I'm just keeping the 4Runner as a weekend toy, but I still drive it to work when I feel like it. The Sidekick gets 12mpg better than the 4Runner though, so it's worth it to do most of my commuting in it.
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Good idea! If I can find a stocker sometime, I'll take a picture to show the difference. As I said, mine's siting 4.5 inches taller than when I started when you combine the lift and the bigger tires.flatbroke said:
Another note worth mentioning: With the stock wheels and tires, my camber was +2.4 degrees on each side, pretty bad. Once I put the wider wheels & tires on, the camber went much closer to 0. I haven't realigned it since I haven't gotten the camber bolts I need, but it really doesn't seem to need it anymore, certainly not like it did with the stockers. It's visually at (merely a guesstimate) +1.0 to +1.5 degrees now; barely noticeable.
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Hey tåffår, I'm curious with those spacers if you have had a problem with the shocks and struts "topping out" when the wheels droop down when articulating? I'm curious if flipping the strut mount would be a good idea with the taller springs and/or spacers, or if it would cause problems with the CVs?tåffår said:
Has anybody used the OME struts and flipped the upper strut mounts and had any problems with the CVs?
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