[Teddymt]

Hello my fellow Suzuki lovers. Moved to Perth from the uk a year ago and have fallen in love with 4x4 and I recently brought a 2013 2dr GV. I had bf good ridge tyres on it and has airbags in the rear springs… my question is… can anyone tell me what the standard ride height is for this zooki? Iv trawled the internet for it but cannot find a definitive answer. I’m wanting to lift it if possible but I need to be careful and observe the WA laws on ride height.

Thank you in advanced

[MightGetDirty]

Hi Teddyt and welcome to the forum!

I think a better term for what you are looking for is ground clearance. I just took this snippet from some random GV marketing material, but it should be reasonably accurate. You should also be able to find it in your owners manual too somewhere under specifications which would be definitive:

Attachment:

Screenshot 2026-01-20 100743.png

Note that if you plan on adding bash plates for underside protection (or if it is already installed) you will lose a little ground clearance due to those plates. I don't remember how much exactly off the top of my head, but considering how low slung the JT is for a 4x4, it's significant enough to keep in mind. Still recommended to get for Aussie tracks though!

[MightGetDirty]

Sorry got sidetracked with bash plates and didn't actually touch on lifts that you mentioned.

It seems the general consensus here on this forum is that the JT is not a great platform for lifting. I feel they are still quite capable and underrated machines but you do need to be aware of some of the.. design sacrifices lets say, that Suzuki has made to make a competitive SUV/4WD cross.. thing, and perhaps adapt some of your plans in respect to that. There is a good thread with a succinct reply from Steve some years back on the GV3 suspension limitations and lift experiences here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=56110

Personally I would suggest upsizing your tires first to "lift" in that way first before touching your suspension and see whether you want/need more from there. Far easier to revert back that way.

[Teddymt]

Hey mate, thanks for the reply! I did upload a photo but it hasn’t been uploaded. Let me see if I can upload one now. It has after market wheels and tyres on it.

[Teddymt]

Here is a picture for reference. It dint upload the first time I posted.

Bash plates would be an investment I’d like to install just for peace of mind.

Thank you for your reply and information you sent.

When I was looking online everything kept saying from center of wheel to underside of fender? Is this correct or no?

[Teddymt]

Hopefully this has managed to send

[Teddymt]

Decided to take a lay down under the gv today, can confirm that they are it has standard suspension, (excluding the inflatable bags in the springs) I assume they were added to stiffen the ride when towing.

Next stop 2inch lift kit

[Gwagensteve]

Interesting that despite the loss of wheel travel and bushing bind/damage you’re still keen to pursue a 2” lift.
The loss of flexibility is very marked, and is magnified by the shorter wheelbase and lighter weight of the 3 door.

[MightGetDirty]

Hmm Steve while I have to agree with you knowing your experience in suspension design, I still feel that I should challenge that depending on your use case lifting the GV3 can be beneficial, despite the overall effects said to be negative.

Like for example Teddy, I know I'm taking a huge assumption based just on one photo of your rig... but you seem like a beach driver and if you do predominantly do your wheeling on sand and dunes, then you probably experience most of the benefit from a lift over someone that predominantly drives dirt, mud and rocky inland tracks. Plus with regards to the bushings, while I've read many people warning about increased wear/damage, I haven't yet seen anyone personally complaining about it after they've done such a lift. This makes me feel that as long as you are aware of Suzuki's design sacrifices resulting in this problem after mods, and you accept that you need to increase inspection and replacement intervals to suit, then it probably isn't as bad as it sounds... Probably.

Of course I still would suggest some bash plates first over a lift even in this optimal situation, simply because I feel it is lower hanging fruit.. Lifted or not you'll be dragging your belly around and I can foresee having a smooth one helping a fair bit in the sand.

Can't tell the exact tire size from your photo but it looks like they are larger than stock already. What steelies are you running may I ask, and what is the rim offset? GVs are notorious for having very limited legal options for aftermarket wheels (stock is ET-45 btw) so you might want to check on that.

[fordem]

MightGetDirty wrote:

Plus with regards to the bushings, while I've read many people warning about increased wear/damage, I haven't yet seen anyone personally complaining about it after they've done such a lift.

I can't complain about worn/torn bushes after lifting, but I sure as hell can about worn/torn bushes at stock ride height on a vehicle that rarely sees anything other than the city streets of a third world country. There's also no point in complaining, especially after you were warned - you make the choice to lift, you make the choice to live with it.

[MightGetDirty]

fordem wrote:

I can't complain about worn/torn bushes after lifting, but I sure as hell can about worn/torn bushes at stock ride height on a vehicle that rarely sees anything other than the city streets of a third world country.

Now that's interesting for me to hear(read?)! Makes me wonder how the condition of your "city streets of a third world country" stacks up against Sydney roads, as while not "potholey" I find them (particularly Sydney western suburbs) to be pretty damn rough compared to even some cities in SEA..

Thanks for sharing!

[fordem]

I've never been in Australia, but as far as roads go, I think I can safely say, we got you beat - two of more recently built "highways" are what I will describe as "corrugated concrete" - they were cast in sections of perhaps 10 meters at a time, and whilst they are reasonably level, with no significant changes in height between the sections, the vibration of traversing it at 80km/h is unbelievable - so bad that the US Secretary of State claimed he almost suffered a concussion (do a Google search on "Marco Rubio & concussion" if you're sufficiently curious)