[BJPK]

hey peeps,
ok so what is the limit of vit cvs? my plan is to run lwb ome front springs 20mm coil spacers and ome struts. will this be pushing the friendship to much? or should it be fine vehicle is swb vit.

[atari4x4]

sounds fine to me... pretty sure christover is running a similar set up.

[christover1]

I am using 50mm coil spacers, OME Vit springs and shox, with strut mount flip..
The cv angle during turning can get much worse than it does with droop.
Avoiding hard turns with articulation under acceleration is wise.

I adjusted my steering stops as a precaution.

As with most 4wd's carrying a spare is very wise

[Vash]

CVs are the same left & right correct?
What actually causes them to bugger up / break? Im planning a similar thing

[christover1]

Vash wrote:

CVs are the same left & right correct?
What actually causes them to bugger up / break? Im planning a similar thing

CV is same, but axles are different, so need 2 spares.
I converted mine to use LHS axles on both sides, thus 1 spare.
Also easier to swap track side if needed.

CV's break because every drive line needs a weak point, like a fuse,
a CV is easier to fix than a diff say.
There is less metal for support when CV is turned hard, by steering or suspension droop.

This is all from my understanding, not necessarily correct.

[Mugwui]

Vash wrote:

CVs are the same left & right correct?
What actually causes them to bugger up / break? Im planning a similar thing

When they get too much of an angle on them, the ball bearing basket binds and then breaks under pressure. Particularly at speed, under load and at its longest angle.

[stocker]

If your worried about it. Diff Drop Brackets are available from Calmini.

That is if your that worried. Doesn't sound like too much of a lift. and they aren't engaged full time so i wouldn't be that worried about it. Like christover1 said. just take it easy on them and happy days

[Built4thrashing]

stocker wrote:

If your worried about it. Diff Drop Brackets are available from Calmini.
That is if your that worried. Doesn't sound like too much of a lift. and they aren't engaged full time so i wouldn't be that worried about it. Like christover1 said. just take it easy on them and happy days

Also available from GIZ International http://www.giz.com.tw/english/index.php. I got mine from them. $90 plus post.

[BJPK]

cheers guys
dont want to fit diff drop brackets etc or i would of just gone the calmini route.

[FullyZooked]

I run 40mm lifted springs, 30mm coilspacers and 40mm extended ironman struts. With the front jacked up and steering on full lock there is slight resistance on CVs.

Haven't had one fail yet...touch wood.

[Fity]

I have found for good reliability 40mm extra drop over std (from longer struts or flipped to mounts) is the limit. You can add an extra if you lower the diff. I think most aftermarket lowering brackets are about 40mm longer, so that would make it 80mm total. I fabricated my own which are 50mm and I only have 75mm strut extensions on XL7 struts. My biggest concern is that the CV angle when on the bump stop is not that good and with a front locker it will have full traction on that wheel. No explosions yet turning 33's. They brake with no lift and stock tyres if you drive like it is stolen.

[christover1]

Built4thrashing wrote:

stocker wrote:

If your worried about it. Diff Drop Brackets are available from Calmini.
That is if your that worried. Doesn't sound like too much of a lift. and they aren't engaged full time so i wouldn't be that worried about it. Like christover1 said. just take it easy on them and happy days

Also available from GIZ International http://www.giz.com.tw/english/index.php. I got mine from them. $90 plus post.

Do they appear to be good quality?
How they holding up to use?
christover

[christover1]

christover1 wrote:

I am using 50mm coil spacers, OME Vit springs and shox, with strut mount flip..
The cv angle during turning can get much worse than it does with droop.
Avoiding hard turns with articulation under acceleration is wise.

I adjusted my steering stops as a precaution.

As with most 4wd's carrying a spare is very wise

This pic shows steering angle is way more an issue than droop angles.
But both together is fatal under lead boot driving

[christover1]

These appear to look good.
Aussie address, not sure where made.

http://outdoorauto4x4.com/p/650155/vita ... ckets.html

[Gwagensteve]

christover1 wrote:

CV's break because every drive line has a weak point, like a fuse,
a CV is much harder to and more expensive to replace than hub bolts

This is all from my understanding, not necessarily correct.

I think it's dumb to have the CV's as the weak point in the driveline. They're expensive, fiddly to replace, and a wear item, so there's no guarantee the second hand ones you might get from a wreck are any good.

I think it's a better idea to beef the CV's until the hub bolts become the weak point. That's where we are at with Doubletoughs in sierras, and it's pretty easy and quick to swap them rather than digging deeper into the driveline.

Just my 2C.

Having said that, with the exception of high speed work, I think chasing the last 20mm or so of travel in the front end is pointless. Vitaras keep their front wheels loaded - they pick up back wheels before the front, so adding travel to the front isn't really much of an advantage.

Steve.

[christover1]

Gwagensteve wrote:

christover1 wrote:

CV's break because every drive line has a weak point, like a fuse,
a CV is much harder to and more expensive to replace than hub bolts

This is all from my understanding, not necessarily correct.

I think it's dumb to have the CV's as the weak point in the driveline.

Having said that, with the exception of high speed work, I think chasing the last 20mm or so of travel in the front end is pointless. Vitaras keep their front wheels loaded - they pick up back wheels before the front, so adding travel to the front isn't really much of an advantage.

Steve.

When I started the process, I would have agreed with that logic,
but after driving it, it don't follow the front as much as I expected.
Maybe a LWB thing, or my excess tools and spares in the back.
Now it does the see saw thing a lot less often, and feels more stable.

Don't actually want "extra" travel,
just replacing whats lost with other mods.
Is pretty much stock OME travel now, which is plenty.

Diff drop will only happen if needed,
as lowering ground clearance is not my favorite idea.

CV's is a dumb weak point,
but presently can't find a stronger CV set up for the Vit that i like.
Or that I can afford.

2nd hand CV's are "worn in" to the angle they been used to,
changing that can speed up failure.
It is possible the CV's are 18 years old I guess.

[got_bar_work]

steve what bolts are u talking bout and are they going to break before the diff. If so then maybe we need to see if we can get someone to make some Thompson Coupling with slip shafts. whould be nice but would probly cost way to much

[Gwagensteve]

The hub bolts are the 6 8mm bolts that hold the freewheeling hub to the hub. In a sierra with DT's, they are weaker than the CV. I think that's a happy place to be.

Chris - are you sure a diff drop will really hurt ground clearance? I'm pretty sure the front A arm mounts are still lower than the diff with Calmini drop brackets.

The easy way to make your CV's stronger is to reduce the angle they're running on. A CV with no angle on it would be almost impossible to break.

Steve.

[christover1]

A good point Steve, both the arms and the cross member will still be lower than the diff,
though diff on hump is the usual stop me issue,
and diff is steel anyway, so a scrape won't hurt too much.

[steak_knife]

christover1 wrote:

A good point Steve, both the arms and the cross member will still be lower than the diff,
though diff on hump is the usual stop me issue,
and diff is steel anyway, so a scrape won't hurt too much.

Cast, so stronger than the std coke can, but still not that strong....

[christover1]

steak_knife wrote:

christover1 wrote:

A good point Steve, both the arms and the cross member will still be lower than the diff,
though diff on hump is the usual stop me issue,
and diff is steel anyway, so a scrape won't hurt too much.

Cast, so stronger than the std coke can, but still not that strong....

Another valid point.
Will do a decent look underneath, before deciding.
And/or add underbody protection if needed

[SiKiD_01]

i have ome LWB coils and 60mm spacer in the front of mine. i forget how much higher it actually sits from standard. (if anyone has std measurements, i can measure and compare)

i have never fitted front diff drop brackets before (the LWB is my 3rd vit)

i do not believe they are worth it. not as in ground clearance, but in what they do to your housing. i believe the diff drop brackets are the major contributing factor in a broken front housing.

my green vit broke CV's as easy as a soggy toothpic bends. but i didn't ever do in a housing. i have always had alloy housings and said if i break an alloy, i will go steel. but in the end, its never happened. it also ran two lefty's for easy change. i had two spare lefty's behind each tail light to boot as well.

the front diff drop brackets, rotate the diff in a forward and down motion. with the left hand bracket not having any diff rotation built in, the housing is under torsional strain as it sits in the driveway. so the first sigh of torque transfer, and the diff splits.

i think calmini actually supplied a new pinion mount and smaller bush to lower the rear mount down to suit the front brackets.

if i didn't care about my clearance as much, i would chop out the centre crossmember where the front pinion mounts, and lower that down to suit the diff drop brackets.

the lowest part of my LWB is the rear pumpkin looking from front to back.

[christover1]

No diff drop is my preferred choice, but will see how we go.
Not sure by looking at pix,
but I believe the kits I have seen would rotate whole diff evenly?

[atari4x4]

calmini are the only ones that supply a replacement pinion mount & it's a fair bit lower than standard. the crossmember needed to be clearanced on my SV420 to get the diff to sit low enough.

[christover1]

atari4x4 wrote:

calmini are the only ones that supply a replacement pinion mount & it's a fair bit lower than standard. the crossmember needed to be clearanced on my SV420 to get the diff to sit low enough.

I haven't found any other kits that replace pinion mount either.

[christover1]

http://www.alteredegomotorsports.com/co ... ubmitted.&

1 possible option, includes a drop of pinion mount also.

[christover1]

[Gwagensteve]

Be careful though - calmini don't drop the diff anywhere near that much, and the end result will be that the diff has to roll a lot to get the centreline to drop 2"because the pinion can't drop anywhere near that much.

The end result might be that the driveshaft angles (from transfer to diff) get all whacky because of the amount the diff has to roll.

Also, dropping the diff that much will effectively "shorten" the CV's - this might be an issue on the driver's side.

Just a thought.

Steve.

[SiKiD_01]

pinion bearings may starve of oil too.

[stocker]

atari4x4 wrote:

calmini are the only ones that supply a replacement pinion mount & it's a fair bit lower than standard. the crossmember needed to be clearanced on my SV420 to get the diff to sit low enough.

I also noticed this when i put my kit in on the weekend


the Diff literally sits on the crossmember :S