A Quick Look at the Vitara 3" Extreme Lift Kit by 4XFourArt and Balmer Fab's Front and Rear Bumpers
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Here at Balmer's workshop, it's not just about my own products - this time we have a good look at the 3" Extreme Lift Kit by 4xFourArt as well as the bumpers I built for this rig.
For more info and option on my bumpers, please have a look at the Suzuki section of my website:
balmerfab.com/...
For more info and options on the 4xFourArt lift kits, check out their site here:
www.4xfourart.com/
Howdy and interesting vid, I know this reply is a bit late but CZcams's algorithm only let me find you recently. I did my due diligence on a lift kit for my G/V and was blown away by a kit from Radizkone out of Poland, The quality is outstanding! The important bits are engineered and built in house and the shocks are KYB front and rear. The steel is laser cut and jig welded, I don't want to get them dirty.
Thanks very much! ...I'm a bit late with my response to say the least, thanks for the info!
Always a pleasant surprise to receive a new Balmer video!
Thanks so much for your continued support :)
If you are keeping the stock drivetrain, add 1" spacers on all 4 corners. A 2"lift with a 235/75r15 is nice...you might have to trim/tuck the front inner fenders so they don't rub... Love the front tow kit on your bumper!
Cheers!
Interesting look at the suspension system. I have the 3" kit from Altered Ego Motorsports on my Vitara and for the pan hard relocation bracket they use a piece of square tube that slides in where the track bar mounts to the frame instead of on the axle. It's very thick and uses 2 big bolts, one in the bolt hole for the track bar bushing and the other drilled into the mount on the frame. It's been solid for me for 6 years. If your customer still has issues he should contact them, last I heard they made one off parts to order. I've also had one of my diff mounts break and they said the same thing, to protect the aluminium housing. I re-welded it myself with reinforcement and haven't had issues since.
Other than that I find the springs in the back to be on the soft side, the ride is nice and plush but it does bottom out now and then when loaded.
Thanks for the feedback! The vehicle in the video has been performing well with the welded track bar mount. I'm pretty familiar with Altered Ego's stuff and it's good quality stuff. The springs are a bit too soft for a heavily loaded vehicle... on the other hand, Calmini's springs are so stiff that you need to have the vehicle loaded to avoid a really harsh ride. I think the 4x4Art springs are the best compromise.
I have the new 3" Extreme 4xFourart lift with the adjustable Koni shocks and struts for my 1989 Tracker 2 door, I will be installing it soon, just wanted to let you know that the rear control arms do in fact have a ball style bushing for flexing in the lower mounting point.
I hope the kit serves you well and flexes like crazy! Thanks for the info :)
@@BalmersWorkshop Just watched the video again, it's the top mount of the rear control arm that has the heim joint, the bottom mount is still just a regular bushing, I mistakenly said the lower mount previously.
Have you had any experience with the black raptor lift kit from jimnybits? I see a lot of videos of the outfitted vitaras in action, but its hard to find a solid review on it.
Thanks for your comment 👍
I haven't heard of that brand. Im actually surprised how much aftermarket support exists for these old rigs!
Aren't these kits also made 'per purchase? so there is a wait time for build? I would also add that actually finding a vehicle nowadays that isn't "lost to the ages" due to rust is going to be a feat and you'll pay a premium for it. These vehicles are now 20 years old . Your 'specimen' in the video also appears to have rear disc brakes too not offered by the factory.
I live in The State of Virginia and had to go to Oklahoma and tow back a 1998 SV418 (Sidekick Sport) and still had to fix one rusty body mount and 2 spots of floor rust. I've owned it for 4 years now and would love to add a different suspension (2 inch puck lift 2 inch body lift now) but spending that much on a 24 year old vehicle It would also be hard to justify.
Thanks for making this video. It gives good info on what is still available out there.
Thanks very much for your comment!
I'm pretty confident that 4xFourArt stocks the kits rather than building them to order. I say this because our local distributor (who I mentioned in the video) brings in several kits at a time. I'll be chatting with him soon so, if I find out otherwise, I'll reply here again.
The area where I live and work is affectionately known as "the rust belt" of BC thanks to our rainy climate but most of the 1999-2003 Vitaras I've seen are still in very good shape rust-wise. The 1st gens tend to be very rusty but not the 2nd gens...
I was surprised to see the disk brakes on the rear as well. I'll do a bit of research into that and again, if I find anything I'll post it in a reply.
@@BalmersWorkshop Can you supply your local distributors contact info ? Interested.
Did u build this kit? What about a true suspension 3inch kit for 92 geo tracker .calmini has one but dammm $1,500 bucks and there shipping sucks don't trust them to many bad reviews
No, I didn't build this kit... did you watch the video?
I've heard endless nightmare tales of dealing with Calimni as well. Check out the Calmini 3" lift video is you want:
czcams.com/video/zeHt_vttl1s/video.html
Is it possible to send these front parts to Sri Lanka?
No, sorry.
You're supposed to Weld the track bar exactly how you explained in the video.
I have the new kit install on mine and it said in the instructions to do so
Thanks for the input :)
Rear disc brakes? How did you install it?
Thanks for your comment! This was a customers vehicle so im unsure about the disk brake conversion.
If you go seriously offroad go for a XL7 steal front Axelhousing.The aluminium doesent last long.OME make the best suspension because they dont lifted too high and wear out quick the Transmission.propellershafts (lost propellershafts at full flex ) ,CV tubes, CVs, links like higher lifts does .OME is made for hard work in the outback of Australia and not for show and shine. big tires fitted with body lift and a saw to cut out the fenders.With higher lifts swap to straight front axel.
The cast iron diff is definitely the way to go - this vehicle is already equipped with that.
Nice to see another fellow Suzuki fabricator in Canada . Do you have the info for tim who is the dis for these kits ? I’m possibly looking for one for my XL7 to replace the old man emu kit and possibly one for my sidekick project here in Ottawa .
Nice work on the bumper fab btw so nice to see people also in the Suzuki world .
Thanks very much for your comment! Do you video your work as well? If so, I'd love to check it out so please leave a link or channel name.
Here's a link to Tim's website:
tre4x4bc.com/
The lift kits aren't on the website yet but I'm assuming it's in the works. There's a contact form so you can get a hold of him and sort out what you need,.
Hello,
Do you have any onformation oabout 4xfourart smartlock rear differential in opartion?
Thanks for your question! I'm not actually familiar with that locker but I'll be curious to see it myself. If I find a decent video of it, I'll link it in one of my own.
Hi, a million thanks for the video. It was very informative and in depth. I've been considering the 4xfourart kit for a while and feel this has cemented my decision.
It was also great to see the quality of the front and rear bars you've fab'd up. How else is the rear bar mounted? I'd love to do something like that myself in order to mount a receiver hitch to the rear bar so I can remove the towbar/ sit it higher too.
One last thing, have you heard anything about the Radzikone kits? They do a number of 2 - 4 inch lift kits and seem quite involved with many components included in the kit. They're a Polish company if I can recall correctly. I would be interested to find out more about them and their build quality if you ever get one through the doors.
Again many thanks, Brendon
Thanks very much for your comment Brendon!
I'm glad the video gave you some useful info and helped you with your decision. Is yours a first or second gen?
The rear bumper mounts to the stock tow hitch mounting points on the bottom of the frame and to custom mounts welded in to the rear crossmember, higher up. Here's a link to a playlist that features the rear bumper build: czcams.com/play/PLIwgxFPnHALgfVzV9yomzyeulDICwxsuP.html
I've heard of Razikone but I haven't dealt with their products unfortunately... maybe there'll be another suspension video in the future ;)
Have you or know of anyone that has used the OME kit for the Sidekicks?
I've seen the OME stuff installed on a couple of rigs but I haven't done the installation. I've heard the springs are a good spring rate and don't sag out like some other companies. Check out the video I sent you a link to in your previous comment - it's a nice one.
Callmini makes the upper a arm kit
...I'm a bit late with my response to say the least, thanks for watching! They sure do! I have a video on that set up as well.
How can I get this suspension kit here in the States?
Please contact me through my website for specifics on these kits and shipping info, etc.
Great video on the after- market lift Kit.
Can u tell me how much longer the A-arm is compared to the stock one is?
...I'm a bit late with my response to say the least, thanks for watching! I'm not entirely sure of the added length to the A-arms. Sorry about that. It's been awhile since I had one of these in the shop.
Where can I see videos of this vehicle in action?
I don't have any clips of this specific vehicle/kit in action but here's a link to a video with an almost identical set-up:
czcams.com/video/Nf3VfGVmQSU/video.html
I currently own this truck & will try to post videos of it in action as well as my lifted XL7
Why don't u engineer your own lift kits for geo and vitara?
I feel that there's no money in it after all the R&D that would be required. Also, Balmer Fab is a one-man shop so it would take up too much of my time to design a suspension system and source parts (springs and so on).
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