Vit Q's

[cj!]

"hi guys
i have a 93 5 door vitara, i currently have 325/75/15 tyres on it but i neen more hight
so i am thinking of going bigger for use off road only can i turn tyres that big?
if not can you get diff reduction?
or do you know of any other options?

I all so keep braking diff housings do you guys know of stonger housing/places to get gards made?

thanks shaun"

Shaun,

How high and how a big a tyre can you run? It comes down to a few things.

Do you want it to be legal?
What size tyre do you want to run?
Do you mind cutting panels?
Can you fabricate or do you just want to buy a solution?
How much do you want to spend?

Provide the answers to these questions and I'll give you some options.

The above answers also impact on the front diff solution options I can suggest.

[shaunvit]

The answers

Do you want it to be legal? dont really mind to much.
What size tyre do you want to run? 31"s - 33"s
Do you mind cutting panels? no, got a mate that can do this for me
Can you fabricate or do you just want to buy a solution? 1/2 and 1/2, mates can help me but dont what to push friendships too far
How much do you want to spend? as little as possible. but would prefer quality work

To sum it up
a small increase in hight and/or protection will help a lot but a bit of both would save me heaps of headachs.

My tyre question more related to what is the bigsest tyre you think the stock diff ratio can turn

thanks heaps for replying
shaun

[cj!]

I have had both 31" & 33" tyress on a Vit and it is driveable but you will lose 5th a bit or overdrive in an auto, particularly with a 33. For your model there are no available R&P's that will help with the gearing. Changing the transfer case low range gears will help off-road though. Another option is to buy an Undertaker from Trail Tough. This will change both your high and low range by 1.5. This may be too much in high range if you don't go to a big enough tyre but there are other R&P options available to help resolve this. It is not a cheap option and you will also have to factor in the cost of modifying the front and rear driveshaft lengths as well as a possible R&P swap.

You could run a small tyre for everyday and swap to a larger tyre for when you want to play. You might want to consider hunting down some 16" x 6.5" rims from a 2.0 Vit and running some 235/85R16's or 7.50-16's as tall and narrower will fit easier and they work well on a Vit. The suggested sizes give you about a 32" tyre. Some minor trimming will be required.

As to your front diff situation, there are a couple of options. The biggest problem is the fact that the pinion mount to the cross-member is only bolted down on one side. This twists under load particularly in reverse and breaks. The quickest & cheapest is to make up a strap of steel to go over the pinion and bolt it down on BOTH sides of the cross-member and lay off the heavy right foot in reverse.

Next option is to source a steel front diff from a manual V6 Grand Vitara ('99 - '05) or auto V6 Grand Vitara (late '03 - '05) and swap your R&P over.

Another option if you want to fabricate is to find a Sierra diff and modify it but there is a bit of fabrication in it.

[shaunvit]

hi guys new problem
I need to replace my gearbox is there better options than putting a second hand one on. Is there somehing stronger or lower geared that is easy to swap in?
thanx for your help

[gwagensteve]

There isn't a stronger or lower geared manual. The 4 speed automatic, though, would be a a great option if you were willing to do the work to fit it. (Which isn't too bad, as your car was available with the 4 speed) Automatics are far, far better to drive off road.

Steve.