Rich...Interested to know what are your rpms at 80mph? on your spoa? Im scared in mine at 80 mph with spua and 3 inches of actual lift. I know if some jack ass pulls in front of me or something, im pretty much dead. ANd please dont let this post go to the dogs with

"I had a stock zuk that I could do a 120mph in and blow mustangs away from the line"

Kamazuki

 

512 ring and pinions are to low for me on the highway. off road they are nice but i would much rather have 462s instead. then again, i should have just got the 6 to 1 t-case gears and been done without changing diff gears but the only t-case gears that were out at the time were the 4.16 ones

also, i personally do not like the way my z-link+3 inch drop pitman arm steer on the highway....should've gone crossover instead. oh well...

 

i can drive that fast on the hiway if i have a tale wind. 31's and 5:13's don't go well together. 60 mph 4000 rpm. no vibration untill the splines wore out on the front. Only mod i regret is bobbing the lwb.

Sean

 

Yep know what you mean. I am in the process of building DOWN as I put my 87 JX tin Top together. Using parts off my locked (EZ)~geared (4/1in T case)and lifted (3" body and 3' spring)Rag top. No lockers going in the Tin top till I can afford a set of air lockers so I can turn the buggers OFF while on the road or when not needed off road!! No body lift but am switching over my 3" lifted YJ's over. My 32 11/50 swampers fit but will have to extend the bump stops to keep them from eating my fenders when off road!

 

With my initial SPOA set up (Rancho springs/9000's with extended mounts) I got wicked vibrations...front and rear even with spacers. Got my shafts from Arizona Drivelines.....1310's with CV in the rear.....the 1310's in the CV won't clear your cross member up front. I sent that one back for the next size down, I think 1210's??? I believe it is the size from a Bronco II. All vibration problems from the shafts are gone.
My comments about SPOA----- It does work/ride/perform better than my old National 3" lift, BUT it took WAY more money, time, bent springs, and hassle than was EVER put into the SPUA suspension.
Since the SPOA, the list of replaced parts----Cross over steering, New front and Rear CV driveshafts, Poly tcase mounts with reinforced arms, on my 3rd set of rear springs (now 6 leaf Wranglers), SpiderTrax Antiwrap bar (highly recommended for SPOA).....I think that's it! That does not include the extended shock mounts, perches etc from original SPOA set up.
Hope this helps

 

mine was spoa when i got it. if i had a stock one to build, i would go spoa again. she'll do about 35 in 4wd before the wobbles get bad. in 2wd i've had her up to 85 and not very scarey(long steep hill on the highway). proboly not the smatest thing i've done(85 mph in a lifted samurai with firestone tires).
the only issue with mine is the rear springs, i need a traction bar. i will go with the breeze when i get the money. my spoa is done real cheap; no brake line extensions (the metal lines are unfastened), no driveshaft spacers, no swaybar(hits the dropped pitman arm so i took it off), no steering dampner(bent the bracket so i left it off).

 

I'm not happy with the entire rebuild process. I started out thinking of my tintop as a simple vehicle (that much is true), but really underestimated what I was getting into. I had a lot of get advice from the get-go, so I started off buying b-ringed front axles, 4.57 Yukon ring and pinions for the front and rear, and made the decision to go with Spidertrax disk brakes with Pork Barrel Line Lockers for the steep stops. The general consensus seemed to be that YJ springs and SPOA was the way to go, so I opted for the Trail Tough hangers with missing links. Jim Shrake came along with his steel, so I have one of his front bumpers coming in.

That kind of stuff is coming along fine, though it has taken almost a year to get the parts together, mainly because I allowed myself to get sidetracked into other areas. My engine had almost 200,000 miles on it (my miles, but still hard), so I ended up buying a replacement and building it up. I mentioned sidetracked: that means replacement engine, dual Weber carbs, Hawk cam, fresh head, new waterpump, gaskets, motor mounts, RRO GM alternator kit, headers, etc., plus all of the labor involved in that.

Along the way my perfect tintop became a rustbucket. Rust was hidden in the front bumper mounts, under the plastic rocker covers, and under the wheel flares. I also found rust under my rear door hinges and around the fuel filler neck. It probably wasn't as bad as it could have been after 15 years, but it was another expensive and time consuming diversion.

And then of course, there was looking at all of your good looking vehicles. So more diversions to install Recaro seats and Swift GTI steering wheels, add shifter sheets, and cool shift knobs.

So, a year later she is sitting on her own wheels again, still waiting for crossover steering and a traction bar, still waiting for driveshaft spacers and extended slip yokes. still waiting for extended shocks, for a new windshield and new carpet and getting the dash put back together and hopefully having the a/c working again and going into the paint shop for a shiny new coat.

In the end the makeover and build will have cost more than the rig did off the new car lot (by quite a bit). Hopefully she will be a bit more capable, a bit more distinctive, and mine. Yes, thinking it through is really important!!

 

Just my $0.02 but here goes:

A buddy of mine built his Sammy up with SPOA, revolved shackles and lockers front and rear. The first winter after he did this, I tried to get him to go out four wheeling and he said he didn't think he'd be able to bring his Samurai -- he'd have to bring something else. I just didn't get it but he said it was unstable and difficult to drive on the road -- especially in the snow. I really didn't believe him but he still doesn't drive it on the road when there is snow on the ground. I imagine he'd trailer it somewhere but he refuses to drive on the road with it in it's present condition.

Now that I have a "new" Samurai, he's encouraging me to lift it no more than 3" without going SPOA -- he says he felt more confident driving his off the pavement before he was SPOA because the whole rig felt more stable and he felt more confident. Also, he's been mentioning removing the front locker and finding some way of lowering the vehicle while keeping it SPOA -- like shorter spring pads or flatter springs. His comments really opened my eyes -- he says to go no more than 3", maybe get a rear locker and slightly larger tires.

Truthfully, I'm not into rock crawling or "extreme trails" like are sometimes posted on the 'net or photographed in magazines, but with my two previous Samurais -- both stock suspensions with larger tires -- there was no place I couldn't go with confidence. Even with the stock tires, both vehicles blew me away with their trail prowess and I've had experience off road with Wranglers, CJs and a full-size Bronco. The Sammys just blow everything else away.

From my probably limited experience (compared to some of you guys) a 30" on a Samurai would allow one of these vehicles to go just about anywhere. I just can't imagine how one of these vehicles could be more capable -- except in extreme off-pavement conditions -- with larger tires.

 

In reply to:

ahh the days of young stupidity

[/ QUOTE ]

i think we're still in those days daniel.

we'll be out of em in due time.

jacob

 

"I had a stock zuk that I could do a 120mph in and blow mustangs away from the line" WOW you did... sounds like BS to me.....LOL

80 mph is the limit.. with 1600 16valve engine all samurai stock gearing, spoa 31x10.5 bfg at's at 20 psi.. I am pulling right around 4200 rpm's give or take 50rpm's needle accuracy.. right...

even when my zuk was stock, I could never get it to 120mph...LOL I think I got it to 90 once and that must have been going downhill with the wind at my back...

Usually with the setup I have, I drive 70mph tops.. but like to stay at 65mph.. that is where I feel most comfortable at.

hope this helps.

 

Chuckster, did you have to do anything to the front axel with the CV up front?

also did you Truss the rear axel? if so, will you please post some pictures of it, thanks
even if you did not truss it, will you please post some pictures of your spidertrax rear track bar installed,

thanks


one thing I forgot to mention was in my setup, I have a spidertrax pan-hard bar, I would highly reccomend this to anyone in SPOA and wanting to drive on the freeway, it makes a HUGE difference...

another thing I did not mention, was that I have a RRO z-link and no/none/nada problems with steering, no wierd quirks or problems, it handles great...

thanks

 

New here. My most regretted mod would have to be my Rancho 5000 shocks. I started building up my Zuk before I knew where to get advice and stuff. Shortly after I SPOAed my Zuk, I went and got these godawful short, stiff shocks, and now I'm too cheap to replace them. My next worst mod would have to be the used Thornbirds I got. Yea, I got the set in fairly good condition for $75, but they were useless. The only place they performed satisfactorily was on dry pavement. They got me stuck for the first time ever in a place where all my buddies trucked through no problem, and when it rained - I felt like I had to go into 4wd and get off to the side to keep from planing off the road. Luckily, I've been able to replace them. Now I have 32x11.50 BFG MTs - and I love them!

My goal with my truck is to have the most capable multi-purpose vehicle I can get, which means it's got to get me back and forth to work every day, economically, AND be able to handle the rough terrain. Oh, and it's got to pull my loaded 14' jon boat without breaking a sweat. Toward that end, I'll soon be installing a VW 1.6 turbo diesel.

 

I won't go so far as to say I have "Regrets" concerning modifications I've done to my rig, but I will say the same thing I have said in the past:

All you REALLY need to go 95% of the places Any 4x4 can go is:
Enough lift for 31's
Gears.
Lockers.

The rest is just Gravy, man.

 

Well, I am three quarters of the way there! Hehehe, got the lift and the tires...got the gears, but they are still in preservative till I can take the time to install them. Now I am looking at lockers. After reading some of the posts here, it sounds like SPOA has had mixed results. Mine seems to be working okay so far.

No regrets so far, other than not being able to run the trails as often as I would like.

 

OK my two cents on the SPOA concerns. SOPA is done a lot, but too many times witrhout forethought
as to what will result. This is clipped from an article of mine in progress:

In reply to:

"The thing you have to watch for is how each change affects not only off road performance, but
the on road performance too. Unless you have a trail only rig, you can easily get into issues
on road. Even trail rigs can suffer degraded performance. The most common issues are usually
bump steer, over-extension of the shocks and driveshafts, the "Death Wobble" and some get
into the "Death Sway".

Sound scarey? Don't let it worry you. These things can be resolved. First and foremost, don't
go adding lift to a rig that has components that are worn out. Broke down spring bushings, loose
wheel bearings, worn out shocks, and loose king pins, to name a few, will adversely affect you as
the lift gets higher. It's bad enough in a stock height rig, let alone compounding it with a lift!"

[/ QUOTE ]

If you rig is scaring you something is wrong. Look for the problem and root it out. I personally
will not drive a rig with serious bump steer. If it's one thing I see most often, its the steering geometry
all mucked up and ready to get you hurt or worse.

 

did you have to do anything to the front axel with the CV up front?

I did nothing but bolt it in. It fits fine with the smaller CV, and I've not seen any adverse effects from not rotating the axle. Now, remember, I'm in Alabama, and have not had it in 4wheel drive at any speed....we get no snow here!
also did you Truss the rear axel? if so, will you please post some pictures of it, thanks
even if you did not truss it, will you please post some pictures of your spidertrax rear track bar installed
I've not trussed the rear axle, but the boyz at Spider trax did recommend that. I'm a fairly careful driver, and tend not to "stand on it" so I thought I might try to get away without it for a while. I'll try to get some good pics. The attatchent is all I've got, and it is kinda far away.....he he he

 

I would agree with that statement. It really says alot. You'll get 95% of the places with just a little mods....and then you can spend you retirement money on the last 5%.....guess it just depends on how far you wanna go. I think I was happy.....and had a bigger wallet...with the 95%.....

 

Worst thing I ever wasted money on was a Jacons ignition. It sranded me a couple times before I learned to pack a spare factory coil along. Of course Jacobs would warranty is each time it failed..... after I paid their $35 "tech and inspection" fee each time.

Finally traded it at one of my club's 4x4 meetings for a piece of pizza.

 

I'm starting to regrett my 2.7 swap because I started it to soon. My sammy has been off the road for eight months now. We have been realy busy at the shop and busy doing things for others on the weekends. I don't see it being done by summer, I not just installing an engine but doing a ground up body off frame. I just wish I left the sammy running till I had more time. When I'm done I hope It will be worth it.

 

i still think the worst mod on mine was rust....rust is just bad and i dont recommend doing it ever! rust makes yiou change out things like axle housings....bodys...etc...

yep...rust has to be the worst mod you can do you your zuk!

J

 

' Any Regretted Mods?
Yea Putting G.M. alt. and bracket in my zuk. Since mine is a daily driver it just

to hear the belt squeel no mater how many times I would tighten it.(even using good qualitly napa belts )
Put the factory bracket and alt. back on and life is good.

I know other people have not had trouble with this mod but every one is different.

 

Wayne, I couldn't have said it better!!!.

 

Yeh, Add a leaves, Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves,Add a leaves, oh and Add a leaves,