Lowering our VX

[On Your Left]

There's been a lot of talk with the off-roaders about lifting the VX, which makes sense for them. But has anyone lowered their VX? I have never gone off-road, and while I might someday realsitically I'll stick to asphalt. I think the VX would look great a little lower and may provide slightly better mileage due to a more aerodynamic profile. Of course this is an asusmption.

If anyone has lowered the VX let me know the following:
1. How did you do it? (parts, time, labor, etc.)
2. Cost of lowering?
3. Any effects, both positive and negative?

JT

[TDAWG]

Hey On Your Left (JT),
If you do a search you'll find that that has been a much debated topic. So of us like the idea and others don't. You might even be able to find a pic or 2 of the Pronton that has been dropped some.

[Cyrk]

I personal would love to lower mine a little...
I photoshoped what it could look like a while ago.

CrzyFool said that he dropped his 2 inches, "I lost a little in my turning Radius but it looks SWEET" :-)
CrzyFool how about some more info and some pics?

Anyway here is the photoshop job:
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/39drop.jpg

-Dave

[WormGod]

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=977&size=big&papass=&sort=4

Mwuhahahahahaha............ :p

[MZ-N10]

how would we go about lowering it? r we just cutting springs? or r there lowering springs for us?
________
WEB SHOWS (http://livesexwebshows.com/)

[-x-]

Might have to lighten up ya screen or anyone that wants to photoshop by all means...
...anyway you can see the front tire start to tuck under the fender ;Db; ...x

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/2042.jpg

[AlaskaVX]

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents...... It looks horrible! And it would most likely be a rough and horrible ride. (In my opinion) You would lose what you paid for.

[VehiX]

Originally posted by AlaskaVX
I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents...... It looks horrible! And it would most likely be a rough and horrible ride. (In my opinion) You would lose what you paid for.

Now take this lightly as this is just my opinion. :)

I totally agree with AlaskaVX!

That would be like buying a Civic and slapping a 3 inch lift kit on it.

why buy the total opposite of what you really wanted? :confused:

[MZ-N10]

well i was just plannin to drop it 2 inches so then there isnt as big of a gap between teh tire and teh rim....i dont do much off roading anyways....

OR

get bigger rims and tires....my little 16" look funny.....i want some 18s or 19s
________
Avandia Death (http://classactionsettlements.org/)

[kobie]

OR...
How about both? Drop it 2" and get some 20" wider chrome wheels (6-spoke) with low profile tires. There's a guy on the west side of town with a black VX and 20"+ wheels and his looks amazing. Very urban. If you're not 4-wheeling it why not cater it to the road?

[VehiX]

Originally posted by kobie
OR...
How about both? Drop it 2" and get some 20" wider chrome wheels (6-spoke) with low profile tires. There's a guy on the west side of town with a black VX and 20"+ wheels and his looks amazing. Very urban. If you're not 4-wheeling it why not cater it to the road?

l also agree with everything kobie is saying here as well :)

If ya gonna do it, do it right ;)

[MZ-N10]

tat would kick arse but first we need to know how we lower it correctly...i dont wanna roll arouhnd like a civic with cut springs...

kobie...do the poeple tat want to lower their vx a big favor and track tat man down and ask him how he did it...:D
________
FIND HEADSHOP (http://headshop.net/)

[coachreed]

To best way to lower the VX would be to get some custom springs made for the rear from Valley Spring Works and then lower the front by simply adjusting the torsion bars. The last time I checked, Valley Spring works would make a custom set (two rear springs) for around $200 possibly a little cheaper if you get a few people together to buy the same springs at the same time. Anyway, after you lower the front by loosening the torsion bars, you will want to get the front end aligned very soon... it knocks the alignment WAY outta wack. I of course went the other direction... 2-3 inches in the rear via OME lifting springs and then cranked the torsion bars up front. Anyway... good luck and post pictures if you do it.

Later!

[AREA 51]

Don't forget to trim or adapt the lower bumpstops. Esp, in rear.

[-x-]

....but in my mind a simple solution would be to first as mentioned slap on some bigger tires, wheels, both...etc. And to close up some if any of the gap there after adjust the front tortion bars and you could always clamp the rear springs. And if anything comes up its easily reversable.

...only other thing that comes to mind is checkin the bumpstop / clearance thereafter...

And lastly from a Previous Post (http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1298&perpage=15&highlight=lowering&pagenumber=4) : (Sorry Quote Thingie Didnt Work)

ATTN.... All who want to lower the VX.......

YOU CAN LOWER THE VX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


2-3" lower is ALOT easier than everyone is making it sound....

The "bounce" that some of you have felt, when lowering, is the A-arms bottoming out on the bumpstops.

In the front, all you have to do is remove the bump-stops and trim them with a saw or grinder (I did this on mine to increase the wheel-travel) and turn DOWN the torsien bars a bit...
Also another slick trick is to do a Ball-joint mount flip ON THE LOWER A-ARM, this will allow more up-travel while still using your stock bumpstops and shocks.
To drop it even further than 2" the torsen-bars will need to be re-indexed.

In the rear, the VX has a rather large bump-stop that can be trimmed also, or removed altogether and replaced with a lower profile one (Ive tried both)
Shorter springs can be had at a reasonable cost.
To drop more than 2" in the rear, there is a square-tube piece right above the rear bump-stop that could easily be notched out (w/o sacrificing frame strength), and on the rear axle the "bump-stop pad" on the top side of the axle could be trimmed off for additional clearance.


I have a lot of experiance with the Vehicross' suspension as I have had several different lift kits and shocks on it and ran at several different ride heights, and am always playing with the suspension to achieve maximum articulation.
Also, I am the guy that drove to Calmini Manufacturing to get them to make/install the prototype lift kit they now offer for the VX. (They also offer lowering springs for some other trucks and may be able to help source a good set for the VX)

No, the shocks don't bottom out...it seems Isuzu had the forthought to allow the shocks to travel farther in each direction than the stock suspension components do.


Anyone seriosly interested in "dropping" the VX is more than welcome to e-mail me with questions.....

Allan
VX on 36"ers 4" lift

[VCAMILO]

I don't agree that the VX would not look good with a 2" to 3" drop. COMMON! What about those specialty SUV's. The Mercedes AMG's, the BWM X5 Dinan's, Porche Cayenne special edition, Escalade's, etc... all the cars look better with a 2" drop. Some of us have never and will never take the VX to the dirt. ;Db; Too late for me! I dont know... its a choice that I would agree with. The VX would look better with 20s and a 2" drop. ;Dp; ;Do; ;Db; ;Dr; ;Dy; ;Db;

[ScubaSteve]

no way jose - show me another SUV that can handle turns the way stock VXs do at any significant speed. i drove my sister's 99 Explorer sport and thought I was gonna die taking a turn the way i do in my truck. who would want to give that up - in the dirt OR on pavement...

not to mention i wouldn't be able to have nearly as much fun as I am driving around during this snowstorm we just had if i dropped my VX...

everyone's entitled to their opinion, i guess... just mine is better:)

[Navigator]

...It's yours :D

I must say, I wouldn't change a thing, but then the pot holes and other road hazzards on the paved surfaces in my area make full use of my off road capabilities (on road :eek: ). I actually need that extra space to give my wheels enough room to bounce and manuver. I've allways said ISUZU built the VX just for me :yes: The rest may require tweaks :naughty:

[On Your Left]

Obviously there are a lot of strong opinions on this subject. I'm still just thinking about and basically believe that for aesthetics it works for the street guys, but love the look of a lifted VX as well.

A few have mentioned giving up steering. Is this due to tire rub? Since mine is an '01 and I still have the stock 18" wheels I don't intend on changing for bigger wheels or tires (have 260/60/18). I'm no engineer or mechanic but don't see how a 2" drop will make them rub.

Or is the loss due to having to adjust the suspension?

JT

[-x-]

i didnt experience any rubbin up front (cause of tha bump stops i suppose) after a recent meet at joe blacks and im sure he can attest that the tires were tuck well into the wheel well durin one of my runs...x

*"Disclaimer": Im not sayin it wont... ;Db; Just stating with my experience on my vx while im driving i have yet to have a problem with rubbin*

[mrtew]

HEY! That was my photochop job that someone photochopped even more! Here is the 'original'.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mrtew/VCRslammed.jpg

[TDUB]

While you're at it, put some fricken blue lights in the wheel wells amd maybe some fuzzy dice around the mirror. Go buy a "53 Chevy.

Out TW

[BigMeatVX]

My VX is the tallest here on the board, And I see no problem with lowering it....(if that is what you want)
It would handle better in the turns and mabey even get better gas mileage.
So what if someone wants to lower their VX, espescially if they only drive on the street.

Ive have modified the VX suspension more than anyone here and I can tell you that there is plenty of room to drop it 2-3" w/o the tires hitting. It has rather large wheel-wells--the MAIN reason why I bought it.

Also, with minor mods, the overall suspension travel would not be lost even with a 3" drop. So it would still ride nice over the bumps!!!!

I have posted the needed mods in the past here, somewhere.



Allan
99 VX on 36" tires

[WormGod]

Ya, sorry mrtew, I just loved tinkering with your original to see what an ebony would look like. ;)

Ya know, just like every other lowering thread that has ever been started, they all seem to head in a "f!@# you loser, get a ricer if you wanna do that s!@#!" direction until they just die out. Personally, I would love to have 2 VXs. One to lift, one to lower. And ya, I would lift it so HIGH that I could reach the clouds. And I would lower the other so I could feel the gravel on my arse. Unless you bought this guy's VX for him, let's keep the "non helpful" criticisms/opinions to ourselves unless he asks for them. The last I looked, he was just pursuing info on how to do it. I dont see anyone throwing dirt at coachreed for dropping an LS1 in his VX. I don't see anyone giving Rickster crap for painting his VX up with crazy wild colors. I don't see anyone giving Bob strife for adding a hood scoop to his VX. Nobody threw scarmbled eggs at BigMeat for reaching for the moon with his VX.

Morale of the story.... if it isn't you VX and nobody asked for an opinion.... why waste your time and effort on being a hater. You only make yourself look like a fool. (sure, we all have done it in the past, but hopefully this can remind us all that we should be more considerate to other's ideas). I know I just set myself up for a flamejob, but if that's what makes ya happy, fire away. I have no problem chuckling and shaking my head at my monitor. :p

****This has been a public service announcement by someone completely unimportant****

[Heraclid]

Well said WormGod! I think lowering it would be cool if you're not ever planning on going off the pavement. It's HIS VX and John can do anything he wants with it and we should just try to help him do it.

[On Your Left]

Thanks WormGod. However, I didn't take offense to anything anyone said. Tho I was a bit surprised by how passioante some get over things like this. Guess this passion is the norm for most VX owners. If we weren't passionate people we would be diriving a minivan, right? ;)

JT

[TDUB]

Yes, I totally agree. This little car has really captured my heart. I've had everything from 911's to big ol' 4X4"s. This car is my favorite!! As far as my previous post about the lights in the wheelwells, etc, you'll have to take that with a grain of salt as most people are a little tightly wrapped and fail to find humor in things.

Cheers! , TW

[WormGod]

No, I wasnt trying to defend anyone or assault anyone. I simply wanted to remind folks that because we do get wrapped into these awesome vehicles, that some people are quite passionate about the work they want to do on them. If anything, even if someone wants to tape pennies all over their VX or get dyed purple rubber tires, as much as we all may think it's crazy or hideous, I say we back their ideas and let them decide later just what they did right or wrong. Too many threads in the past have been dominated by opinions and they end before anything comes out of them. I know, I'm sounding like a moderator and all right now, but I am also kind of interested in seeing if this mod will ever be done by anyone. It is possible that negative opinions deter people from even trying them. You never know.... it MIGHT look cool. It might not. Let's wait and see and hold our judgement off until then. :D

[VX_PA]

Here goes:

I thought about installing an airbag suspension system on my VX. In June 2003 I was searching for a company that was willing to make a custom set-up for the VX. Unfortunitely I didn't find one and backed out on the idea because at a few shows I was told that it would never work on an AWD vehicle. I don't believe that notion as I have seen AWD Mitsubishi Eclipse's with full air suspensions.

I haven't totally abandoned the idea though. I just don't have the money to spend on the bag set-up. I think it would be awesome to have a VX with a suspension that can be raised and lowered to any height desired at the push of a button. Dump it to the pavement or lift it to the sky, whatever mood you feel. Infinite ride height settings, way to cool. If only I still had the 5 grand I dumped into the new engine, damn. See now I'm getting all excited about the idea again.

:(

[AlaskaVX]

VX_PA, I know you could be able to find a shop that will do it, hell I found a shop up here that will do it. However the price tag was right around $3K. I looked into it but figured that it would not ride as well as it does now and definately not $3K better. I looked into just the lift, I wanted to ride stock on the road and at a push of a button get 5-6 more inches to clear an obstacle/water crossing. It can be done the guy seemed really interested too since it was different.

[-x-]

doesnt the new range/land rover have a feature like that?

[AlaskaVX]

Originally posted by BigMeatVX
My VX is the tallest here on the board
Not for very long! Boarzhead (maybe before you joined) Has a 3" suspension and 3" body lift right now but in order to fit the tires he wants he is going to do a SAS and then a 14" lift! Can't wait to see how it comes out. I think he's going to fit some 44"s under there! ;eekr;

[VX_PA]

AlaskaVX,

That price sounds about right. I was told it would be about double what it costs to install a kit on an import car. That usually runs around $1500. The extra expense would be for the large heavy-duty air bags and the custom bracket fabrication. If I could find a manufacturer of airbag suspension kits that would want to sponsor my VX and build a kit for it, I'd jump all over that. But right now---no mon......no fun!! Oh well back to dreamin'.:D

[CrzyFool]

Wish I ever took pictures . . .

I lowered my VX 2" and put 20" Enkei Rims and Low-Profile Goodyear tires. It looks awesome and I still have a nice amount of ground clearance. The ride became a little rougher when it was originally dropped, but the wider/softer tires have brought my ride to a happy medium. I am quite pleased with the job I have done and maybe one day I'll even take some damn pictures of the thing. :-p

[Cyrk]

CrzyFool, so what springs did you use? Where did you get them?
-Dave

[Triathlete]

Originally posted by AlaskaVX
Not for very long! Boarzhead (maybe before you joined) Has a 3" suspension and 3" body lift right now but in order to fit the tires he wants he is going to do a SAS and then a 14" lift! Can't wait to see how it comes out. I think he's going to fit some 44"s under there! ;eekr;

Speaking of Boarzhead, haven't seen him around here lately. Anyone know what hes upto? I'd like to see an udate on his project. And I hope he's taking lots of pics as he does that SAS!

[AlaskaVX]

Originally posted by Triathlete
Speaking of Boarzhead, haven't seen him around here lately. Anyone know what hes upto? I'd like to see an udate on his project. And I hope he's taking lots of pics as he does that SAS!

Just talked to him the other day and it looks like he is going to be doing the SAS in April. He plans on selling me his old lift for cheep (score;Dy; ) He is having a local shop do it for right around $4,000. I think he said he's going to put 38"s on, not 44"s.

His computer crashed like 8 months ago and hasn't had it fixed yet (reason for his absence). But he's always asking whats going on on the forum.