VX Lowering Kits

[majork]

Anyone come across VX type lowering kits out there.......I know this sort of reverses the general trend.......but......

[VX crazy]

:nop: ;puke2;

say it isnt so.........

[Cyrk]

There has been talk about it before... someone found springs that did not work and some people have tried cutting the bump stops, no one has successful done it yet... as for me i would LOVE a 2 inch drop, as long as it did not ride like crap.

BigMeatVX knows of a way...


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.....

[Maugan_VX]

:nop: ;puke2;

say it isnt so.........


I'm with him.

[PK]

Just roaming around to get some tips and ideas on how to lower my VX.
Thank you so much for sharing this useful information. Anyway, I'm thinking now of getting the lowering kits (http://www.stylintrucks.com/sn.aspx?category|category_root|-30=Suspension&category|cat_-30|374=Lowering+Kits) i found on sale from stylintrucks. :grinb:

Good luck with that.
They don't actually make one for the VX.

PK

[Grif]

Good luck with that.
They don't actually make one for the VX.

PK

I was wondering WTF too. Call it a morbid curiosity but I had to look, it ain't there.

[LittleBeast]

They don't actually make one for the VX.

Thank goodness now it is harder for people to ruin our beloved VX's. Why in the world try to make a good looking and performing off-road vehicle lower? Just looks tacky, not different, just terrible.

The post with the link looks like Spam to me. Funny that someone would actually think that we would want to ruin a VX by lowering it. If you can't reach the handle buy a car :)

[Marlin]

Thank goodness now it is harder for people to ruin our beloved VX's. Why in the world try to make a good looking and performing off-road vehicle lower? Just looks tacky, not different, just terrible.

The post with the link looks like Spam to me. Funny that someone would actually think that we would want to ruin a VX by lowering it. If you can't reach the handle buy a car :)

Thats true, I know I have done some crazy stuff to mine, but it is all to enhance offroad performance, what it was meant for. You want to lower something, you should get an S-10, or a Typhoon, or a Rubicon. (I saw a lowered late model rubi on 22s or some such the other day, it made me cry, he couldn't even turn all the way around in my intersection, cause his wheels were too big).
;wtf;:_thinking:_mecker::_mecker::_thinking;wtf;

But its your truck, do what you want, even though a new honda civic will smoke you off the line...

[TheGanzman]

Thank goodness now it is harder for people to ruin our beloved VX's. Why in the world try to make a good looking and performing off-road vehicle lower? Just looks tacky, not different, just terrible.

The post with the link looks like Spam to me. Funny that someone would actually think that we would want to ruin a VX by lowering it. If you can't reach the handle buy a car :)

Many people would think that some of the "popular" mods implemented here on this Forum on the VX would be considered "ruining" them, for the record...

[circmand]

To those who think lowering is a sin but are okay with jacking the Vx up 3 or more inches to improve pewrformance. I call foul. For one the designs did not call for jacking up so thats wrong. Adding hieght to an already turn over prone vehicle makes it more likely to flip. Hardly an improvement one would like to make. I think a lowered VX would take us back to an era of cool hot rods with modern amenities. I havent done it yet but once I take the VX off the road as a daily driver I am thinking lowering it adding flames and winning a few area contests

[VXorado]

Why couldn't you buy some stiff OME 919 and cut the spring down to the height you want? Then just lower the IFS with the torsion bars. Seems pretty easy to me as long as you make sure there is clearance for the body & suspension.

You could just cut the stock springs but would probably loose too much spring and bottom out everywhere

[tom4bren]

Makes about as much sense to me as the 'slammed' Chevy dually running around Fredericksburg. Gotta admire the effort & engineering that went into doing it ... but what's the purpose.

The only justification for lowering a vehicle (other than looks) is to improve cornering and decrease wind drag. The VX is never gonna be a street performer.

On the other hand, lifting a VX does provide increased performance in terms of ground clearance and allow for installation of larger and more agressive tires. That is - it improves the capabilities that it was designed for.

[Mile High VX]

Someone has a great photo of a lowered VX with enlarged cladding flairs that looks pretty sweet to me...but I like most of the "tuner" cars anyway.

:smilewink:bgwo::bgwb::bwgy:

[circmand]

On the other hand, lifting a VX does provide increased performance in terms of ground clearance and allow for installation of larger and more agressive tires. That is - it improves the capabilities that it was designed for.

The extra ground clearance works well for rock climbing or low speed 4 wheelin. It also makes the VX as nimble and well baalanced as a hippo on roller skates. A look at the driver side sun visor will show a warning about the instability of the VX. Raising the center of gravity makes it worse. As for larger more aggresive tires they weigh more tax the little 4L30E tranny and actually decrease performance. So basically jacking it up and slapping big wheels actually decreases performance

[tom4bren]

A look at the driver side sun visor will show a warning about the instability of the VX.

Every 4x4 sold since '96 has those.

As for the rest ... we'll have to agree to disagree:)

[vt_maverick]

Thats true, I know I have done some crazy stuff to mine, but it is all to enhance offroad performance, what it was meant for. ...


On the other hand, lifting a VX does provide increased performance in terms of ground clearance and allow for installation of larger and more agressive tires. That is - it improves the capabilities that it was designed for.

I don't know if I totally agree with those statements. I remember commercials of the VX rocketing across the desert, and magazine articles showing VX's in dirt and snow, but I don't remember any ads or photos of VX's doing heavy duty rock crawling, mudding, etc. If that was in fact "what it was meant/designed for" why would Isuzu give it IFS, no full-size spare (like the Trooper, Rodeo, Amigo, or even Axiom), etc.? Sometimes I think the offroad-focused nature of this site leads people to think that Moab and other places like it are the VX's natural habitat. I think it's pretty clear that the VX was designed as an all-purpose vehicle, combining nice handling on the road and good capability in the dirt/snow, but without being amazing at either. You can certainly build up a VX into an amazingly capable off-roader, but that potential doesn't mean "that's what it was meant for" out of the box. I think there's a big difference between slamming a dually vs. lowering a PUV.

I'm not saying I would like the look ( ;puke: ) but I think criticizing it because it doesn't enhance one half of the VX design is a weak argument.

[Marlin]

I understand what you are saying, but the marketing of the VX (the slat flats ad) was not a good idea, it is not fast by any stretch of the imagination, maybe in 99 it was quick, but certainly not now. That is how they marketed it...not a very good strategy IMO.

[WormGod]

Here we go again.... I think I am gonna start pissing and moaning when someone lifts their VX. ;)

If you live in the midwest or southwest, anywhere but here, more power to ya. Reach for the sky. In and around Washington, DC, the best I could do is crawl over a mall curb. Little to no snow, but when it does, we are such a pu55y area that everything shuts down anyways. Plus, we actually have painful laws restricting vehicle height when it comes to lifting. In any case, lifting just is not a popular thing here. Hell, looking out my office window here at 10:30am at the Capital Beltway, it's rainy and gridlocked. Again, welcome to the concrete jungle.

If I had the opportunity to lower mine just a bit, I probably would. I would only go as low as I could keeping everything functional. Being the owner of a slammed STi, it's really not that much of a change for me (not that I would "slam" the VX). Sorry, lifting just isn't my thing, and around here, lifting is typically linked to Dixie flags and white hoods anyways. :(

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/thumbs/41spyhunter.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/977)

[tom4bren]

I repeat


... we'll have to agree to disagree:)

[WormGod]

I repeat

I disagree with your repetition.

BTW.... sure wish I caught a picture of the lifted VAN that I saw on I270 yesterday evening. Matte black w/ perhaps a 7"-10" lift and what appeared to be 33" rubber. Had like 10 CB radio antennas. Included, it had a sticker on the back window that said "A Country Boy Can Survive". Just goes to show ya.... anything is possible. ;)

[vt_maverick]

Sounds more like the A-Team... :)

[vt_maverick]

Btw, I saw a convertible Dodge Caravan running around town the other day. Like most crazy stuff in this area, it wasn't a newer model but one of the original body style Caravans, circa 1986. Truly awesome.

[tom4bren]

I disagree with your repetition.

BTW.... sure wish I caught a picture of the lifted VAN that I saw on I270 yesterday evening. Matte black w/ perhaps a 7"-10" lift and what appeared to be 33" rubber. Had like 10 CB radio antennas. Included, it had a sticker on the back window that said "A Country Boy Can Survive". Just goes to show ya.... anything is possible. ;)

& a bumper sticker that reads: "Caution - Driver chewing tobacco"

[WormGod]

& a bumper sticker that reads: "Caution - Driver chewing tobacco"

It was a treat seeing that on the Clara Barton Pkwy. Usually it's nothing but Mercs and Beemers at that time, but THAT made my day. A unicorn to be sure.

[Marlin]

As much as it hurts me to do this, there is a very easy way to lower the VX, would take less than 30 minutes, pending rust.
Crank the torsion bars down to desired height. You can get the spring compressors at pepboys for like 30 bucks. I lowered my honda civic with those when I was in highschool, drove it that way for 4 years, no problems...and you would have to cut the rear bump stop...

[don moore]

http://vehi.world.coocan.jp/moon/moon3.jpg

[vt_maverick]

With those rims it starts to look reminiscent of a hatchback/roadster... or maybe a larger PT Cruiser. :(

[RamAirZ]

Here is mine when I got it:

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/RamAirZ/IMG_0114.jpg

I think lowering it just a tad, turbo'd, 5spd swap, would be one hell of a fun toy. There's a difference between lowering and slamming. Doesn't need to be tucking tires but hovering the tops of the tires with the right wheels/tires would look killer. I'd just trim the rear springs a bit and remove the isolators and lower the T-bars up front.

[RallyDude]

I've lowered mine 3"-4" with no problems at all. I just took out the lift kit the PO installed. For my uses, the stock height works best. While I am an avid off-roader, I still enjoy riding the twisty pavement as well. As a PUV, I appreciate that the VX is capable both on- and off-road. The stock height is a great compromise that performs great for me. Raising a vehicle doesn't automatically make it better off-road either. On off-camber trails, a raised VX is more prone to tip over; and sometimes you need to drive under obstacles as well.

We all chose a Vehicross as it is unique, so it shouldn't surprise us that owners want to make it even more unique. When I first read the post, I too was like "what the hell". Then I saw the lowered white VX posted above. While it's not what I would do with mine, I can appreciate all the work and attention to detail that it's owner obviously had when creating his own version of the VX. Did you notice what looks to be motorized retractable running boards?

As far as this site being off-road oriented, it only makes sense on a vehicle that has low-range 4WD stock. That however, isn't the only application that the VX excels in. If we all had the same vision and all wanted to do the same mods, this would be a very boring site. So I say go for it. Show us your vision of the VX, and while we may not want to do it to our rides, we certainly can appreciate yet another unique VX, and a job well done.

p.s. The quickest way to lower it is to put a few bags of cement in the cargo area and start dating fat chicks.

[Marlin]

Having just finished the IFS install, I don't think lowering the VX without major front end changes is practical. I had my front pretty low after the IFS kit install. It rode like garbage. Even with rancho9000s at 9, it was a verysquishy ride. The lower the front, the less tension in the torsion bars, therefore a much softer ride. It would defeat the purpose of lowering it. The only way I can see to go would be a shorter torsion bar mounted to a new, closer to the front crossmember. Its doable, but not easy.

[Gussie2000]

Once i saw costie costa roof scoop all i can say is ANY THING IS POSSIBLE.

[vt_maverick]

I've lowered mine 3"-4" with no problems at all. I just took out the lift kit the PO installed. For my uses, the stock height works best. While I am an avid off-roader, I still enjoy riding the twisty pavement as well. As a PUV, I appreciate that the VX is capable both on- and off-road. The stock height is a great compromise that performs great for me. Raising a vehicle doesn't automatically make it better off-road either. On off-camber trails, a raised VX is more prone to tip over; and sometimes you need to drive under obstacles as well.

We all chose a Vehicross as it is unique, so it shouldn't surprise us that owners want to make it even more unique. When I first read the post, I too was like "what the hell". Then I saw the lowered white VX posted above. While it's not what I would do with mine, I can appreciate all the work and attention to detail that it's owner obviously had when creating his own version of the VX. Did you notice what looks to be motorized retractable running boards?

As far as this site being off-road oriented, it only makes sense on a vehicle that has low-range 4WD stock. That however, isn't the only application that the VX excels in. If we all had the same vision and all wanted to do the same mods, this would be a very boring site. So I say go for it. Show us your vision of the VX, and while we may not want to do it to our rides, we certainly can appreciate yet another unique VX, and a job well done.

p.s. The quickest way to lower it is to put a few bags of cement in the cargo area and start dating fat chicks.

Well said. But why you got to hate on the bigger girls man? Don't you know fat bottom girls make the rockin' world go round? :p

[JHarris1385]

Mine was lowered when purchased. De cranked torsion - compressed springs. Just an inch or so.

[RallyDude]

I'm not hating on the big girls, in fact I'm condoning it. Like the earlier poster said, go buy a spring compressor.

[vt_maverick]

Then it seems like a spring compressor would be unnecessary... :D

[RamAirZ]

DONT use a spring compressor. It "works" but eventually they will move around on the coil and heaven forbid you hit a huge bump and bottom out on top of them.

[Marlin]

DONT use a spring compressor. It "works" but eventually they will move around on the coil and heaven forbid you hit a huge bump and bottom out on top of them.

Just tack them into place, you are already taking away the performance of the VX anyway by releasing tension on the torsion bars, what is one more thing?

[RamAirZ]

safety. The heat from the welder could effect the spring tension, and I personally don't like the idea of limiting the springs travel basically. Just cut a coil off. That's just my opinion though

[Marlin]

I would think it more effective to lift it, put some 26s on it, put some starburst stickers all over it, and then make 12 point turns to get into a parking lot, meanwhile backing up traffic while we wait for them to get the hell out of the way.

[RamAirZ]

No starburst stickers, Skittles all the way:

http://autoculture.org/blog/wp-content/gallery/donklicious/donk_skittles.jpg

[Marlin]

That "guy" actually looks like he did it right. The lift looks serviceable. Definitely not like what we have around here.
I was just talking to someone at work about this, there are two new fads sweeping the nation.

One is the ridiculous donk concept, the other is the return of old trucks. Call it the white version of donks, minus the impracticality.
80s Chevy, ford and dodge trucks are in high demand. There are at least a dozen in the parking lot at work that are in great shape and they paid 4 or 5K for em!!! It is artificially inflating the values of the trucks, much the same as the Crown Vic/caprice fad.

[RamAirZ]

Ya alot of guys are looking to do stuff like this with em':

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=342342&stc=1&d=1204949442

[Marlin]

Ya alot of guys are looking to do stuff like this with em':

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=342342&stc=1&d=1204949442

Dead link on the photo. Strangely enough, I have three guys in my office that have more than 250K in savings, one of em over 1 million and one real close. A few others have over 100K saved. One just got rid of his 2010 Z71 to get a 3rd gen chevy truck and a decent chevelle(wants to spend <20K). When I asked him why, he said cause they are cool. I hate having wealthy employees, but they are in the military for the right reasons. They do their jobs amazingly well.

Some of those decal sets for the cars are upwards of 2K. Not cheap, and of course those wheels are worth 2-3 times what the car itself is worth.

[RamAirZ]

huh the pic shows up for me, that's weird. It's a bagged 80's 4dr dually chevy truck. It's towing a mini truck on a car trailer while having the bags aired out and dragging throwing sparks. Those guys sound like me, I'd rather buy older vehicles I like and fix up the way I want than buy something new. I'd end up changing everything on it anyways

[Marlin]

huh the pic shows up for me, that's weird. It's a bagged 80's 4dr dually chevy truck. It's towing a mini truck on a car trailer while having the bags aired out and dragging throwing sparks. Those guys sound like me, I'd rather buy older vehicles I like and fix up the way I want than buy something new. I'd end up changing everything on it anyways

If I click on your photo via the auto email update from VXinfo, it works, just not in the thread.

I would never do that to a truck!!!!
The theme around here is more of the Fall Guy look, small mudders/ATs, more of the redneck theme. Definitely no bags in the military parking lot.

On a lighter note, in defense of my VX, I played the "I spy" game. I can spot at least 13 Jeeps in any of our 6 parking lots at work. Most are female students, or what we call "lumberjacks". But there are a ton of em, from bone stock, to decked out. NONE of them wheel, I asked around and tried to start a little club. Their response: "No way, its still under warranty". What better time to wheel it?!!
:hj:
Thread jack complete:( Sorry bossman, since I finished my statistics and English Comp class, I have a lot more free time, no classes until Feb) On another thread jack, for those who don't think they have time to work on their VX, you are 100% WRONG. I have a xbox360 gamer score of almost 32K, you know about the ridiculous VX projects I do, in the Navy, college courses, a 5 year old and 4 year old boy, both of which can fetch and carry tools, and probably change your oil. There is lots of time, just gotta budget it appropriately....