[RJM]

The one and only Grand Vitara that can challenge the bigger 4x4s.

I have over the years followed GV in international markets and have been impressed with its performance as a compact overland vehicle. It is capable of doing a lot more especially if it is given a little bit of extra ground clearance and decent set of tyres. I sincerely believe that it is a perfect package but was released ahead of its time in India.

I wanted to take up a project of making the GV more capable off-road and the criteria was:

• 2" lift kit
• MT tyres
• space for snow chains
• LSD - rear
• Stablizer bar disconnect

in addition to the above, got it painted, added door insulation along with lubrication of critical components.

Attached photos as self explanatory of the end result, the wheel arches have been extended to accommodate snow chains and the 245/75/R16 tyres have beefed up the look big time while increasing the ground clearance by approx 100mm over the standard.

The last photos shows the GV in its elements soaked in mud and rain.

[dhanushs]

When you put offset wheels, getting muck on the body is unavoidable. I think he should've kept the wheel arches stock with these rims. Would've looked awesome. Now, I feel the look is kindof incomplete.

The Vitara is a very good handler, I wonder how it behaves with the sway bar disconnect, considering it cant gain much off-roadability with sway bar disconnect.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by RJM

....I wanted to take up a project of making the GV more capable offroad and the criteria was:
==============
2in lift kit
============
LSD - rear.....

Nice effort

Which lift kit you have used and what have you used for LSD at rear?

Originally Posted by dhanushs

........ Now, I feel the look is kindof incomplete.

Agree. Looks incomplete, but looks are also a personal subject.

The Vitara is a very good handler, I wonder how it behaves with the sway bar disconnect, considering it cant gain much off-roadability with sway bar disconnect.

Same question.

[RJM]

Even removing the stabilizer bar doesn't cause any difference especially up to 100kmph, it becomes more responsive to unevenness on the ground and certainly aids in traction and prevents wheel spin where it generally would lift a wheel.

I had sourced 2in block lift kit from Russia and LSD from Turkey. It engages automatically when wheel spin happens and transfers power to the wheel that is on the ground.

It was a trade off between making it outright offroad beast and keeping it road legal as traffic department is less forgiving nowadays. Besides from a practical aspect extending the wheel arches may have stolen it that look but tames the mud that gets thrown it all angles. The focus was more towards improving offload ability rather towards have a cosmetic upgrade.

It will also not win any of the 0-60 runs, it has gone a bit slower with the massive tyres but I think it was never meant to do that anyway.

The main points that draw me to it was, petrol engine, starts like a charm in minus temperatures, 5 door setup which makes it perfect for overland journeys. width is more than height so it retains car like dynamics even in ghat sections as I have seen how fortuners and similar tall body SUVs struggle with body roll. just close to 1500kg in total weight comes in handy. The overall length is under 4.5m, helps immensely in the wild and in urban jungle as well, besides, this is the cheapest one would get with a proper 4x4 to tackle the wild. It is a full time AWD system that is a bonus and one doesn't has to engage 4x4 all the time.

Looking forward to more comments from all BHPians.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by RJM

...I had sourced 2in block lift kit from Russia and LSD from Turkey. It engages automatically when wheel spin happens and transfers power to the wheel that is on the ground.

Link to the lift-kit please and also details of the LSD from Turkey. Which make, link for details, etc. Do share pricing also and that will be of great help.

Also, if you were importing, why not import an air-locker for the Vitara and instead you choose a LSD?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by RJM

It is a full time AWD system that is a bonus and one doesn't has to engage 4x4 all the time.

It is a full time 4WD with a center LSD. You have the option to lock the center LSD, or not.

[Ragul]

Hello
Can you elaborate on "space for snow chains" as distinct from "2inch lift kit"? I want to believe that the lift kit provides space for running snow chains but you seem to be referring to something else?

BTW killer looking car! I would love to own one like that.

[aravind422]

Hi,

Nice to see this much dedication. Hats off to you.

Just out of curiosity, the tyres you have put on seem much larger (in diameter) than the stock ones. How do you compensate for speedo & odo error?

More importantly, when those MT tyres get stuck in serious mud, or, if you go rock crawling to make use of that huge GC (I would love to do that) won't the increase in diameter steal a sizeable chunk of your Vitara's torque?

I also feel that when in tough situations, it will put a huge strain on parts of your drivetrain (CV joints, clutch, etc.). The model prior to your vehicle had a transfer case with low range, but I believe that yours is a viscous coupling type AWD. If that's the case, just be careful when pushing her to the limit.

Good luck.

[RJM]

BHPians Thank you for your kind comments. Regarding snow chains, as 245/75r16 tyres have been installed, the two inch lift kit would have taken care of that but a very small clearance especially at the lower wheel arch was left and there was a bit of rubbing on full steering lock. To compensate for that, wheel arches have been widened besides steel wheels with negative offset were chosen, the tyres were out of the body by almost an inch and a half. This is the reason wheel arches were modified to provide extra room for articulation and space for snow chains if needed.

Grand Vitara has a full time 4WD system with a proper low range gearbox. "4H lock" position locks the center differential, which means that equal torque is sent to the front and rear differentials. The front and rear differentials do NOT lock, so individual wheels may still slip.

4L Lock is gonna keep the differential locked, but also engage a reduction gear in the transfer case so the effective gearing to the wheels is much lower through the gear range.

With larger tyres there is between 3-5% speedo difference but with such mods the focus was not to build a race track car, its an adventure vehicle, it will go slow but has the goods to deliver in demanding situations. It does feel a bit sluggish on road but when it comes to mud trails, the low range comes in handy and provides the extra boost that is required for such situations and it is pretty adequate. I recently was following a gypsy on a mud trail, GV did everything gypsy was able to do and it did it even better by being composed due to independent suspension, if you know what I mean! GV offers un-comparable comfort as opposed to a gypsy on any terrain and with all the electronic traction control and full time 4WD, GV has proved better. Certainly, Gypsy is a bare bone hard core off-roader and it can take a lot more beating than a GV, but I have no intention of pushing GV to that zone. In coming months I shall put GV to paces and shall share photos and videos of how it does in various off-road situations.

Also there was a query asking for the reason going for LSD instead of air locker, LSD engages and disengages on it own based on the wheel spin and provides 90% of the engagement, on the other hand, air lockers offers 100% engagement however one has to plan , stop, turn them on and off before attempting a trail. Considering what GV is capable off-road I felt LSD more practical as it works without any additional input.

I have tried responding to all the queries that have been raised on the above posts in one answer. Please feel free to comment and I'm open for suggestions if any.

[aravind422]

Excellent.

So your vehicle does have 4Lo.

With the center diff lock and the rear LSD, you sure can conquer some bad terrain.

Happy driving...
...and drive safe.