Offroad-Express

hey guys, just looking for some advice for all those guru's out there,

Im looking at strengthening the front of my terrano raised 2 inch suspension and 2 inch bodylift, in ways
like a solid front axle, or upgrading the steering and front suspension.

i have a few ways i can do this,

i could do what most people are doing and get a toyota axle with leafs, more complicated with coils insted of leafs, or i can go the calmini way.

if i were to go the calmini way i could do a steering upgrade like so:


and a couple of other things like the wishbone upgrade:



if i were to go the sas front end it would require more work, but which one would be worth it in the end.

keep in mind i dont really hardcore 4x4, just back roads and a few goat tracks, although i would like to do more trails.

i want this mainly as a driving vehicle, so ride comfort is up there in the priorities.

i have heard that the sas will cost about 5k and from what i have worked out the price to do the wishbone and steering upgrade about 2.5-3k.

sorry about rambling on a little, but i need info, and please no get a safari or landcruiser, i like the terrano too much.

also if anyone has any idea if this stuff is certifiable.

I would go the way of sas any day if that is how much the steering and wishbone upgrade would cost. The offroad ability will be a huge improvement and resale value will be worth it.

how does it affect the steering though? would it be better, worse or about the same.

i really like the steering on the terrano at the moment, and i wouldnt want to loose any turning capability.

That Calmini stuff is not certifiable here in NZ unless you get it all X-rayed and crack tested, so my local certifier told me. It's a shame as I too would go down the same track.

Don't qoute me on this but to get it tested you have to take it back to bare metal

does anyone know how much it costs to get it tested?

i really would like these kits.

anything can be repainted

as gimmiemud said, SAS would be much better offroad, and for resale.

u13turbo wrote:as gimmiemud said, SAS would be much better offroad, and for resale.

That all depends, some people would prefer to stick to IFS and have the benefits of a Calmini kit, rather than a full on SAS conversion.

And everytime someone wants to use Calmini stuff somebody brings up the certifiable part, Has anybody actually put it on there truck then had to get it crack tested? there seems to be a shitload of suzukis with calmini gear on them. someones certifying it.

yes, two suzuki's in manukau club with Calmini stuff in them

ide say go the calami then,
sounds like you want to keep the comforts you have but just improve it.. and you save 2k over sas.
sas is if you want to turn into a potential tough truck

The calmini kits are a waste of time from what i was told for the nissans, a local guy here has one and it sagged to standard height afta a year, shocks also leaked very quickly, and if you go on NPORA or Pirate4x4 the guys dont rate calmini very highly.

The major problem with a SAS on a Terrano is that you can't just swing a Toyota or Nissan axle under it and fab you mounts up to suit where it sits.

All of the axles available have the diff center on the wrong side so need some serious and careful work to flip the center to the other side.

That can involve carefully machining off the swivel housings, rotating the assembly and setting up in a jig to reset the caster angle, moving the filler plug, cutting off the spring purches, radius arm mounts and panhard rod mounts and resetting them up on the other side of the axle.

That adds a whole extra dimension to doing a SAS. Its not just a case of cutting the IFS mounts out and blazing in the new suspension and steering mounts where they want to fit

Just beef up the steering, stick a body lift and 32's under it, treat her nice and enjoy it.

My old truck running 32" Simex Pede's, a bit of steering work, and driven accordingly. That truck went some place's!!!

It's pretty simple. If the suspension part is laod bearing eg 'A' arm then it has to be x-rayed and from what I understand it isn't that expensive.
If i was you I'd stick with the IFS and just strengthen the steering etc. Sit back and watch over the next few years and you are going to see alot of top end competition trucks come out with IFS setup's on them. I know of a few playing with things at present. (I'm one of them)
Simply put IFS give you a better allround 4x4. It will handle better of road, it will hand small bumps offroad better and at a higher speed. Sure a solid axle is cheaper to make strong and in extreme hardcore is a better option but for what this guy is talking he should saty IFS and just beef up the known weak points. For a terrano if you sort out the steering then what else is a problem? I've seen them perform very well with the only issue being the steering requiring regular replacing.

cheers for all the advice guys,

At the moment if i do get the Calmini stuff, i will be just getting the complete 3" lift kit, and maybe just keep my Munroe shocks, and also the steering package.

i dont believe in mismatching parts like springs from one place, shocks from another, then other bits from other places, because this kit is designed to work with the components that are included.

I do like the look of the steering package, so maybe that after the ifs upgrade.

Does anyone know of any places that do the x-raying etc? and i know a good powder coater so getting it all painted will be easy.

SGS do weld testing here in auckland

cool cheers coxsy, ill ring them and get a quote.

Spray paint them black instead of blue and Mr Wof man wouldn't have a clue??

Yes some of the calmini stuff is crap and dangerous (personally I wouldn't buy any of it based on what I've seen)
But the decission to non destructive test is up to the certifier it isn't a blanket everything must be tested, you may find they are acceptable without it... or you may find they will want to submit them to the technical advisory committy.... there are alot of rules about custom A arms (most of it to do with tube arms) you might find they have seen them before
Talk to your local certifier.... before you even consider buying them
Oh and your steering kit maybe a bigger issue.... steering is something they are very touchy about now especially on long travel oh and its now classed as scatch built so look at extra money to get certified

Cheers Reece

As DB said, spray them black, do a few runs then wof man will probably never know. Ive found VTNZ the best for not actually knowing things about cars.

my mate just got a 3" calmini lift for his navara had it xrayed for free by a mate and no you dont lose the paint job and now it is all certed and seems to work great

Aza wrote:my mate just got a 3" calmini lift for his navara had it xrayed for free by a mate and no you dont lose the paint job and now it is all certed and seems to work great

Can you get the details off him re where he went for the certification/xray and cost to import etc please?

Curious, if you don't get it certed, drive it a bit, then wof'ed by someone like vtnz who don't know any better, will insurance still cover you if they discover the mods if you have an accident? Genuinely curious, not being a smartass

just curious dirty dog how much is it for the steering kit off calmani? im curious to know as i keep bending tierods and was wondering if this would stop it...

sorry guys i know im a lil off topic

It sounds like a lot of money and work to gain a stronger front end, have you considered other options like selling it and buying a simular truck with a solid front axle like a hilux or surf or something like that?

pouw wrote:Curious, if you don't get it certed, drive it a bit, then wof'ed by someone like vtnz who don't know any better, will insurance still cover you if they discover the mods if you have an accident? Genuinely curious, not being a smartass

Short answer, no insurance.

Sadam_Husain wrote:It sounds like a lot of money and work to gain a stronger front end, have you considered other options like selling it and buying a simular truck with a solid front axle like a hilux or surf or something like that?

Because he can, just like any other truck that you end up spending dollars on really.
And if it is not too expensive to get the xraying done, I too will seriously look at this option.

Sadam_Husain wrote:It sounds like a lot of money and work to gain a stronger front end, have you considered other options like selling it and buying a simular truck with a solid front axle like a hilux or surf or something like that?

Because if he got a surf he'd end up paying the same amount from heads....

pouw wrote:Curious, if you don't get it certed, drive it a bit, then wof'ed by someone like vtnz who don't know any better, will insurance still cover you if they discover the mods if you have an accident? Genuinely curious, not being a smartass

Tough one and the only person able to answer will be insurance company and if you ask them they will say no.

However what I do is list everything I have done to my vehicles and give that to the insurance company in writing so that they are aware of all accessories and modifications, whether certified or not. That way they can't say they didn't know!