Does the front suspension and/or steering off the 83 993cc Swift fit the MB?
tanks
Swift/Mighty boy suspension
I have a setup off a 87 SA gti (?). I suspect that there may be differences though. Not sure if I would recommend it either. - I'm still undecided as I still need to toy with the brakes on mine (calipers on either side are slightly different & therefore it's grabbing one of the fronts in the wet). The rear brakes need heaps of work too.
With my lowered spings I have 1 - 1.5° of neg camber too (which needs to be corrected also). I dont think this is related to the setup though if comments by other users are anything to go by.
The main differences are the rotor is much chunkier & slotted. The caliper sits further from centre of the wheel (you cant fit 12"ers with this setup) and the pads are bigger.
I have more power overall, but less feel initially at the mo. I need to grind the rotor & get new pads though to get a true comparison.
See the attached pics for some comparisons
Brakes : top - swift, bot - mb
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fritzgru/i ... GP2941.JPG
Struts : left - swift, right - mb
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fritzgru/i ... GP2935.JPG
Hubs : left - swift, right - mb
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fritzgru/i ... GP2943.JPG
If you still want to go this route you'll have to have the hubs & control joints machined. I can give you details of people who can do the work in perth if you like.
With my lowered spings I have 1 - 1.5° of neg camber too (which needs to be corrected also). I dont think this is related to the setup though if comments by other users are anything to go by.
The main differences are the rotor is much chunkier & slotted. The caliper sits further from centre of the wheel (you cant fit 12"ers with this setup) and the pads are bigger.
I have more power overall, but less feel initially at the mo. I need to grind the rotor & get new pads though to get a true comparison.
See the attached pics for some comparisons
Brakes : top - swift, bot - mb
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fritzgru/i ... GP2941.JPG
Struts : left - swift, right - mb
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fritzgru/i ... GP2935.JPG
Hubs : left - swift, right - mb
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fritzgru/i ... GP2943.JPG
If you still want to go this route you'll have to have the hubs & control joints machined. I can give you details of people who can do the work in perth if you like.
83-87 SA Swift struts will bolt straight in. They are also the same between base model and GTi variants, although the brakes and studs differ if you're using the entire setup. (GTi has 12mm studs and ventilated rotors.) The only thing you will need to fit them up is a modified clip to mount the brake line onto the strut, or the Swift brake lines if you prefer. IMO the Swift struts are better in this regard anyway because you can remove the strut unit entirely without having to disconnect and re-bleed the brake lines, as is the case with the MB struts.
Also worth mentioning that the Swift struts will lower the front end of the ute by an inch or so.
Also worth mentioning that the Swift struts will lower the front end of the ute by an inch or so.
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
True, the whole unit does bolt straight in. It's when you use the lowered springs that you run into troubles. (possibly you might even have troubles with a standard setup if you are unfortunate enough to hit a big pothole which could result in you bending your steering arms)
Ah yeah you'll also have issues with toe in if you use the swift hub. I had my control joints machined to solve that problem.
Ah yeah you'll also have issues with toe in if you use the swift hub. I had my control joints machined to solve that problem.
Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention was that the swift hub has a bigger bore where the wheel attaches. Concequently, laser alloys, and a whole lot of other 13" wheels wont fit anymore. I ended up getting new alloys for this reason.
Certainly Fritz, I was talking more about the Swift strut unit itself, which can be used with stock MB hubs and brakes with no negative factors other than the obvious lowering of the body which I spoke about.
Are you using the GTi brakes or just the standard Swift units Fritz? Waz swapped over to the ventilated GTi variety but then swapped back to MB unventilated as he found the brakes would never get up to optimum temperature when GTi equipped.
I'd be inclined to agree considering how well my own ute pulls up with the DBA rotors and Bendix Advance pads. They didn't even fade noticeably when used on the track. I'm just curious to get your feedback on how your brakes are performing.
Are you using the GTi brakes or just the standard Swift units Fritz? Waz swapped over to the ventilated GTi variety but then swapped back to MB unventilated as he found the brakes would never get up to optimum temperature when GTi equipped.
I'd be inclined to agree considering how well my own ute pulls up with the DBA rotors and Bendix Advance pads. They didn't even fade noticeably when used on the track. I'm just curious to get your feedback on how your brakes are performing.
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
I'm using the gti brakes. The actual calipers are very similar in size to the mb one, but they are located further from the centreline of the wheel. Like I have said before, I have noticed that I have less 'feel', but they have ampol power (can lock them at higher speeds than before if I want). I dont know what sort of pads they are though? - and the rotors need machining. Maybe that'll bring back the feel I like?
I found that my origional MB brakes were quite good, but often I managed to 'smoke' them when braking hard from a singular high (relative) speed. For 99% of people this would be fine, but I hammer my brakes so it annoyed me somewhat.
I found that my origional MB brakes were quite good, but often I managed to 'smoke' them when braking hard from a singular high (relative) speed. For 99% of people this would be fine, but I hammer my brakes so it annoyed me somewhat.
just wanted to update this post with some info for others, thinking of doing the SA strut conversion. (did mine yesterday)
You Need;
-SA Swift Struts (Gabriel #G55749 or Monroe #71805)
-13.5mm or 14mm drill bit
-Spring Compressors
-Brake Fluid
-1-man brake bleeder bottle (can use a juice bottle if you don't have one)
-SA413 Brake lines (optional, but saves you dissconnecting the brakes and bleeding them everytime you want to remove the suspension)
- 17, 19mm spanners/sockets, etc...
Measurements I took;
MB Std. Suspension
SA Swift / MB Combo Suspension
So the SA Swift/MB combo suspension drops the front by 23mm (~1 inch).
What to do;
-put car on stands (both sides)
-Disconnect brake lines
-Fit SA swift lines to caliper and top connection where the line enters the wheel arch.
-Bleed front & rear brakes
-1/4 turn undo top strut centre bolt (from engine bay) as these may be hard to undo once the strut is off the car (ONLY 1/4 turn undo though)
-Remove strut top nuts & hub bolts
-Inspect sway-bar & control arm bushes
-Dissassemble strut in the conventional way (spring compressor etc...)
-Drill out the new strut's mounting holes to 14mm. This will give you almost the same camber as std. strut; as both holes have been evenly enlarged (not elongated).
-Assemble cleaned springs etc onto new strut (use non petroleum grease on top mount surfaces around the bearing plate)
-Put back on car
-Remember to use the clip that came with the brake lines to secure it to the strut (same clip for most suzuki's)
-Test Drive
Issues
The SA Swift strut mounting plate for the hub is not raised on the back-side. So the strut will rub on the CV boot if the shock is ever at full extension on the car. Normal driving this doesn't occur as it's compressed 'all' of the time, which leaves enough clearance.
The only major issue i had with the whole conversion was that one of my Gabriel shocks is significantly stiffer and doesn't rebound anywhere near as quick as the other. (both are supposidly brand new, but i'm guessing they have been sitting on a shelf for a long time)
They do have different 'sub'-part numbers and i was wondering does anyone know what they mean.
Soft Strut - C01193G
Hard Strut - C01134G
It's almost like some old school moto's that have 1 fork for rebound and 1 fork for compression, but for a car that would mean the sway bar needs to do alot of work!!!!!
Will drive it for a few days to see if it improves....before contacting shop. I have put the stiff strut on on the drivers side, just incase it's mean't to be stiffer to accomodate the permanant drivers weight...
You Need;
-SA Swift Struts (Gabriel #G55749 or Monroe #71805)
-13.5mm or 14mm drill bit
-Spring Compressors
-Brake Fluid
-1-man brake bleeder bottle (can use a juice bottle if you don't have one)
-SA413 Brake lines (optional, but saves you dissconnecting the brakes and bleeding them everytime you want to remove the suspension)
- 17, 19mm spanners/sockets, etc...
Measurements I took;
MB Std. Suspension
SA Swift / MB Combo Suspension
So the SA Swift/MB combo suspension drops the front by 23mm (~1 inch).
What to do;
-put car on stands (both sides)
-Disconnect brake lines
-Fit SA swift lines to caliper and top connection where the line enters the wheel arch.
-Bleed front & rear brakes
-1/4 turn undo top strut centre bolt (from engine bay) as these may be hard to undo once the strut is off the car (ONLY 1/4 turn undo though)
-Remove strut top nuts & hub bolts
-Inspect sway-bar & control arm bushes
-Dissassemble strut in the conventional way (spring compressor etc...)
-Drill out the new strut's mounting holes to 14mm. This will give you almost the same camber as std. strut; as both holes have been evenly enlarged (not elongated).
-Assemble cleaned springs etc onto new strut (use non petroleum grease on top mount surfaces around the bearing plate)
-Put back on car
-Remember to use the clip that came with the brake lines to secure it to the strut (same clip for most suzuki's)
-Test Drive
Issues
The SA Swift strut mounting plate for the hub is not raised on the back-side. So the strut will rub on the CV boot if the shock is ever at full extension on the car. Normal driving this doesn't occur as it's compressed 'all' of the time, which leaves enough clearance.
The only major issue i had with the whole conversion was that one of my Gabriel shocks is significantly stiffer and doesn't rebound anywhere near as quick as the other. (both are supposidly brand new, but i'm guessing they have been sitting on a shelf for a long time)
They do have different 'sub'-part numbers and i was wondering does anyone know what they mean.
Soft Strut - C01193G
Hard Strut - C01134G
It's almost like some old school moto's that have 1 fork for rebound and 1 fork for compression, but for a car that would mean the sway bar needs to do alot of work!!!!!
Will drive it for a few days to see if it improves....before contacting shop. I have put the stiff strut on on the drivers side, just incase it's mean't to be stiffer to accomodate the permanant drivers weight...
Last edited by ike849 on Sat May 10, 2008 3:42 pm, edited 4 times in total.
did u bleed them before puttin them in? as in pump it up and down a fair bit?
you mean exercise the strut??? yeah fully collasped to fully extended it a few times and then put on car went for drive...still the same. (just reading gabriel fitting instructions now and they mention nothing about exercising the strut....)
came home took it off. did it again but upside down...no difference (i was curious whether this would force oil/gas to move around and locate properly).
I think it's shagged as the tyre scraps on that side when cornering, the other side is fine.
not happy as since i've drilled out the mounting holes i don't know if they will return it. I think i will just say i drilled out the holes for my camber bolts rather than say it was fitted to another car.....
came home took it off. did it again but upside down...no difference (i was curious whether this would force oil/gas to move around and locate properly).
I think it's shagged as the tyre scraps on that side when cornering, the other side is fine.
not happy as since i've drilled out the mounting holes i don't know if they will return it. I think i will just say i drilled out the holes for my camber bolts rather than say it was fitted to another car.....
the ones i got which were koni inserts were adjustible from soft to hard, i didnt realise till i had them in 
, but u i think u turn the top of it so many deg to adjust it..
, but u i think u turn the top of it so many deg to adjust it..the Gabriel box says nothing about adjustablilty, infact it says a slow rebound is normal for these struts. So i think that confirms the soft one is shagged as it rebounds quite fast (ie normal...???)
When mounted to the car and you push on the bonnet, the stiff side acts quite normal (though maybe a bit stiff for the MB spring rate), while the soft side has quite a bit more bounce, so that also tells me that the dampner is not dampning the springs...'spring' if you know what i mean.
I will try turning the top, i'm assuming "lefty loosey, righty tighty"???
When mounted to the car and you push on the bonnet, the stiff side acts quite normal (though maybe a bit stiff for the MB spring rate), while the soft side has quite a bit more bounce, so that also tells me that the dampner is not dampning the springs...'spring' if you know what i mean.
I will try turning the top, i'm assuming "lefty loosey, righty tighty"???