Samurai Coils... in a kit!	Short Cuts
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By: Aaron Andrews - 3/2000

I was excited when I heard that a coil suspension kit was going into production for the Suzuki Samurai. The Rear Axle Coil Over Axle Kit may be one of the most significant upgrades to come along for the Suzuki Samurai since the Spring-Over Axle.

Gary Munck of Petroworks is an authorized dealer for this kit -- he helped with the installation, and Jake Palmberg of Higher Heights Off-Road designed and created the kit.

The kit does not come with the coils or shocks. I had a set of rear springs from a two-door 4WD 1995 Geo Tracker, and used my original shocks.

This Samurai had good travel before the swap.

I already had a fantastic suspension setup in the front of my 1988 1/2 Suzuki Samurai, with an extended double-shackle setup, rear early-model leaf springs, Ford shock towers, and the longest Rancho 9000 you can get.

The vehicle flexed rather nicely in this configuration, front articulation (measured vertically when lifting a front wheel with a floor lift, with all other wheels on the ground) with street air pressure in the tires was 34". Before I began the conversion, the rear suspension already achieved 26" of rear articulation (measured vertically when lifting a rear wheel with a floor lift, with all other wheels on the ground). Ahh! Not good enough.

The kit as received.

This vehicle is a rock-crawling workhorse on the local Southern California trails. I also use it as a daily driver, so on-road impressions are a strong consideration. This kit utilizes Suzuki Sidekick or Geo Tracker rear coils; you can choose between 2WD 2-door, 2WD 4-door, 4WD 2-door, or 4WD 4-door springs to obtain different heights and spring rates. The kit comes with a great set of instructions, and the big parts include: an axle truss with the upper ball joint A-arm connection, the trailing arm mounts, the coil mounts, and shock mounts. Additional parts in the kit include: the upper shock/coil tower and the A-arm mount that attaches to the top of the axle truss and to the included mount. All the included parts were built with extreme durability and toughness in mind, and the kit weighs at least 80 pounds.

Using a spacer on the lower shock mount.

For my installation, I chose to move the shocks lower on the axle to retain my Rancho 9125 rear shocks from my spring-over conversion. To do this, I had to move the shock absorber out 3/4" on the existing upper shock mounts.

Suspension bolted on but not yet welded.

The kit is a reasonable installation for a skilled home mechanic with access to a welder, but welding is REQUIRED. Higher Heights designed this kit to bolt-on for alignment, then be welded for final attachment. I had to weld on the upper coil/shock mount, axle truss to the axle, the A-arm mounts, and the bumpstops.

Post-Installation Perceptions

Finished suspension, fully welded.

The overall workmanship is good, the design is well thought-out, and the coolness factor is awesome. Best of all, the kit allows an extra 8" of articulation for a total of 34" of articulation in the rear suspension. The Rancho shocks from the SPOA worked fine with the completed coil over.

Assembled suspension, before bolting or welding.

As expected, under acceleration, all axle wrap is eliminated. Also under acceleration, this kit's anti-squat geometry lift the body slightly, the reverse of the squat we expected. Body lean is minimal in turns, but there is increased over-steer under hard acceleration, though it is controllable with less throttle.

The suspension performed well on the first trip.

I had some concerns going into this project about body roll, stability, and ride. This kit does have some quirks, but it is a large improvement in all of these departments over a leaf spring suspension... and the off-highway improvements are awesome.

Before, with 26" articulation.

After, with 34" articulation.

The new suspension definitely takes a little getting used to; it will take a while to get accustomed to the new feeling out back when off-highway. The clearance and departure angles have improved in the rear of the Samurai now that there no longer leaf springs hanging down in back.

Overall off-highway ability is excellent, I found added ability to crawl over rocks and tackle almost any kind of aggressive obstacle. I found one interesting effect: while accelerating up a hill, the vehicle unloads the rear springs and lifts the rear up. This seems to help keep the front of the vehicle from popping up when climbing, overcoming the tendency of short-wheelbase vehicles to lift their noses. Descents were very composed and tracked true, with no wandering by the rear of the vehicle, and no signs of lifting the rear end of the vehicle.

Highway manners are excellent, the vehicle tracks perfectly true and straight. The truck comfortably absorbs highway bridges, ruts, and potholes without the punishment of the stock leaf springs. The ride is now much quieter and the new coils easily absorb rougher terrain, which is much appreciated with my aging tires and bones. As discussed earlier, using different stock Sidekick/Tracker springs allows installers to fine-tune height and ride. Using Pro-Comp 1.5" Sidekick/Tracker springs could provide even greater amounts of lift.

The final installation, showing articulated geometry.

Overall impressions of the conversion are excellent. The kit yielded much-improved ride, better handling, and more composed manners on or off-highway, as well as improved off-highway capabilities, and a better all-around driving feeling. This kit retrofits on rigs with stock, double-shackle, spring-over, or shackle reversal setup -- it replaces the rear springs for all sorts of setups. This kit may be one of the most important upgrades the Samurai has seen since its introduction in 1985.