Opinions about Calmini 3" susp. lift

[Peter Hoffman]

So.... Deciding on how to spend the tax check (it's between this or the shrockworks rear bumper). Ye 'ole ball and chain said i could do something entertaining with it this year :bannana: . Wondering if it's a decent/smart setup/way to go for a lift kit. Anyone have it for their X already? Is there a better system out there? I know i could probably piece out a lift system for cheaper, i just like the whole "everything you need in one package" kinda vibe. Thanks in advance to any replies.

[Alpine Spirit]

The lift kit is great... no issues when I had mine what so ever. Calminis lift kit is very well engineered, even over engineered. You will rip out frame mounts or LCAs before the UCAs break.

Yes you can save some money with the AC lift and it is very strong too. And save that cash for another project.

Regardless of what you get if you dont have an idler arm brace you may want to get one. Its very cheap and it is the biggest weak spot in the steering.

[Peter Hoffman]

Ah, cool thanks. You know, you're taking the fun out of it. Isn't a idler arm brace around 125.00$? :p. Would you say that it is neccessary to purchase one right away if I lift it? Eventually i had planned to swap it from the stock one completely, but not so soon. Hehehe. That was planned for AFTER the rear bumper since i hate having my spare on the bottom. Plus...spare on the rear just looks so much better imo. I mean...my neighbors izuzu looks like it has more balls than my X.:laughing: I seem to be wandering from the original point of this thread. sorry.

[Alpine Spirit]

Actually you can get the brace for like 25 bux from AC (4x4parts.com).

After you lift keep an eye out for wear on the steering... the higher you go the more wear occurs especially on the center link. Just FYI.

[Peter Hoffman]

Ah. Thanks. Found the 25$ one. I had been looking at the "steering enhancement package."

[CurleyMan]

I do enjoy calmini's products and yes they are over built. Possibly the only thing they whimp out on is the powder coating. Over time (three months) it will chip and fall off. Also customer service sucks it is a small company with great potential but don't expect much assistance from the employees.

[JeffW]

The Calmini lift is good stuff. However, If I had $1000 to blow, i would probably buy other stuff first:

Tires (if you need 'em): $600 - $900
1.5" PML: $120 (including alignment)
Idler arm brace: $50
Pathfinder T-Case skid: $40 shipped
Basic recovery gear: $100
Sliders: $300-$400 shipped
Gas Tank skid: $200 (money well spent!)
Bumper: $500-$900 shipped
Winch: $300-$1200

[JayRyan]

Heh...I'll sell you my Calmini IA Brace once I get my new steering this spring...shoot, I'll just give it to you.

[ChefTyler]

Thanks for reminding me JR, I might still have one floating...er banging....around my toolbox.

[Peter Hoffman]

Jay, let me know i'll definitely buy it from ya when you're ready to dump it.

[Allen Rose]

I've had mine on for about 4 years now. The only problem I've ever had with it was the original T bars sagged but were replaced with no problems at all from Calmini. Other than that it was just the bushings in the UCA's. It came with the white ones originally and once again they were replaced with the green ones at no cost. The steering system leaves something to be desired however. I have upgraded it with spherical bearings so it's strong now but that was an additional $150 or so to get that fixed. I think the SLR or L&P steering is the better way to go if you're gonna get a steering system also.


Axle

[DamnHippie]

To address the original question, I'd recommend AGAINST buying the Calmini lift kit, after having bought one myself.

The kit contains many things you don't need, and a few things that you absolutely don't want -- Such as lift blocks for the rear that will turn your springs into useless W-shaped hunks of steel in about a year (not to mention the power-robbing axle wrap they cause).

It also comes with replacement torsion bars, which are good-quality stuff, but maybe you don't need them, at least not yet. If you're going to put a ton of extra steel on your truck (skid plates, winch bumper, sliders, etc), then aftermarket torsion bars are a good idea. If you haven't added too much, then just cranking your stock bars up a bit is actually better than getting stiffer bars; you'll get better ride quality from the stock bars. (The opposite is true if you have added hundreds of pounds of steel -- then the stiffer bars are what give you the better ride.)

On the other hand, the Calmini control arms for the front are top-quality goods, nothing wrong with them at all (except a tendancy for the bushings to squeak).

All in all, I wish I had studied the options more and pieced together the parts I needed along the way rather than dropping $800 or whatever it was for a "complete kit" that I really only needed part of.

Aftermarket UCAs and cranking your stock bars is the way to go in front. Add-a-leaf (good) or longer shakles (not wholly bad) in the back. Avoid lift blocks from any source.

And use the money you save to beef up your steering, because if you lift the front and put bigger tires on, your stock steering is going to die.

Oh, IA braces: the calmini one is beefy and all, but unlike any other design, it moves your idler arm 1/4" farther out from the frame. The downside to that is that if you ever decide to remove it for any reason, you MUST get a front end alignment or your toe-in adjustment will be way out of whack.

I personally favor the SLR IA brace, not only because it creates a new mount point in a different plane (which keeps the IA from wiggling no matter what stresses are on it), but it's also designed to be sacrificial in saving your IA if you smack a rock on that side. The rock will hit the brace before the IA shaft or arm, and the round parts of the brace are designed to distort and absorb the energy before the IA shaft bends. I have personal experience with this one, and was happier to buy a new $50 brace than I would have been to buy a new $150 shaft.

[CurleyMan]

I think lift blocks are commonly misunderstood. Some people feel a vehicle with blocks suffer from many problems. Such as poor flex, axle wrap, and a new one the w problem. It is true that axle wrap may be magnified if blocks are used. However i disagree that flex and spring deformation are problems associated with blocks. The only reason I disagree is that i have blocks myself. It was more of a mistake then anything else. When I had my springs made I didn't think the truck was going to sit so high. Yes I may be a little defensive about the subject. If The blocks where indeed causing problems with my truck, I would just have new springs made. I have not seen any problems yet and I do not have any flex issues whatsoever. Blocks are not all that bad although some rednecks do abuse them. I feel the correct size on the correct truck will work well.

[Packman5280]

it depends on the springs you have also. Ben, your packs have what, 7 leafs in them? stock fronty packs have 3, maybe 4? fewer leafs in a softer pack are going to make block problems worse. a good stiff pack will resist wrap more than worn out stockers.
and I really have no idea how a block is going affect (limit) flex, but I've been wrong before.

[CurleyMan]

yea i guess i never thought about that...

[JeffW]

To address the original question, I'd recommend AGAINST buying the Calmini lift kit, after having bought one myself.....
.
......Oh, IA braces: the calmini one is beefy and all, but unlike any other design, it moves your idler arm 1/4" farther out from the frame. The downside to that is that if you ever decide to remove it for any reason, you MUST get a front end alignment or your toe-in adjustment will be way out of whack.

I personally favor the SLR IA brace, not only because it creates a new mount point in a different plane (which keeps the IA from wiggling no matter what stresses are on it), but it's also designed to be sacrificial in saving your IA if you smack a rock on that side. The rock will hit the brace before the IA shaft or arm, and the round parts of the brace are designed to distort and absorb the energy before the IA shaft bends. I have personal experience with this one, and was happier to buy a new $50 brace than I would have been to buy a new $150 shaft.

Great post. I agree with everything you say except for certain things about the idler arm brace.

I put one on my Xterra and it did not seem to affect the toe-in at all. Since the idler arm rotates freely, the 1/4" difference in horizontal position did not seem to affect much of anything. I also never aligned or rotated the stock tires and wore them down evenly until replaced by A/T's.

I definitely agree that the SLR brace is a little better, but there are tons of Calmini's laying around and they do the job quite nicely. As a matter of fact I have one and a few idler arms laying around if anybody needs 'em. Maybe we can set up a parts trade one'a these days!

[JayRyan]

Great post. I agree with everything you say except for certain things about the idler arm brace.

I put one on my Xterra and it did not seem to affect the toe-in at all. Since the idler arm rotates freely, the 1/4" difference in horizontal position did not seem to affect much of anything. I also never aligned or rotated the stock tires and wore them down evenly until replaced by A/T's.

I definitely agree that the SLR brace is a little better, but there are tons of Calmini's laying around and they do the job quite nicely. As a matter of fact I have one and a few idler arms laying around if anybody needs 'em. Maybe we can set up a parts trade one'a these days!

I agree with Jeff as well, I had no modification involved installing my Calmini IAB. It didn't adjust anything either, just beefs it up from breaking.

[Allen Rose]

When did the Calmini kit start coming with lift blocks? I thought it was AAL and shackles that came in the kit for the rear. At least that's what mine was composed of. Lift blocks only work on spring over axle applications anyways and the last time I checked the Xterra was a spring under. The Frontier is a spring over and there may be lift blocks in that kit.


Axle

[Allen Rose]

Just checked out their site and yes, the Frontier system comes with lift blocks. The Xterra system is an AAL and shackles.


Axle

[Mike Maxwell]

If your idler arm is worn out enough, I could see installing a IA brace might affect alignment.

If lift blocks are conservative, say 1-2", I think they are ok for moderate wheeling. I have seen cast iron blocks desinegrate under a Superduty. With that being said, I had 5-inchers on my superduty to keep the ride close to stock. It was a street truck, though. Funny enough, I had no axle-wrap with the Diesel.