Bolton SPOA for Suzuki Samurai

The first being, clearance. SPOA lifts not only raise the vehicle for larger tires, they also raise the spring packs to the tops of the axles for more ground clearance

Second is that SPOA lifts offer the best articulation of any leaf-spring lift on the market due to the extra leverage which deflects the spring packs and provides for more twist. Contrary to what some uneducated retailers might argue, the SPOA does not break springs and does not produce poor steering handling over other lifts when castor is properly set. In fact, Toyota pickups, Jeep Cherokees, and most 4WD pickups come with their springs SPOA from the factory! We believe you'll find our kit extremely well thought out, incredibly beefy, designed for serious offroading, and the demands it puts upon a vehicle.

Looking at bolton kits and thinking about the latest passing fad, a shackle reverse? Think some more....

Clearance: You install a lift to increase clearance on your vehicle. Bolton shackle reverse towers (some folks call them "fangs") hang down and dramatically reduce approach angles. Also, with the shackle trailing in back as with S/R kits, they poke down several inches below the original spring perches and really reduce under-frame clearance. SPOA's go above the axle for maximum clearance!

Stability. 'Brake dive' is a common problem with shackle reversal in emergency braking which does not occur in standard SPOA lifts. This is why the vehicles manufacturer put shackles on the front of your Suzuki to begin with. If all it took for a smooth ride was to put the shackles in back, Suzuki would have made them this way from the factory (not to mention Jeep with the Wrangler, and Toyota with the Landcruiser). There is a reason the shackles are up front and it is a safety issue.

Finally, bolton shackle reverse kits severely limits your tire size. Very frequently we hear from folks who have purchased bolton S/R kits who are very unhappy about the damage to their tires from the tire being shoved back into the fenderwell. Why do they call us instead of the company that stuck them with the lift??? Most end up throwing away their expensive bolton S/R kits to go with a new SPOA system.

You can't mess it up. Our spring pads self align every time. Just drop in place and go! Photo courtesy of IZOOK.

Start with our spring perches (Patent Pending). They are custom built and designed to key right into the factory spring pads to make the mounting system extremely tough and durable. We put alot of energy into engineering and fabricating these pads to insure your axle housing does not suffer damage in the harshest trail conditions. Our spring pads are also fully gusseted, BY FAR the strongest, and easily the safest on the market by far for you, your passengers, and your Samurai. They self-align for proper castor setup every single time. For the novice wheeler looking to do his first modifications to his Samurai, these spring pads and our bolton setup make this system very easy to install with no special tools required. The kit is fully reversible too if you need to remove the kit for any reason or want to swap it from one Samurai to the next. Kit comes with special backing plates and new 1/2" custom Ubolts to clamp everything solid. All steel parts come with a lifetime warranty.

To properly correct steering angles, we offer the infamous Zlink. The Zlink is the perfect choice for the SPOA as it keeps the linkage elements away from the springs as opposed to the dropped pitman which can get entangled in the springs on the trail. Also the Zlink is substantially "BUILT" and has a lifetime guarantee. Compare this to other Z-style steering links on the market and you'll laugh at their lack of quality and strength. You will not EVER be able to bend this thing... guaranteed! OR, you can substitute our revolutionary Over-The-Top steering system into any of our lift kits for only an additional $50. See our Steering page for more detailed information on this system.

When you talk about lifts you must include longer shocks. And when you talk about SPOA lifts, you have got to include good 'long travel' shocks since it has such flexy potential. To accommodate the new longer shocks you must customize your shock mounts. Our bolton system provides a shock mounting system for true long travel shocks. The end result? Smooth ride and awesome flex on the trail!

Another look at Chris Denman's bolton SPOA equipped Samurai getting flexy on the trail.

Taller lifts necessitate longer brake lines. You don't even want to take the chance of snapping a line on the trail, so longer brake lines are very important. We've used many combinations and brands of brake lines over the years and have experienced the best overall result with rubber brake lines. We have cut and rubbed through too many braided steel brake lines to feel safe about offering them for sale. Bottom line..... we feel stainless steel lines are dangerous. You'll notice a few other quality Samurai shops feel the same way and refuse to sell them as well. We wouldn't feel safe running stainless lines on our Samurai, and we don't feel safe putting them on yours. Also, keep in mind that in all lift kits with stainless lines, those lines are only 3" longer than stock. Not good with a 5" lift 6" with lots of articulation. So in our kits, we offer only 7" over stock extended DOT approved rubber brake lines.

Another needed item for a proper SPOA lift is to install driveshaft extensions. Not only does the SPOA lift increase the distance between your pinion and Transfer case mounting flanges, it also provides for a greatly increased amount of articulation. So much that your driveshaft can come apart on the trail. Also, driving around with little spline engaged on your driveshafts an a daily basis can cause them to wear out quickly. Driveshaft spacers cure these problems. We offer from .75" for the basic SPOA all the way to 1.5" for more custom setups.

Remember, our kit includes everything you need to put the best lift system on the market on your Suzuki.... Rocky Road's deluxe wraparound spring pads and bolton axle mounting system, 7" over stock DOT approved longer rubber brake lines, Zlink (customizable in height for lifts up to 10" tall), long travel shock mounts for front and rear, custom 1/2" Ubolts, as well as front and rear driveline extensions good for most any height lift!!! Each piece is priced competitively, but if you buy it as a complete kit, you'll be getting a great deal!

Gary Eck's Bolton SPOA equipped Samurai on our 30* test ramp. Those are 32" tires on there! Gary used our 2" shackles long with the SPOA for a 6 lift to clear those taller tires.

Be sure to check out the Colorado 4WD Association's raffle vehicle this year. It is a Samurai and comes with our SPOA system. They chose our system for one simple reason, it is the best. Our spring pads are 2nd to none and no one in the industry disputed this. Shops, Magazine editors, and clubs around the world in the know go with Rocky Road.

Don't just take our word for it though. Tune in as we follow along with Larry Harris (President/Owner of IZOOK) as he installs the Rocky Road SPOA lift kit. Larry has been around Zuks for well over a decade, knows the ins and outs of every suspension on the market, and has the choice of any lift kit on the planet for his Samurai, he chose only ours... THE BEST!

Rocky Road soft-ride long travel shocks.

We ran Rancho 9000s shocks for many years and were happy with the ride quality. However, we tired of the constant problems.... the knobs would break off, the adjustment would seize up, they rusted quickly, and the air system never worked right. Not to mention that due to hardcore use we'd break one or two Rancho shocks every year... VERY expensive to replace! So we threw away all our RS9000s and engineered our own brand of shocks perfectly for the Samurai. These shocks are absolutely perfect for the person who wants a great off-road shock, but can't afford something like the Rancho 9000 (and doesn't want to deal with their hassles). These shocks are much more adapted to the lightweight of the Samurai than other shocks on the market (Rancho5000, ProComp, Trailmaster, etc.). We designed these shocks specifically for their ability to provide great on and off road performance for Suzukis. We size them perfectly to run with all our lifts and carry them in most every length for your application.

Bolton SPOA Kit includes....
Front wraparound spring pads	Rear wraparound spring pads
2- 7" longer front brake lines	1- 7" Rear brake line extension
Front and rear driveshaft extensions	Front and rear long travel shock mounting
Front and rear HD Ubolt plates	Front and rear custom Ubolts.
Custom height Zlink steering linkage
Optional items for the Bolton SPOA
Optional 2nd rear brake line	Optional OTT Steering system upgrade
Optional Long travel shocks

Bolton SPOA Suspension Systems	Select kit/options	Click to add to cart
Bolton SPOA kits
Bolton SPOA kits with OTT Steering upgrade
Bolton SPOA with RRO Engineered shocks (& OTT Steering)
2nd Rear Brake line (86-88')