*Wheeler's wants to thank www.4x4mag.co.uk, Dave Cart and Colin Briggs for this article.

Coil Spring Suzuki Samurai

by Dave Cart

What is so special about this Suzuki Samurai you may ask. Well, speak to any SJ owner and they will tell you that ALL European Suzuki SJ/Samurais were leaf sprung.

It was whilst getting out of our Jeep to go for lunch in the Turks & Caicos Islands that I glanced at the Samurai parked next to us and saw something amiss. It was definitely a double-take that stopped me dead in my tracks.. What... no leaves ! A closer inspection was called for and there it was right before my eyes - a coiler vehicle. It was a late model, with Land Rover type front indicators and sidelights, and it was only later that I realised that it was only this style that had coil suspension.

Suzuki SJs were plentiful on the islands ideal runabouts for that mix of tarmac and unmetalled roads. As the holiday progressed I began to take more notice of them and found that most were still leaf-sprung, but there was a number fitted with coil springs. These were easy to spot by the lack of swinging shackles for the leaf springs at the front - replaced instead by the anti-roll bar. Out shopping a few days later, I dropped into the Suzuki dealer on the island and found that they were imported from Japan.

The suspension layout appeared to have leading and trailing arms from the central area of the chassis, so coils springs were fitted both front and rear. The front leading arm appeared to utilise the same chassis mounts used for leaf springs models. The leading arms can then move up and down within these mounts with suspension travel. The other ends of the arms were attached to the lower section of the axle casings.

The coil springs and shock absorbers are mounted directly above on the top of the axle casings. There was also an anti roll bar fitted. At the rear, the chassis mount looked as if it was also the one used for the leaf spring arrangement. Here too the trailing arm was mounted to the lower section of the axle casing. The coil spring was mounted inboard to the trailing arm, along with the shock absorber.

I have no doubt that with all round coil spring suspension, the vehicle would give a damn better ride than my leaf-sprung SJ for sure, and would be much better for Trialling (see the top photos for articulation)!

The coil sprung versions were also offered with power steering as an optional extra - it gets better. This was the last in the range, I wonder how closely it compares with the Jimny - the ugly replacement for the Samurai, which has coil springs. If the company were tooling up for the new model, then this could explain why the change occurred. Further research has shown that similar vehicles were also imported into Australia, where they were marketed under the name of Sierra. What a shame they didn't come to the UK.

Grateful thanks to Colin Briggs from Australia for use of his photo's.