[sailorbob97056]

I have owned my Smart for 3 years now, and my wife always tries to get it so she doesn't have to drive her Subaru V6 wagon! I really love the car, we live just outside Portland, Oregon and it is a blessing when going into the city for some reason. I can ALWAYS find parking room where no one else can squeeze in.
I did some Pro Rally years ago, and wonder if anyone has set up a Smart car for Rally?of course there was the "Smart Car" built for the Paris-to-Dakar rally, but rumor has it they spent about $60,000 to build it. I just want to raise the car a bit, put bigger M&S tires on it, some fog and driving lights on the front, etc. Has anyone tried this build?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

I'm working on a sort of build for this (I may no longer have a girlfriend soon, thus freeing up all the funds). I plan on doing a Daystar lift ($350) coupled to the shocks, struts, and springs from an ED ($200 from eBay), which will add an additional lift. I estimate total ground clearance being something like 12-14 inches or so after tyres.

I'll then want to get some spacers and new wheels so I can get some good offroad rubber on them. (You could opt for ATV tyres if you don't intend on driving your smart on the road again.)

So far I've installed my offroad lighting, which will make an appearance in Iowa this year.

The Dakar build isn't a good example of a lifted smart. The Dakar smart was basically an ATV buggy with a smart body bolted on top. There weren't any smart parts remaining.

There is a pretty good offroad build out there, brought to you by Russia:

Mine won't look anything like that. I don't have the skills or the funds for it. I'm more aiming for something that looks like a mini Jeep Wrangler or Suzuki Sidekick. xD

 

[Huronlad]

The lifted 451 thread - General Discussions - Club smart Car

 

[jwight]

Welcome to SCoA!

 

[Matt S]

Hello Awesome Forum. OK this is crazy.. I've been looking everywhere for you guys and today is my Birthday, and BAM!!! I found you! I have been wanting to buy a smart car for a couple of months now. I am using it ONLY for trail riding on my property. The body will be chopped up and converted into an ATV/UTV styling (sorry!!
My project will never will see a public road.
I plan to lift it - 2 inches with a professional kit - or more with my own design??? I am a mechanical engineer so am capable of making my own lift parts.
My question I believe is quite simple: What is the maximum lift I can install that eventually doesn't buy me any clearance? In other words, the axles aren't moving, so doesn't the ground clearance eventually stop increasing the higher I go? Huge tires won't be a problem of course. I just don't know how much I gain when the center of the tire is staying stationary.

Thanks so much guys, so glad I found you!!

 

[smark]