ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: Memphis on June 05, 2005, 01:57:46 PM
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Hey guys, I want to here the pros and cons of a sammi vs. kick....
Which is easier to lift, cheaper? More reliable engine? Better to run both solid axles? Which is better in your opinion? I have 2 sammi's I am looking at right now that have some mods... would I be making a mistake by buy a sammi over a kick?
(http://images.trader.ca/autotrader/3/96/714598.jpg.fpx?regular)
Specs:
Ready for road or trail! 1990 Suzuki Samurai 4x4 soft top, Rancho 9000 shocks, 31 inch tires, heavy duty shackles, skid plate, tach. Runs well, little to certify. $2,500 as is, 140,000 km.
(http://images.trader.ca/autotrader/11/95/715082.jpg.fpx?large)
Specs:
5:13 axle gears, lower transfer, case gears. NEW shocks, front brake lines, shackles, new top, heavy steel bumpers, 2 new batteries, new wheels, NEW 32 x 11.50 super swampers SX. LOTS OF FUN. $2,900/OBO. Eileen or Lloyd
I am kinda leaning towards the first one because it's not so hardcore, I still would like a practical DD...
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If a solid axle daily driver is your criteria I would say go with the sami. Id probabally have to do a 16 valve swap though.
Mike
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All comes down to what your needs are. I've had several Sami's over the years and between my father and I about 6 track/kicks. Only the one I have now has been anything but stock.
Sami's have a harsher ride, cruder interior, and are kinda a no thrills, super dependable little ride. (I loved them all). The Track/Kicks with the IFS road down the road much better, more power, more room, in my opinion a bunch more refined interior and climate controls.
Off road and wheeling, Track/Kicks suffered from lack of clearance in the sand that I grew up in, sami's faught to get on top of the really soft stuff. However once you start modifing one. Just look around this form and you'll find a way to make either do anything, any where, any How.
Utah
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hhmmmm well, after going for a ride in my neighbours sammi all doen up, i would probably get a sammi but id rather it with a tracker engine in it, as i was driving his and it was totally gutless
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The big difference is the power, ride and
modability, Kicks ride smoother, both on
and off road, roll less than Sammies and
are more powerful with an increase of 15mm
stroke over the sammie engine and 1mm bigger
bore.
Sammies are easier to mod suspension on, most
Kicks will require a kit unless you are into fabrication
and welding
Wild
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Sami. is the way to go.. UNLESS your huge. lol. The only reason I didnt buy a Sami is, Im slightly to large to fit into one for daily driving. For wheeling Samis are the way to go.. Way cheaper to lift, and way more aftermarket parts for fitting. I bought a Sidekick because I needed the room, and found it way more comfortable. Spare parts are common and if your missing something just steal if from the Senior Citizen that has one on the back of his RV. (im kidding), Just beware that aftermarket parts are avalible but not near to the extent as the Sami. And they will probably cost you double. 6" Suspension lift on bolt the kick and the sami..... sami wins due to the solid axle. better flex and a little smaller makes it hard to beat. Im happy with my purchase, and dont regret it in the least. For the type of wheeling I do. a 3" Suspension and 2" Body on 31s is perfect.. But to each his own.
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i agree on the body size thing I like my kick and I don't really fit in a sammi comfortably and I am only 6'1" and 210 lbs (athletic you know in ,a snotty accent) i am not fat but my shoulders hit the passenger side ..... but the suspension thing and the power difference really do make a big difference i thnk a sammi w/ 4.3 GM vortec engine coils all round and toy acxles on 33" s would be really nice daily driver tho ;D
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I would buy one of each,kicks make great parts rigs for sammys. ;D
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Just turn your Sidekick into a YJ sprung Sammy and you get the best of both worlds!
(http://www.granitepath.com/friends/kd7hcg/pictures/SAS/SASdone/DCP_5409.jpg)
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Just turn your Sidekick into a YJ sprung Sammy and you get the best of both worlds!
([url]http://www.granitepath.com/friends/kd7hcg/pictures/SAS/SASdone/DCP_5409.jpg[/url])
if ya got like 10 large to drop into it ;D ;D ;D ;D :o ;D ;)
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Hey, thanks all... great advice so far, I am 5'11 155lbs. so I should probably really sit in the drivers seat to really see if I am comfortable. I like the idea that they are cheaper to lift, and overall I think they look cooler, (no offence to sidekicks) and they have solid axles which is a bonus I'd say.
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there cheep to lift but saidekicks are as well, 2" coil spacer lift for probably bout 100 bucks but the sammis have a higher ground clearence which is a plus
im about 6'1" 200 lbs and i drove my neighbours sammi the other day and i didnt find it uncomfortable at all
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i'm 6'3 and i don't really think the sammys are bad, if you don't mind your head rubbing on the targa bar or anything. ;) i fit in the tracker just fine.
stu
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If it's a half and half mix of daily driver and trail rig, I'd definately go for a later Sidekick... being 7 or 8 years newer than the second Sammy you posted would probably help out in reliability... or you could just swap a 16v into the Sammy like Mike suggested :P
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Before I bought my tracker, I was looking for a samurai, but I couldn't find one AT ALL, not even in a junk yard. So, I had to settle for a tracker/sidekick. I'd still rather a sammy(soft top), and I'm still searching. Just wanna do a home brew SPOA, Paint, and 31's. And Done. - well, that's never true.
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Hey, thanks all... great advice so far, I am 5'11 155lbs. so I should probably really sit in the drivers seat to really see if I am comfortable. I like the idea that they are cheaper to lift, and overall I think they look cooler, (no offence to sidekicks) and they have solid axles which is a bonus I'd say.
Make sure if you sit in a sammy it has different seats than stock the stock seats suck. I put Neon seats in mine and to date has been the best improvement for me.
5'9" 265 with a 52" inch chest. So I'm not a small boy by any means.
But there are more track/kicks to pick from since they only imported about 20,000 Samurai's
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For me it was a simple choice......
There are NO LIFTED MODDED SAMURAI's in Northern Kentucky.......
SO I had to have one.
this is my third sammy over the last 15 years and i wouldnt sell it unless i had a line on a 1995 cherry sammy that i could build from the ground up. THere was one on Ebay, but it was in philly and sold for too much to make it worth investing another 3-4 grand in a lift and engine swap etc.....
I have nothing against trackers, i see a ton of them all over the place with their cute little foam graphix and hub caps.....:-)
(http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/815000-815999/815975_14_full.jpg)
(http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/815000-815999/815975_10_full.jpg)
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Build a sammy, more parts, more help and are more up to wheeling than a kick. You take the same amount of money for wheeling mods for a kick and use them for a zuk instead, and you would have a way more capable sammy.
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rkteckt that is one NICE samurai! I really like that one, what size tires are you running on that machine? Do you use that as a DD?
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well, before i bought my vit, i looked at about 10 or 15 sierras, within a price range. i had my mind set in getting a sierra, and thats what i was looking for. but hardly any of them appealed to me.
then, the very first vitara i looked at, i bought. it just felt right, even though the vits condition was worse than some of the sierras i looked at.
anyway, go with what feels right. look at it, drive it, look at it, and go with the flow.
with tech now, the sierra is the way to go if you want a real bad a$$ trail rig, as mods are easy to do. SPOA, RUF, SR, Yota Diffs etc etc etc. easy peasy. theres a lot of support for the sierra. ride quality is what you make it, and cab size is little to be desired.
with a vit, parts are less readily available, more fabrication work for custom parts and installs etc etc. spacious interior lets you stretch out, and not feel so confined. ride quality starts off good from factory, and as things are, can always get better from there on.
i havent regretted a single minute i've had with my vit.
good luck, and heres a couple of pics.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/sikid_01/DSC05903.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/sikid_01/DSC05899.jpg)
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There are NO LIFTED MODDED SAMURAI's in Northern Kentucky.......
That's a myth spread by the jeepers.  They're there!  But yours is a fine representative!
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In my mind sami is the only way to go if you wont it for offroading only you just cant kill the damn things. their as thouh as your grandmas hamburgersteak when ya was a kid.
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Man were all argueing what zuk is better. The fact is there are zuks and thats what makes them great. I have had sammis and kicks. i even have a xl7 the main point is i love all of them. They are great off road machines no matter which one you own and they have a own little culture to them. I guess you have to own one to know. But i have yet to see a zuk a i didn't want to take home with me.
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Yes my Sammy is a Daily Driver.....in fact i use it to run business errands to save gas and wear on my avalanche.
I have hauled bags of cement, tools, even a door that needed glass repaired. Even Better I can drive right up to the side of the buildings im working on or delivering too, no matter how steep the yard is.
Im planning to do a 1.6 16v swap and to replace the cheap SPOA with a Calmini 5.5 shackle reverse lift.....which will hopefully give me back expressway speed and handling.
The tires measure 30 inches in diameter, but there is no indication on them what size they are.
I am sure there must be other lifted Sammys near me, but in 17 years of looking i have never seen one.
on a side note, if you want to use your sammy for a light duty work truck (very light duty) you can get a front and rear hitch mount bumper set, and then add cargo bed extenders from Do-It-Best to both front and rear, it will let you carry ladders and lumber on top from time to time.
There is also a hitch mounted snow plow called a snow sport that can turn your sammy into an inexpensive driveway plow.
Bye bye.
(http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/11/web/815000-815999/815975_4_full.jpg)
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Man were all argueing what zuk is better. The fact is there are zuks and thats what makes them great. I have had sammis and kicks. i even have a xl7 the main point is i love all of them. They are great off road machines no matter which one you own and they have a own little culture to them. I guess you have to own one to know. But i have yet to see a zuk a i didn't want to take home with me.
The fact that I want to bring home more zuk's is causing an issue with the I don't want that many cars in the driveway argument.
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The fact that I want to bring home more zuk's is causing an issue with the I don't want that many cars in the driveway argument.
backyard. FrontYard, SideYard.
Lots of yard space ;D