I know it is mostly asthetics... but whats the largest tire that will fit on a stock samurai with out rubbing?
 

I would say a 235 75 r15. I had that size on my sj410 when I got it and they only rubbed when it really got articulated. My diffs are 3" narrower than a Samurai so you should have a little extra room.

and also what is the bolt hole pattern on the rims.... someone told me either chevy or ford rims will fit. Which is true?

real old jeeps, dodges, and fords will fit... they all just need to be 5x 5.5 and be able to clear the calipers...
Lots of junk yards should have old fords.... not sure what years exactly....

The Dodge and Ford rims have the right bolt pattern ,but sometimes the center hole isn't big enough. If you had access to a lathe you can machine it out.

I run 225/75-15 tires on aftermarket 15x7 wheels with about 3.5" of backspacing and they don't rub.  I would say that is the biggest I could get by with without rubbing, unless I changed to different wheels.

All samurai wheels have a 5 on 5.5" pattern....as mentioned, you have to watch out if you buy "other" wheels as the center hole usually isn't big enough to fit over the hub or the 4 bolts in the center of the rear axles.

You can pick up lift shackles for about 100 for a set of 4 and run 235's and look like this.
It has the stock samurai rims with 235's.


http://www.reachone.com/bashams/Suzuki/Zuki/
more pictures here

i think tha its the 215/80 r15   

i think tha its the 215/80 r15   

Was this directed at my rig???

we just got ours and it has 235/75/15 and they seem to run fine. I haven't had it in anything to off camber but the springs are flat and it still hasn't rubbed. I'm trying to find the cheapest lift whether new springs or the "budget" kit from Rocky-road just to lift it a couple more inches.

I say no to RRO thats my opinion. I would go Spring over and run 31's . When I did mine the first time It wasnt much for some spring perches, and went to the pull it yard for some Mercedes arms. . Then the snowball effect took over 

Thats twice I've heard that about RRO. Do they suck or what?

I'm getting to different sides to the SPOA. I hear that I need to weld some brackets and drop the drive shaft a little if I do it. is that true and what about the shocks, pitman and so forth?

Do a search on SPOA and you can find a few write ups.  It's been covered quite a few times. 

RRO makes some great hardware.  The only issue is making sure they ship it on time.  If it's not in stock sometimes it will take them a while to get it to you.  My cousin waited over a year for his 8:1 transfer case set.  Loves it now that it is installed though. 

There are many other great places to get parts RRO can take forever to ship items.

I recommend sky-manufacturing or trail tough both are great to talk to and will let you know if a part is not able to ship. I run sky's spoa works great and skys' wrangler spring mounts. hmm my rig is almost a sky's poster child
   
 

Sky's Stage 2 Samurai Spring Over Conversion
The Stage 2 Samurai S.P.O.A is a new kit from Sky's that allows the consumer to add 4.5 inch's of lift to there Samurai with only minor welding of the spring pads required. The kit includes all parts needed to perform a safe and functional Spring Over Axle Conversion. Our heavy duty spring pads, our single OTS, steering kit, 2 1 inch driveshaft spacers, and longer brake lines. Should you need to upgrade in the future all of these parts will work with add on products. This is the least amount of parts you should have in a spring over conversion, and the minimum to be safe and prevent damage to your Samurai. Also available is the Samurai full shock mount kit.(Suz-FSMK-001) This completes the stage 2 with all shock mounts you would need to run aftermarket shocks. We use either Rancho RS 5000 or Doetch tech 3000 series soft valve shocks. Check other kits out to see what they offer, then give Sky's a call.

Part # Suz-SPOA-002 Price $380
   

Great kit this is what I installed first. you need lower shock mounts for this in the front

Suzuki Samurai Spring Over Axle Conversion Kit.

Sky Manufacturing's new Samurai full spring over kit includes all the needed parts to gain 4.5 inch's of spring over axle lift.

Kit includes 4 Sky heavy duty spring pads, 2 driveshaft spacers, OTS' 1 crossover steering conversion, 4 lower shock mounts, upper front shock hoops, rear upper adjustable shock mount, brakelines', and a set of either Rancho RS 5000 or Doetch Tech 3000 series hydraulic soft valve shocks.

Note: shocks will vary depending on which manufacturer can provide them the fastest.
 
      

SUZ-SPOA-005 Price-$675.

This is a great price for an all inclusive spoa wish it had been available when I picked up mine from them.
anyway enough of me pimping sky's
Trail tough has great stuff too.
trailtough.com

http://www.reachone.com/bashams/Suzuki/Zuki/
shows the difference between 235's and 32's with sky's SPOA

Thanks for the detailed info. That helps me out alot. I'll look into this and probably get started.