Id like to start by saying great forum. And that i have been looking for such a place for years. I owned a sidekick when in high school and installed a 3" calmini body lift and ran 30-11.5 swanper sx's on it till i sold it when i started colege only to regreat it. then went to racing atvs no fun tried rail buggys still nothin like the suzuki even had a had ton chevy with 11" lift and still not as fun as the ole suzuki. now im on the hunt for another one. but there are alot more products out for the little critters then they once was and i have a incredable urge to get a sammy now insead of the sidekick. but i wanted to ask a few questions about them first. im not big on rock crawling or mud pits jsut trail crusing and that kinda stuff and would like to keep it fairly streetable i like to ride to the trail not trailer. i was thinking soa and a 8:1 t-case with 32-33" tires keeping it geared low for ideling around. is this a fairly streetable combo.

Don't over-look lockers. They'll do WAY more for you for WAY less money than big lifts & tires. I bold this because everyone's quick to lift their vehicles (sacrificing stability, power & MPG), and generally ignore the best bang-for-the-buck traction aid available. After all - a lift is just an over-glorified traction aid (avoiding getting high-centered = keeping traction = traction aid).

To me, it sounds like a tracker on 29/30" tires & lockers would be the best combo for you (you already know how 30" tires feel with HP & MPG loss, so you decide which is better for you). But, don't bother going or planing on larger tires without axle swaps (there's NO diff / hi-range t-case gearing options for Kicks right now unless you go dual cases & 35"+ tires). The coil & IFS suspension is superior in everything but rocks (and, as Mike Hagen & friends have repeatedly demonstrated, hold their own in rocks just fine). With a little fender trimming, or $200 coil spacer lift. Please avoid body lifts - they don't give any additional ground clearance and are useless compared to the cheap lifts available now.

If you go Sami, don't plan on going larger than 31" tires without taking a huge $$$ hit. You'll need to start upgrading to Toyota or D44 axles, more expensive lifts, tires & t-case gears than 31". I estimate the jump from 31" to 33" to be about $2000. And for what? You're not rock crawling. Remember a 31" locked will easily out-perform a 33" open diff. The Kick has the advantage in ride quality, power, MPG - but the Sami has loads and loads of gearing (and therefore tire size) options.

i really didnt like the body lift myself due to cutting the stearing shaft but other then that i didnt mind it. are there anyone working on a lower geared high range gear set for the sidekick i mean mine wasnt really geared all that high compared to some other vehicles ive had it jsut didnt have any power take the chevy i had it had 39.5s with 410 gears and a 4speed it was geared high but had the power to overcome it. SOMEWHAT any ways.

The way T-cases are built, Hi & Low range reduction isn't an option. Samurai T-cases are the ONLY, (and I mean ONLY) T-cases that offer high and low range reduction. The only way to get hi-range gear reduction is to swap a Sami T-case (which means 35"+ tires), axle swap, or find the RARE diff-gears in 5.3x or 5.8x... but they usually sell for more $$$ than a Toyota axle swap (which opens you up to cheaper gearing options, more locker options & stronger axles... so...).

The Tracker is never going to be fast, unless you compare it to a Samurai. 

For an all round adventure rig, as Jeremiah said a Tracker with a small lift and 29-30" tires and a pair of lockers will go over and through a lot.  Same with an Samurai with 4:1 gears and some good 30" Mud Terrain tires.

You can get a 4:1 transfer case kit for the Tracker/Sidekicks.  It's high range only, but it does drop you down to a proper trail gear.  The stock 2:1 is a bit high...

I disagree about lifts just being traction aids though, they also look cool and give you room for meaty tires. 

With a Samurai build, I started to think about it and Jeramiah was right, it's around 2K for the 33" tires.  You need a 6.5:1 or so transfer case, then I would recommend the Trail Tough Chromoly front axles.  Put a locker in with some larger spline side gears and you should be good to go.  I would recommend a traction bar along with your SPOA conversion, my recommendation is the Sky Manufacturing kit with the wrap around spring pad mounts and high steer kit.  If you want a reasonable ride get at least a RUF conversion, so new shock towers are required along with a new set of springs.  A traction bar should be in your future as well, otherwise expect spring wrap and a lot of hop when climbing hills. 

You can get a 4:1 transfer case kit for the Tracker/Sidekicks.  It's low range only, but it does drop you down to a proper trail gear.  The stock 2:1 is a bit high...

Fixed.

And, so we're clear, it's an additional $2000 to go from 31" to 33". It's easily $2000 to properly go from stock to 31" tires.

Tires & Backspaced / Wider wheels: $90 x 5 = $450
Swampers (some of the cheapest M/T) = $1000 mounted, balanced & insured
(Note, we haven't even gotten to the lift yet and we're at $1,500 already)
SPOA kit & shocks = $600+
Over the top steering = $300
T-case gearing = $400 - $800 (depending on sales, if you elect to get $100 strengthened front output shaft, rebuild kit, oil etc)
Total = $3,500-$4,000

This isn't taking into account loaded costs (Shipping, special tooling etc), or "hommie hookups" so obviously the price will fluctuate depending on how lucky / unlucky you are. Nor is it including other things that should probably go with larger tires: bumper & swing away carrier, rock rails, lockers (which, if you're wise, you'll have already installed)...

The Sky Stage 2 kit is $380.00 with one half of the OTT system, with some trimming, fender banging that is enough to mount the 33" tires.  You might need to add an extra leaf into your spring pack to keep them neutral instead of bowing in reverse. 

I also cut out my rear fenders to get rid of rust, gave the 33" BFG's plenty of room to move.  I was lucky though, with my springs inboard (SJ-410 vs SJ-413) I didn't need the offset wheels to avoid rubbing on the springs. 
 
If your not worried about flex, just use the stock shocks.  They work fine, just swap your spring pads from left to right and they bolt right up. 

T-case:  Yea, that stays expensive. I'll give you that.  As does the bumpers, winch, etc.  Still, cheaper then a Jeep. 

That recipe will technically fit 33" tires (I'm a fan of fender trimming by the way - low CG FTW), but I bolded the word "properly" for a reason. 33" tires on a rig that doesn't flex any more than stock  I have 31" on my Samurai, and I've noticed there's a great reduction in breaking distance. It's the max I think is safe for emergency breaking... and it's pushing the envelope at that (note I said EMERGENCY breaking). So, figure bigger rear breaks. 31" is about the max Samurai toothpick axles can handle, so figure stronger axles of some kind, and the price difference between 31" and 33" tires is pretty significant.


Anyway, I personally would rather have a properly built & locked rig on 31" than what you've described. But - that's the joy of 4x4 - build it how ya want, and wheel it!

The funny thing is it took me over 3 years to break a birfield. 

Longevity depends on a lot of variables:
* Luck (some things come out of the factory better than others)
* How hard you beat it (how hard of lines do you take, how do you treat the skinny pedal?)
* How hard the trail (or mud, sand, whatever) beat's it
* How hard your rig beats it (is there extra torque on gearing, 5-speed or auto, locked or open diffs)
* Weight

You're not alone. People have survived a long time on 33" tires. But, the kinds of places I'd go on 33" tires are far far away from civilization, and not where I want to be breaking axles. The risk of breaking becomes much higher with 33" than it is with 31".

But, I think people are miss the magic word: proper. I CAN find ways of stuffing 33" tires (and 31") on the cheap. But every corner cut is sacrificing something: longevity, safety, center of gravity, axle wrap.... the list goes on. A properly lifted rig doesn't cut corners.