I am new to the forum and just got a samurai, I had a sidekick before with a custom lift and 32's.
I want to put 31x10.50 tires on the samurai and was wondering what gear ratio would be best, for a daily driver that gets off roaded on weekends.  I want to try and keep decent mpg. I will just be using gears from a sidekick/tracker. I was just debating if the 5.13 would be too much.

Go with a 4.8:1 transfer case instead.  It's a lot easier and gives you the crawling gears for off road at the same time and the high range drop will bring you right in line for the 31" tires.

I found a nice gear calculator on www.izook.com I think the 4.62 gear ratio should work well for 31" tires.

I found a nice gear calculator on www.izook.com I think the 4.62 gear ratio should work well for 31" tires.

I have a set of 4.625s in my 1.6 8-valve Samurai with 30" BFG ATs and the change from a DD standpoint was amazing!  Better mileage through a better matching of the engine to the drivetrain.  I got 5th gear back and I almost never "row" (downshift) to keep my speed up  on the Interstate.  Because of the R&P swap, I don't load or stress the engine and drivetrain as much as I used to.

Yes, I am a big fan of R&P swaps.

But to be fair, rebuilding two Samurai dDifferentials with Trackick R&Ps involves a lot of detail work and - to make sure that you don't have to crack them open again soon - two rebuild kits.  Re-gearing the transfer case can get "nominally" the same results for a lot less physical effort.  The engine/drivetrain loading mentioned above ends at the transfer case instead of at the differentials.  And there is where the debate begins.

I, like Descarte's vision of Godhead, have wound up the Clock of Predestination and walked away.  Let the discussion ensue!   

I have 5.12s and 4to1 t-case, a little low for the street but very nice for the trail



I can go through all 5 gears befor I get the the end of an intersection

I think the transfer case gearing would probably be easier, but junkyard parts are my favorite kind and saves a ton of money. I have done some gears before and it is a pita, but worth it when your done. I don't do any rock crawling {no rocks within a couple hours of me} or anything so I don't need the super low low range.

hi, i'm a new member. I need to know please if the differation ratios of the suzuki with a 1.0L engine and a 1.3L engine are the same??? thanks

I have a federal 31x10.5 tires and was using 5:12 gear ratio with no problem on both off road and hway.  My zuk can easily hit 120km/hour and is also nice in crawling situations.   However, I recently changed back to the stock gear and installed a Calmini rockcrawler.

hi, i'm a new member. I need to know please if the differation ratios of the suzuki with a 1.0L engine and a 1.3L engine are the same??? thanks

If you have the 1.0l then you have an SJ-410.  You have 4.10 gears in the diffs compared to the 3.89 in the SJ-413/Samurai.

Your axles are also smaller and you can't use the Samurai gear sets in the Diff's or the transfer case.  But the Samurai t-case is a straight swap and you can keep the t-case mounted e-brake.   Let me know if you have any other questions. 

I want to put 31x10.50 tires on the samurai and was wondering what gear ratio would be best, for a daily driver that gets off roaded on weekends.  ... debating if the 5.13 would be too much.

If you spend a lot of time at speed on the interstate, then you'll want to pay attention to your overdrive 5th ratio. Early Samurais had a 0.795 OD 5th gear, which was later changed to  0.865:1 to make it easier to pull 5th at speed. The lower 4 gears seem to work themselves out if you get the 5th gearing close.  31 inch tires are about 15% larger, and the later 5th gear is about 9% lower than early (pre-88.5) models.
 
If you have an early 5th gear, the the 4.62 R&P puts your 5th gear about right.  If you have a later 5th gear, then the 4.30 R&P (kinda rare) is about right.  If you want to use a 4.x:1 Transfer Case, then you get additional hi-range reduction (12-18%, depending on the specific gearset) that you should include.

It's an SJ-410.  4 speed transmission, unless he somehow got a hold of a 5 speed from Santana. 

I thought the only way to get sidekick gears into a sami is to cut the rear pumpkin out of a trackick and make a hybrid axle with the sami axle. I think the front kick gears or whole third bolt right in.

I thought the only way to get sidekick gears into a sami is to cut the rear pumpkin out of a trackick and make a hybrid axle with the sami axle. I think the front kick gears or whole third bolt right in.

For the rear you are correct, you will need a hybrid rear end.  You can also take apart a couple of front diffs and install them in the Sammy carriers.  Or just drop the front third member in the Sammy, 95 and earlier fits in the front and 96-98 fits in the back.

I've built Samurais with a basic spring over and 31's with anywhere from 4.30s to 5.13s... 5.13s make it very fun to drive. It puts the engine in a very happy place so it can easily deal with 31's and 70 mph without blowing anything up. 4.30s help a lot but 4.62s or 5.13s would be your best bet. Use a hybrid rear housing and have the front set up in iron unless you have a gentle driving style. Otherwise you will blow up the aluminum Kick front diff... Your best bet is to get a complete gear change setup from somewhere like Trailtough and call it good.