I was looking at for a Tracker/Sidekick to replace my existing daily driver and had a few questions.

I want to run 30" tires, probalby with a 2 or 3" calmini lift.  Would this be worth it?  From searches it looks like people are running 2-3" of lift to avoid rubbing issues with 30/31" tires with properly backspaced wheels.  Or should I just go with a spacer lift and 29" tires and call it good?  This will be a general drive around/play vehicle.  I have my SJ for wheeling. 

I found a 1990 Tracker w/manual transmission for a good deal, but it does have the 8-valve instead of the 16.  Will I have issues trying to drive up hills with 30" tires?  What about with lower gears installed, header, exhaust and intake mods in place?  Or should I just hold out for a 95 or above with the 16v?

I have read up a bit on the 2.5L V6 swaps over here.  One mod used a different transmission in order to mate up into the tracker t-case.  The other seemed to just use the entire drivetrain.  Did this include swapping the axels or just getting custom driveshafts made?

Yea, I'm kind of lost when it comes to trackers.   

On a side note, anyone want to trade for a 95 Eagle Talon AWD TSI Turbo?  Runs great, but has lousy ground clearance.

What kind of lift you do,depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend.
Look around on this site and see what others have done to get an idea.You should be fine with 30" tires and hills.

It would be for daily driving/backroads.  Lots of good shots of what it would be able to do on the trails, I'm just wondering how the power will be when driving down the freeway. 

I just want to double check about rubbing issues, as upgrading bumpers probably won't happen until the SJ goes through another refit. 

HEY FNG,

Nice rig.   Your running a Calmini 6" combo on your rig?   How much trimming did you have to do in order to fit those 34 LTB's under it? 

Thanks for the info,

Zukisidekick

HEY FNG,

Nice rig.   Your running a Calmini 6" combo on your rig?   How much trimming did you have to do in order to fit those 34 LTB's under it? 

Thanks for the info,

Zukisidekick

Thanks,the lift is the 6" combo and the trimming was not to bad but i did modify the firewall/bulkhead with a mini sledge and i had to modify the exhaust pipe.

I have a 16v with 235's.  I also live at 6000'.  Maybe a little higher.  You wont need 5th gear (or be able to use it) when at much altitude.  I found that power was good in the SE and in coastal California.  At home, the gear spacing is just a bit too far when shifting (due to altitude, the power band is too narrow, so I keep the rev's above 4000 rpm when on the freeway).

Drone,
You can run 30's with a calmini 2" suspension lift. You just need to watch the width of the tire and the BS of the rims you are going to use. I ran 29x10.50 Interco Thornbirds for years with my Kick on Calmini's 2" suspension. I had minor rubbing issues but that was a wide tire with the extra knobbies sticking off the side. Plus Interco Tires are one of the few that actually make their tires to actual size.
Try a search for; rim back Spacing, tires, fitting 31's etc....

I know fitting 31's on a Sidekick has been discussed recently but I can not remember what the thread name was

Zig 

My brother-in-law's Tracker has 30x9.5x15s with no lift and no trim.  I think the rims are 15x6s", but I do beleive his Tracker is regeared.  It looks like the 3rd members have been removed, judging by the looks of the "form a gasket".  To my surprise, it really scoots!

i have a 91 8v and use my overdrive all the time with my 31s. even in town. as long as it is flat the motor has more than enouph pull at 2500 rpms. on the flats i have gotten it to 78mph pinned (with a good back wind ). But you can run 65 70 no prob. im only running the 5.12s. i enjoy the truck a ton and wanting to upgrade when it is in my budget to around a 2000. if you can afford it i would just get a newer one and be done. but if not, the 8v has enouph juice.
My 2 cents

i'm currently running 30x9.5's with 1.5 inches of spacer lift on 15x6 wheels, no problems with rub, power loss is minimal when  on the highway at cruising speeds going uphill.  i have the 2.0 4cyl.