Hello, not sure where to start so im going ramble on a bit.

 40 years old owned a few 4x4's (hig lux, fj62, honda foremans.lol ) and currently a 2500hd duramax. Always had my eye open for a samurai tin top with visions of me trucking through the hot Florida swamps in the air conditioning. Something about the rear door that opens like a refrigerator. Being not able to get into the woods with my monster truck (duramax) for the past 10years has kept me on my Hondas but only in the winter. It also kept me slightly out of the 4x4 scene.




 Well i picked this up the other day , some may have seen it in the FS section and she is so nice that i thought i would just make a quick buck and move on. But two things happened i remembered first when i was following the mod path of samurai owners they liked the gears from a tracker then i remembered they liked the engines from a tracker and then i realized I may have found my buddy. Then the other night i took her out in the woods for a few hours and that did it, she is the perfect size for the trails i ride and she worked pretty dam good considering it has street tires and stock suspension.

 So here i am signed up on a Suzuki board with a handful of questions and ideas. I want to fill you in on what i want and what i plan on doing and of course any help what so ever is greatly appreciated.

 First things fist i own and operate a Japenesse hot rod company that deals with mostly Toyota/Lexus and Nissan but not afraid of other Japanese makes aka Suzuki. www.grip-industries.com  is my site and shameless plug. So naturally my first intentions where to swap out the motor for a fire breathing version but as i have been getting older and wiser i been trying to keep it simple. So what i would like to do is this.

 Keep the stock motor and drive train but im hellbent on running a 235 85 16 tire on a 7" rim.  I have checked out the ins and outs of most of the lifts available and really like the Calmini 3" suspension and a 2-3 inch body lift. I would like go smaller but i don't want to come up short for my tires.

 So for now i will keep my questions short and sweet kinda like my tracker/red solo cup..lol

Who is selling the best priced Calmini lifts?

Can i get away with a spacer type lift and body lift to fit my tire selection.

Thanks again-Robert

The tires you are looking to run are just under 31" in size, so if you want to fit those easily with the budget lift you can go with the 2x2 lift, or 2" spacer lift and 2" body lift.  The Calmini 3" by itself should be plenty to clear the tires you are looking to run without the body lift.

If you decide that you want to go with a bigger motor but stay Suzuki a 2.3L will go in without to much of a problem, especially if you are good with wiring in computers.  155hp to the stock 85 will make a pretty good difference, we run one in Project Trouble with 30" tires and can go faster then we probably should without any issues. 

thanks. i thnk the tire im looking at measures closer to 32"  and what vehicle would have the 2.3 you speek off, dose it bolt to the factory tracker transmission? What would it be called in japan as i have a nice source for JDM engines.-Robert

The 2.3L is from the Aerio/Liana, but it does require some parts from the 2.0 from the Tracker/Vitara.  Mainly the rear water outlet, oil pan, oil pickup and exhaust manifold if you don't want to make custom motor mounts for the drivers side.  While it will bolt up to the stock transmission you will need a different flywheel, you can use one from Trail Tough or find a 1.8l and use the flywheel from it.  Then it's just wiring.  We use the stock radiator with an electric fan from an AC unit, works fine.  We also used an independent thermostat to run the thermostat on the dash, since there isn't an analog output from the computer.  If you have questions post them over in the Project Trouble build thread. 

For the tire fitment, hopefully someone else will chime in.  BRD HNTR looks like he will be able to clear 33x12.5's with 3-4" of lift, read up on his build thread to see the details.

If you want a better suspension in my opinion, though a tad more expensive, is the Altered Ego 4.5" lift. plenty of clearance for those tall and skinnys. With 31's I have 16.5" to the frame rail under the drivers door.

My build, http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/suzuki-sidekick-vitara-geo-tracker-(gen-1-platform)-1989-1998/install-altered-ego-4-5'-lift-kit/

thanks guys, Drone , im hip to the aerio 2.3 actually had one, good to know about its compatibility.

talonxracer, your handle would be DSM related is it?  Im liking that altered ego kit although pricey seems worth it. Looking to keep it cheap, I dont plan on charging it to hard.

 small update, went to the junyard across the street from the shop today and found a set of 16x7 steel wheels from a xl-7 after measuring the backspacing they are 4" which equals to a 0 offsett same as many cheap aftermarket wheels, Had a credit there so they were close to free. Going back to see if they have a spare.

Im shooting for a 1500 budget and with my business help on discounts and connections and help with fabrication, it may work.

BUILD LIST

4 16x7 rusty steel wheels from junkyard  $25
another 75 to have them powder coated $ 75
tires will be $520

have 900 plus left and i would like to get a lift, that  incorporates new shocks and possibly springs, radiator and fan set up fix ac and build some bumpers.

always open to ideas if you got em-Robert

You should read through BRD HNTR's build, everything on it so far has been done in the shop, except some new springs. 

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/build-diaries-how-to-diy/tracker-2x4-rockers-frnt-bmper-4-dr-sprngs-lwered-frnt-diff-$30-steel-frnt-diff/

talonxracer, your handle would be DSM related is it?  Im liking that altered ego kit although pricey seems worth it. Looking to keep it cheap, I dont plan on charging it to hard.

Yep, I was deeply immersed in the DSM arena, I had both a 1st and 2nd gen AWD's with some serious awhp. Then I jumped ship to the Honda camp for 10 years building Kseries engines and reprogramming the ECU's. Then this past spring I sold off the 02'Si project DD, jumped ship again and snagged the Sidekick

 cool, just finished up a vr4 at the shop,  in the 90's we worked on those 4g63 quite a bit as we were working on toyota turbo cars and they were close enough in technology for us.
I will forget the part about the Honda's...........LOL

 
I will forget the part about the Honda's...........LOL

LOL, There isnt a better platform than the Honda Kseries for a naturally aspirated screamer, I was making 268whp/228ftlbs at 8400rpm's and still was able to pull 36-38mpg on the highway every single trip and had over 300K miles on the 02'Si when I sold her(I was the only owner). It was a very heavily modified car, a very custom ride to say the least.

talonxracer ? 

Midwest K20a vs supra,evo,240sx

Always wanted one of these k-series motors in an EF, but ended up with an S2000. K series swap into a sidekick ? 

Back on topic,

Welcome OP, there is a lot of information on here. I beat on everything I drive and have had good luck getting many km's of of these little engines (with regular maintenance).