So I have my Samurai It is my rig I do my wheeling in it and it does great. My question is for the Sidekick guys on this forum. How does it do off road? I have never seen one with the independent suspension wheeling just sas sidekicks. What are some good lift kits? Tire lift combos? Does it go where you want to go? How is the street driveability? I would want to have a small suv to do my DD and running around, The Samurai just not the best commuter.

I have an 89 sidekick with the 1.3, 2" spring spacers, 2" strut extensions, Crown Vic rear shocks, trimmed rear fenders, and 31x10.5's on 10" rims. I ride with a friend who has a Sammy with a spring over lift, 33x13.50 LTB's and lower t-case gears, and a liimited slip rear end. I can pretty much follow him. His gearing and limited slip lets him be a little slower up hills. A properly setup ifs sidekick will do real well, but most of the flex happens on the rear axle, the ifs doesnt have much flex.

i also have an '89 kick.
i wouldn't consider it a dd driver, even in it's stock configuration, if that driving was any distance on the highway if hills were involved. mabe if it had the bigger motor..........
i suspect later models are much more comfortable on the road.
i am pleased w/trail performance, and put up w/road performance- mostly the people behind me seem patient.

I agree, rascott, it's not a speed demon by any means, but I guess that's why theres a fast lane, huh?
Mine is a daily driver, including 10 miles of interstate. I wouldn't call the ride comfortable, but i like it. Besides, four wheel drives are supposed to rattle, right?

0-50 in about 5......minutes!

I drove a sami to a little over a year and then switched to a 93 4 door sidekick for family and on road driving purposes. running a 4 1/2" lift with 33" skinnies and love it. I would like to get more flex and strength out of the front, but other than that no complaints. It does great on and off road.

Yeah I was wanting to get one for DD but don't want to make it to extreme, keep the driveability good.  How are the suspension kits for the four door are they the same as the two door kits?  Off road-ability?  What is a good tire size for more on road than off road probably be going A/T's.

up until recently my wfie and i both DD our kicks. mine was stock for a while (4 door, 16v, 5 spd), but now has the trail slayer kit on it. I still drive mine a lot (well, when it isn’t at the fab shop).

hers was a stock 2 door, 2wd, 8v, 5spd and it did great! Both ours stock got around 27mpg and had plenty of power and could run 80 in 5th gear even uphills. I love em! And if I ever find a deal on another 5spd 4 door that is stock, I will probably try to get it to DD.

I know a lot of folks wheeling theirs with IFS and they do great! You just don’t have the gearing options like you do in a sami and the lack of high range kills them when you put big tires on. Mine has 35s now with 5.29s and it is a dog on the road.

Yeah I wouldn't go over 31's just to keep it good on the gas mileage. 

I DD my 4-door kick on 29" M/T tires and OME 1.5" lift. It's the best "small" lift out there, as it's the only one that gives more flex. Bad news is it's the most expensive |removethispart|@ $800. You can do spring spacers, strut flip and new shocks in the rear for $200 or less, and you can always trim the fenders too (this looks clean, and keeps a low cener of gravity). I wheel the piss out of my setup, and it's only stopped by the harshest of trails (Rubicon). It does creek / mud crossing, snow, sand dunes, rocks... and I'm not even locked front or rear. Toss in some lockers, and it would be even better.

I live in the foothills, so I wouldn't go bigger than 29" tire. If you live in the flats, you can go bigger. The weakest point of trackers is gearing options. Other than that, they're GREAT. Good gas mileage - yes, that means the engine is weaker, but with gas prices, I'll deal with not flying down the road. Gas mileage, storage space, and ride quality are miles above samurai.

You're on the right track with All Terrain tires. These trucks are light, so you can get a generic tire, and it'll last a long long time. I like Pep Boy's Dakota brand. Search my name, and "dakota" for more on my build.

Another question what year did they start to put V6's in the sidekick/ Vitara?  A bit more power right and are those models able to use the lifts from calmini or rocky road?

Yeah I wouldn't go over 31's just to keep it good on the gas mileage. 

im getting about 19-20 with 35s. i just cant go very fast! 

Another question what year did they start to put V6's in the sidekick/ Vitara?  A bit more power right and are those models able to use the lifts from calmini or rocky road?

99 and up. they have more power, but they have timing chains and can be sensitive if not properly maintained. you can get small lifts for them.

**EDIT** i stand corrected... RRO offers a 4.5" lift for the 99+

well i must be doing something wrong . i have a 89 2 door side kick  that i got specifically for a daily driver .
 i use it for work and put on 2-300 miles a day  on my route , half that on the freeway
 Right after I got it , I went through the front end .  New bearings  seals, dive axles . Joints , idler , struts . Shocks in the rear and new breaks all the way around as well as new Stock size tires .
 With the 1.6 and a 3 speed auto  she holds 65 just fine . I have had it up to 80 . though it takes a little to get up there  and frankly a little on the scary side , it will do it if need though
 Most times I just stay in the slow lane  and cruse along at 65 .
 Doing so gets me 30 MPG .
 Just a couple weeks ago I put in a set of green plugs .. While I have seen about a 3mpg increase in the  fuel economy over the NGK plugs I put in 2 month  ago  when I did  the new T belt , cap ,rotor and wires . What I have however really notice with the green plugs is performance. The engine not only idles better   it  seems to have much more low end power and better acceleration .
As to drive ability  and ride ? Well  after years of driving scouts and  Peeps  I  believe the sidekick  to actually drive better then either of those two   even in a stock configuration .
 What I don’t like ?
Side winds , because the sidekick is so light its easily pushed around . Top off and windows open , its not to bad though
 Its also not a cruiser like my 1 ton dodge dually is .  That  thing is like riding one glass. Is smooth quite  comfortable to drive . With my  sidekick  you have to drive it and stay on it , just as with any small 4X4
The seats  IMO are alittle thin  in the cushion  but this also could be because mine is an 89 . Its near 20 years old .
 But anyway IMO as a daily driver  mine is pretty good  like I said , you have to drive it  just like any short wheel base  but the comfort factor IMO isn’t any worse then a dodge neon  of which we also at one time owned  and got no where near the Gas mileage that my sidekick does

ours is a 5 spd, not an auto. the auto we had was very weak in comparison.

got a link to these "green" plugs?

the green plugs that you are talking about are those the E3'S.  I know i put those in my 90 8v 5sp tracker and noticed a big diff. especilly since i put on the calmini header and 2 1/2 exhaust all the way back.

here is the link to green plugs .
been alot of these through the years  and frankly 99.9% are gimicks . but i personaly talked to a couple folks localy here who tried them and  said they were impressed . so i figure what the hay . so i gave them a try . so far i have not been disapointed . not sure they are diffrent then any other helio  plug but  like i said so far  i have seen an improvment . not as much as some other folks but  but still an improvment

http://www.greenplugs.com/about.aspx