Jeremiah---Your sig says 4dr., that's more like a SUV or station wagon---I'm looking for small, like Samarai or 2dr covertible Kick--I live in high dessert area and in a heart beat it would have dessert pinstriping on it.
I own two 4-doors (one 4-speed auto, and 5 speed stick), a SJ410 with Samurai running gear, and a 2-door convertible. The 2 door is peppy for being a 4x4, but it's got poo for room (Samurai is worse) - barely enough for good sized grocery runs. I drive the 4-door 90%+ of the time. When I went on a dune run, it was in the 4-door, and I beat ALL the Samurai's in top speed (I believe this was due to the OME coil suspension, and extra length = stability), but they could hill-climb easier (they're probably 500-1000 lbs lighter). I've not been to the sand in the 2-door kick yet, but it's on my agenda - I'm sure it will be fun.
I really like the idea of auto trans
So do I - it's unbeatable in the rocks.
Can you put coil springs/auto trans in Sammy?
Yes, but unless you have a welder & metal fab experience, it's going to be difficult to do both. The coil suspension more so than the engine / trans combo. If you buy a 2-door convertable kick, you can get it with an auto & coil springs already... and it's FAR more likely to have A/C than a Sami.
They just look so much better than the Kick
I hated the looks of mine at first - the Samurai just has that "jeep" look that exudes testosterone. The 2-door kick does seem like more of a college girl car.... but the looks of the kick have grown on me. Espeicially since I put penis extension on it (bull bumper, winch & expedition style roof rack)
^^^ bad boy has a TUN of $$$ into it. I'm sure he's got the gearing figured out ($$$), and has enough power to spin them tires. Like most vehicles, you can do turbos, or engine swaps to gain whatever power necessary to make big tires spin - it's all a matter of how much $$$ you have. If you get a 2-door kick with auto trans, it's quite easy to get 31" tires to play nice on it... likely for around $1,500 for everything (tires, lift, diff gears).
It all depends on what you want to do. If it were me, and I were setting up a sand runner, I'd go with 29" A/T tires (which worked well in the sand I play in up in Oregon), a spool in the rear, strut tower brace and spend the extra $$$ for the OME suspension ($700) - it's worth EVERY penny with the suspension punishment dunes / desert dishes out. If you need more power, toss in 2" exhaust with header, high-flow muffler & catcon. Unless you drive a 1.6L and think "there's no way an exhaust will unlock enough power... I need more!". In wich case, look towards the more expensive engine swap (2.0L gives 30% gain before high-flow exhaust, and & still all aluminum), or a turbo (both
). Both will run you in the $1,500 - $2,000 range.