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Is the Sami right for me?

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Offline stitchclimber

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Is the Sami right for me?
« on: March 08, 2012, 06:23:58 PM »
New to the forum, never owned a Zuk. But I've been eyeballing older Suzuki Samurai's.

Currently I drive a fairly stock Jeep Cherokee with some nice All-Terrain tires on it. I do mostly city driving with the occasional trip to the coast or camping. I love the 4x4 cause I can go shooting up in the hills, or get to work on unplowed roads. But the MPG's are killing me with roughly 11-15mpg on my commute.

Anyway, moving to the midwest here this spring, and was planing on selling the jeep anyway.

I'd like to pick up a late 80's/early 90's hard top sami in a fairly stock configuration. throw some decent tires on there and have a decent in town car with 20+mpg's, but still something that can rough the snow and hills.

Like I've said, I've never owned a Zuk before, but I've fallen in love with these little Sami's. I'm not afraid to work on my rig, and they seem fairly close to what I'll sell my jeep for $2-3k

Will the Sami fit my needs?

Also, are there aftermarket hard tops available? and if so can you mod a soft top to accept the hard top?
(I've noticed soft tops are much more prevalent and affordable, but I require a hard top for security reasons)
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Offline Skyhiranger

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2012, 06:56:27 PM »
Samurais will be underpowered, compared to a jeep...if that matters to you.  They ride kinda rough and aren't the most road friendly vehicles out there.  But I'd still drive my samurai over a jeep any day.
You can get aftermarket hard tops for the convertible samurais.  Not sure if they still make them new anymore, but you can find used ones sometimes.
As long as you don't go overboard on tire size, you should be able to easily get 20+ MPG.
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Offline 87Suzi

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2012, 07:01:21 PM »
They do get way better MPGs haha mine averaged ~28 with the old rims and 255/60/R15 radials but I NEVER drive on the highway, I avg 50mph and topped it out at 65mph, thus far, I've driven in 1.5-2" of snow with the old tires in 2WD and never even lost traction so I think it goes great in snow haha(no lift). Just put these on today:
225/70/R16 B.F. Goodrich T/A KOs on 16x8 Mickey Thompson wheels
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Offline oak_raid

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2012, 07:24:40 PM »
Lowrange has Rally hardtops in both 1 piece and 2 piece.  Pricey though.

The Sami will do nicely for an in town ride.  Its the highway where its shows its lack of power.  65 horses dont equal highway friendly.  As stated, you will notice the difference in power from the Cherokee.
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Offline stitchclimber

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2012, 07:40:15 PM »
Quote from: Skyhiranger on March 08, 2012, 06:56:27 PM
Samurais will be underpowered, compared to a jeep...if that matters to you.  They ride kinda rough and aren't the most road friendly vehicles out there.  But I'd still drive my samurai over a jeep any day.
You can get aftermarket hard tops for the convertible samurais.  Not sure if they still make them new anymore, but you can find used ones sometimes.
As long as you don't go overboard on tire size, you should be able to easily get 20+ MPG.

yeah, I'm not looking to tow or drag race.  Thanks for the info.
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Offline Skyhiranger

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2012, 07:42:51 PM »
Quote from: stitchclimber on March 08, 2012, 07:40:15 PM
Quote from: Skyhiranger on March 08, 2012, 06:56:27 PM
Samurais will be underpowered, compared to a jeep...if that matters to you.  They ride kinda rough and aren't the most road friendly vehicles out there.  But I'd still drive my samurai over a jeep any day.
You can get aftermarket hard tops for the convertible samurais.  Not sure if they still make them new anymore, but you can find used ones sometimes.
As long as you don't go overboard on tire size, you should be able to easily get 20+ MPG.

yeah, I'm not looking to tow or drag race.  Thanks for the info.

That is what I tell people, when I am telling them about samurais or trackicks....."they won't win any drag races, but that's not what they are made for".
I ran 225/75-15 tires on one of my samurais and got a pretty consistent 27MPG on the highway.
Where abouts in the midwest are you moving to?
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Offline stitchclimber

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2012, 07:48:53 PM »
Quote from: Skyhiranger on March 08, 2012, 07:42:51 PM
Quote from: stitchclimber on March 08, 2012, 07:40:15 PM
Quote from: Skyhiranger on March 08, 2012, 06:56:27 PM
Samurais will be underpowered, compared to a jeep...if that matters to you.  They ride kinda rough and aren't the most road friendly vehicles out there.  But I'd still drive my samurai over a jeep any day.
You can get aftermarket hard tops for the convertible samurais.  Not sure if they still make them new anymore, but you can find used ones sometimes.
As long as you don't go overboard on tire size, you should be able to easily get 20+ MPG.

yeah, I'm not looking to tow or drag race.  Thanks for the info.

pretty sure St. Louis, however areas of Colorado are still under consideration.

That is what I tell people, when I am telling them about samurais or trackicks....."they won't win any drag races, but that's not what they are made for".
I ran 225/75-15 tires on one of my samurais and got a pretty consistent 27MPG on the highway.
Where abouts in the midwest are you moving to?
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Offline Skyhiranger

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Re: Is the Sami right for me?
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2012, 08:04:54 PM »
There are a few zuk guys that are around the STL area.  There are quite a few of us around the KC area.
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