I've seen alot of people dump it over on that ramp It cool when they made there ramp steep and long enough that even the super flexy rides get nervous  (for good reason) as they approach their limit

Zig

And so the debate continues.
IFS- More clearance under the cross member by far when fitted with the same size rubber as a SAS. Takes a bit more work to get your rig off of the ground but then that is the challenge. Drives very nicely on the road compared to a SAS but only just. Generally lack strength compared to a SAS but this can be rectified ( remember, Mr Suzuki only intended the Kick to be a shopping basket with a small amount of off road ability - which is traditional with this brand ). Very good in the mud when you lift them up - clearance up the guts is a big advantage with IFS.
SAS- Easier to lift the guts of your rig off the deck ( axle relatively disconnected from the chassis, it is only the arms / springs that hold them in place ). Generally a little stronger because the manufactures also consider them to be "tough" trucks ( relative of course ). Coils work very well when set up correctly, street and off road. Leaf springs are simple and crude but they work OK.
I have built all of these on Zuks and have a pretty good understanding of what works and how well it works. My Kick on 37's actually drives very nicely on the road, I certainly do not find it at all intimadating. Just slow down a bit for the corners as it is quite tall ( 640mm from the chassis to the ground ). My 413 / Sammy ( SPOA ) drives OK but it is nowhere as good as coils, it is not as plush basically but it works great all round. My IFS Kick - 4" suspension lift, body lift, 33"s etc drives very well. In fact it is almost as good as stock.
I enjoy them all.
My 413 - 600mm up the ramp. IFS Kick- 550mm up the ramp. SAS Kick - 1050mm up the ramp.
So they all flex pretty good but the SAS Kick is the machine in the rocks.
It all depends on what you are planning on doing. Don't write off IFS because it is a very good set up with lots of potential and very good manners.
Me - I like them all, but they do have their trump cards and they are all different.

ZeusZuki.

Whats neat in this picture and most of the other well articulated IFS Kicks I've seen, is that it shows that it is usually the rear solid axle that does the flexing and the inflexable front end which provides the good corner handling.

How much travel can one get out of the OME struts anyway, I've honestly never checked?  I hear they are more than the rest.  



This bottom picture won't be a very good comparision to Mikes ride.  His is a 2 door and is super modified, but I think that the picture shows a good general representation of what most modified IFS Sidekicks do compared to what most SAS Sidekicks do when it comes to comparing axle/tire flexibility.

This is what I figure to be about a ~12 degree ramp.  I don't know the exact angle of the ramp, it's just a loading dock ramp in our area.  

See the two dark verticle markers.

One marker shows how far the IFS rig traveled before the drivers side rear tire lifted off of the ground, the other marker shows how far the SAS truck made it before the stuffed front tire dug into the front bumper and stopped forward progress.  (well before the rear tire was to lift)
I'll let you guess what marker is what.



The IFS rig, has extended rear control arms, extended 3rd link, longer than stock shocks and lift coils in the rear.  This provides excellent flex in the rear.  
And in the front, it has strut spacers and lift coils.  (more lift, no additional travel)  I feel that this is similiar to many aftermarket lift/modifications available.

You can see other picutres of the 2, 4door kicks on this ramp here;
http://www.granitepath.com/friends/kd7hcg/pictures/toyaxles/flex/index.html

They both flex pretty good compared to stock.  But to me, this provides the answer to the question;
"Why get rid of the IFS?"

An ultra flexy straight axle trucklet
is way too squirrely for the road,
almost to the point of being unsafe,
at least in the sammy I drove it was,
kind of like driving a boat

Wild

Darin, sway bars help (so do properly operating shocks).

Did you hear that we had our shocks mounted upside down in the rear whilst we were in Moab?  BSD shocks are directional and the 'installer' didn't see the 'this side up' marking on the side.  We were riding with essentially no shocks at all while down there.  When we pulled them out to swap with some Rancho shocks to see if they were any stiffer, the piston moved freely with zero resistance.  Upon closer inspection, the 'this side up' was spotted.  
We re-installed them and they work TONS better.  Crazy huh?

....
My Kick on 37's actually drives very nicely on the road, I certainly do not find it at all intimadating. Just slow down a bit for the corners as it is quite tall ( 640mm from the chassis to the ground ). My 413 / Sammy ( SPOA ) drives OK but it is nowhere as good as coils, it is not as plush basically but it works great all round. My IFS Kick - 4" suspension lift, body lift, 33"s etc drives very well. In fact it is almost as good as stock.
I enjoy them all.
My 413 - 600mm up the ramp. IFS Kick- 550mm up the ramp. SAS Kick - 1050mm up the ramp.
So they all flex pretty good but the SAS Kick is the machine in the rocks.
It all depends on what you are planning on doing. Don't write off IFS because it is a very good set up with lots of potential and very good manners.
Me - I like them all, but they do have their trump cards and they are all different.

ZeusZuki.

Very nice!

So the bottom line is we need to stop web wheelin so much and hit the trails.  

To me it sounds like....

Define the job....

Get the right tools.....

both have their place.

Zag

I dont think that is a fair compairson. That rig in the photos obviosly has too stiff of of coils in the front or too soft in the rear.

This is what it whould look like with proper spring rate.

http://www.rpm4x4.com/specs/mike-tracker-RTI.htm

Mike

Very good Mr Hagen. So what might those spring ratings be?
The front certainly is working very well.

Very good Mr Hagen. So what might those spring ratings be?
The front certainly is working very well.

No two rigs weigh the same so it differs per rig. As with anything ya gotta experiment.

Mike

True- no vehicle is the same as another. But same brands with all the usual OE panels etc attached end up similar.
But I understand if you do not wish to devulge your secrets.
I have played with springs in the past and have found rear 3 door springs work quite well in the front and 5 door rear springs work well in the rear of a 3 door.
It helps soften things up a bit.

Rear 2dr springs in the front of a 2dr?

On an SAS or a Sammie.
A-armed Track/Kicks cannot
take this kind of spring mod

i always thought the goal was to make from one point in an obstacle to the other. is it now who gets there with the most flex wins ?

i think people over look an interesting advantage to having a ifs rig is you can unbolt it return it to stock sell it, and put your goods onto another. almost always when doing a sas you end up carving out the the ifs mounting points. you go through all the hastles of fabing up a nice sas setup but if it turns out not being what you would have liked, your pretty much screwed unless you want to do more fabing. to me if your gonna do an sas go the extra mile and do it right, spend a little extra if thats what it takes.

if sas is your goal then don't settle for less than this kind of flex. by the way this is on a 30 drgree ramp.

Fuck flex, I'm after strength.

Then again, I don't play in the rocks