Just picked up another 2nd gen after a 5yr break, I'm plannin to do a spacer lift and a body lift, what would be the biggest tire I could clear don't mind if it rubs offroad don't plan to wheel it till after I'm outta college, just aslong as I can clear the tires for dd'n ill be happy. Plannin to keep the stock zr2 wheels and run a wheel spacer. Hope this all makes sense I'm postin from my phone.

Any ideas

i installed jeff's lift on my 2000 4dr. i ran 7" wide aftermarket 15" rims with 1.25" spacers and 235/75 muds and they rubbed the bumper pretty bad. with less offset (rims tucked under the wheel wells more) i bet they would have fit just fine.

with an additional 2" body lift i bet you'd be able to fit at least 30's, probably 31's.  But keep in mind, anything over 29" and you should really start looking into re-gearing.

Thanks for the info was hoppin to run a lil bigger tire than a 30

X2 on what samuraidan said.  Slip 30" tires onto your stock rims and that's about as good as it gets with these body styles without significant suspension modifications.  Guys have put 31 inch tires on their trucks but typically go with wider rims which pushes the tire out under the fenders causing more contact during turning and compression.  The body lift would relieve  some of the compression problems in the rear but you would probably have to do some trimming of the front bumper cover.

I also agree you will want more gear with a true 30" tire.  If you are going to run it primarily on the road without significant hills you can probably get by with the loss of mechanical advantage.  If you have serious hills or even mountains where you live, you will  hate the loss of power and will opt for the higher gears (sooner or later).  if you slip 31s on your truck it will be even more obvious you just need more gear.  If your truck is a Tracker with a manual tranny you have 4.62s stock. If you have an auto tranny you have 4.88s.  This allows you to jump up to either the 4.88 or 5.12 gears.  Most guys would advise going to the 5.12s.  If your Tracker came with a 1.6 liter engine, then you have 5.12 gears factory and not many upgrade options.

Mine is a 2liter 5spd, I live in Tn its all hills around here, if I end just running 30s, ill probally wheel iit quite a bit,  I don't think power will bother me, I was dd'n a samurai previouslly not been used to power lately.

I was considering trying to run bfg at's in a 33x9.50, I know bfgs usually run a lil short, what other zukis can I use the r&p from? I have 95 kick with 5.12s I'm thinkin of parting out, also saw 5.63s for a sami for sale.

Mine is a 2.0 5spd and even with 29's the power loss was quite noticeable.

I too had a Samurai back in the day (thus the name), i had it running on 31's with stock gearing, wanna talk about power loss? My 5th gear was completely and utterly useless, not to mention the overall loss of crawling ability.

Since then I've decided proper gearing is just as, if not more important then tire size. If you can only have one; go with gearing.

I agree that if your gonna wheel needs to be geared right, but mall crawlin don't think it'd be much of a deal, if it was a auto yes. Ill prolly end up just runnin 30s

Well if you move up to 5.13's then i guess the power loss from running 33's wont be completely unreasonable, though rolling mass will also become a big factor.

I say power to ya! i don't know if i've seen a Vitara on 33's...  but i sure would like to 

Is yours a 2 or 4 door?

mine is a 2 door, the bfg ats in a 33x9.50 weigh about the same as a 31x10.50. With them being bfgs I doubt they'll meausre out but around 31.5-32.

screw All (parking lot) Terrains, get MT's!

That would be my preference but the mt's(km2s) aren't made in a 33x9.50 only in a 10.50, if I decide to go with 30's they'll be some kind of mt more than likely. If get 33's they'll be  (M)all terrains

The tech info on the Tire Rack web site states the BFG ATs measure out at 32.7 inches diameter.  I go down to Nashville several times a year with my Tracker.  It is a 4 door with a 2 liter, 5 spd and I run 235 series Cooper tires on it.  I don't go off road, but you are right.  It is all hills in the area and shifting and downshifting is constant.  Just running fire roads with 30" tires (29+" to actual 30") is doable with 4.62 gears in lo-range.  Your truck is lighter than a four door. Finding a set of 4.88 gears (from an auto equipped truck) will make your truck MUCH more drivable on 30s and a set of 5.12s would be more better if you are hell bent on running 31" tires.  If you decide to go larger than 31", if you can get the fender issues solved, you will probably want higher gears than 5.12s.  Skyhiranger has 5.38s and 5.62s for sale.  I think they are 10 bolt instead of 12, have 22 teeth sidegears in the front and are a bit pricy but higher gears are gears and bigger tires need them.  235s are a decent compromise on the loss of mechanical advantage running 4.62s. I still have a usable 5th gear.  I can't imagine the loss of power with true 30 or 31 inch tires without upgrading the diff gears along the way.  5th gear would disappear at some point unless you can get the truck up to interstate speed and more into the engine power band.  The clutch would start trying to pick-up the slack and lead to premature failure me thinks.  It would have been nice if there were more gearing options for these trucks and they had left more wheel opening when they built them!

wouldnt really bother me if i lost 5th gear,  just wind 3 or 4th up, im sure the 2liter doesnt like to wind like my samurai did but i would wind my samurai up to 6k gettin on the interstate.