Got my new vehicle

[CleverName]

So thanks to everyone here for the help in choosing a new car. Yesterday I picked up an 88 Suzuki Samurai with just under 100K miles. The guy came down considerably on the price, so I went for it. This thing is so different from anything I've owned, Im a little nervous about my decision. Aside from a stereo and new seats, its all stock. One thing I dont like about it is the ride quality on the freeway. It wants to follow every rut and crack, which is a little nerve wracking, especially after years behind the wheel of a big heavy pickup. Will larger tires and a slight lift improve this phenomenon or make it worse? Do jeeps and other short wheel base vehicles do this too?

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[Glockman19]

Usually lifting and larger tires will make it worse, but a small lift and slight taller and same width tires on different offset wheels usually doesnt worsen the problem but with a little luck on your side if you find the right offset wheels maybe slightly improve. Most all short wheel base rigs do have that inherent problem. Newer suspension components and shocks can possibly help the situation even though its not the root cause to the problem. If you dont like let me know I might be interested in buying it for the price.

 

[Redcap]

So thanks to everyone here for the help in choosing a new car. Yesterday I picked up an 88 Suzuki Samurai with just under 100K miles. The guy came down considerably on the price, so I went for it. This thing is so different from anything I've owned, Im a little nervous about my decision. Aside from a stereo and new seats, its all stock. One thing I dont like about it is the ride quality on the freeway. It wants to follow every rut and crack, which is a little nerve wracking, especially after years behind the wheel of a big heavy pickup. Will larger tires and a slight lift improve this phenomenon or make it worse? Do jeeps and other short wheel base vehicles do this too?

It is a little, light vehicle with a short, narrow wheelbase. It isn't going to ride like a Cadillac.

 

[bruzer]

Congratulations. If memory serves me correct, Sami's suffer the same steering issues as Jeeps and FJ40 Land Cruisers. The shackles for the front axle are on the front of the leaf springs. What this means to you is any wear of the bushings causes your front tires to wonder all over the road. The good news is it is not hard to fix but does take new parts. Buy new bushings for the whole front, check all your tie rod ends for any play and check your shocks. Replace as needed.Suzuki Samurai Polyurethane Bushings by Energy Suspension at Morris 4x4
If you need any help you can PM.
Good luck and stay safe,
Mike

Oh, I forgot to add. Larger/wider tires WILL make it worse. I know big tires make it look better but as far as ride quality on the freeway they do not help at all. As far as a slight lift it depends. I have seen improvement in ride quality with a lift but that was because all the old worn out parts were replaced with brand new parts. So it was not the fact of lifting the vehicle as much as replacing worn out parts.

 

[KalamaMark]

I own a Samurai, and have had several in the past. I had an 87 tintop that I commuted from Kalama Wa to downtown PDX for 3 years.

The leaves on the trees were my passing plausibility indicator... If I had a tailwind, I could pull into the fast lane and pass the middle lane lollygagger. If I had a headwind, it was best to just lollygagg with the rest and not get too ambitious!!

Mine wasn't super sensitive to tracks or ruts. I've had tires totally change the nature of how a vehicle handles ruts and grooves. It might be that simple. A check for slop on front wheel bearings, ball joints, and tie rod ends would be a good thing.

My current Zuk is a farm/woods/hunting buggy that is geared, locked, lifted, widened, and never sees the far side of 35mph. They are a great, reasonably priced, street legal alternative to a UTV.

 

[CleverName]

Thanks for all the advice. The front axle has been rebuilt, including wheel bearings, but all the bushings are original. I may be able to tighten up the front end with a new bushing kit. I had the front up on jack stands today and found a little up and down movement on the front right wheel. Im going to pull the wheel off in a day or two and take a look.

 

[Chee-to]

Do jeeps and other short wheel base vehicles do this too?

Yes, just try to stay out of the middle lane on I-5 as much as you can till you get use to it, no big deal.....

 

[Elitepaintballproductions]

Hate to be the bearer of bad new......but you have just purchased one of the if not the most unsafe sport utilities ever made.....my best friend had one many years ago, and rolled it on a dry surface doing 45 mph..... This is because of the shorted wheel base and stance of the car compared to it's height.....please please please do not get bigger tires or raise it up as it will add tremdiosly to this tipping over factor.....please do some research and look up some more info on the vechile you just purchased...there's lots of story,consumer reportsand lawsuit, ect,ect....here's a start


Consumer Group Asks Recall Of Suzuki Samurai as Unsafe - NYTimes.com

 

[Redcap]

Hate to be the bearer of bad new......but you have just purchased one of the if not the most unsafe sport utilities ever made.....my best friend had one many years ago, and rolled it on a dry surface doing 45 mph..... This is because of the shorted wheel base and stance of the car compared to it's height.....please please please do not get bigger tires or raise it up as it will add tremdiosly to this tipping over factor.....please do some research and look up some more info on the vechile you just purchased...there's lots of story,consumer reportsand lawsuit, ect,ect....here's a start


Consumer Group Asks Recall Of Suzuki Samurai as Unsafe - NYTimes.com

Okay Ralph Nader...

 

[plasticfood]

The Samurai is an amazing little rig. I have all ways wanted one. It will never handle well on the freeway, but it is great on the trails. Plus if you tip it over you can put it back on its wheels with just you and your friend. Lift it, wheel it, brake it and repeat. Good luck.

 

[OregonPlinker]

Congrats on a cool ride man! Ive had broncos, blazers, a bronco II, a toyota, full size ford, full size dodge and 4 jeeps, actually just bought my 5th. All of them 4x4s and all got used for what they were made for and then some. Ive always wanted a sammy. Someday Ill get one and see how I like it. Anyway the shorter the wheel base and the lighter the rig the less stable they feel to me. Just keep in mind they will roll and youll be fine. I would ring donuts in my wrangler when it was stock and it would pick the inside front tire up off the ground... Never tried it after I lifted it.lol You have to sacrifice on road capability for off road capability I guess.

Now if you want something that handles pretty well on road and off road I just got a 05 grand cherokee with the hemi in it and let me tell ya what brother, that thing will go! Not like a lifted and locked wheeler but it does good off road for what it is and it will do 0-60 in 7 seconds.lol. Fuel economy sucks but wtf you only live once right

 

[CleverName]

I dont think Im going to lift it. The gas millage is just too good to mess with now, and I dont plan on doing any rock crawling. Im going to see if its feasible to keep my truck, and use the Samurai for buzzing around town, to and from work, hunting and fishing. I've read that they are unsafe, so Im going to avoid driving my son around in it until I get more experience with it and trust it more, but I do this with any vehicle.

 

[CleverName]

Loving this Samurai, but Im looking to increase power, with the goal of eventually doing a safe and conservative lift. Maybe 2" max with a slightly larger tire and more aggressive tread. Heres what Im thinking so far. A weber carb, header and 2" exhaust with a big, quiet muffler. For the lift I was thinking of eventually getting an OME lift kit, or for now just a set of 1" extended shackles and taller tires. Thoughts or advice?

 

[Cheesemaker]

Check out these companies, they all specialize in Suzuki's and other similar rigs.

Welcome to the Trail Tough Products
Suzuki-Suzuki Samurai Parts
Xtreme Zuks Offroad: Xtreme Zuks Offroad Tampa | Suzuki Samurai Sales And Parts | Home

A really good forum to check out.

ZUKIWORLD Online | Your Suzuki Enthusiast Community Forum - Index


These are companies that all my buddies that are Zuk's or Geo's go to. Trailtough has some good kits for swapping in the more powerful 16valve Sidekick motor in.

Here in Tillamook, everybody is buying them up when they can find them. They are cheap, easy to work on, lift, gear, and will go anywhere in the woods you want to go, with a mild lift and some 31's.

Just remember, that you can get any rig to roll over on pavement. I've had an aunt and uncle get over 200,000 miles on one. And they went from Oregon Coast, to Lower Brule, SD, and then on to Flagstaff, AZ. Where the last and final leg of it was ran on only 3 cylinders, for at least 30,000 miles before they got rid of it. So, they are very capable rigs.


I'd go for a OME lift and tires for now. If you need wider tires for the cheap, early ford half ton wheels fit just fine!!

 

[nwwoodsman]

So what's the price range for a stock 88 Samurai with under 100k? Only one I can seem to find have been lifted and rode hard and they want anywhere from $3,000 to $Areyouserious.00

 

[davemata]

Okay Ralph Nader...

While it sounds like an alarmist's story, my uncle spent some time in the ICU because his samurai flipped because of a stiff crosswind while he was driving down a straight, dry road in LA.

I wonder though if getting wider axles would reduce the potential?

 

[ZigZagZeke]

An alignment after replacing any loose or worn front or rear suspension parts might work wonders. On my old Corvette, when the rear end was out of alignment it would follow anything like a tar strip or a crack.

 

[CleverName]

So what's the price range for a stock 88 Samurai with under 100k? Only one I can seem to find have been lifted and rode hard and they want anywhere from $3,000 to $Areyouserious.00

Lets just say I picked this one up for less than 3K and more than 2K. But everyone I've talked to says I got a smoking deal.

I've already replaced all the front bushings and found the front passenger wheel bearing nut loose. I did a driveway alignment with a tape measure and its driving way better now. Id doesnt feel so much like a go kart anymore.

 

[DieselScout]

Loving this Samurai, but Im looking to increase power, with the goal of eventually doing a safe and conservative lift. Maybe 2" max with a slightly larger tire and more aggressive tread. Heres what Im thinking so far. A weber carb, header and 2" exhaust with a big, quiet muffler. For the lift I was thinking of eventually getting an OME lift kit, or for now just a set of 1" extended shackles and taller tires. Thoughts or advice?

I don't know too much about the Sami's but if it's an 88 it should have some form of fuel injection on it. Seems like swapping to a carb, while bumping up the power may kill the mileage you love so much. With the big thirsty IH V8's I deal with, putting on a very rudimentary TBI (fuel injection) system on it will improve you mileage by quite a bit. The other great thing about it is while off roading you don't have to worry about running the engine on steep and off camber angles. With an FI system it will run. With a carb it may or may not, and if the engine isn't running you lose your power steering and power brakes. Can make an interesting situation turn terrifying very quickly.

 

[Redcap]

I don't know too much about the Sami's but if it's an 88 it should have some form of fuel injection on it. Seems like swapping to a carb, while bumping up the power may kill the mileage you love so much. With the big thirsty IH V8's I deal with, putting on a very rudimentary TBI (fuel injection) system on it will improve you mileage by quite a bit. The other great thing about it is while off roading you don't have to worry about running the engine on steep and off camber angles. With an FI system it will run. With a carb it may or may not, and if the engine isn't running you lose your power steering and power brakes. Can make an interesting situation turn terrifying very quickly.

The IH SV series is sort of like the Ford FE series. Serious fuel pigs.