So I got my sammy going with a Ford 9" rear and D 44 front with 5.89/5.83 gears and drove it on the road and it is really lacking now.I have the stuff for the 1.6 8 valve and the question is does it really make a noticable difference in power when you run that engine with the computer controlled fuel injection? I'm running 33" TSL's.My low range is great but the high range isn't any more.

it will make a difference when your on a hill or bouncing down a trail.

you are probably over geared for road driving wit the 589 diffs and 33's. yes the 1.6 8v will make a noticable improvement. I wouldnt run it tho, the bottom end is pretty weak. It wouldnt last under my foot i know that. what is it 80 something horse? compared to 63.

Do the 16v and you will be much happier fo sure!

-Scott

The 1.6 8V won't make a night/day difference, but it will add HP as well give you fuel injection, so I say put that sucker in! That will help get you some more on-road driveability.

Even though you have low axle gears, you still need some t-case gears if you don't already have them. That will put your highrange back into a more desireable range and low range will be that much better!

I have a rock block and a 5.8 Calmini T case for drive gears. Just a little more power would be nice not expecting to roast the tires,well maby in dirt.I know my header would bolt up to the 1.6 8v head and a few of my other things will too. The power I had with the stock axles with 31's and 5.39 gears was alright with me so if the 1.6 8v would bring it back I would consider dumping a little $ to do so.

the 1.6 is a nice upgrade in power and would help you out. But I agree with another post you may have overgeared for the road driving.

I tossed in 4.62's with 31's on my sammy and it was alittle overgeared for highway driving but not bad. Also friend of mine put a 1.6 in his samurai and it made a world of difference on the trails. About the bottem end being weak, I wouldnt worry about it Ive run 1.6's hardcore on the trails and off for years now with no issues. goodluck with yours.

It may be overgeared when your going 35 mph in 5th gear but what got me is when I'm going up a slight hill in 4th gear I can't accell and the R's drop.

the 1.6 8v has a weaker bottom end than the 1.6 16v. The latter of the two is a much better upgrade. But if ya got the 8v then run it!

-Scott

you are probably over geared for road driving wit the 589 diffs and 33's. yes the 1.6 8v will make a noticeable improvement. I wouldn't run it tho, the bottom end is pretty weak. It wouldn't last under my foot i know that. what is it 80 something horse? compared to 63.

Do the 16v and you will be much happier for sure!

-Scott
Maybe i missed it but i didn't see where he said he was putting 10psi into the motor? :shaking:

Have you personally broke a 8v crank or seen one?

nope not personnally. Just going off what I have heard over the years. from offroad.com suzuki section and a few other boards. I am sure that if he doesnt run high rpms all day long he will be fine. If a 1.6 8v setup dropped in my lap i'd run it in a little stocker for a DD.:D

-Scott

The 16 v does sound very tempting with better power results.

With larger components that gobble up power, you need more torque to run them. An 8v 1.6 should make a noticeable improvement due to the longer stroke. It may not accelerate much faster, but it bet it holds speed better when it sees a hill coming.
Travis..

You guys that all installed the 16v did you have to raise the 4 front body mounts so you have clearance under the hood. That would suck for me because the cage,rock sliders,and the bumpers tie into each other.

Just install the 16V youll love it. When I get mine up and running I will let you try it

the motor will not help with that axle gearing with those 33's . What tcase gears are you running?

With larger components that gobble up power, you need more torque to run them. An 8v 1.6 should make a noticeable improvement due to the longer stroke. It may not accelerate much faster, but it bet it holds speed better when it sees a hill coming.
Travis..


I agree here. Not a speed demon, but it does hold the speed better once there. The fuel injection is nice. If I were to do it again, I'd at least do the 16 valve. I'd be way more interested in a 2.0 swap though. Also I have 4.88's, and 4.9 t-case gears on 33's, and I'm ok for around town driving, but geared to low to hit the highways. I'm about 2800 rpm at 50 mph. I don't rev it past 3500 when driving, so thats not a heck of a lot of speed. (55) It holds it very well though. If I were to do that part again, I'd do something to keep a nice low, and a little better high range.

the motor will not help with that axle gearing with those 33's . What tcase gears are you running?Calmini's 5.8 and Trail tough's rock block. Going up a hill on the road doing 35mph I shouldn't have to down shift into 3rd and only go 25mph. The hill wasn't that big any ways.

With your gearing, you should be running out of RPM's way before power is an issue. You should be able to run 5th gear almost anywhere.

Something is not right with your motor if your losing that much power. I would check and adjust your valves, timing, check plugs to see if you lost a cylinder or something. Maybe your vac or mechanical advance is not working in your dist.

Just put in the 1.6 and be done with it, otherwise do some basic checks to see why you lost so much power.

Calmini's 5.8 and Trail tough's rock block. Going up a hill on the road doing 35mph I shouldn't have to down shift into 3rd and only go 25mph. The hill wasn't that big any ways.

I've got a 1.3 on propane with a rockblock and 6.5t/c gears, 5.29s on 39.5 iroks (tire pressure at 20lbs) and can run in high/high uphill at 40mph. 50mph level ground. A header and dynomax muffler helped a lot getting my speeds up.

If I drop my tire pressure under 6lbs, then my rig runs like yours.

:homer:

Could be the injectors on the MY fi set up.The fuel sitting for 8 months and possibly running the tire pressure at 20 psi could do it.