samurai vs. sidekick

i have heard nothing but good things about the samurai as far as offroading goes... but yu dont see that sidekick's on the trails nearly as often. And a good deal on a sidekick just came up and i was wondering how goo it would be or 4x4ing and what kind of lifts if any and aftermarket parts are available for them?  

tracker/sidekick are allright, but b/c the IFS they didnt catch on as much as their predecessor (samurai)

i guess it really depends on how hard you want to push it.  i will try and help but i am by no means an expert on the track/kick
mule  
i'm not an expert, but i do know a bunch of useful crap.

sidekicks are good, checkout www.zukiworld.com.
it is mainly about the sidekick, and it shows
plenty of modifications that can easily be done.  
This thing has three speeds:
Slow, Balls to the Wall, and Jesus Christ

Sidekick/Tracker can actually work good, but somewhat limited by the IFS front.  I looked into it a couple years ago when thinking about getting one.  Calmini has a lot of upgrade parts for them also (calmini.com).  

there is something to be said for the sidekicks/trackers. yes they are limited because of the ifs and don't have the flex as a solid axle sami. i happen to run a tracker with a 2" coil spacer lift and 31" with welded rear. my boss has a sami with a spring over axle and 3" perches. 33"boggers,spooled rear and a lockright in the front. 6:1 transfer case. as long as i can keep from laying it over on the side (funny story) i keep up with him all day. buy it and wheel the crap out of it.    

Well i can give some input on this, ive owned 2 samis and my current tracker i have now, samurais are underpowered At 30inch tires, 5th gear is never touched at this point, the tracker had a good starting point on power. But over all id have to say id much rather build another tracker than i samurai. its just the tracker has the power, heat, a/c, power steering and the 4 door i built came stock with 5.12s, not sure what the samis were stock but they were to tall. If u get a kick/ track and want to drive everyday on the road/ highway dont do a SAS. The ifs can take alot of beating for what it is. But id go with the tracker/kick    
I like my cars low and fast and my trucks tall and slow

They are both very capable.  To build the Sidekick/Trackers to be serious trail rigs, it's recommended you put a solid axle under them.  You can make the IFS survive as long as you're not heavy on the tall skinny.  The stock aluminum differential housing and third member are the achilles heel of this vehicle.  Other than that, they're strong, reliable and simple, much like their Samurai brother.  
Mike Hagen is a pretty famous Sidekick guy who ran his IFS (modded) rig in the 2004 Ultimate Adventure, and did very well.  Now, in 2007 and 2008, Solid Axle equipped Sidekicks and Trackers have been running the UA with equal results.  

I have an 88 Samurai, 5" SPOA, locked both ends via Lockrites on 34 LTBs, with upgraded front shafts and 5.12 diffs and 6.4 T-Case.  It will crawl over anything, but it's horrible on the highway.  The little 1.3L just wasn't meant to carry that type of load around.  

I also have a 95 4 Door Sidekick on 34s LTBs, ARB air locker in the front, Lockrite rear, 4.24 Tcase and 5.38 diffs.  While it's not a land rocket, it performs much better on the highway, with the 1.6L 16V which is why I tend to use it more when I drive to the trails rather than trailering.  

Your choice should be based on how much you want to modify, how much you're budget allows, and whether or not you intend to drive in on the highway as well as the trails.  Both are great platforms to start with!