[Zaneo190]

Hey sorry sounds a bit noobish but what's the best model or year model jimny to modify and why? Ps auto

[alien]

buy the cheapest manual one you can get, drop a vitara donk and auto box in there... then you don't have to worry about the jimny's weak auto transmission.

[Zaneo190]

Will this be a reasonable easy process?

[Scales]

alien wrote:

buy the cheapest manual one you can get, drop a vitara donk and auto box in there... then you don't have to worry about the jimny's weak auto transmission.

thats if its a G13 series motor.........

[Zaneo190]

If i keep stock 1.3l what model Jim is best to mod

[dougies_tx5turbo]

It all depends on what your planning on doing with the car at the end of the day. The G13bb's are good because there basic and got no air bags. Non vvt's are good because they have got a stronger gearbox. Vvt's are good as they have the better looking interior and they have the vvt motor so they're better on fuel. Bad points on the vvt that I have found out is the gearboxes are weak, the electric TC plays up and they are harder to put bigger brakes on them. But on saying all these bad points about the vvt, I ended up buying a vvt for two reasons, the first because they are newer and upgraded and the seccond I like the alloys on the vvt's and I don't mind a challenge when modding the car.

These are the things i found when researching when buying my jinny.

[Zaneo190]

Cheers mate is there any other benefits for going non vvt? Pros or cons

[dougies_tx5turbo]

I really didn't look into it as I couldn't stand looking at the dash and didn't like any of the colours that model came out in. But the non vvt would be the better model and easier one to mod as you wouldn't have to upgrade parts unlike the vvt but on saying that if you we're going to mod a jimmy from the get go I would get a bb and do a motor trans TC straight up.

[alien]

dont forget thought that the newest non-vvt models are over 10 years old now, so they will also come with their own set of problems that you might not have with a newer car in general.

[jonno_racing]

after speeking with a bunch of people, the G13bb's were better on fuel than the VVT once some mods are done!

[31zook]

99 Jimmy FTW!

Best car for modding IMHO

[Gwagensteve]

Zaneo, I think you might need to provide a bit more info as to how you want to use your car, what you consider a "modification" to be, and what your budget is.

Are you looking for a weekend car for difficult terrain or a daily driver?

Jimny's have been on sale for coming up to 14 years. Each variant has its strengths and weaknesses. When you say "mod" - some of us think that means major driveline work such as upgraded axles, transfer case swaps, or engine swaps. If that's the case, then finding the cheapest jimny available is the way to go, as you're really only looking for a body and chassis in clean condition. I wouldn't buy a manual car if you want the end result to be an auto though - you'll have to revise the pedal box and locate a shifter/shifter surround etc. An older car with no airbags will be easier to mod, so a G13 car would be the go in my opinion.

If you're looking for a car to perform basic modifications like a bolt on suspension and a small tyre size increase and daily drive, then I'd be buying the newest/best condition car I could afford. Each variant has become slightly more refined and slight more fuel efficient, so the newest car is the best. All major bolt on parts fit across all the years up until 2012 (I think - the front end prevents older barwork fitting I think) so it's not critical what year you buy.

I'm no jimny expert, but I think without more information I think you're going to get too much conflicting advice.

Steve

[jonno_racing]

Steve have you ever fitted a AW4 to a Jim with a 1600?
i am thinking of going this way with my Jim towards the end of the year! not to sure on getting the auto to work properly with the jimny computer tho.

[Gwagensteve]

No I haven't. I think Joeblow might have though.

We do have a car in the club running an AW-4 behind a Jimny EFI'd 1.6 though. It shifts fine and throws no codes AFAIK. The builder patched the Vitara TCC into the jimny loom and everything works.

I have driven this car and it was what convinced me that a G16B/AW-4 combo with 6.5's, 5.12;s and 35's was sweet.

Steve.

[Mike57]

Zaneo190

If you go newer than 2008 you get into the latest level of Euro emmission standards so I would say 2008 or earlier of you want to perform engine modifications. If you want a body lift then you need to be pre air bag and I am not sure what year that would be. I would suggest the VVT engine but as gwagensteve says it all depends upon what you want to do.

Also you can fit a manual transfer case to the later models. Take a look at Zukenutters build thread.

Mike