[sjs]

I've had my 2015 Jimny (comes with traction control) for a while now and warranty is about to run out. I've been fairly happy with what it is, a capable low budget real 4wd. So far I have three main issues with the Jimny which I'm looking at ways to address the shortcomings. I’m a noob and I’ve done some googling / forum searching and I’m not very mechanical so… The car is stock, has a factory tow bar and a roof bars.

1. Range, the 40L fuel tank is NOT enough (I constantly have this range anxiety that every petrol station I see I want to top up just a little bit) and given the space is tight at the back (I use 3 seats and fold down one at the rear) and I do not know where to put extra fuel jerry cans. I had a brief search on long range fuel tank, but most people seem to object to the idea due to cost. Should I just store 2 x 20L (or 3 x 10L) jerry cans on roof basket (I don't have a roof basket yet)? Where else can I put them without having to spend loads of $ (e.g. a custom rear bar with jerry can holders)? The reason long range tank appeals to me is that once it's done I don't need to think about it anymore (hopefully not). But I don't know whether there's potential issues with long range tank, since I've never used one (0 knowledge on it), I don't know how it'll affect the fuel gauge etc.

2. Clearance, the standard clearance is too low. I'm thinking to get a 2 inch or 3 inch lift (haven’t decided on which brand yet, OME, Tough Dog, EFS, Bilstein, Jimmy Bits, ORA even Fox?) with probably heavy duty spring as eventually I'll fit a winch bullbar (but not now). With 3 inch lift, do I need engineering certificate? Do I need castor corrected radius arm (I'm not sure what castor correction is YET, still learning). Do I need extended brake lines? Will 3 inch affect drivability / safety on high way etc? Or will 2 inch be enough? Will 2-3 inch actually increase the down travel? Or lifting is more about up travel and allowing bigger tire?

3. Stock tire is too narrow, too small. People seem to suggest BFG MT KM2 215/75/15R on stock rim without having to cut guards etc. And 2inch lift would be enough. And for reliability, 215/75/15R sounds a good choice, just the right size, and don't need to muck around with gearing ratios, and speedo would be not out by too much, and won't break CV etc etc. One thing I’m not sure which from experience that, will BFG MT have thick enough side wall (but thin enough) to allow sagging because Jimny is quite light, with stock tire which is Bridgestone Dueler H/T, on soft sand beach I had to drop down to 9-10psi to get reasonable traction as I wasn’t carrying much weight at all. Where other bigger 4wds were running between 12-15psi.

I don't want to spend too much, but I don't want to buy low quality stuff which I’ll need to replace in 2-3 years time. I'm planning to take Jimny to fraser island, cape york etc. I'm hoping besides above 3 things, put on a snorkel and a aluminium roof basket and diff breathers I should be pretty much done for now (might do a winch bullbar much later if I can delay it), and it should be able to go most places (I'm hoping). I don't do too extreme 4wd. The most difficulty I did so far was blue mountain powerline, but on the easy track (side track), and it was a bit of efforts with the help of Tred boards to get up (not all the way up, we detoured half way :)

And obviously I don't have the ability to do the lift myself, so I'll be looking at some shops to do it for me. Any recommendations? Local mechanics? Branded shops like ARB, TJM?

Thanks!

[MrRocky]

Lifting the car 3" and fitting a marginally larger tyre that fits without the susp lift will make your car less capable (raised center gravity/stiffer spring). If its body damage your concerned with then get a set of sliders and some underbody protection.

[sjs]

[quote="MrRocky"]Lifting the car 3" and fitting a marginally larger tyre that fits without the susp lift will make your car less capable.[/quote]

I'm confused. Did you mean "body lifting" the car 3" and fitting a slightly larger tyre? No, I did not mean to body lift the car. I meant to buy a longer shock / spring, something like below links.
http://www.jimnybits.com/jimny/suspensi ... t-kit.html
or
http://www.jimnybits.com/jimny/suspensi ... t-kit.html
or
https://4wd1.com/60mm-jimny-tough-dog-suspension.html

And I'm wanting to gain some ground clearance so I get a bit more traction / wheel - ground contact in rut.

I have not looked into under body protection yet. But yes the blue mtn powerline trip we did, the bottom of the diff did get some paint scratched off.

[MrRocky]

No i was refering to susp lift
If you fit slightly larger tyres to a car you increase the distance under the diff pumpkin to the ground = more clearance.
If then you add 3" of susp lift by adding stiffer/heavier rated springs the distance between diff/ground (lowest point contact) remains the same and all you have succeeded in doing is raising your center of gravity 3" and adding stiffer susp, in reality making your car less stable.
Better off spending some $$$ on protection that ls going to help u slide over the obstacle.
If its more susp travel and stability your after then an 80mm off the shelf spring lift isnt going to be the best solution especially on such a small tyre

[sjs]

So you are saying because I'm only going to change to slightly bigger tyres, the money spent on susp lift / the reduced drivability and stability / the increased COG are just not worth the effort / exercise / money and will be more dangerous to drive on road (more body roll) etc. Yeah?

I understand that the only way to true ground clearance is to go bigger tyres.

But wouldn't a longer shock allow more wheel travel (up and down), hence more clearance when flxed? No?

The stiffer rated springs are mainly when I add a bullbar, the extra weight will not sag too much in the front.

Would 215/75/15R fit on my 2015 stock alloy rim and stock shock? I'm not ready to cut anything yet, at least not mentally ready.

Thanks.

[MrRocky]

Im just saying you will end up with a tall skinny car with stiff springs. As it is your traction control has the potential to place you out of your comfort zone and will become unpredictable at times if its anything like the othe suzuki versions of tc.
Alternatively if your set on lifting it via susp maybe consider adding some flare extensions and offset rims to add some stability back.
The best combo ive seen for the jims is a 2" body lift, az guard trim, 30mm wheel spacers and 30x9.5r15 tyres on sierra rims. Goes further, drives nicer and doesnt require the constant maintanance/cost most of the susp kits

[henno]

MrRocky wrote:

2" body lift, az guard trim, 30mm wheel spacers and 30x9.5r15 tyres on sierra rims

That is pretty much the godly jimny combo. Once you step outside of that, things seem to become infinitely worse (or at least, no better despite the added expense) without some serious head-scratching and clever jimny wizardry (31zook's Goat and JuniorJoel's Cecillia come to mind).

[sjs]

Thanks. I'll look into your suggestions.

I read that with 215/75/15R, there is no need to do gear reduction (low range speed is still reasonable), can still use stock rim, and less risk (almost none) breaking stock cv, will not lose too much power going up hills or on high way.

I think I read that anything bigger than 29 inch (Is it 235/75/15R equivalent?) risk of breaking stock cv constantly and needs chromoly cv from either jimny bits or piranha, which is costly. I understand, to be street legal I need the flares to cover the wider tyres.

Will 30x9.5r15 be street legal? Quote: "The modified vehicle may include tolerances in the ride height up to a maximum of +/- 15mm." Sorry I haven't calculated how much height gain the 235 nor 30inch would be.

I also vaguely remember that in NSW, newer cars with airbags aren't allowed to body lift no more.

Why 2" body lift instead of 2" suspension lift?

Could you please elaborate on the traction control part? As I have no idea (nor done any research) on this topic yet. The only think I read is in relation to street legal +/- 15mm that, the reason for the +/- 15mm is because that traction control is configured in relation to tyre/rim size/weight, go over the design limit, TC will not "function as intended". I don't now what I'm talking about.

"As it is your traction control has the potential to place you out of your comfort zone and will become unpredictable at times if its anything like the othe suzuki versions of tc."

Edited:

Looks like 30x9.5r15 is equivalent to 235/75/15R. What rim size will fit?
These types of rims look good to me
http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/tkd ... MDE=/?ref=
and
http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/suz ... cGc=/?ref=

[MrRocky]

No cv breaking until you lock the front diff. The body lift keeps your center of gravity lower as your only lifting the body not the chassis/motor/fueltank/ect...
The traction control works well in some scenarios but if you have a wheel in the air spinning it applys the brake to it and sends drive to the other wheel, this can be a little unpredictable and jerky, also while doing higher speed sand driving it will aply the brake to front wheels as they loose traction and can pull from side to side.
From the scope of your questions id suggest fitting marginal tyre increase and some sliders/bash plates/tank guard ect... and racking up 6 months of wheeling time before you start spending up on stuff you might not neccesarily need. If you want to add some capability after that maybe start with a rear air locker.
Worth noting that until your ready to trim your flares even if you lift your car alot the the size of you wheel arches is going to mean you can only fit baby tyres. Im sure theres plenty of 18yo fb jimny crew that will provide you with all sorts of alternate advice but best to rack up some experiance yourself and make up your own mind what to do

[shep]

Long range automotive do a aux fuel tank for jimnys but will only fit it if you take the car to Melbourne. The reason I was
given is because they need to mod the exhaust, they also wouldn't sell me the bits for a diy which is strange as the aux tank in
my currant car needed a lot of mods including exhaust and they were happy to sell me everything for diy fitting.

[Gwagensteve]

sjs wrote:

Should I just store 2 x 20L (or 3 x 10L) jerry cans on roof basket (I don't have a roof basket yet)? Where else can I put them without having to spend loads of $ (e.g. a custom rear bar with jerry can holders)? The reason long range tank appeals to me is that once it's done I don't need to think about it anymore (hopefully not). But I don't know whether there's potential issues with long range tank, since I've never used one (0 knowledge on it), I don't know how it'll affect the fuel gauge etc.

I wouldn't put any roof load on a Jimny, especially not fuel. they already have quite a high centre of gravity.

If you're sticking to the maximum 15mm rule, 215's aren't legal. Look into vehicle classifications and how they work in your state, I believe(d) 50mm is permissible for a Jimny as it is classified as a 4WD not a passenger vehicle.

30X9.5 is larger again than a 235 75 15.

Most/all 2" suspension kits reduce wheel travel. Shock travel is normally slightly less to slightly more than a standard car, and the stiffer springs generally prevent full compression in the front.

Suspension lift alone does not improve tyre clearance - the tyres can still move into the same positions they could before the lift was installed. All the lift does is change the rest position of the suspension.

MrRocky is on the money with his advice.

I imagine the LRA tank replaces the rear muffler with a tank. This sounds expensive in the scheme of aftermarket tanks, which most people already think are too expensive.

Steve.

[shep]

Long range tanks only sound expensive to the people that don't need them. Sort of the same as gearing solutions sound expensive.

The one in my wagon cost $1250 and my jeep cost just under $1500, that's with me fitting both. Worth every cent and I would have paid
Twice that if it meant an extra 60L in my jimny.
It's easy to say just carry jerry cans but 2 20L cans is the same size as a 40L engel so when room is tight a permanent solution is the go

[sjs]

Thanks for all the advices and replies.

I'll start with MrRocky's advice.

One other question, what's the pros cons of narrow / tall tyre vs slightly bigger than stock tyre height but wider? I noticed, those old jeep / land rover tend to have tall but narrow mud tyres. But moderns 4wds all have wide, none have narrow tyres.

[Gwagensteve]

That's not true at all sjs.

Move away from what's fashionable and you'll find plenty of narrow tyres. Land Rover defenders, 79 Series cruisers, and most military, commercial and agricultural vehicles run narrow tyres (or tyres with a high height-to-width ratio)

Even in competition tyres, the height/width ratio is actually quite "narrow" - a 40X13.5 tyre as used in off road racing or rock crawling isn't a "wide" tyre when expressed as a ratio. The only real exceptions are on tarmac and paddles used in sand and mud (which don't work like a regular tyre at all any more)

Narrower tyres are easier to fit, take less power to push, offer superior steering response and lateral grip, and are easier on the car. The also offer lower scrub radius, run on a lighter/narrower rim, and the tread conforms better for a given contact patch.

If the choice is between a stock height tyre that's wider or a taller tyre thats narrower the answer is always the taller/narrower tyre.

Here's my dream suzuki tyre (and first smugmug image link!) its a 35 10.5 KRT race tyre. It's designed for class 10 offroad race cars and is super light weight and very narrow (it's actually much narrower than 10.5)

[markmo]

MrRocky wrote:

The best combo ive seen for the jims is a 2" body lift, az guard trim, 30mm wheel spacers and 30x9.5r15 tyres on sierra rims. Goes further, drives nicer and doesnt require the constant maintanance/cost most of the susp kits

I've seen the car the MrRocky is referring to and it does go better than most of the other Jimnys I've seen (even mine). The only thing it really needs was gearing, and even IMO 29's need gearing too.

[MrRocky]

That car now runs a sierra tcase with 4.16 gears and its geared about as spot on as you can for a jimny

[vet 180]

To the OP for extra fuel I would run a big jerry can holder off the spare tyre mount. Get it down as low as possible. Would be the cheapest easiest option.

For the clearance, I also run a stock height jimny and have no real plan to raise it. I just don't see any benefit as the places I am constantly hitting are the radius arms and the radius arm mounts. Both are scratched, dented and now warped as. If I had my time again I still wouldn't buy a lift, but I would buy radius arm mounting point braces. You can slide along the radius arms without really damaging the car and a lift would not really help much, a little but not much. What would help is bigger tyres.

For tyres I also agree with Mr rocky and think 30x9.5 is the perfect tyre for a jim. However there arn't many gearing options. If your a manual you can put in and auto transfer case but that gears high a little low. There are 5.12 diff gears from 4art or something and with a vitara front 5.12 in the rear it could work well if you currently have 4.3 gears which you should. You will only be sitting 100rpm more on the highway at 100kph ans it will be slightly undergeared. Gearing should feel the same as stock due to heavier tyres.

Gwagensteve wrote:

That's not true at all sjs.

Move away from what's fashionable and you'll find plenty of narrow tyres. Land Rover defenders, 79 Series cruisers, and most military, commercial and agricultural vehicles run narrow tyres (or tyres with a high height-to-width ratio)

Even in competition tyres, the height/width ratio is actually quite "narrow" - a 40X13.5 tyre as used in off road racing or rock crawling isn't a "wide" tyre when expressed as a ratio. The only real exceptions are on tarmac and paddles used in sand and mud (which don't work like a regular tyre at all any more)

Narrower tyres are easier to fit, take less power to push, offer superior steering response and lateral grip, and are easier on the car. The also offer lower scrub radius, run on a lighter/narrower rim, and the tread conforms better for a given contact patch.

If the choice is between a stock height tyre that's wider or a taller tyre thats narrower the answer is always the taller/narrower tyre.

Here's my dream suzuki tyre (and first smugmug image link!) its a 35 10.5 KRT race tyre. It's designed for class 10 offroad race cars and is super light weight and very narrow (it's actually much narrower than 10.5)

I find it interesting that you are one of the biggest advocators for narrow tyres, but piggles runs 13.5 wide tyres or something. I have always wondered why?

[Gwagensteve]

Price/availability/compound/construction at the diameter I wanted, along with proven performance on rock and in the dry which is where I'm interesting in a tyre performing. They suck on slick clay, tramline on the road, they're noisy for a radial and stupid heavy, but they are super flexible and hook up. Given the choice though, I'd run a narrower tyre. We all bought our Krawlers as ex-comp cast offs and they're dirt cheap (I paid $600 for a set)

A q78 15 swamper is a better tyre for a sierra all round because it's lighter, narrower, more aggressive and easier to fit (and bias tyres outperform radials on Sierras) and a 9/34 swamper is nicer to drive on than both.

[sjs]

I visited / called a few places. Looks like no one is willing to do 235/75/15 tyres mod (ie no one wants to do cutting for me). The max tyre size I've been told is 215/75/15. Also no one wants to do a body lift, all suggested to do a max 2inch lift given the tall/narrow shape of Jimny. Basically, the tyre size and lift are due to legal requirement in NSW which I already knew but... I do see once in a while people drive "trucks" with massive wheels and lift on road, don't they get caught? And I've been told almost no engineer will do a certificate for higher than 2inch and bigger than 215/75/15 . Protection wise, I've been suggested to call ADD from QLD. In terms of rear locker, Harrop ELocker is no go, ARB seems can't find anything that'll fit 2012 onwards Manual models. Auto tran "seems" ok. Sad... sad...

[MrRocky]

Keep it standard and spend 3k on a sierra twice as capable and reliable as a jimny with all the fruit

[sjs]

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/det ... 7245/?Cr=0

1997 Suzuki Sierra JX Manual 4x4 - $3,100

haha

[MrRocky]

97 = same shitty susp as jimny
U need 95 or earlier

[MrRocky]

Sounds like you need to take the jim to a suzuki specialised workshop that can do the work you want done. Most mechs/4x4 "specialists" dont understand zooks

[sjs]

Yeah, I haven't found one in NSW yet...

[Mattman]

Where are you located bud? there is a bloke in Orange that loves zooks (makes a lot of ute conversions) he's in Orange...

[vet 180]

MrRocky wrote:

Sounds like you need to take the jim to a suzuki specialised workshop that can do the work you want done. Most mechs/4x4 "specialists" dont understand zooks

This

Or give it a crack yourself cutting guards isn't that difficult. And 235/75 will fit without lift.