Re:DrRobin's Northumberland Jimny

Lambert wrote:

I could be wrong but the last few posts on this look a lot like peer pressure.

Robin, your current jimny is already on taller suspension and tyres than your last one.

I am not feeling under any pressure to get a lift, I had been mulling it over before the suggestion on here, so I appreciated the comments and wanted to court opinion.  I realise that opinions on lifts are a Marmite question, but trusted opinions from people who have fitted a lift are very welcome, I will apply my usual filters.

A 2” lift could always be reversed, if I keep the stock parts which I would do.

Whilst I am not going for a lift this week, it might be on the wish list in the near future, the picture below of my recently fitted front diff protector is proof

 

At least the diff protector has done it’s job.

Robin

If you are planning on having a set of dedicated trial tyres, you may want to think about whether there is really a benefit in running expensive tyres like BFG MTs - the likelihood of wrecking a tyre is much higher, especially in quarry sites, so you may be better with a cheaper alternative and treat them as disposable.

Personally I have used more aggressive tyres for competition work where the rules allow - I'm currently running Malatesta Kaimans (essentially a copy of the old Simex pattern) on my Gen 3 - they're incredible in deep mud and also shrug off rock damage very well.

Just a thought...

DrRobin wrote:

I am not feeling under any pressure to get a lift, I had been mulling it over before the suggestion on here, so I appreciated the comments and wanted to court opinion.  I realise that opinions on lifts are a Marmite question, but trusted opinions from people who have fitted a lift are very welcome, I will apply my usual filters.

A 2” lift could always be reversed, if I keep the stock parts which I would do.

Robin

I didn't rush to fit a lift either. But I would say the stock Jimny lacks ground clearance, not just under the diffs, but the breakover angle and approach angler are not great either.

Also the Jinmy, despite having live axles, doesn't flex all that great in stock trim. Not when you compare to a standard Land Rover. The traction control masks this to some extent, but lifting a wheel is easy and I'd suspect common on trials sections.

For this reason I'd say a suspension upgrade is worthwhile.

As a side note, I didn't feel that stock suspension was too bad on road. A little under damped and uncontrolled at times. But generally ok. However, over time my Jimny had started to rock sideways during high speed corners and was getting worse. I don't know the full cause, but replacing the suspension fixed the problem. My hunch is the front shocks had worn out, despite having done around 26k miles only.

To improve damping you could just change the shocks. But unless it is a road only version, you may as well gain the benefits of a lift. Plus more suspension travel. Here is a point you'll want to research, not all of the lift kits offer much in the way of improved suspension travel. In fact some possibly don't offer any. It depends how the kit is configured and designed.

In my case, I wanted to go for the 3" kit from Jimny bits, but this requires a lot of upgrades. And I know my Mrs would object to getting in it. So I opted for the 2" kit.

Most lift kits have stiffer springs, so in some ways ride harder thsn stock. But the better dampers mean the ride is more controlled and over rough terrain or road humps the lifted vehicle is significantly improved. I would also say that again to the improved damping and stiffer spring rate, that the handling is unaffected. In fact I opted for adjustable dampers. If I stiffen them up the handling is far better than stock. And setting them soft I still feel it is a mild improvement.

Therefore I would conclude that a good 2" lift kit has no negatives apart from being taller to get in.

The 3" kit offers more travel than the 2" one. Which would make it superior on technical terrain. But it may not be quite so good on road. Although I wouldn't expect a massive difference.

Manxman wrote:

If you are planning on having a set of dedicated trial tyres, you may want to think about whether there is really a benefit in running expensive tyres like BFG MTs - the likelihood of wrecking a tyre is much higher, especially in quarry sites, so you may be better with a cheaper alternative and treat them as disposable.

Personally I have used more aggressive tyres for competition work where the rules allow - I'm currently running Malatesta Kaimans (essentially a copy of the old Simex pattern) on my Gen 3 - they're incredible in deep mud and also shrug off rock damage very well.

Just a thought...

That’s a good point, I have had a look at other makes, including Maxxis (they don’t seem to do any MT in the size I am looking at) and Insta Turbo, but I have always kept clear of remolds.  The other question is what I can find local to me, I don’t really want to buy tyres on the internet, then find a tyre fitter, I would rather get the tyres and fitting arranged together if i can.

I have had more brands of tyres on my Jimnys than any other car, the last set Maxxis Worm Drive have been the most expensive, but I have to say the best so far, so I don’t mind spending a bit more for a known quantity and something that performs.  I used to race a large sailing dinghy, we went through buying more cost effective sails until a good pal said, if you aren’t winning races you never know if it’s you or the gear and if you use the same as everyone else and still don’t win, at least you know it’s you.

As I mentioned before, I am open to all ideas, so thanks for your post and keep the ideas coming.

Robin

 

300bhpton wrote:

DrRobin wrote:

I am not feeling under any pressure to get a lift, I had been mulling it over before the suggestion on here, so I appreciated the comments and wanted to court opinion.  I realise that opinions on lifts are a Marmite question, but trusted opinions from people who have fitted a lift are very welcome, I will apply my usual filters.

A 2” lift could always be reversed, if I keep the stock parts which I would do.

Robin

I didn't rush to fit a lift either. But I would say the stock Jimny lacks ground clearance, not just under the diffs, but the breakover angle and approach angler are not great either.

Also the Jinmy, despite having live axles, doesn't flex all that great in stock trim. Not when you compare to a standard Land Rover. The traction control masks this to some extent, but lifting a wheel is easy and I'd suspect common on trials sections.

For this reason I'd say a suspension upgrade is worthwhile.

As a side note, I didn't feel that stock suspension was too bad on road. A little under damped and uncontrolled at times. But generally ok. However, over time my Jimny had started to rock sideways during high speed corners and was getting worse. I don't know the full cause, but replacing the suspension fixed the problem. My hunch is the front shocks had worn out, despite having done around 26k miles only.

To improve damping you could just change the shocks. But unless it is a road only version, you may as well gain the benefits of a lift. Plus more suspension travel. Here is a point you'll want to research, not all of the lift kits offer much in the way of improved suspension travel. In fact some possibly don't offer any. It depends how the kit is configured and designed.

In my case, I wanted to go for the 3" kit from Jimny bits, but this requires a lot of upgrades. And I know my Mrs would object to getting in it. So I opted for the 2" kit.

Most lift kits have stiffer springs, so in some ways ride harder thsn stock. But the better dampers mean the ride is more controlled and over rough terrain or road humps the lifted vehicle is significantly improved. I would also say that again to the improved damping and stiffer spring rate, that the handling is unaffected. In fact I opted for adjustable dampers. If I stiffen them up the handling is far better than stock. And setting them soft I still feel it is a mild improvement.

Therefore I would conclude that a good 2" lift kit has no negatives apart from being taller to get in.

The 3" kit offers more travel than the 2" one. Which would make it superior on technical terrain. But it may not be quite so good on road. Although I wouldn't expect a massive difference.

Thanks for your post, I did nearly post on your blog and ask you about your lift as I know you spent a long while looking.  I am going to reread your post carefully and possibly reread your blog.

A couple of quick questions, how long did it take you to fit and did it change your insurance?

Robin

Cheers.

TBH if I was only running one set of tyres (for road and competition) I would think about BFGs or similar, as they are a known quality item and last well on road.

A more aggressive tyre is a compromise, in terms of noise and wear rate, but will likely be cheaper and better performing off-road. Just check what the regs allow, some RTVs limit the type of tyre/tread pattern. I certainly wouldn't worry about using remoulds as comp tyres, I've used a few different brands in 20+ years of comp work without any issues. Finding a local supplier would help, certainly - have you tried Black Circles?

Good luck in any case