Trailmaster 2” comfort lift review

Happy Christmas fellow Jimny owners.

A bit of spare time on my hand, so i thought I would share my recent experiences.

Just recently, a couple of weeks ago I fitted a 2” Trailmaster comfort lift kit and thought it might be helpful to share my experiences and opinions with you.

Before I go into detail it is worth knowing a little about how I use my Jimny and what sort of driving I normally do.

Most of my driving is on road with a mixture of short commutes (flooded local lanes) to work and trips further afield. Picked up this VVT soft top, back in July of this year and have already covered nearly 8k miles.


On the strata florida in Wales


Old G13 in Pembrokeshire

Off road jaunts are increasing and I have recently joined the local 4x4 club and also about to join the local 4x4 Response group. Looking to take part in my first off-road trial in Feb 2013

I am keen that any mods I make to the Jimny, won’t upset the on road handling (too much) and if possible improve the Jimny’s road manners. Tall order as modifying a Jimny is generally a compromise. As you improve it’s off road ability so you generally make it’s on road performance worse.

With the above in mind, it took me some years (two Jimnys in that time) to come to decision to lift the Jimny. I was lucky enough to meet up with a few fellow Jimny owners (Goatboy; Dirtydogz and MBliss) and try out their suspension lift kits. - 1.5” spacer kit; Jimnybits 2” and Jimnybits 3”.

The 3” lift was a bit extreme for my needs, but have to say the ride quality and handling was pretty good. Off road performance is fantastic!! IMO the 2” lift and 1.5” spacer lift gave a slightly harsher than standard ride, but obviously good kits to consider.

So in the end I went for the Trialmaster comfort 2” lift and with the help of dirtydogs procedure on this forum the lift was an easy fit.

I decided not to fit the rear shock relocation brackets; which does mean you have to be extra careful not to cross thread the bottom mount bolt. I found the best way was to compress the shock absorber and mount the bottom bolt first. Releasing the tie wraps and then fitting the top mount.

I have changed Jimny rear shock absorbers in the past and found that many of the standard aftermarket rubber bushes are not up to the job and fail quickly. I am hoping that the Trailmaster bushes are up to the job.

I have yet to fit the castor correction bushes, which I hope to do in the new year. One point to look out for with the various correction bushes on the market is that the bits4vits version is supplied into two halves, making fitment a lot easier. I have purchased the Super Pro version which require a fly press to fit. I am consider cutting the poly bush in half so that it can also be fitted in the same way as the bits4vits version. Any comments?

At the moment the light steering that does not self centre is only a minor irritation. I’m keen to fit the castor correction bushes before the wife drives the Jimny as I am sure she will notice it.

So what is it like to drive?

First impression was that the Jimny was a lot higher than expected. I found that getting into the seat required me to push and slide my but onto the seat.

Front to top of door handle = 109 cm
Rear to top of light cluster = 125 cm


Rear before lift


Rear after lift


Front before


Front after

Once behind the wheel the ride position was noticeably higher giving you a very commanding view of the road ahead.


After the lift

The one big surprise I had was how much the ride quality had improved over the standard setup. The jimny is never going to have the smoothest of rides; but when fitted with the Trialmaster comfort lift; the ride was noticeably smoother than standard.

Road holding also seems to improved along with less noticeable bump steer that the Jimny can suffer from when going around a corner with a number of small bumps.

Just prior to the suspension lift I fitted Kuhmo 195 80 x 15 and have found 23psi rear and 20psi front to be about right. These tyres work well on the Jimny but are still far too heavy and have had a impact on MPG. I’m looking around for a light MT tread suitable for the Jimny. I notice in Japan the 185 80 15 is a common fitment; maybe they are lighter??

Another area of improvement, is the dreaded death wobble. I had previously reported that a steering damper had improved things considerably. When I fitted the Kuhmos with 7” wide Modulars, the wobble became (slightly) noticeable again. With the lift fitted, the wobble has completely gone!

So all in all a good improvement that I am very happy with. Someone on this forum mentioned that the 2” lift really suits the Jimny and that it should have been supplied as standard from the factory with this lift. I completely agree with this comment.



Once I have had chance to try it off road, I will report back.

Cheers for now.

Paul
Hertford

Thanks for a very informative review ....................

The super pro bush can easily be inserted with a mallet or compress in a vice if no access to a press. Remember to use the supplied grease. Rear shock relocation brackets are also worth re-considering as this saves the bottom shock bush. The suspension will settle after a while, 2" springs normally give 3" lift when new.

Great review. I will probably go for the 1.5" spacer kit due to cost as I dont/wont be doing masses of off roading.

Cheers guys for the feedback. Very helpful info on fitting the Super Pro castor correction bushes Supergaz.

Paul
hertford

great review Paul - very good info for my driving requirements,
look forward to your updates