Trailmaster 2” comfort lift review

Cheers guys,

Dirtydogz - I spotted that the radius arm bushes where in a different location - Probably needed when fitted on Chris_Covs monster Jimny (Impressive looking Jimny BTW - Chris if you are reading this stick some photos up). Hoping Chris will be able to joins us on a future local meet.

I have adjusted the location and the radius arms are ready to fit. Should have got out in the garage today, but I wimped out as it was a bit cold.

Any top tips for a quick and easy install of the front radius arms? I need some higher axle stands and a higher lift jack. Next time I am in Wales I will bring a set of high axle stands back with me. I guess it is the same axle stand position as when I fitted the two inch lift.

Halford - Regarding the Bumper. If I do manage to get out to Tokyo (with work) it might be worth me taking a few orders and arranging a shipment back.

Thanks for the pointer Adam about Karl's 660 import. I think he has ATs and not MTs Geolanders. I could be interested in swapping if he wants a set of 15" x 7" Alloys. Probably wont fit in the narrow Kei body.

Maybe we should start another thread on the perfect 80/20 Jimny? What do you think?

Another couple of photos from the Trial


Daves Terrano about to get stuck on the hill


My Jimny going over the hill


Marks Jimny in the mud.

Cheers all.

Paul

pgatensuk wrote: Review update.
You will be glad to know that the Trialmaster 2” comfort lift is still going well. I am still impressed by the all round driveability; handling and comfort so no change there.

I was thinking that this thread might be better headed as the 80/20 Jimny. That is 80% road 20% off road. Keeping that fine balance of on road usability and off road performance. A tricky balance.

Back to the review update.
Still have not found time to fit castor correction bushes although I have recently purchased a pair of radius arms with the castor correction bushes prefitted. What I can say is that the strange vagueness that was so noticeable at first and gave me concerns when driving in ice and snow have gone. I think the truth be known, I have just got use to the way it drives. I still plan to fit the correction bushes sometime.

Off road ability. I joined the local Herts 4x4 off road club club last year and until recently had not taken part in any off road activities. The chance came up last weekend to enter the clubs inter-club trial against Suffolk LR club at Standon, Herts (just off the A120). This was a new experience for me, and lucky enough I had expert help and advice from fellow BigJimny member Blissett. Mark moved across from the Green oval to a Jimny and instantly started to win the club trials and as he was the only Jimny in the club, he was keen to get fellow jimny owners to join in the LR bashing. So now we are two and maybe a third on the way.

On the day of the trial, once I got the hang of the rules and started to see what obstacles others were tackling my confidence improved. I started with a couple of 5’s and then managed a couple 1’s. By this time I was really getting in to the event and the stages were getting harder and more muddy. I then managed a couple of clear rounds, much to my amazement and end the day winning the novice section by 5 clear points from a Discovery, so all in all a very pleasing day (without damage to the Jim) for £20!

The bottom line IMO, is that the Jimny with a modest 2” lift and set of mud terrain tyres is an extremely capable 4x4 trials vehicle, capable of installing lots of confidence in the driver. I would encourage all of you to give 4x4 trialling ago. Even if your jimny is a daily drive like mine.

So no damage to the car which is important; lots of mud (also important, if you like having fun). The standard recovery points work fine if you use a pair of shackles and a strop. I expected to see a few scratches on the underside of the bumpers, but all clear and scratch free.

My mate Dave's Terrano got a bit stuck!

My Jimny going over the same hill as above.

Going around the horseshoe.

Marks Jimny in the mud.

If you want to have ago, the only real kit you need is shackles and strop. I was using a 2m strop on the front and have just ordered a 4m & 3m strop and a few extra shackles.

MPG. I have resorted back to the Duellers for road driving and find them perfect, even in the snow and ice and give the same MPG as I achieved when I first purchased the Jimny last summer. So 260ish miles per tank on the Duellers and 220ish with the 10kg heavier 195 80 x 15 Kuhmos on Modulars. The lift appears to make no difference to MPG.

The Kuhmo 195 80 x 15 are a good tyre and the narrower tread suit the jimny better than the the 205 70 or 75. The Kukmo’s are fairly cheap to buy; have good road and off road performance, not too noisy either. The only downside is the MPG. Although I could live with them daily, it is the MPG that will now make me return to the Duellers for my weekly driving.

What mods next? Still to fit the CB radio, must get round to fitting it. The castor correction bushes and axle breathers are top of the list. Work and family life has kept me out of the garage recently.

I would like a set of 175 80 x 16 geolander MTs on 5.5 rims as I am convinced that the skinnier tyres are better suited to the Jimny than the fat tyres that many fit. Don’t forget this is my opinion that I know many others on this forum do not agree with this.

Cut down bumpers. I like these -

What I am after is the perfect 80/20 Jimny. Anyone got any geolanders in 175 80 x 16 with wheels? Might have to go over to Tokyo to buy some!

Cheers
Paul
Hertford

Where can you purchase these from = Kuhmo 195 80 x 15

and who sells the 2in trailmaster comforf lift from?

An excellent review! Thanks very much

Hi Chris,
Jimny Trialmaster kits are available from Jimnybits; bits4vits and BigJimny shop too. I just notice that due to euro pound exchange rates the price has gone up again!! Always worth asking for a discount.

Bits4Vits

Kumho (also known as Marshall) 195 80 15 are available on line. Worth shopping around as sometimes you see some good deals - Just found them here - camskill.co.uk

These are good tyres and perform well on the road. It's the MPG that might make you think of running two sets of wheels and tyres. If that is the case I would go for a more aggressive off road tyre. Use the standard steel rims too.

Paul

pgatensuk wrote: Hi Chris,
Jimny Trialmaster kits are available from Jimnybits; bits4vits and BigJimny shop too. I just notice that due to euro pound exchange rates the price has gone up again!! Always worth asking for a discount.

Bits4Vits

Kumho (also known as Marshall) 195 80 15 are available on line. Worth shopping around as sometimes you see some good deals - Just found them here - camskill.co.uk

These are good tyres and perform well on the road. It's the MPG that might make you think of running two sets of wheels and tyres. If that is the case I would go for a more aggressive off road tyre. Use the standard steel rims too.

Paul

Cheers Paul

I will check out the websites for the lifts and I might need to purchase some standard rims !!!

Hi paul
To fit the front arms you dont need any jacks i did mine sat on the floor
Leave the wheels on and chock all 4 at both sides of the wheel , loosen all 6 radius arm bolts
Once you have them loose take all the bolts out of one arm and the front axle bolt out of the other ,
This will let you move the axle to the right position to get the first new arm on , then just drop the remaining 2 bolts out of the other arm and drop in your new one