Jimmy Newby

Greetings all.
having read your comments, I was inspired to join the group. I recently acquired a 2004 Jimny and have found myself in a bit of a pickle. I bought the Jimny because I wanted a affordable economical SUV. Little did I know that modified Jimmy's are not economical. It has on 3" lift springs and 235x75x15 tyres which equates to 20 miles per US gallon, is this normal? Is there a fix?
I eagerly await your response,- fitzcollins

Probably about right tbh.... mpg is easy to look up. There must be a 1000's roadtest, reviews and stat sites across the internet.

Big tyres (I assume the are MT/AT) and lifts won't do anything to improve mpg.

US gallons are also small, 3.78 litres vs 4.546 for an Imperial gallon. So it won't go as far on a US gallon.

Driving style and roads will impact mpg. Also the bigger tyres might be giving you a speedo error, so the mpg might be slightly better if you can check the trip vs known distances.

20mpg US gallons = 24mpg Imp Gallons.

Maybe a tad low.... but depends on the above really. I'd have though 28mpg Imp should be quite feasible.

I would be happy with 24 mpg but I am guided by other posts where 30-36 seems more the norm. I do conceed to spedo error and less gas (US gal)

I get about that from my standard automatic Jimny with the big trailer on the back and about 34 on a solo run. With your tyres and lift and probably other mods too that sounds about right at 24.

Also when was it last serviced as new fluids can make a big difference.

Is there a fix?

Yes, it you put it back to standard as Suzuki sold it. I would start with standard sized road biased all terrain tyres and then see what else the previous owner has done.
Suzuki development gave us the best compromise between Mpg / comfort / road holding, so any deviations are going to migrate the vehicle towards that modifications end goal. As a result something else will suffer, usually mpg.

Having said all that you will only be in the 32-36 mpg (UK gallon) average fuel economy range with 100% standard.

The other thing to look at is the Octane rating of the fuel you are using. 95 or 97 RON is standard here, but your fuel might be lower (92 RON) perhaps?

As already mentioned the difference between a US and Imperial gallon is quite a bit. Finally tyre tread pattern, road surface and average cruise speed will all make a big difference.

People quoting 36mpg will be Imperial gallons, smooth road surface, road or [mild] A/T tyres and 50-60 mph cruise speed.

There was a post on here from a member who gets 160 miles from a tank, he runs big tyres, a lift, has a bigger engine and goes off road, but 160 miles works out at less than 20mpg Imperial.

Thanks for your input Lambert.

I have been sooo tempted to go back stock but there is a huge cost attached.

It gets worse, - where I am in the Caribbean we only get 87 or 90 octaine and US gal quantities, couple that with 235x75x15 tyres and a 3" lift. - I am screwed.

Not sure if I am doing this the right way. - my other question is, is it possible to cut an 1" off the springs? - with 3" lift springs and the big tyres I am up 6" on the already high Jimny. - the height makes it feel very unstable.
Cheers

Yes you can chop a coil off........BUT your tyres will possibly rub 
If you lower it by 1" i would say also reduce tyre size down to 215 75 15
Are you still on standard gearing this will not help mpg with 29" tyres

My jimny has 3" suspension 1" body lift and 32" tyres 1.6L engine 
gear reduction 150 ish miles to a tank