Pedders Lift Kit - Help

Hi All,

I joined the Jimny forum today. Thanks for a great site.

I recently got a LCV and fitted a Pedders Lift Kit. I also added 15" Evo Corse Rims and BF Goodrich All terrain tyres.

Well......I got a massive shock when I drove it. To be fair, I've never driven a Jimny before and I didn't even drive the thing stock, but the 
steering and roll was off the charts. It was to be honest pretty scary. I thought the Pedder Shocks were a bit stiffer than stock but I guess I 
have no knowledge anyway.

So I did some research and looked into the following parts to help this situation.

1. Hardrace front quick disconnect sway bar
2. Hardrace Steering damper.
3. Hardrace Front Radius Arms with pillow ball bush
4. Hardrace Rear Radius Arms with pillow ball bush

Are these the items what I need? (90% Road driving).
Are they compatible with one another to correct this swaying monster so it will be more stable?

Advice will be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.
 

We have a Gen4 with a 2" Pedders kit on and it is fine. As you say it is a bit stiffer than stock suspension and we think it is a nice ride compared to stock

Jimnys tend to roll and the steering is a bit like a ship in the wind. The Gen4 has a steering damper from stock 

 Welcome. I have two Jimnys both with lift kits and another which is stock all running the same mud terrain tires. The blue one in the photo below has a pedders lift. Compared to stock the car is stiffer and takes the bumps much better. For a lift I find it has little to no sway compared to my White Jimny which has another brand lift kit fitted  and that does have more sway around corners so I find the blue one to be the best handling car out of my fleet. So going forward with yours I would try having a demo in a standard Jimny before spending significant money on mods just to see how it rides as you may be in the wrong car all together if you find it scary. Have a search on YouTube for the Twisted automotive Jimny. They have been putting one of the top end lift kits on their cars and have even fitted a rear anti roll bar which is unusual for Jimnys. The reviews claim it dramatically changes the Jimnys handling although these have been more car journalists rather than experienced jimny owners. I would like to try one with a rear anti roll bar to see if it has any affect as I find the new jimny more planted to the road compared the previous model.  

^^^ that's the advice.
Don't do anything else until you have driven a Standard G4/LCV Jimny, then compare

The Jimny, even the G4, is not going to offer a "car" like ride. The steering will need constant adjustments and it will rock and roll a bit. It's not dangerous by any means, but if you have never driven a solid axle 4x4 the ride and steering accuracy can come as a bit of a shock.
Some may disagree, but the ride in my Jimny makes my wife physically ill, the SX4 4x4 "car" we have doesn't (independent suspension / rack steering), so there is a noticeable ride quality difference in our beloved Jimny's.
 

Thanks very much for your input. Helps massively. I will definitely drive my friends stock jimny to compare. I don’t mind the bouncy ride at all and the performance. It’s the sway on sharp direction changes and one issue that’s partly my fault which is the front wheel arch rub from the bobbly tyres when on full lock or when the suspension compresses hard in a sweeping turn. I want to dial out that dive. I guess I’m just not used to it. All my other cars are performance cars so it’s a total change of scene. But I’m loving the ownership and modification experience.

Thanks for your input, Martin.

I will check the stock steering damper, but also investigate alternatives.
I’ve read that radius arms can help bring the suspension back into line after fitting a lift kit as it can throw the Geo out. Are you aware of this?

What size tires are you running? Mine all have 215/75/R15 BFG mud terrain tires. No rubbing even without a lift. I’m afraid a lift and big tires will make an already wobbly car even more wobbly out on the road no matter what you do to it. Our off-roader jimny has 3 inch lift and 32” tires which certainly leans around corners making our Gen 4 Jimnys feel like super cars in comparison.

Thanks. It’s running 235/75 r15
So I think it’s the extra width that’s causing the rub.

I replied to this twice but each time the reply was lost with an error message. Apologies.

My two cars are a non-lifted Jimny Gen3 (had it since 2019) fitted with Maxxis Worm-Drive (similar to BFG) and a Porsche Boxster (had it since 2007), before the Jimny I had a series of BMWs.

I was never expecting the Jimny to handle anything like a Boxster or even any of the BMWs, but you know it’s not really all that bad, at least without a lift. It will go round corners just fine and I have never had a scare, even changing lanes or braking in the corner.

However, you can’t expect a narrow, tall car like a Jimny behave like a low centre of gravity performance car, especially if you then lift it. Any flex in the running gear just gets amplified. What size BFGs do you have fitted, if the rub the must be big?

How old is your LCV and is it possible it already had wear on bushes or joints? Then try a standard LCV, if it’s the same or similar it might be that it’s just not going to behave in fast corners like you are used to and you might have to modify your driving style to suit the Jimny.

Robin

HJC355 wrote:

Hi All,

I joined the Jimny forum today. Thanks for a great site.

I recently got a LCV and fitted a Pedders Lift Kit. I also added 15" Evo Corse Rims and BF Goodrich All terrain tyres.

Well......I got a massive shock when I drove it. To be fair, I've never driven a Jimny before and I didn't even drive the thing stock, but the 
steering and roll was off the charts. It was to be honest pretty scary. I thought the Pedder Shocks were a bit stiffer than stock but I guess I 
have no knowledge anyway.

So I did some research and looked into the following parts to help this situation.

1. Hardrace front quick disconnect sway bar
2. Hardrace Steering damper.
3. Hardrace Front Radius Arms with pillow ball bush
4. Hardrace Rear Radius Arms with pillow ball bush

Are these the items what I need? (90% Road driving).
Are they compatible with one another to correct this swaying monster so it will be more stable?

Advice will be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.


 

What country are you in?

Can I ask why you've thrown a load of mods at a vehicle without even driving it?

And on a rational level, for as you claim 90% on road driving, why have you done "off road" focused modifications?

Would also be interested to know if you have driven any other 4x4s ever or what your car history is like?

I don't mean it in a nasty way, but I've been fortunate enough to have driven and owned lots and lots of different car types and have been driving since I was about 11 years old. I sometimes forget others have way less experience.

That said, I don't feel there is really anything wrong with how a standard Jimny drives. They don't really lean all that much, not under normal or even spirited driving. There are some videos from a few years back of some then brand new Jimny's going round the Nurburgring race circuit. Even they don't visually lean much, even when being pushed in the corners.

As for the steering, the Jimny has a steering box, not rack & pinion. It also has a relatively low ratio (more turns lock to lock). So, it may feel a bit lighter and require more of turn of the wheel. But overall it should feel quite normal to drive. For instance, the steering doesn't feel any different to driving a Land Rover Defender, classic Range Rover, XJ Jeep Cherokee, current Wrangler or pretty much any other proper 4x4 since the 1970s.

The Jimny actually feels quite nimble and rather fun to throw around some British B roads. High speed cornering is a little different, you have a narrow track and relatively tall vehicle. So trying to take a dual carriage way bend at 80mph+ will feel distinctly different to what it does in say a fwd MINI Cooper. But in all honesty this is just physics and shouldn't really come as a surprise.

I would urge you to drive a standard Jimny and maybe some other live axle 4x4's to give you a good grounding in what they are like.


As for your vehicle. 235/75 tyres are pretty big tyre to upgrade too. I'd say way too big for dedicated road use. And will likely need supporting mods to make sure they don't rub. And no matter what you do they will impact road performance (including acceleration).

I'd also suggest that aftermarket rims have likely moved the wheels more outboard, so you are probably feeling more bump steer than you would with standard rims. The bigger heavier tyres will make this more pronounced.

A lift, well lets look at the word. Its is a lift, as in raises the vehicle up. This will have changed the vehicles roll centre and raised its centre of gravity. Neither are likely the best things for road only usage.

The stock suspension is compromised. I suspect largely in cost sense and is under damped in my opinion, making it less comfy off road. But it is fine otherwise. Most lifts have better shocks, so they should ride better, albeit maybe firmer, just more controlled. But I'd actually expect more body roll with nearly every lift kit on the market. Certainly expecting less body roll with a lift would be a very odd thing.

Due to being live axle and radius arms, when you lift the vehicle it will lift the back of the diff too, changing the angle of the axle and thus impacting your caster geometry. Most 2" kits will have caster correction bushes to counter this. Did the kit have these that you fitted? If not, then this would be a good starting point.


As for the items you mention.

HJC355 wrote:

1. Hardrace front quick disconnect sway bar

This is for off roading. The anti roll bar (sway bar) limits body roll on road. But also suspension travel off road. This mod allows you effectively remove the anti roll bar for more flex. It is 100% the wrong thing for road driving in what you are describing. Question: I assume you haven't removed the factory anti-roll bar?? If you have, then refitting it would be sensible.

HJC355 wrote:

2. Hardrace Steering damper.

The Jimny has a steering damper as standard. When it is old and knackered a so called uprated or HD one might be ok to fit. But mostly they are just a gimmick mod and would be unlikely to be of any benefit what so ever. A stiff steering damper would only serve to make the steering heavier. If you have lots of wobble going on, there is probably something else wrong.

HJC355 wrote:

3. Hardrace Front Radius Arms with pillow ball bush

Do you mean these: www.hardracesuspension.com.au/suzuki-jim...-18-front-radius-arm

It is just a blue radius arm, claiming to be HD. It is caster corrected, so if you don't have caster correct bushes, will improve your caster. If you have the bushes already these will offer nothing other than emptying your wallet (at least as far as road driving goes).

I think "pillow ball" might just be a language thing. But from what I can tell in the product listing, it is just a stiffer standard rubber bush. No idea if they did this on purpose or is just a side effect of who they use to make the bush and then try and claim it as an improvement.

To understand the implications here you need to understand how the axle attaches to the vehicle. In short the vehicle is isolated from the axle by rubber bushes that move and absorb shock loads (bumps etc). Make them stiffer and you'll notice more. In theory it could tighten up the steering, because as the axle can move to absorb shock, it will do this when you steer. The reality is, I'd expect such a small difference that almost no driver would be able to tell. And certainly running over sized off road tyres would 100% negate any such benefits.

HJC355 wrote:

4. Hardrace Rear Radius Arms with pillow ball bush

Same as above.



Now obviously I don't know you or what you truly want to use the vehicle for. I'd say if on road driving is really your priority, then the Jimny as a platform and vehicle are probably the wrong choice. And something like a regular car or cross over SUV such as a Discovery Sport, Jeep Renegade or some kind of Subaru may suit better.

That said, I've done many 1000s of miles in 4x4s on the roads and I personally love how they drive. It is the very fact they feel different to a car that I find them the most engaging. Maybe they are something you'll end up liking too.

With regards to your Jimny, a more road biased setup would be to drop a tyre size or two. Don't have the rims sticking too far out offset wise. Run a more road biased AT tyre or 100% road tyre. Upgraded dampers are a good idea and while I know nothing about the Peddars I'd suspect they should be fine. But look at lowering the vehicle to a standard ride height. Mods would then be something like a stiffer anti roll bar.

If you still want a lifted look, a 1-2" body lift might be the way to go. But as it still raises some bits higher it could also induce more roll than standard height, but will at least leave the chassis, engine, transmission at their normal height, so the impact would be minimal.


Now.....

If you want to off road too it is a different story. Although I'd guess you maybe haven't off roaded either if how the Jimny drives is a shock to you. Off road isn't about throwing mods at a vehicle. You really need to se what it does well or badly first for your driving style and terrain and then improve the ares where it lacks. But off road mods will always have a potential trade off elsewhere. I've owned my 4th Gen Jimny for 4 years now and have only just committed to which lift kit I want to fit. Which I've now purchased and just need to get installed.

I agree wholeheartedly with 300bhpton's comments.

Roger