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i am debating purchasing the Old Man Emu 40mm suspension lift as quite a few opinions suggest it improves ride quality and handling above the standard Jimny setup.
Do people believe this to be true? I am not a heavy off-road user and I am reading additional adjustments are required, like castor correction and potential wheel alignment! Are these adjustments required? I just want to be a little more certain it gives noticeable improvements before making changes to critical components.
I did consider the Old Man Emu kit for my 4th Gen. I feel it should improve the ride, although there are I think 3 different front springs, so pick the correct one to suit your setup. But the shocks should be way better than stock ones.
The OME kit is very limited for any sort of off road improvements however, you get a small lift and hardly any additional suspension flex/travel. And is maybe a tad pricey for what you get, although I'm sure the components are all pretty good quality.
You could do castor correction, but not essentially for only 40mm. And should be no need for an alignment, as you aren't changing anything on the hub.
Thank you for your reply, much appreciated. My Jimny is 3rd Gen.
To be fair, I’m not looking for improved off road performance as it is mainly to soften road bumps etc.
I had seen some articles saying castor correction wasn’t necessary for 40mm, but others saying it was, so I was conflicted and didn’t want to hamper my handling.
To the strictest letter, the castor will be impacted. But at 40mm of lift, I'd be surprised if most drivers would be able to tell.
Therefore I suspect most will say it isn't needed. That said, it isn't an exclusive option. You can always fit castor correction bushes later on and it won't impact anything you do to install the lift kit.
As for the ride....
Well here it is a little more complex. The Jimny is a live axle 4x4. And not only that is has a short wheel base and a narrow track.
A short wheel base will give pitching back and forth on some road surfaces. People often associate it with a choppy ride. A lift kit or any suspension work won't impact this really, as it is the wheelbase dictating it. Hence why some will say the new 5 door Jimny rides better than a 3 door.
The narrow wheel track combined with a fairly tall ride height gives a pronounced side to side, head bobbing motion. Improved shocks may help here a bit, but lifting a vehicle also alters the roll centre and centre of gravity, both are likely to make this worse. So overall gains here are unlikely.
Last up is the individual wheel control over rough surfaces. Better damping will control the up/down movement of the wheel much better. And should improve the crashing and banging over bumps and pot holes. This is one place where you should get a win.
But....
Improved damping is normally heavier damping. And most lift kits use higher (aka stiffer) rate springs than stock ones.
So pretty much every lift kit will actually be stiffer, not softer. But a good lift kit and quality dampers should offer improved damping.
On my Gen 4 I went for the JimnyBits Black Raptor Premium kit. It has adjustable shocks. And you can set them very stiff and have the Jimny corner on rails with no body roll, but it is a rougher ride, too harsh for my liking for road use. I actually have the shocks set quite soft instead (something like 3 or 4 our of 16). And it feels well controlled, but comfortable without excessive roll.
Overall I'd say it rides and handles better than stock. But the ride is different and firmer. And is very much just an evolution of how it rode before, it isn't revolutionary or transformational turning it into a Rolls Royce. The pitching and head wobble are largely unchanged. It is just the general wheel control that is improved.
The stock springs IMO aren't too bad for a stock vehicle. But I feel the stock shocks are underdamped. And in my case I think the shocks had significant wear despite not many miles covered.
So you could look at just switching out the shocks for better ones and keeping the stock springs. Although I'm thinking Gen 4 not 3 here. But the 3 might be fine with stock springs too.
But you may need to do a bit of R&D yourself on this. Although I think there are a few members on here that have had more road focused setups who may be able to chip in with some good suspension tips.
Bilstein normally have a good reputation. Although I have some of these on the Ninety at the moment. I forget the exact shock, but it is generally well regarded and well known for a Land Rover. My opinion is they are way worse than stock Land Rover shocks on green lanes or potted Home Counties country roads. On smooth tarmac they are ok, but I don't feel they were an upgrade. They are too stiff.
Then again, I did find a sticker on them claiming Bilstein develop and test their shocks at the Nurburgring. So this may explain why they are rubbish on proper roads!
No idea what the ones a Jimny are like though. I've not had OME shocks, but they generally have a good reputation.
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OME 40mm lift is also suitable to Gen3.