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

Jan 2013 Update

About time I gave an update to how life with the Trialmaster 2" comfort is going.

Ride height
As mentioned by Supergaz, the suspension has settled slightly. I know this as it is easier for me to get my bum on the seat, when getting in. Having just taken my mother back to Wales, I can see that any higher lift would make it much harder for those shorter than 5' 6" to be able to get in and out of the car, without using a box!

After fitting the lift kit I reported the following height measurements

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

The front has dropped by a 1cm to 108cm and the rear has stayed at 125cm

Off road ability
Not done too much off road and have tried a couple of local green lanes. The off road ride is good and it clears ruts and bumps much easier than before the lift. The Kuhmo MT tyres are also proving to be a good purchase. Grip on and off road is very good while keeping tyre noise to a noticeable but acceptably low limit.

In Snow
I have still to fit the castor correction bushes and this has made me a little cautious in the snow as the tramlining effect from the steering, makes you think the wheels are sliding. I am now sure this is just the castor bushes.


Earlier today in Mid Wales

MPG
The 2" lift does not seem to have had any impact on MPG. I plan to change the Kuhmo's to either the standard alloys with Duellers or fit the 205 75 ATs on 7" wide alloys I have in the garage to see if the MPG improves. Fuel warning light comes on around 200- 210 miles with the current setup. Whereas I am sure I was getting around 225- 240 miles with the Duellers and 205 75 ATs.

I do have a theory that the Jimny is very sensitive to wheel/tyre weight and size. The Jimny is a very finely balance car and IMO going bigger than 195 80 15 in tyre does make Jimny not so good as a daily drive. Wheel weight also IMO drags down the MPG. Once I have changed the wheel/tyres back i will report back on MPG. The Kuhmos on Modular steel wheels are very heavy.

Comfort and handling
I am still very pleased with both the ride quality and handling. Roads that used to jar and shake the occupants are now much smoother and kinder to those onboard. When I return to the AT''s or the standard wheels/tyres I will see what the handling is like as I suspect that the skinnier tyres (Kuhmo 195 MTs);may also be helping the ride quality a bit.



As I have some spare time this weekend, I hope to get chance to install a CB radio and also get out and enjoy the snow! Travelling back to Hertfordshire on Sunday (hopefully - )

Have fun and stay safe!!

Paul

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

Karl runs a JB23W Jimny with 175/80/16 geolanders.

If you don't already know the JB23W is a 660cc Jap Import.

I too would love a set of the JB23W alloys and 175/80's. Much prefer the alloy design too!

Here is a link to Karls 'My Jimny' page
www.bigjimny.com/index.php/forum/8-my-ji...8251-jimny-jb23w-660

Great review. I see my J as being an 80/20 so this has given me some good pointers especially regarding tyres.

excellent feedback Paul
love that bumper too, can't wait to see what happens when you fit the castor corrected arms

Paul if this is the radius arms that just acquired.

Before you fit them you will need to refit the bushes as in the photo below.