"Mild" off-road plans for Jimny commuting and playing - Opinions welcome :)

Even though the Pound has taken a dive, the SA Rand has been hammered lately too, major turmoil over there at the minute. I doubt the prices would have gone up at all.

NickR, if you're up for it, I'd be keen on sharing freight costs and getting a set myself. Had my eye on Wizerds goods for a while now, good reviews all round (www.4x4community.co.za).

As far as sea freight goes, they charge by volume of the package, not weight. So if you're willing to wait a few weeks it'll be significantly cheaper.

Thanks for the picture, 1066Boy. Is that bolted to the existing tow point? Would that resist if it had to be pulled sideways? Unfortunately, I can't find any pictures of where they were originally intended to come out, so hard to tell what it means to the bumper. Your pic also looks like they would clash with that chassis bracket if you want the tow point itself to be horizontal. Have you used it much in anger?

I like the Wizerd rear recovery points (simple to fit, red, and look like departure angle is unaffected), but am leaning towards the JimnyBits front recovery points, as they are less likely to foul on approach (My lower bumper already takes it's fair share of nudges!).

@Venter - I have asked Wizerd for a sea/land freight cost instead. I am more than happy to look at sharing freight costs. I assume the import duty will be the 20% VAT. I am in Warwickshire, so not sure how that works for getting the parts to you once they arrive?

New tyres yesterday, and some camera wiring tidying. Hoping to fit the lights today, but the rain may prevent that
Jimny is getting addictive

Nick

Hi Nick. yes I clamped it to the original tow point as I did not want to chop the bumper. The large round lug that
goes into the chassis stops any sideways movement. I have used them a couple of times for recovery and they
have not moved. Yes they are a little lower than I would like but it has not caused a problem so far even when I have
smashed them into the ground when crossing a ditch.

Thanks 1066Boy,

I'll see what price Wizerd give me/us for a few bits shipped over.

Your Jimny looks good in those photos - just the level of mods we are aiming for on ours!

Nick

Hi Daniel,

We got some time to fit the lights today. They look quite subtle in the central vent.



I connected them up via fuse and relay etc, and looked for a handy feed for the relay (just something quick and easy on main beam while I find a nice switch to put inside as an over-ride). Oddly, all three wires to the driver's side headlight tripped the relay with the key out which surprised me. I need to check the circuits to see how they are wired, but at least one of them should be a ground, so I may have miswired something else!! I will get back to it soon - then I will see how they help in the lighting stakes, and try and take some pictures. Looking at their size compared to some of the 2-row light bars, I am not expecting huge things, but maybe I can double them up and have them in all 4 side vents!

With the air-con radiator and the electric fan as well as the viscous fan, I assume obstructing the centre vent completely is not ideal.

Nick

I think you could cover it completely and it'll still be fine....Suzuki were clever with the standard grille.....look under the bumper....they put holes in case you obstruct the grille with leaves etc.

Thanks Keithy,

Yes - plenty of holes under there, but none quite big enough for me to get in to spray the back of the bumper fixing screws that have rusted solid 2 screwdriver bits snapped and no sign of movement!! I have sprayed the ones at the bottom (and re-bent one bracket that has previously helped me understand the maximum approach angle of the lower bumper!), and will have to get them undone to get room to spray the ones either side of the number plate. Failing that, the bumper around those 2 holes is half-sheared from nudging the ground, I may just finish the job and rip it off!

I glimpsed the start of some up in the front somewhere while I was shuffling underneath, so will probably want all the plastic off to treat it with something in the not too distant future.

Nick

Thanks for the info nick they look good

Here are my additional suggestions for your Jimny, based on my own experiences.
I use my Jimny as my only vehicle - that means daily on-road, weekly off road. It has to stay road-friendly and legal, as I even go to Austria sometimes on holidays.


1.
Jimny's front tow points are weak, especially if the pulling direction is sideways. Strong front and rear recovery points are very important, and it is best to have two front and two rear.
Always connect an "equalizer" tow strap to both the left and the right recovery point whenever you are pulling or getting pulled, as that will divide the load between the two recovery points. Connect the main snatch strap or tow strap to the equalizer strap, and the other vehicle to the main strap. You do not want to rip off your recovery point, or bend the chassis arm if the lone recovery point is indeed so strong!
I think that using omega shackles rated at 3,25 T is sufficient for Jimny, especially when the load is divided between two recovery points.


2.
Jimny has only two weak and dull front speakers. However, it has pre-machined space for a pair of rear speakers as well, as well as part of the wiring for them. If you replace the front speakers with something good, and install a pair of good rear speakers, you will get a significantly improved sound (nothing "boombastic", just solid and proper).
Links:
www.danbp.org/w/Upgrading_the_original_s...rom_the_Suzuki_Jimny
www.danbp.org/w/Installation_of_the_rear..._on_the_Suzuki_Jimny


3.
Install a steering damper. It will significantly improve the steering feel. My wife (a female, by the way) appreciates it even more than me.
Also, vehicle's "twitchy" behavior at dodgy tarmac roads will be significantly softened.
There are several steering dampers available, but I have found the ordinary damper made for Land Rover Discovery 1 (Armstrong STC786) to be quite satisfactory, and is cheap to buy online. Since Jimny has no mounts for the steering damper, there are several "bolt on" kits available to buy, but you can also weld on your own pieces of metal to make the mounts if you have that skill and do not mind to "burn" the vehicle.


4.
Install axle breathers. They are dead simple to install. Just buy 1/2" internal diameter good quality rubber hose (approx 6-7 m of length) and a few good quality metal screw-tight straps for hoses. Remove factory breather caps from the axle differential housings and put on the rubber hoses, and tighten the metal straps on the connection point. Lay the hoses through the underbody, in the engine bay, up to the bonnet height, avoiding hot surfaces. You do not even strictly need a "T" hose connector, as each hose can go independently up to the top. Tie the hoses with plastic strap ties.
I would recommend this mod even if you do not intend to wade, just for the peace of mind, as I have found water in my front differential even without ever going through a water deeper than 15 cm. I suspect that the splashing effect contributed to water ingress through the factory breathers. That's why I installed hoses.


5.
Coat the underbody of the vehicle with good anti-rust material (bitumen).


6.
Watch out the front bumper - the 2nd generation front bumper (2006-2012) is quite deep (very unthoughtful from Suzuki). Therefore, it is your most endangered point when off-roading, and it's easy to damage. Some people trim it, but it looks ugly in my opinion. If you can, buy a second-hand first generation front bumper (1998-2005) from a scrap yard, paint it if needed, and install it instead of yours (the mounts should be almost 100% compatible - but I have not tried yet). The first-gen bumper is much smaller and gives much better approach angle.


7.
Install guards for the radius arm mounts, the transfer box and the rear shock absorbers. They will pay of with VAT the first time they get hit!


8.
Learn the skills of tyre pressure management. Changing your tyre pressures to suit the (off)road conditions is the most effective vehicle mod ever! The mod is not just for improved traction, but for improved ride comfort and reduced vehicle stress!

In general terms, reducing tyre pressure by 20-30% from stock on-road pressures is the operating norm for hard gravel and general off-road conditions. For deep mud, deep snow, sand and other boggy conditions, even more pressure reduction can be used.
So, for a Jimny, stock tyre pressure is 1,6 bar front and 1,8 bar rear (I even it to 1,7 bar on all four tyres). When I drive on gravel or general off road, I reduce it by 25-30% to 1,25-1,15 bar, and the difference in ride quality is astonishing while the traction is significantly improved.


9.
Buy and use five same tyres!
The spare tyre should be actively rotated with the other four. In case of an all-terrain vehicle like the Jimny, that gives you so much benefits, and only one downside - you pay 25% more at once.

Here is my own published document which shows the rotation scheme, and also lists "for" and "against" reasons to actively use all five identical tyres in a 5-tyre rotation scheme:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1svFOPe-Z...y74VC9wdo9Dk/pubhtml

Is is a handy practice to rotate the tyres with every motor oil change. Since you recently bought a set of new tyres, if you bought only four, you still have plenty of time to buy the fifth one (you won't need it yet, until the first rotation).

Warning: If you have a hard or soft spare wheel cover, you won't be able to use it with a spare tyre which is larger than the stock size.


10.
Use original tie-rod ends. If you are using Jimny off road, these will prove much more durable than aftermarket ones. Since you need to pay for wheel alignment after each tie-rod end change, it definitely pays off to use the best ones - OEM!


11.
Consider installing mud flaps if you intend to use wheel spacers or offset wheels - you will spend less money on washing the car (or maybe you like to be dirty). Just bear in mind that you will have to trim front mud flaps' plastic spacers for 205/75/15 wheels (nothing scary).
Install genuine mud flaps.
If you install rear mud flaps, I suggest drilling two holes (fi=30 mm) in the bottom of the rear bumper, behind each mud flap. That will enable the mud, which regularly accumulates in the rear bumper behind the mud flaps, to drain off. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to flush out.


12.
Consider installing side windows wind deflectors. Very handy items! I suggest using original ones.


13.
If you recently bought the Jimny, change ALL oils and filters. That means oils in: engine, front axle, rear axle, gearbox, transfer box, power steering, brakes, and the engine coolant. Required oil specifications and quantities are written in owner's manual.


14.
In the rear wheel arches, there are metal lips which were meant to be mounts for the inner plastic wheel arch covers. However, as far as I know, Suzuki has never produced those inner plastic wheel arch covers. Therefore, these inner metal lips just accumulate mud and grit above them, which is quite difficult to flush out. Eventually the area will rust. I suggest that you either grind these inner metal lips off, or fill the space above them with some filler mass (thick bitumen, silicone, whatever). That will prevent the mud and grit from accumulating in your wheel arches.


15.
Paint your front and rear differential housings in a striking color (mine are yellow). It will make you smile more often. Beware: kids on the street might think that a ball got stuck under the car.


16.
Factory radio-CD player in Jimny can only play audio CDs, and is quite fussy about which ones it accepts.
I suggest installing this simple add-on to enable MP3 playback from an SD card, USB stick etc.:
www.danbp.org/w/Installing_an_USB/SD/MP3...zuki_Jimny_OEM_Radio
It works quite well and is intuitive. You can upgrade it with Bluetooth handsfree if you want.


17.
If you need more cargo space, buy roof racks and a roof box. I used Thule "100" ("S") and "200" ("M") size roof boxes on my Jimny.
Thule boxes have several models, but their sizing names are the same across the model range. For example, Ocean 100, Pacific 100, Touring 100, Touring S, Motion S, etc. they are all almost the same size. I currently have Ocean 200 and it fits great, not too big. I regularly go off road with the roof box on. It is important that the box is of high quality so that it can withstand gravel and off road abuse and vibrations.


18.
Although Jimny can be used for deep wading or mud bogs if you install transmission breathers and the snorkel, bear in mind that Jimny has a weakly designed front wheel steering knuckle, which is prone to water/mud ingress, and that damages kingpin bearings, CVs, etc.
It is very hard to prevent water/mud ingress there (use of some hardcore sticky waterproof grease inside can help to deter water and mud, but that's it).
Therefore, it's best to avoid mud bogs and deep water.
If you want to get really filthy on a regular basis, use a Defender, Land Cruiser, Patrol, G-wagen or something else that was 5-10x more expensive than a Jimny when it was new. Or be ready to become a trained expert at working on Jimny's front wheel assembly.



Also,
My recommendations which you have already done (I am mentioning them just for the sake of completeness):


1.
Use tyres in size 205/75/R15. I recommend that as the best "sensible" upgrade to the factory size of 205/70/15 (gives you the most for the least amount of vehicle modifications required, and virtually no degradation of driving parameters).
I have had great experience with Goodyear Wrangler AT/SA+, but I also see a lot of satisfied people with General Grabber AT. Beware: General has recently release model AT3, which looks very interesting. Avoid the model AT2, it is the oldest and deprecated one!
There are other tyre brands and models of course.

Here is my own list of all brand-name HT, AT and MT tyre models which I have found on the market:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jFMegEyy...ml?gid=1&single=true

I have spent a lot of time populating that list, and adding my own remarks there. The list is still incomplete in some details.
Not all of those tyre models are available in sizes which are compatible for Jimny.


2.
If you decide to lift the vehicle up, then it would be a good countermeasure to widen its stance by installing wheel spacers or using offset rims. For road use, I would not recommend to lift the car above 2" or use spacers thicker than 3 cm. JimnyBits has a 1,5" lift kit which is supposed the be the most "sensible" option (least amount of vehicle modifications required to accomodate the lift), so consider that first. My Jimny has no lift nor spacers (apart from 205/75/R15) tyres, and I still get to most places where I intend to go, just with more skill applied (and that's the name of the game).




I hope that my experiences help.

Massive thanks to Bosanek for a very comprehensive and well-written response It is very much appreciated. It probably deserves it's own place in the forum wiki!!

I have only scanned through, and will read it properly later to do it justice, but wanted to express my appreciation for the effort!

Point 15 encompasses my every reason for buying the Jimny

Nick

Based on NickR's suggestion, I made a wiki page from my previous answer.
I cleaned-up and expanded the text during the process.

Here is the page:
www.bigjimny.com/mediawiki/index.php/Imp..._and_all_terrain_use

Boasnek, a very well thought out and complete guide that, I'm sure many current and future visitors to this site will appreciate that greatly. I'll certainly be adding a few of your recommendations to my to-do list.

My only disagreement with what you've written is with the 2nd point #1 at the bottom of the page: Best wheel size for a Jimny if wanting balance on- and off-road ability.

My first inclination is to say 215/75/15, as this is what I use to excellent effect. I've had no noticeable decrease in performance, and fuel consumption is only marginally higher, but I'd call both these effects negligible. With my 2003 model Jimny, I've had no need to trim arches, and get no rubbing, despite using it in some fairly significant off-road scenarios that I end up in at times due to the work I do. However, most of you have more recent Jimnys, so arch modification will be needed to fit this tyre size, so I will instead suggest another tyre size as ideal:

195/80/15

These are significantly taller than stock, and give that extra half inch of ground cleance compared to the ones you suggest. As these are less diameter than 215/75, there's even less of an effect on performance (not that the 215's have much effect anyway). If you're doing any proper green-laning (not silly hard stuff, but not as easy as grassy paddocks), then stay away from AT tyres, as they are jack-of-all-trades, master of none. The beefed up side walls of MTs (and a small handful of ATs) are also a major reason to go for them.

A lot of people on here have recommended the Kumho KL71 MT tyre as the best "light-duties" mud tyre. This comes in 195/80/15, so you're able to get an outstanding all-rounder tyre, in (arguably) the best all-rounder size. If people want to include cost into the equation of what makes a good tyre, these can be even more highly rated, as they're one of the cheapest 'bigger brand' mud tyres available. Great side-walls too.

I've currently got Hankook Dynapro RT03 MTs, which are also a great less-aggressive mud tyre, but will be replacing them with the aforementioned KL71's when the time comes, mainly because of how good so many people have said they are on tar roads, while still maintaining significant off-road ability.