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BigJimnyMeet (North) 2024 (12 Jan 2024)


BigJimnyMeet 2024

14th July 2024
Parkwood Nr. Leeds

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My Chiffon Ivory JB74 SZ5 - blog/mods/build thread

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12 Dec 2022 12:23 - 12 Dec 2022 12:38 #246320 by 300bhpton
We have Snow!!!

Something rare in this part of the UK. We seem to get less than most other places. Being in the SE we have caught the edge of the snow that has come up from the English channel and covered most of SE England. Although other parts of the UK have had a lot more snow, but that snow has come from up North.

This is really the first snow we've had since owning the Jimny, we had a sprinkling a couple of years back. But nothing on the roads. Today most of the roads are pretty clear, despite leaving before 7am to go for a drive round. But some of the backroads are fully covered.



Probably had about 2 inches or so max on the higher ground and less elsewhere.

Lots of Monday morning traffic about, but only seen one car in the ditch. A black BMW SUV that was going way too quickly on the white stuff and had understeered his way in.



As expected the Jimny was able to get everywhere with ease.

Although, coming from a Land Rover background I did find the need to keep shifting between 2wd and 4wd High in the Jimny. The main roads where far too clear to use 4wd and wind the transmission up. A Land Rover has a centre diff, so you really don't have to bother.

Not really a chore, but something to be aware of as a driver. As you need to interact more with the controls. That said, it is quick and easy to shift while moving into 4wd or back to 2wd. But it is something else to remember and keep an eye on the road surface when in 2wd.

The roads where there is slush have made the Jimny filthy!!


A few other things of note.

The ABS is always a pain in the snow. Such a shame there isn't a switch to toggle it off.

And likewise, I found the TCS (more probably the stability control) to keep getting in the way. It was no where near capable enough of preventing you getting the tail out. Which sort of defeats the entire point of having it in the first place. But it did somewhat prevent you then controlling the car once you had gotten it sideways. I found I had to fight the system far more than I'd really like. And if trying to press on would likely make it more likely for an off than not having such a system. As it would prevent you being able to unsettle the car a little to alter the turn in and once sliding you can't then put your foot down to induce wheelspin, which you want to control your direction.

My old Series III Land Rover (2wd/4wd transfer box like the Jimny) had no electronic controls and was a total joy in the snow. You really could throw it about at will and know you could make it go where you wanted. The Jimny is just not as sharp with the electronics getting in the way.


Lastly, the tyres. I'm running Maxxis Wormdrive All Terrains. They are M&S rated.


But I normally run Mud Terrains on the Land Rovers. And I would say, while I'd expect the AT to perform better in packed aged snow or ice. In fresh powder snow I'd claim the Mud Terrains are the better choice. Especially if you want to venture off piste. But the same is true even on solid surfaces and deeper snow. This has been my thoughts with other AT's I've run on snow in the past. But it is always good to get reassurance with such things.

You can see this in the tread patterns left in the snow. Despite the snow being fresh and good for snowballs/snowmen (slightly wet stickier snow). You can see the tread does not leave a sharply defined pattern. It just doesn't "bite" into the snow as well as an MT would.






And of course, it would have been rude not to have a bit of a play off road in the snow!! :D :D










Overall the Jimny is highly capable and I'd certainly recommend the Maxxis Wormdrives too. Although some MT's would have helped on this terrain. It was giving the traction control a good workout too, keeping all 4 wheels spinning. But also worked as a great demonstration on how good the TCS is as keeping the wheels turning.

A non TCS version or earlier Gen 3 would probably have got stopped far easier on like for like tyres.




One thing it did highlight is the Jimny's lack of ground clearance. I've driven over this terrain hundreds of times. And normally it is no bother. But on quite a few occasions it caused the Jimny to just sit there spinning all 4 wheels and beached. The transfer case skid plate is likely reducing ground clearance a bit and creating a big smooth area for the car to sit on. A suspension lift is most definitely on the cards to address this however.

Also note, that while I'm impressed with the Wormdrives, you can see how the tread is packed with snow....




Again, I'm of the opinion for fresh snow (the kind we mostly get in S. England and large parts of the UK). That MT's are a better bet, despite popular belief, urban myth an internet lore.


I do have some video footage, will try and compose it and get it posted up.
Last edit: 12 Dec 2022 12:38 by 300bhpton.
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12 Dec 2022 22:10 - 12 Dec 2022 22:10 #246338 by 300bhpton
Last edit: 12 Dec 2022 22:10 by 300bhpton.

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14 Dec 2022 18:24 #246363 by lookonimages
Just use the disable traction control trick. I have it permantly installed. So nice to go 4x4 and speeds more then 30km/h.

My case not snow and ice but for sand / dune cruising. Makes a big difference to be able to override traction control.

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

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18 Dec 2022 18:42 #246447 by 300bhpton
During Black Friday I managed to grab a bonnet insulator for the Jimny. They seem to retail in the UK for about £70 + shipping. I ordered from China for about £22 including shipping.

The item arrived last week, so I set to fitting it this Saturday, despite the minus temps out.

It's a fairly straight forward fit, although an extra pair of hands would have been helpful.

The inside of the bonnet was surprisingly dirty, it had got mud and muddy water marks on it, where it had sprayed up through the engine bay.

Some 'dry-clean' (aka waterless) cleaning product and microfibre towels and it was all clean and ready for installation.





It is held in place with some plastic clips, the holes are already in place in the bonnet frame. So all you need to do is usher up the insulation and fit the clips.

The clips have an outer portion plus a threaded plastic screw. They are a little fiddly to fit, as you need to prevent the outer section from rotating. Two pairs of hands would make this easier. I'm still to fit a couple of the clips, as I struggled to reach them.




Not really sure how much difference this will make. But seeing as Suzuki do fit them in some markets, it can't be doing any harm. And for this money it made sense not to pass it up.

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31 Mar 2023 16:24 #248335 by 300bhpton
Bought a throttle controller for the Jimny. Mostly out of curiosity as all my other cars are too old support such a device, being as they are all cable operated.

The principle around the throttle controller is quite simple, it just changes the opening profile of the pedal movement in relation to the actual throttle body.

e.g. standard factory setup might be 1:1, 1% throttle pedal movement = 1% throttle body opening.

The Controller has different profiles to make the throttle pedal feel either more or less responsive.

Lots of modern cars will do this in different modes, such as Eco/Sports etc. And things like Terrain Response in a modern Land Rover will alter the throttle for different off road situations.


TBH -- I didn't expect huge things from this on the Jimny and in many ways I'm still a bit ho hum.. about it.

There are many controllers on the market, although you do need one to fit your particular vehicle. I went with the Throttle+ one from JimnyStyle, as it was actually cheaper than some of the others and claimed the same features. Also came with free shipping.





On a modern turbo diesel engine I think these might be more impressive, as they often have quite a bit of throttle delay (and turbo lag). On the 1.5 n/a petrol Jimny I think the results might be a little more muted.


The install is pretty easy. You just unplug the throttle pedal here:


And plug in the controller to each end of the plugs. It does come with some cable ties that'll require you to lay on your back to get both hands up in the dash.

Then find a place to mount it. You could just run the cable to the control screen outside the dash, but I took the opportunity to remove this panel.


Used a side cutting drill bit to make a recess for the cable to allow the panel to clip back into position:


And stuck the controller on with the provided sticky pad:


And that's the install complete!



The controller has a few modes:

Normal - which is it doing nothing and the throttle acting as per factory. Handy for comparisons.

Then you have Eco and Fast. The Fast has 3 tiers, e.g. Fast 1, Fast 2, Fast 3.

In each of these tiers and the Eco one there are nine sub-levels too.

All this means is you can progressively change the program.

Eco makes the pedal feel more lazy, which might promote more economical driving. You have to move the pedal further to make it do something. I think on the higher end of the Eco mode it might not even allow full throttle. At least this is how other brands work. Meaning even if you floor it, you won't be getting full throttle from the engine.

I'm not really all that fussed about the mpg side of it. But I can how this mode could make the vehicle more smooth to drive. And off road should offer benefits on very rough terrain where your foot might bounce up and down on the throttle pedal, such as some green lanes. Certain surfaces may also benefit from a smoother more progressive throttle if you are trying to reduce the chance of spinning the wheels.

The Fast mode makes the pedal more sharp, so only a small pedal movement gives you a large throttle opening. This can make the vehicle feel more peppy and responsive. But it does come with the downside of making the car feel more jerky too as you come on/off of the throttle pedal. If you have it cranked up a lot you also have to be careful pulling away as you'll end up with a lot more revs while you are on the clutch pedal still. Changing gear also requires you to trail less throttle or completely remove your foot from the throttle pedal while shifting, else you get an rpm spike.

Certainly this mode could impact mpg too if you are running around with wider throttle openings.

I'm a little on the bench, although I've found F2.8 works quite well and certainly switching back to Normal makes the pedal feel like you are steering porridge and very unresponsive.

Off road I can again see some benefits here, there are times when you want to induce wheel-spin (especially with the TCS).

However, I've not yet had chance to try any of the modes off road.

On road.... well. Using it in F2.8 the only thing I note is, the bottom portion of the pedal travel does little or nothing. I assume 100% throttle is achieved way before the full pedal travel.

For someone who generally drives gently and never goes to Wide Open Throttle or revs to the red line. I can that this device would indeed make the car feel a lot quicker in normal driving.

I'm not that kind of driver however. I like to use all the controls and all their operating ranges. So if you would normally vary the pedal position for the driving you are doing, I feel the benefits are a little more limited.

I tend to drive at either end of the extremes. Either rather gently and sedate, else full bore. I don't do much in-between.

There is an automatic mode, which is meant to learn how you drive. But I'm not sure how well this work. I'll have to give it a go. As I say, I either drive smoothly, short shift and right around the speed limits. Or I go for a blast which means plenty of red line action. Which I suspect is different to a lot of drivers who likely drive the same way most of time and probably more in the middle of either extreme.


Many YouTube vids claim improved acceleration with a controller. The logic is there, if the throttle gets to 100% sooner, then you should be able to save sometime. But I'm not 100% convinced on all the claims of examples. If the factory pedal gives 100% throttle at 100% pedal travel, it only takes your foot a fraction of a second to do this. Again if you are using part throttle and driving more sedately I can see the gains would be noticeable. But full bore with Wide open throttle I just can't see how time can really be made up, unless the vehicle as an in-built delay to preserve the transmission and/or engine.

I did test performance with an app on my phone.

Rolling start in 2nd gear at 25mph and recorded these stats. Same bit of road in the same direction used for both runs.

The test required 2 gear changes to log the times.

Normal mode:


F3.9 mode:


According to the above the times (and distances) are very close. But the improved (F3.9) throttle response took more distance and was slower on one of the stats....

I'll do some more tests if I get chance and try the Eco mode too. Maybe I need to start closer to the target start speed 28-29mph to see if that makes a difference.
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10 Apr 2023 18:06 #248490 by 300bhpton
A few mods completed over the Easter weekend.

First up was the exhaust. A while back I purchased a 2nd hand Forge system from a user on here. I wasn't really planning on fitting an exhaust yet. I quite liked how quiet the standard vehicle is. Although having heard a few Jimny's on YouTube with the Forge exhaust, I was amazed at the sound they produced.

So it was on my list, but for maybe a years time. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity given the price of the used one vs how much this exhaust is new.

Fitting wasn't too bad. Reversed the Jimny up on some ramps. The rear box unbolts with two nuts and you can lift it off of its rubber hangers.

The mid section should have been easy. I did have to drop down my transfer box skid plate (2 of the 3 bolts) and swing it out of the way.

The real challenge was undoing the two bolts holding the mid section onto the front section:


They should be simple enough, but they point semi upwards, so access is a pig! They also seemed incredibly tight to undo, all the way. I did mange to get a compact electric windy gun on one of them, the other one required an extra long ring spanner.

It took a bit to wrestle the exhaust out over the axle past the fuel tank. Having the vehicle a little higher would have been handy, but it was perfectly doable.

The stock exhaust piping looks rather rusty for a 3 year old car. The silencers and brackets must be made from a different material.



Again a bit of a wrestle to get the new pipe over the axle. And then bolted up into place and all fitted.

Not a bad job really.









Not overly keen on the Forge carbon exhaust tip, tbh I looks rather gay. But it'll have to do for now.






Sound wise, I'm quite amazed. It has a really distinctive loping rumble. I'm not sure if it is the engine or the exhaust that gives it such a sound, it almost sounds more flat 4 than inline 4. So I'm guessing it must be something to do with this engine and maybe its firing order?? All in all it sounds wonderful and quite unlike many other 4 pots. For reference I own 2 x Rover V8's with loud exhausts and also a Chevy 5.7 LS1 V8. But I still like how the Jimny sounds.

Obviously it is louder than stock and you can hear it when driving, even more so with the window down. But it is quite acceptable in my eyes. Cruising at 60mph is hardly any louder than before, although accelerating through the gears is. 70mph is however quite a bit louder, I think 70mph takes that extra bit of throttle opening which does make the exhaust far more audible than at 60mph.

I'll post a sound vid at some point.
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10 Apr 2023 18:13 #248491 by 300bhpton
The next mod was long over due. Over 3 years ago, I bought some mud flaps for the Jimny. They were actually one of the first things I bought for it. But for a myriad of reasons, they never got fitted until now.

They are not factory ones, but from eBay. Although the plastic flaps themselves look very high quality. And it wouldn't surprise me to find they are indeed from the same factory that makes the factory ones.



The fitting kit was a bit of a mismatch. And maybe seemed not to have quite the right numbers of parts and bits in it. There was also no fitting instructions included, apart from a general how to fit mud flaps with pictures of some random car and different mudflaps.



A quick Google and viewing of a YouTube, plus some creative thinking considering the supplied bits and on they went. Not too bad really, I did drop the rear wheels off to make it a little easier to access. But the fronts can be fitted by turning the wheel to create room. A littler fiddly here and there, but on they are!



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19 May 2023 12:15 - 19 May 2023 12:16 #249176 by 300bhpton
Tried the caravan out behind the Jimny last night. Just a road test prior to taking it away.

Overall I was quite impressed. It clonked less than towing with my p38 and generally felt pretty stable at 50mph. Although wanted to move about a bit at 55mph, which is as fast I's probably go to be honest.

Power wise, it would be nice to have more grunt. But it generally pulled very well. I went up over the steepest hills in the area to try it out. I did have to drop to 1st on the steepest incline which is a 1 in 4 (25%), but seemed to have enough power in 1st to not be a problem.

Not entirely happy with the extended mirrors still, need to find something that fits better to the Jimny's mirrors. But they are usable at least.



Last edit: 19 May 2023 12:16 by 300bhpton.

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31 May 2023 17:11 #249369 by 300bhpton
Over Whitsun it was the Land Rover National Rally, this year it was in Ebbw Vale South Wales. It is a multi-day event with a number of off road and other events occurring over the duration. Most notably are the off road trials events of the RTV and CCV.

I know this isn't Jimny related in terms of off roading. But it is a big National level off road event of the Association of Land Rover Clubs. RTV numbers have dwindled from the haydays, but I think there were still in the region of 60-80 competitors and even more for the CCV.

My 88 pickup hybrid Land Rover wasn't quite ready in time, so I ended up double driving my brothers Ninety in the RTV. I also used the Jimny to tow the caravan to the event in the absence of the 88.

Overall I was quite impressed. I eventually got my extended mirrors to fit to an acceptable level. And the Jimny towed better than I thought it would. I was right up to the Jimny's tow limit pretty much, as I had to take some provisions with me in the caravan.

Ebbw Vales is approx 140 miles from home, so it made for a good test with the caravan on the back. Although we did encounter some steep and long drags. While the Jimny's 1.5 litre coped admirably, there is no denying a bit more grunt would have been nice. Nearer to home you release just how much flatter the landscape is with the Jimny quite happily pulling 50mph in 5th. But in the Welsh hills I was flat out in 2nd gear and making no progress at all on more than one occasion.

Overall though, I'd give it a thumbs up. It went well enough and felt nice to tow with otherwise.

MPG dropped to 23-24mpg which wasn't unsurprising. Although at this sort of mpg it really does highlight how small the fuel tank is and how rubbish the onboard fuel gauge and range estimate are.....

30 mile range on 1/4 tank?


Campsite is only 36 miles away!


We didn't stop for fuel with the caravan on the back. :)

Early arrival meant first choice of pitches.


The CCV looked fun, but quite brutal.


And the RTV was a complete riot, probably needed a roll cage for some of it. Certainly not the sort of terrain I'd have wanted to have driven the Jimny over without a big lift, tall tyres and flexy suspension. Plus lots of body protection.



Also a bit muddy...

No individual trophy for me this year, but placed well inside the top 10 overall. As a club we did bring home some silverware.



Then another 140 miles back in the Jimny and home.



All in all a cracking weekend with lots of beer and a bit of sunburn.
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04 Jun 2023 17:55 #249419 by jackonlyjack
I heard that peak and dukeries did quite well at the nationals......... shame it's alrc
I RTV in open class with P&D 

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13 Jun 2023 08:58 #249513 by 300bhpton
Decided to have a go at a Tyro Trial with the Jimny. I've been a long term trialer with Land Rovers in RTV events (26 years...), but thought it'd be fun to try the Jimny out.

RTV's while they shouldn't be damaging, they always have the potential, so I opted for the Tyro event as my local club was holding one.

The weather was lovely with bright sunshine the entire day and a really good site for a tyro event. The club, CVLRC is a Land Rover club, but most events are run on an open permit to allow non Land Rover's to compete. We had a good turn out with 15 drivers and a variety of Land Rover vehicles, from very old to not so old ones. I was the only non Land Rover in the event however.

I would say, coming from the world I Land Rovers I do miss having a centre diff lock. Being a Tyro the sections were not overly difficult from a terrain point of view, the ground was hard too. So running in 4wd wasn't the best thing in the world and certainly increased the turning circle of the vehicle. But the low speed control of low range is pretty essential and as the Tyro was mostly on the side of a hill, low speed control via engine braking (or hill decent control) was also very sensible. Hill decent control needing 4wd, be it high or low range.

Either way, we finished the day on clears for a joint 1st overall with a 90 that was also on clears. Although if I'm being honest, it did rather feel like cheating using such a small vehicle.







I would say, you can't beat suitable gearing. I've driven the Jimny off road quite a bit, but when you have a course marked out by gates that you need to drive without touching or stopping. You do appreciate time to think. Low 1st just isn't as slow as Low 1st in a Land Rover. And while Hill decent control helps reign it in a bit, it just doesn't drive as nice with HDC, as sometimes it feels overly aggressive, but also sluggish to react, especially when first pulling away, it takes a car length in this situation before it really activates. But then comes in very sharply if you want to use a trailing throttle and lift slightly.

You can work round it and it isn't all that bad, but an area where technology isn't doing quite as a good a job as older tech IMO.
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