Off road driving technices.

Unfortunately, the Jimny came with rather high ratio's in the low range gears. It also came with a chain taking some of the drive in the transfer box. This has caused some issues for some people as the chain can stretch.

The Jimny was not designed by Suzuki to be as hardcore offroad as the SJ - albeit the SJ was never designed to do what many have made it do, but it was over engineered and thus coped quite well.

The design of the transfer box is a reflection on Suzuki's intentions for the vehicle to be used as it was sold and not modified anywhere near to the level of mine and many others.

As such, in my personal opinion and not necessarily that of the host of this site (is that subtle enough Martin?) the best way to reduce the ratio's in your transfer box is to purchase a "Rocklobster" box and all the necessary bits to fit one.

You run the same size tyres as I do 215/80/15's and as these are much bigger than normal, the slightly lower ratio of a "Rocklobster" in high ratio brings it back in line with the factory gearing.

You also have the benefit of ultra low, low box when off road which will reduce the strain on the clutch and give you engine braking to slow you down on decents, so the car doesn't run away with you, as you have described.

The only issue I see with using a Rocklobster in a daily driver, as far as I can see, is that the usual way of mounting it uses a bolt through the outrigger on the chassis and the box with nylon bushes between, which transmits a bit of the transmission noise intot he cabin.

Mine seems alot noisier than I anticipate others do, but my car is not a daily car, so it does not bother me. If I had to use mine as a daily, I think I could live with it, or get used to it.

I hope this woffle helps you decide.

Kirkynut