Comfort in Suspension lift question

Hi All

This is more of a question for people who have lifted there car.

How is the daily driving with the lift kits? I want something a bit more firmer to stop the body from going side to side. Would a 2 inch lift help with that?

Mrs gets car sick in the Jimny and looking to get something but more comfortable.

Sorry no lift on mine, but are you sure your current dampers are ok?
Mine looked fine and past MOTs etc, but it felt unstable at the rear and when towing it was worse. So I purchased new dampers and was shocked just how worn out the ones fitted were (50k miles / 10 years).
Needless to say my Jimny now has a firmer ride and is considerably better.
That said it's still not as smooth as my 2CV over the bumps....
Mike

Hi b3hulk
I have just built a jimny pickup and during the process fitted a black raptor 2”lift kit (springs and shocks) normal stiffness we did poly bush the vehicle and put castor correct bushes in and to be honest when it was done it drove perfect.
Very very impressed with the drive no skipping and bouncing at all drove just like a car to be honest.
Also did one with the Xshocks kit of eBay, same 2” lift but that was a little stiffer and harder ride.
Out of the two kits my preference would be black raptor with the re bush, it does make a noticeable difference than just changing spring and shocks
Hope this helps
The doc

Trying to reduce body roll by raising a vehicle makes no sense! You can fit stiffer springs to reduce body roll, but they will make the ride much harsher. The higher you raise the centre of gravity, the stiffer the springs need to be.
Best to keep it low and increase the stiffness of the anti roll bar. You can do this by cutting it and welding a sleeve over the centre section. The longer the sleeve, the stiffer it gets. Fitting the Jimny Bits anti roll bar disconnect kit would be a simple way to achieve this. www.jimnybits.com/jimny/suspension/suzuk...onnect-kit-6179.html

Sorry B3Hulk for my suggestion, I did not notice initially you have a new G4, so it's not likely to be the dampers.
Sitting high is always going to exaggerate any movement of the vehicle, going higher could just make the experience worse unless the suspension is soft enough to absorb the undulating surface, but this will equally increase body roll in the corners.
You really need to find someone who has done it and get a ride in the vehicle to see if it's what the Mrs needs, it's down to how the change makes her feel.
Speaking as someone who's better half also has travel problems as well, I affectionately call her Pukahontas...
Good luck

B3Hulk wrote: Hi All

This is more of a question for people who have lifted there car.

How is the daily driving with the lift kits? I want something a bit more firmer to stop the body from going side to side. Would a 2 inch lift help with that?

Mrs gets car sick in the Jimny and looking to get something but more comfortable.

You have a gen4 Jimny? Is this your first 4x4? I honestly can't say that mine or the other one I've have been in leans all that much tbh. Maybe on a race track, but certainly not on the roads.

What is your driving style? Maybe try and be smoother and slow down a bit if needed?

Or are you referring to the fact it is a short wheel base, this will make the vehicle pitch more and maybe feel unsettled a little over certain terrain, compared to a longer larger vehicle. If so, not really much you can do about it.

As for lifting. A simple look at physics will tell you lifting is going to raise the body, so more likely to lean more!

Different spring and damper rates however may make it ride differently. There will be plus points and negative points to a lift kit. But if reducing body roll is your pure aim, then it would seem the least likely way of achieving it.

BTW is this your Jimny? Photo from another thread?



If so, I suspect the heavy roof rack does not help in terms of road handling or body roll. Maybe take it off when you aren't using it?

In the other thread you also mention different rims. Have you tried with the originals back on and see if it rides better in the corners?

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses and despite the feedback I have fitted toughdog 40mm lift kit. The stiffer springs and shocks have really helped with the side to side in the cabin.




Driving around town , going through roundabouts and speed bumps doesn't affect the side to side jiggly feeling inside the cabin. I am surprised with the large difference. I know the springs are still settling but I am definitely happy with the lift.

Great to see the Tough Dog 40mm Kit getting some limelight! This is probably the first tough dog install documented on the forum, very interesting.

Did you get any more photo's of the installation Hulk? I'd love to have some shock specs, i.e compressed length & extended length in comparison to the OE setup.

Love a bit of extra articulation

DAGZOOK - I didn't really want to lift the car too much and the fact that Tough Dog is literally down the road from me and they were having a sale, the 40mm lift kit was the best way to go. I highly recommend the 40mm if you don't want to lift too much and still be able to access the roof racks.

The stiffer springs and shocks definitely helped with the jiggly feeling and is much sharper around corners. The Mrs has definitely noticed a huge improvement as well and so did my puppy.

I wish I took my photos of when I was installing them but the front springs was giving me such headache, I was just focused on installing the kit. Everything was fairly straight forward from previous experience installing coil overs on other cars but the instructions provided was rubbish. ABS kit and the headlight kit had very dark pictures but I managed to get what they were trying to say.

Lambert - Lifting the car did increase the centre of gravity but the 40mm lift kit is very minimal. What helped with stability was the wider wheels that are 15" by 7" wide with a negative 13 offset which are a lot wider than the stock. I am sure if I still had the stock tyres with the stock offset, I am sure it would feel not as firm. The wider wheels and better shocks all helped with handling.

Kirkynut The 40mm kit is still very capable offroad, I think the improvement aren't necessarily the springs but the shocks. Foam cells shocks are the best of both world. They are great for comfort on the streets while still a huge improvement from stock offroad.

I tend to tow a lot more than I expected I would, Jimny is handling it perfectly except when I go up a steep hill...

Also, I do have a question about cross members being relocated. I relocated mine with the kit provided but I am not really sure on the reason. Can anyone give me a little insight?