Suspension Spacers vs 2" Procomp Kit

Hello good people,

The time has come for me to finally lift my Jimny, and I'm struggling to decide how to do it. About 18 months ago the original shocks and springs were in bad condition so I replaced them with Monroe shocks and standard springs. I'm very happy with the improvements that made and how it handles now, and I'm a bit reluctant to replace them completely so I have been considering the 1.5" spring spacer lift kit from jimnybits, but will that be enough to get 215/75/15s on?

Also I have heard that the Procomp kit is quite stiff and doesn't flex well, so is there really a significant advantage over spacers?

If the spacers are a bad choice I will probably get either the Black Raptor or Procomp 2" lift kits as I can't justify spending more than that on the old girl. Is there anything to be aware of with them? And I've read different things regarding needing caster correction and extended brake lines, are these things necessary?

Sorry for the long question and thanks in advance!

I should add that I don't have stock wheels - they are 15x7.5 so quite wide.

If you have new springs and shocks then i would go down the spacer route. At that level (or 2" for that matter), the standard arms, bushes will be ok. Brake lines may be short (mainly on the back). You would need shock spacers also. The spacers dont allow as much overall travel as springs would, but it depends what your trying to drive up!

Over 2" you need to start looking at castor correction. The wider wheels may mean the 215 tyres catch on the arches a bit, worse if they are remoulds. easy to trim a bit off here and there! any bigger tyres mean gearing changes needed.

I had the same dilemma as you recently, wanted a lift but could only afford either a cheap full kit or spacers.

In the end I decided that the difference in performance between a cheap kit and spacer kit did not warrant the difference in price, so went for just the spacers and shock relocation brackets. Am very happy with the performance of these, I'm not doing hardcore off-roading / trials etc, but am offroad a lot up on grouse moors and overgrown forest tracks, and the setup suits me more than well.

So now if I do go for a complete suspension kit, I've got the opportunity to save for a good one, with Trailmaster being the minimum as I've heard good things about their springs (non-diesel) especially.

I have the 2" lift from jimnybits (pro comp) on mine. It works well off road at low speed. The jimnybits springs flex well but the pro comp shocks are way too stiff for road use in my opinion. As your suspension is still fresh I would go the spacer route.
Shame you are so far from me as you would be welcome to have a run out in mine for a test.

Thank you all for the replies, that is extremely helpful! I will go for the spacers.

In terms of tyres I was planning on ATs rather than MTs as this is my daily driver. I guess the only way to see if they rub is to try it and see? I suppose I could replace the wheels if not.

@Venter - what size wheels and tyres are you running?

Thanks again!

215/75/15 will fit on a standard jimny so with the spacers I would of thought you will be ok unless you flex the rear to the max.

Also running 215/75/15 (Hankook Dynapro MT, not remoulds). Got a 2" spacer lift (or was it 1.5"?) and the tyres aren't even close to rubbing, reckon I could even get some 235/75/15's in there with no worries (anti-roll bar still attached).

Mine is a 2009, so it's the one with the bumper that gives the least clearance. My previous Jimny was a 2003 and had no problem with the 215's even with zero suspension lift. Wheels are 15x7, so not significantly different to your 15x7.5's

Awesome, thank you very much. What are the Hankook MTs like on-road? And especially in the wet?

By the way I'm originally from Aberdeenshire too.

Not bad at all on-road, although this is relative as it's still a MT tyre. If you aren't going to be speding much time off-road then go for something else, but if you want a MT then it's one of the best. They've got a fairly soft and tacky rubber (low durometer rating), which means they wear quickly when under a bigger 4x4, but with how light a Jimny is this isn't a problem. The tackyness does mean they grip really well in the dry though. They've got bout 40k miles on them and still have another 10-20k left.

In the wet, they're just alright, good as far as MTs go, but still far from good. I have adjusted how I drive and now have no problems any more, although there were a few arse-clenching moments when I first got them.

I'm in Insch, near Inverurie. Minimum temp tonight is 4 degrees, and it's early August! Bet you're happy to have left