JIMNYSTYLE Suspension Options Explained

With the recent addition of our Touring +0mm Suspension Kit for the 2018+ Suzuki Jimny, we believe we now have a JIMNYSTYLE suspension upgrade to suit every customer.

However, we completely understand that it might be difficult to choose the right kit or components to suit your needs. In this article, we will run through the various parts, what they do and how they will improve your Jimny driving experience.

We have three JIMNYSTYLE suspension kits to suit the 2018+ Suzuki Jimny:

Touring - +0mm (i.e. the car remains at the same height as standard)

Explore - +20mm (i.e. the car is lifted +20mm compared to the standard height)

Adventure - +40mm (i.e. the car is lifted +40mm compared to the standard height)

The key components of both kits are upgraded shock absorbers and springs. Both of these are fundamental when it comes to improving the handling and stability of your Jimny.

The standard Suzuki shock absorbers and springs are manufactured to a budget and, as such, they do not offer much in the way of performance. The original springs are extremely soft, allowing for a lot of body roll in order to mask the handling characteristics that you will usually find on a car with an old school "ladder frame" chassis, such as the Jimny. The original shock absorbers are also provide little in the way of rebound control. Combined, this results in a car that is quite unstable at medium and higher speeds, especially when cornering or overtaking.

When cornering, the Jimny will tend to lean over by a large amount. If the road surface is uneven, or if you hit a bump or gap in the road surface when cornering, you will often experience an unnerving jolt through the car. In wet or slippery conditions, this can cause the car to slide or lose traction. When braking hard, the car will pitch forward by quite a large amount.

Our Touring, Explore and Adventure kits are designed to combat these negative handling traits. While the Jimny might feel a little more firm at lower speeds with any of these kits installed, this is counteracted by the vastly superior handling and stability characteristics provided at medium and higher speeds, providing you with much more confidence for every day on-road driving.

Springs support the weight of your Jimny and ultimately control the height of the car (i.e. longer springs will result in the car sitting higher and vice versa).

When your are cornering at speed, the car leans over, supported by the springs. When you brake hard, the car pitches forward, with support being provided by the springs. When you have a lot of luggage in the back of the car, this weight is supported by the springs. As you drive over a bump, the spring absorbs the initial shock.

The H&R springs included in our Touring, Explore and Adventure kits are stiffer overall than the original Suzuki items. However, they are "progressive" springs; this means that their respective spring rates increase as the spring is compressed further. As you corner harder and faster, the springs will become stiffer, helping to control body roll. At lower speeds, the springs are softer and more compliant.

Shock absorbers dampen the spring's movement after it has been compressed and is trying to rebound back to its original length. The shock absorbers need to work in unison with the springs to provide a consistent and predictable ride with handling and cornering characteristics that inspire confidence.

The shock absorbers included in our Touring, Explore and Adventure kits are based on Bilstein's ubiquitous B6 units, offering vastly improved rebound control in comparison to the standard Suzuki items. This helps the suspension to work cohesively, allowing the progressive springs and shock absorbers to work in harmony.

When installing our Adventure kit, some additional components are required and/or recommended. This is because, by lifting the Jimny 40mm, some of the original Suzuki components are either no longer compatible or will no longer function as intended. These components are not required when using our Touring kit (as this kit maintains the standard ride height).

Extended brake lines (included) - when lifting the Jimny by 40mm, the original rubber brake lines are not long enough to cope with the suspension when it is fully extended (i.e. when one wheel is in the air). We include a set of extended Goodridge Braided Brake Lines with our Adventure kit. Please note: after replacing the original brake lines, the brake fluid reservoir will need topping up with brake fluid and the brake system will need bleeding.

Castor correction bushes (optional) - when lifting the Jimny by 40mm, the original castor angle of the front suspension is reduced, causing a change in handling characteristics. When looking at your Jimny side-on, you will notice that the front suspension is angled slightly backwards - this is the castor angle. Cars are designed with an intended castor angle as this helps to improve straight line stability, while also helping the steering wheel to "self centre" when exiting a corner or manoeuvring. Reducing the castor angle (as happens with lifting the Jimny) will decrease straight line stability and affect steering self-centreing.

Castor correction bushes can be installed in the Jimny's front radius arms and are designed to return the castor angle as close as possible to the original factory setting. A set of SuperPro Castor Correction Bushes are an optional extra that can be included in our Adventure kit. 

Please note: a hydraulic press is required for the installation of the castor correction bushes. A template is supplied to ensure the correct orientation of the new bushes.

Please note: the installation of the Explore kit will decrease the castor angle by a small amount, slightly reducing steering self-centreing. If this is a concern, please consider the Touring kit instead.

LED headlight adjustment bracket - on Jimnys that are equipped with original Suzuki LED headlights, the headlight beam alignment is automatically adjusted by a sensor that is located on the car's rear axle. This is to ensure that, if a lot of weight is placed in the rear of the car (for example), the headlight beam is automatically adjusted downwards to prevent dazzling oncoming road users. When lifting the Jimny by 20 or 40mm, the arm on this sensor is no longer long enough, and the headlights will automatically sit in a position that dazzles oncoming road users. Therefore, an extended adjustment bracket is required to return the headlight beam to its neutral position when the car does not have any weight on board. A Motor Farm Headlight Adjustment Bracket is an optional extra that can be included in our Explore and Adventure kits.

It is possible to create your own custom JIMNYSTYLE suspension setup using a selection of components of your choice. While we strongly recommend installing a complete kit to ensure a cohesive handling improvement, there are still performance gains to be found by installing individual components!