Another lift kit for the Suzuki Jb74 reviewed, this one is the Des Sol lift kit with Gabriel Shocks.
The first modification to the Suzuki was a lift kit, this was due to the very soft shocks that the Jimny comes with standard. (Yeah, its not that great!) I did some research and came up with a list of brands to choice from, in the end I chose to go with the kit for Des Sol.
There is a few reasons, why I chose the Des Sol Kit but the deciding factor was Roam Overlanding’s review on these shocks. There is a few factors to look at when you start build up your ultimate overlander, the main factors would be:
- The weight of the accessories and packed car
- How you use the vehicle (ie. if it’s a daily driver)
The reasoning behind the lift kit installation was to help with the on road handling, the handling when the vehicle is loaded and off road capabilities. The stock suspension is just to soft and is not much fun to drive at speeds due to the large amount of body roll.
The Kit
Des Sol Jimny 50mm Suspension Upgrade
- Des Sol Medium duty coils 50mm lift
- Gabriel HDP Shock absorbers
- Extended brake hose
- Light leveling sensor bracket
- Optional: Castor correction bushes
*A cross member replacement has been added. This helps with the gap between cross member and the prop shaft.
The first thing you would notice with this kit is the castor correction is not included. It is recommended to install the castor correction bushes at the same time. I drove about 500km, without the castor correction and in my opinion this needs to be done. Without this the car is very unstable on the road, and at times very scary to drive at times.
The Review
Driving the Jimny on road is drastically improved with the kit installed, body roll is down and I feel more comfortable taking corners at higher speeds. The shocks don’t bottom out when hitting a speed bump too fast. (This happens far too often!)
Now on to the important part, the off road capabilities. The Jimny is so much better off road. The shocks allow for a lot more articulation and the flex is heaps better. The only down side is the shocks can be too stiff at times on gravel roads, but this is due to the shocks being rated to carry more weight.
I will be kitting out the Jimny to be a micro overlander and this means a lot of extra weight. I feel that this kit is better suited to a loaded Jimny.
