jimny vs sammy

[Moss1984]

which one is the better 4x4 im looking in to getting one as a second car and do a bit of off roading im not going to seriouly mod them up just big tyres a suspesion lift and snorkel really what do you guys and gals think?

[minimog]

the jimny will take a lot more modding to fit tyres biger than 30" the strenth of the axels is weeker compared to the sj/sammi
the plus point is the 1300 fuel injection motor and the coil suspension (which is still as harsh as the sammi)
but if you want a sensible lift/tyres the jimny will keep up with any other offroader

[blackjim]

I went through the same thought process recently.

If you want a cheap quarry basher that you won't mind giving some stick and perhaps breaking bits off occasionaly I'd definitely go the Sammy route.

A Jimny will be just as good (slightly more delicate axles and the transfer box has a chain in it) but much more expensive to buy and mod properly so you might be a bit more nervous about taking it to play days.

I went for a Jimny which I'm using a lot on road and occasional off road with no play days. I've spent loads on it and I'm not really satisfied with the suspension yet. If you lift it with +3" springs you also need pannard rods, new shockers, castor corrected radius arms (front and rear) etc etc. To make it safe and not creak and groan when you go over bumps you need to take the suspension geometry back to something like stock. The most important part of this is corrected radius and trailing arms. They return your springs back to straight and give the springs and shockers room to move as well as giving you castor back so that you don't feel like you're pushing a wobbly shopping trolley.

Cheers

BJ

[Moss1984]

cheers guys  :dance:

[jimny gary]

I agree with blackjim, My jimny's final bill for the suspension was over £1500, once you change something you need to change something else and so on, and so on.... whereas i bought my sammy with 2" lift and mud tyres for a grand all in.

Gary

[blackjim]

If you decide on a Jimny you might drop lucky and get a fully modded one that someone has spent £6,000 on for about £3,000. The suspension geometry will probably still need some work so you need to budget maybe £500 for that.

Take a look at http://www.bigjimny.com/ Big Jimny for inspiration. Martin bought his fully modded Jimny with exo rollcage for £3,000. I know for a fact that it would have cost him £6,000 total if he had bought a standard Jimny and done the mods on it himself.

KAP have a nice yellow van, newly completed for £4,500.

Cheers

BJ

[mlines]

Yep, as Blackjim says, I got lucky and got a fully modded one. I have been watching the back of TOR magazine and there are two or three Jimnys there, all over £3000 and they haven't sold. I think the market will not sustain a Jimny over £3000 regardless of the modifications to it. Equally I think that the SJ range has a similar barrier at around £1000 - no matter how modified it is.  So any mods you do will not be recouped in any future selling price.

If you are going to do road driving, green laning and a bit of off-roading then a Jimny is going to give you an extra level of comfort that an SJ cannot achieve - coil sprung, powered steering, fuel injection, air-con (some models) etc. But it is early in its life cycle as an "off-roader" so modifications and parts can be expensive, however it is still  rare enough that people come and look at it at off-road events. They are electronic based so some engine work can be more complex.

With the SJ range you have a lot greater choice of modifications and cheap (scrap) part prices. You will be fighting rust from day one along with the annual rebuild before the MOT if it is road-going. But they are tough little beasts and mechanically simple to work on with the minimum of electronics. Some people spend forever working on the carbs as they seem to wear out on older high mileage ones - and you cannot get young low mileage ones any more!

Both Jimny and SJ eat wheel-bearings, king-pin bearings and brakes when off-roaded. My old SJ also ate propshaft UJs at an alarming rate but the Jimny does not do this (yet!). Both have a bit of a reputation for weak axles/CV joints with the bigger Samurai fairing better and the JImnys perhaps worse.

Buying a ready built one does mean that you are more limited in your choice of modifications and therefore you may have to spend a little to bring it to your preferred specification - I spent time on mine tidying the wiring and I know that Will (the previous owner - who also bought it ready built from someone else) spent time on the rollcage etc. as the KAP exocage flexed a lot.

Building your own means it is exactly the way you want it, but you will not get back the value of the mods in the sale price and you may spend more time building it than driving it.

Martin