Suzuki Jimny SZ5
Discussion
So back at the end of October I ordered up the Bravo Snorkel. It took awhile to arrive due to being a new product and on back order. But the package turned up from Spain this week.
The snorkel looks good quality, although the instructions are maybe a little lacking. And while they claimed it required no drilling, they supply it with 2 x rivnuts that need holes drilled.
But at least no dirty great hole is required in the wing like most snorkels.
Here is where we start, we need to remove the small panel between the door mirror and bonnet.
The instructions say to remove the bonnet. I'd highly recommend this, I suspect it is possible to just undo 1 side, but you have so much more access with the bonnet off. You will also need to remove the wipers and the scuttle panel below the windscreen. The scuttle has 5 clips along the front, then lifts up out of the clips you can't see at either end.
Getting the small panel off by the mirror was a bit of a head scratcher. There is a screw on the inside of the A pillar and bolt under the scuttle you take off. But it also is clipped in place along the bottom edge front and back. A small screw driver is required to gently bend the inner lip of the panel up to release it from the clips. A bit fiddly, but once you figure it out it is easy enough.
You have to remove this bracket too, I'm not sure what the bracket is for. There is one on either side and nothing attaches to them. But either way, it needs to come out. The instructions say to cut it, but I removed the bonnet hinge and drilled the spot welds out, which I think is a neater solution. It means should I ever want to refit it (I don't know why I would), it could be done so.
You also have to drill a hole in the wing to fit a rivnut (the right most hole).
You will need a special tool of this if you don't have one. I didn't, so I bought this from Amazon.
There is no template, so I trial fitted the snorkel to get alignment. Hence having the bonnet off makes this so much easier.
The first slight issue, when in place. The snorkel was just fouling the door when you open it.
In the end I just lightly trimmed the edge of the snorkel tube with a knife.
The next issue was this metal bracket. It goes on the inside of the snorkel and the scuttle will fit over the top of it and clip in.
It reuses an existing bolt hole where you take an existing bracket off. You are then meant to drill and use a rivnut in the hole to the right of it. I'm completely lost why you would need to do is, I cannot see any reason it would serve. So I actually reused the plastic clip and existing hole rather than drill another.
The issue however is, the bracket locates and secures the scuttle. But it ended up moving the rubber seal away from the windscreen.
Try as I might and adjust the bracket and location, it would not sit right. I suspect either I had done something completely wrong (not sure how, it all looks fairly simple). Or the tolerance on this bracket is incorrect.
You could just fit it all together, nothing here will stop it working or going together. But it would bug me having that seal in the wrong place. And of course rather than directing water over the seal, it would go behind it from the windscreen.
In the end I had to enlarge and further elongate the holes of the bracket at the snorkel end. If I did it at the body end, it would move the snorkel closer to the door again. I won't say I'm 100% happy with the final fitment. But somewhere around 98% happy. I may revisit on another occasion. Having the bonnet removed made this easier as I must have had the snorkel on and off at least a handful of times.
With this sorted, it was time to refit the scuttle, wiper arms and bonnet. You will want a 2nd pair of hands for this and the bonnet removal.
Then to run the pipe to the airbox.
And done!
So barring the two issues:
1. Rubbing on the door
2. Windscreen scuttle seal
Both of which have been solved to the point of non issues. The install was pretty painless. Just a bit of grunt work. I didn't rush at all. Probably spent 3 hours or so in total, maybe a tad longer.
Some other observations. I don't really understand the design decision to drill holes and use rivnuts. As said, I didn't even bother with one of them, there seemed to be no point. And there is enough room to get a nut and bolt in that place if you wanted.
But the one on the wing, there are already two square holes where a bracket is mounted for the little panel you remove. It would have seemed fairly easy to have been able to utilise front most hole instead of drilling a new one had the mould of the snorkel supported this.
There are also a number of places once in the engine bay where you could also have secured the front most part of the assembly, which would have provided suitable stability. But at the end of the day, you can only really fit it as designed. Just a bit annoying that they could have likely been even smarter about how it attaches.
My only other complaint is, Bravo Snorkel charge you a fee if you pay via PayPal, which is against PayPal terms & conditions. I'd suggest if you pay this way, to wait until you receive and fit the item, then raise a PayPal dispute for the fee amount.
More info here: https://creativegeniuslaw.com/why-you-cant-charge-...
And some pictures of it all installed.
From the drivers seat you can hardly tell it is fitted. I was concerned it would make the A pillar appear fatter, but the truth is, you just can't see it is there really.
On the road I wasn't expecting much. Really just wanted to check that it didn't rattle, vibrate or whistle going down the road. None of these seem to occur at all. And I'd argue and say the engine seems a little more peppy and rev free too. Especially up towards the red line. I don't think you'll be seeing any real HP gains, but there is definitely a slight difference in a good way. It has also slightly changed the tone of the intake noise too, although part of the pipe work you remove from the factory setup does contain an air baffle. Again I'd say this is a positive outcome. The noise isn't any louder than before, just slightly better sounding.
Overall I would recommend this snorkel. The overall quality and general fitment is good. And I suspect almost any mod of this type would require a little fettling to get 100%. Because of the nature on where this snorkel fits, it is probably relying on much tighter tolerances in order to fit at all.
The biggest benefit is of course, no cutting of a dirty great hole in the outer panels of the body work. So if you wanted, you could remove the Bravo snorkel and return it stock appearance. Just with the addition of a hole and rivnut that would be hidden from view.
The snorkel looks good quality, although the instructions are maybe a little lacking. And while they claimed it required no drilling, they supply it with 2 x rivnuts that need holes drilled.
But at least no dirty great hole is required in the wing like most snorkels.
Here is where we start, we need to remove the small panel between the door mirror and bonnet.
The instructions say to remove the bonnet. I'd highly recommend this, I suspect it is possible to just undo 1 side, but you have so much more access with the bonnet off. You will also need to remove the wipers and the scuttle panel below the windscreen. The scuttle has 5 clips along the front, then lifts up out of the clips you can't see at either end.
Getting the small panel off by the mirror was a bit of a head scratcher. There is a screw on the inside of the A pillar and bolt under the scuttle you take off. But it also is clipped in place along the bottom edge front and back. A small screw driver is required to gently bend the inner lip of the panel up to release it from the clips. A bit fiddly, but once you figure it out it is easy enough.
You have to remove this bracket too, I'm not sure what the bracket is for. There is one on either side and nothing attaches to them. But either way, it needs to come out. The instructions say to cut it, but I removed the bonnet hinge and drilled the spot welds out, which I think is a neater solution. It means should I ever want to refit it (I don't know why I would), it could be done so.
You also have to drill a hole in the wing to fit a rivnut (the right most hole).
You will need a special tool of this if you don't have one. I didn't, so I bought this from Amazon.
There is no template, so I trial fitted the snorkel to get alignment. Hence having the bonnet off makes this so much easier.
The first slight issue, when in place. The snorkel was just fouling the door when you open it.
In the end I just lightly trimmed the edge of the snorkel tube with a knife.
The next issue was this metal bracket. It goes on the inside of the snorkel and the scuttle will fit over the top of it and clip in.
It reuses an existing bolt hole where you take an existing bracket off. You are then meant to drill and use a rivnut in the hole to the right of it. I'm completely lost why you would need to do is, I cannot see any reason it would serve. So I actually reused the plastic clip and existing hole rather than drill another.
The issue however is, the bracket locates and secures the scuttle. But it ended up moving the rubber seal away from the windscreen.
Try as I might and adjust the bracket and location, it would not sit right. I suspect either I had done something completely wrong (not sure how, it all looks fairly simple). Or the tolerance on this bracket is incorrect.
You could just fit it all together, nothing here will stop it working or going together. But it would bug me having that seal in the wrong place. And of course rather than directing water over the seal, it would go behind it from the windscreen.
In the end I had to enlarge and further elongate the holes of the bracket at the snorkel end. If I did it at the body end, it would move the snorkel closer to the door again. I won't say I'm 100% happy with the final fitment. But somewhere around 98% happy. I may revisit on another occasion. Having the bonnet removed made this easier as I must have had the snorkel on and off at least a handful of times.
With this sorted, it was time to refit the scuttle, wiper arms and bonnet. You will want a 2nd pair of hands for this and the bonnet removal.
Then to run the pipe to the airbox.
And done!
So barring the two issues:
1. Rubbing on the door
2. Windscreen scuttle seal
Both of which have been solved to the point of non issues. The install was pretty painless. Just a bit of grunt work. I didn't rush at all. Probably spent 3 hours or so in total, maybe a tad longer.
Some other observations. I don't really understand the design decision to drill holes and use rivnuts. As said, I didn't even bother with one of them, there seemed to be no point. And there is enough room to get a nut and bolt in that place if you wanted.
But the one on the wing, there are already two square holes where a bracket is mounted for the little panel you remove. It would have seemed fairly easy to have been able to utilise front most hole instead of drilling a new one had the mould of the snorkel supported this.
There are also a number of places once in the engine bay where you could also have secured the front most part of the assembly, which would have provided suitable stability. But at the end of the day, you can only really fit it as designed. Just a bit annoying that they could have likely been even smarter about how it attaches.
My only other complaint is, Bravo Snorkel charge you a fee if you pay via PayPal, which is against PayPal terms & conditions. I'd suggest if you pay this way, to wait until you receive and fit the item, then raise a PayPal dispute for the fee amount.
More info here: https://creativegeniuslaw.com/why-you-cant-charge-...
And some pictures of it all installed.
From the drivers seat you can hardly tell it is fitted. I was concerned it would make the A pillar appear fatter, but the truth is, you just can't see it is there really.
On the road I wasn't expecting much. Really just wanted to check that it didn't rattle, vibrate or whistle going down the road. None of these seem to occur at all. And I'd argue and say the engine seems a little more peppy and rev free too. Especially up towards the red line. I don't think you'll be seeing any real HP gains, but there is definitely a slight difference in a good way. It has also slightly changed the tone of the intake noise too, although part of the pipe work you remove from the factory setup does contain an air baffle. Again I'd say this is a positive outcome. The noise isn't any louder than before, just slightly better sounding.
Overall I would recommend this snorkel. The overall quality and general fitment is good. And I suspect almost any mod of this type would require a little fettling to get 100%. Because of the nature on where this snorkel fits, it is probably relying on much tighter tolerances in order to fit at all.
The biggest benefit is of course, no cutting of a dirty great hole in the outer panels of the body work. So if you wanted, you could remove the Bravo snorkel and return it stock appearance. Just with the addition of a hole and rivnut that would be hidden from view.
We have Snow!!!
Something rare in this part of the UK. We seem to get less than most other places. Being in the SE we have caught the edge of the snow that has come up from the English channel and covered most of SE England. Although other parts of the UK have had a lot more snow, but that snow has come from up North.
This is really the first snow we've had since owning the Jimny, we had a sprinkling a couple of years back. But nothing on the roads. Today most of the roads are pretty clear, despite leaving before 7am to go for a drive round. But some of the backroads are fully covered.
Probably had about 2 inches or so max on the higher ground and less elsewhere.
Lots of Monday morning traffic about, but only seen one car in the ditch. A black BMW SUV that was going way too quickly on the white stuff and had understeered his way in.
As expected the Jimny was able to get everywhere with ease.
Although, coming from a Land Rover background I did find the need to keep shifting between 2wd and 4wd High in the Jimny. The main roads where far too clear to use 4wd and wind the transmission up. A Land Rover has a centre diff, so you really don't have to bother.
Not really a chore, but something to be aware of as a driver. As you need to interact more with the controls. That said, it is quick and easy to shift while moving into 4wd or back to 2wd. But it is something else to remember and keep an eye on the road surface when in 2wd.
The roads where there is slush have made the Jimny filthy!!
A few other things of note.
The ABS is always a pain in the snow. Such a shame there isn't a switch to toggle it off.
And likewise, I found the TCS (more probably the stability control) to keep getting in the way. It was no where near capable enough of preventing you getting the tail out. Which sort of defeats the entire point of having it in the first place. But it did somewhat prevent you then controlling the car once you had gotten it sideways. I found I had to fight the system far more than I'd really like. And if trying to press on would likely make it more likely for an off than not having such a system. As it would prevent you being able to unsettle the car a little to alter the turn in and once sliding you can't then put your foot down to induce wheelspin, which you want to control your direction.
My old Series III Land Rover (2wd/4wd transfer box like the Jimny) had no electronic controls and was a total joy in the snow. You really could throw it about at will and know you could make it go where you wanted. The Jimny is just not as sharp with the electronics getting in the way.
Lastly, the tyres. I'm running Maxxis Wormdrive All Terrains. They are M&S rated.
But I normally run Mud Terrains on the Land Rovers. And I would say, while I'd expect the AT to perform better in packed aged snow or ice. In fresh powder snow I'd claim the Mud Terrains are the better choice. Especially if you want to venture off piste. But the same is true even on solid surfaces and deeper snow. This has been my thoughts with other AT's I've run on snow in the past. But it is always good to get reassurance with such things.
You can see this in the tread patterns left in the snow. Despite the snow being fresh and good for snowballs/snowmen (slightly wet stickier snow). You can see the tread does not leave a sharply defined pattern. It just doesn't "bite" into the snow as well as an MT would.
And of course, it would have been rude not to have a bit of a play off road in the snow!!
Overall the Jimny is highly capable and I'd certainly recommend the Maxxis Wormdrives too. Although some MT's would have helped on this terrain. It was giving the traction control a good workout too, keeping all 4 wheels spinning. But also worked as a great demonstration on how good the TCS is as keeping the wheels turning.
A non TCS version or earlier Gen 3 would probably have got stopped far easier on like for like tyres.
One thing it did highlight is the Jimny's lack of ground clearance. I've driven over this terrain hundreds of times. And normally it is no bother. But on quite a few occasions it caused the Jimny to just sit there spinning all 4 wheels and beached. The transfer case skid plate is likely reducing ground clearance a bit and creating a big smooth area for the car to sit on. A suspension lift is most definitely on the cards to address this however.
Also note, that while I'm impressed with the Wormdrives, you can see how the tread is packed with snow....
Again, I'm of the opinion for fresh snow (the kind we mostly get in S. England and large parts of the UK). That MT's are a better bet, despite popular belief, urban myth an internet lore.
I do have some video footage, will try and compose it and get it posted up.
Something rare in this part of the UK. We seem to get less than most other places. Being in the SE we have caught the edge of the snow that has come up from the English channel and covered most of SE England. Although other parts of the UK have had a lot more snow, but that snow has come from up North.
This is really the first snow we've had since owning the Jimny, we had a sprinkling a couple of years back. But nothing on the roads. Today most of the roads are pretty clear, despite leaving before 7am to go for a drive round. But some of the backroads are fully covered.
Probably had about 2 inches or so max on the higher ground and less elsewhere.
Lots of Monday morning traffic about, but only seen one car in the ditch. A black BMW SUV that was going way too quickly on the white stuff and had understeered his way in.
As expected the Jimny was able to get everywhere with ease.
Although, coming from a Land Rover background I did find the need to keep shifting between 2wd and 4wd High in the Jimny. The main roads where far too clear to use 4wd and wind the transmission up. A Land Rover has a centre diff, so you really don't have to bother.
Not really a chore, but something to be aware of as a driver. As you need to interact more with the controls. That said, it is quick and easy to shift while moving into 4wd or back to 2wd. But it is something else to remember and keep an eye on the road surface when in 2wd.
The roads where there is slush have made the Jimny filthy!!
A few other things of note.
The ABS is always a pain in the snow. Such a shame there isn't a switch to toggle it off.
And likewise, I found the TCS (more probably the stability control) to keep getting in the way. It was no where near capable enough of preventing you getting the tail out. Which sort of defeats the entire point of having it in the first place. But it did somewhat prevent you then controlling the car once you had gotten it sideways. I found I had to fight the system far more than I'd really like. And if trying to press on would likely make it more likely for an off than not having such a system. As it would prevent you being able to unsettle the car a little to alter the turn in and once sliding you can't then put your foot down to induce wheelspin, which you want to control your direction.
My old Series III Land Rover (2wd/4wd transfer box like the Jimny) had no electronic controls and was a total joy in the snow. You really could throw it about at will and know you could make it go where you wanted. The Jimny is just not as sharp with the electronics getting in the way.
Lastly, the tyres. I'm running Maxxis Wormdrive All Terrains. They are M&S rated.
But I normally run Mud Terrains on the Land Rovers. And I would say, while I'd expect the AT to perform better in packed aged snow or ice. In fresh powder snow I'd claim the Mud Terrains are the better choice. Especially if you want to venture off piste. But the same is true even on solid surfaces and deeper snow. This has been my thoughts with other AT's I've run on snow in the past. But it is always good to get reassurance with such things.
You can see this in the tread patterns left in the snow. Despite the snow being fresh and good for snowballs/snowmen (slightly wet stickier snow). You can see the tread does not leave a sharply defined pattern. It just doesn't "bite" into the snow as well as an MT would.
And of course, it would have been rude not to have a bit of a play off road in the snow!!
Overall the Jimny is highly capable and I'd certainly recommend the Maxxis Wormdrives too. Although some MT's would have helped on this terrain. It was giving the traction control a good workout too, keeping all 4 wheels spinning. But also worked as a great demonstration on how good the TCS is as keeping the wheels turning.
A non TCS version or earlier Gen 3 would probably have got stopped far easier on like for like tyres.
One thing it did highlight is the Jimny's lack of ground clearance. I've driven over this terrain hundreds of times. And normally it is no bother. But on quite a few occasions it caused the Jimny to just sit there spinning all 4 wheels and beached. The transfer case skid plate is likely reducing ground clearance a bit and creating a big smooth area for the car to sit on. A suspension lift is most definitely on the cards to address this however.
Also note, that while I'm impressed with the Wormdrives, you can see how the tread is packed with snow....
Again, I'm of the opinion for fresh snow (the kind we mostly get in S. England and large parts of the UK). That MT's are a better bet, despite popular belief, urban myth an internet lore.
I do have some video footage, will try and compose it and get it posted up.
During Black Friday I managed to grab a bonnet insulator for the Jimny. They seem to retail in the UK for about £70 + shipping. I ordered from China for about £22 including shipping.
The item arrived last week, so I set to fitting it this Saturday, despite the minus temps out.
It's a fairly straight forward fit, although an extra pair of hands would have been helpful.
The inside of the bonnet was surprisingly dirty, it had got mud and muddy water marks on it, where it had sprayed up through the engine bay.
Some 'dry-clean' (aka waterless) cleaning product and microfibre towels and it was all clean and ready for installation.
It is held in place with some plastic clips, the holes are already in place in the bonnet frame. So all you need to do is usher up the insulation and fit the clips.
The clips have an outer portion plus a threaded plastic screw. They are a little fiddly to fit, as you need to prevent the outer section from rotating. Two pairs of hands would make this easier. I'm still to fit a couple of the clips, as I struggled to reach them.
Not really sure how much difference this will make. But seeing as Suzuki do fit them in some markets, it can't be doing any harm. And for this money it made sense not to pass it up.
The item arrived last week, so I set to fitting it this Saturday, despite the minus temps out.
It's a fairly straight forward fit, although an extra pair of hands would have been helpful.
The inside of the bonnet was surprisingly dirty, it had got mud and muddy water marks on it, where it had sprayed up through the engine bay.
Some 'dry-clean' (aka waterless) cleaning product and microfibre towels and it was all clean and ready for installation.
It is held in place with some plastic clips, the holes are already in place in the bonnet frame. So all you need to do is usher up the insulation and fit the clips.
The clips have an outer portion plus a threaded plastic screw. They are a little fiddly to fit, as you need to prevent the outer section from rotating. Two pairs of hands would make this easier. I'm still to fit a couple of the clips, as I struggled to reach them.
Not really sure how much difference this will make. But seeing as Suzuki do fit them in some markets, it can't be doing any harm. And for this money it made sense not to pass it up.
I appreciate they didn't sell many here, but why is all the after market stuff rubbish? Seat covers that don't fit, and a snorkel which you had to trim (lol! Hope you didn't hole it!) to fit a perfectly clear part of the bodywork.
Good job you've seen some appreciation really, as it's not as capable off road as others, bar the price speculation I personally cannot see much of a reason for these.
Good job you've seen some appreciation really, as it's not as capable off road as others, bar the price speculation I personally cannot see much of a reason for these.
300bhp/ton said:
During Black Friday I managed to grab a bonnet insulator for the Jimny. They seem to retail in the UK for about £70 + shipping. I ordered from China for about £22 including shipping.
The item arrived last week, so I set to fitting it this Saturday, despite the minus temps out.
It's a fairly straight forward fit, although an extra pair of hands would have been helpful.
The inside of the bonnet was surprisingly dirty, it had got mud and muddy water marks on it, where it had sprayed up through the engine bay.
Some 'dry-clean' (aka waterless) cleaning product and microfibre towels and it was all clean and ready for installation.
It is held in place with some plastic clips, the holes are already in place in the bonnet frame. So all you need to do is usher up the insulation and fit the clips.
The clips have an outer portion plus a threaded plastic screw. They are a little fiddly to fit, as you need to prevent the outer section from rotating. Two pairs of hands would make this easier. I'm still to fit a couple of the clips, as I struggled to reach them.
Not really sure how much difference this will make. But seeing as Suzuki do fit them in some markets, it can't be doing any harm. And for this money it made sense not to pass it up.
What benefit will this provide you - Is this for noise or heat insulation? Seems like a strange 'upgrade' to add - clearly Suzuki didn't need to fit in the UK so didn't. The item arrived last week, so I set to fitting it this Saturday, despite the minus temps out.
It's a fairly straight forward fit, although an extra pair of hands would have been helpful.
The inside of the bonnet was surprisingly dirty, it had got mud and muddy water marks on it, where it had sprayed up through the engine bay.
Some 'dry-clean' (aka waterless) cleaning product and microfibre towels and it was all clean and ready for installation.
It is held in place with some plastic clips, the holes are already in place in the bonnet frame. So all you need to do is usher up the insulation and fit the clips.
The clips have an outer portion plus a threaded plastic screw. They are a little fiddly to fit, as you need to prevent the outer section from rotating. Two pairs of hands would make this easier. I'm still to fit a couple of the clips, as I struggled to reach them.
Not really sure how much difference this will make. But seeing as Suzuki do fit them in some markets, it can't be doing any harm. And for this money it made sense not to pass it up.
By the way, there is always on of these in the same colour parked right outside Diddly Squat Farm
I like that the op uses his car and it is a hobby and interest. I also like the Jimny so no axe to grind. My Dacia Duster that I use for work is 6 months older than this Jimny and I abuse it royally. I have driven it 43k hard miles since Jan 2020 and have had cause to crawl under it and literally know every inch of it.
What shocks me is the corrosion on this car. You would think the Dacia would be bad but it really isn’t. The exhaust on my Duster looks as new. At the moment it has 3 k miles of salt and mud all over and under it but after I wash it tomorrow it will look almost new.
What shocks me is the corrosion on this car. You would think the Dacia would be bad but it really isn’t. The exhaust on my Duster looks as new. At the moment it has 3 k miles of salt and mud all over and under it but after I wash it tomorrow it will look almost new.
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