[WattsieJase]

Hey all,

I'm a Toyota fiend but I've always wanted a Zook so I'm selling my Prado and buying one to build into a weapon. I can't wait!

The BIG question: Do I get a Sierra or a Jimny? I like wide track and coil but appreciate the modern EFI engine in the Jimny. However, Sierras just look plain gangster! I'd appreciate any info/perspectives from owners of each.

In terms of lifts, I was thinking a 2 or 3 inch suspension lift. What size tires do you generally run with that sort of lift? I'm guessing 31"? And are reduction gears and a speedo recalibration the go for that size tyre? If so, where do you get them and what ratios are the goods?


Cheers,

Jase

[sideways]

It depends what you want to do with it. I own both and they're pretty different vehicles.

I'd go Sierra if you want to build a proper hardcore offroader and it wont be your every day car. I'd go a jimny if you want to build something a little more mild and do some longer trips.

A Sierra is more fun the bush, I like a raw old school 4wd and Sierras are certainly that. A Jimny is about 100x nicer to drive and you get a (relatively) comfortable, quiet interior, much better ride (still nothing to write home about) and a lot more features.

Stock for stock capability isn't all that different, the Sierra has better clearance (Jimnys get hung up of the rear radius arm mounts) but the Jimny has a bit longer wheel travel, more power and an auto option. Sierras are easier to make more capable, they have bigger guards (easier to fit bigger tyres), a cheaper aftermarket following and arguably tougher mechanicals.

With a Jimny you get an efi engine and you can get power steer and auto all of which never came on Sierras in Australia. Sierras are pretty terrible to drive on the road, they have vague steering, tend to wander all over the place, ride rough as guts and they're loud and slow. Jimnys are a bit quicker (can comfortably do 110 at least) and they actually drive mostly like a normal car. Lots of people do G16b (1.6 EFI) conversions to Sierras but the motors/donor cars are getting quite hard to find now. Due to all the plastic in the back of a Jimny I reckon Sierras have a more usable load area. All Jimnys have rear seats and they've got a funky shaped floor if you remove them. Sierras with rear seats are pretty rare but it's a nice flat floor under them.

For bigger tyres it's best to run transfer gears, these are available fairly cheaply from several U.S offroad parts retailers (lowrangeoffroad.com is the one most on here use). With Jimnys lots of people used to convert to sierra transfer cases before Jimny crawler gears were readily available/affordable but these days you can just buy gears that go in the original case. Jimnys and Sierras use the same rear diff (different ratio) and lockers for these are readily available. Sierras actually use the same diff in the front with different axle splines (26 rear vs 22) so that's quite straight forward. Jimny front diffs are different and AFIAK you can't get auto lockers for them so you have to pony up some real money for an air locker. Jimnys have smaller front CVs than Sierras so they will need upgrading earlier, if you're going 31s front locker then you'l want chromos in either. Being leaf sprung sierras are very straight forward for suspension mods. Jimnys if used in hardcore offroading will need stronger panhards, skid plates over the rear radius arm mounts, castor correction for lift and you'l probably want to plate the diff housings where the radius arms attach as these tend to rip.

There's about 100 different models of Sierras. Here I'm talking about the 1.3L widetrack leaf sprung models (1988-1996) these are the most common models and the best supported in the aftermarket. There's later coil sprung models, these are a bit of a unicorn and have a very poor aftermarket following. Personally I'd steer away from these as you really get the worst of both the Jimny and the Sierra thrown in with some oddball.

Sierras and early Jimnys are around the same price these days, you get a lot more car for your money with the Jimny but you'l have more fun in the bush with a soft top Sierra IMO.

[MrRocky]

Unless you can do the mech work yourself id say go the newer option. With sierras being so old, the more you drive them the more maintanance you have to do especially a modded one. For a daily driven one with weekend fourby thrown in the maintanance is pretty much every week

[Gwagensteve]

Sideways nails it with the tech. That's pretty much everything you need to know., along with this: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=52270

No offence WattsieJase, but I don't know what "weapon" means. I guess, at best, it means it's likely to be more capable than your current car. That's easy with either a Jimny or Sierra and mild modifications.

Sierras and Jimny's aren't like big cars - Suzuki owners adjust gearing to suit tyre size and improve off road performance. Mostly, big car owners live with poor gearing (and might make small adjustments) and increase power to overcome the effect of larger tyres. Very few big cars (Late model Defender and JK Rubicon being exceptions) are properly geared for off road work)

Whilst there might be some benefit in a 2" lift, neither a Sierra or Jimny functions properly with 3" of (suspension) lift. The increased spring rates required to maintain the increased ride height reduces flex, reduces ride quality, and reduces stability. In any case, suspension lift doesn't have anything to do with fitting bigger tyres, only bumpstop spacing, guard cutting, or body lift provide room for larger tyres. Remember too that a 31" tyre is 20% bigger than a factory tyre on a Sierra. That's like putting 37's on your prado, and while, as you can imagine, it makes the cars very capable and is quite easy to achieve on a Sierra, it does require gearing and possibly some driveline upgrades, depending on your use.

I'm not sure where you're located, but I'd recommend hooking up with a local suzuki club before you decide how to build a car. Sierras, in particular, are so much more capable than a larger car if properly built and driven it's hilarious, however, lots of people apply the same mods they'd apply to a big car, smash their way around in a poorly geared, overloaded, car, and then loose interest when it's unreliable or broken. In a club environment, you'll be able to learn from very experienced builders and see first hand what works and what doesn't, and how to drive these cars.

[vet 180]

Sierra if you want to tinker, fabricate a little and go bigger than 30's.

Jimny if you just want simple mods, drive, enjoy and are happy with 30's.

Both cars are very fun and enjoyable.