https://www.instagram.com/zoooky_/ - Sporting our Carbon CW-12KV3 in an Ironman Bullbar.
The JB74 Suzuki Jimny is a revelation in modern offroad vehicle options. Holding true to it's origins, with a super light weight ladder chassis construction, real 4x4 drivetrain with low range transfer case, solid axles and a spritely 1.3L injected motor, it's no wonder this little pocket rocket has got zook fans of old, and new excited about the prospects and opportunities this model offers in the swath of large 4x4 wagons and dual cabs which dominate the offroad scene.
The Jimny is the breath of fresh air we needed to get excited about offroading again.
This is coming straight from a self confessed zook nut of old, the first zook I owned was a 1990 1.3L Widetrack hardtop sierra, it was bought when I was around 16 and I pretty much learnt to cut doughies in the farm and get up to all sorts of other mischief in it. I sold this little ripper and came back to the brand after buying an MK Patrol and then a VL Commodore...the usual life cycle of an 18 year old kit growing up on the outskirts of Melbourne in West Gippsland. Did I want to go fast or go offroad? Well the end result was another zook, a soft top 1.3L widetrack again, after years of trolling Auszookers Forum before the days of facebook, we learnt a lot about modding these things.
When it came to winches there were two theories, the purist theory of keeping it super light weight and no winch, or a very small ATV winch or a full size 4x4 winch to pull out the patrols and cruisers that kept getting bogged behind us.
Here at Carbon Offroad we offer a few options for the Jimny owner that might be thinking about installing a winch. Here's a quick rundown:
- Want fast performance? The Scout Pro 9000lb Ultra Fast Extreme Duty winch offers 7HP series wound power with a super quick 104:1 three stage planetary gear ratio. https://carbonoffroad.com.au/collections/4x4-winches/products/carbon-scout-pro-9-0-extreme-duty-9000lb-ultra-high-speed-electric-winch
- If you give us the secret handshake, for an extra $150 we can upgrade your gearset to a ridiculously fast 80:1 gear ratio. Just ask at the time or purchase.
- Want the ultimate reliability? The CW-12KV3 series winches are the lightest full size 4x4 winch on the market, this winch will bolt into pretty much any commercially available jimny bullbar on the market, offers insane 12000lb single line pull, if you wheel with bigger rigs it's a good option. Available in mulitple hook colour options, check them out here: https://carbonoffroad.com.au/collections/4x4-winches
- Want the super light weight option? The Carbon CW-TK6 6000lb ATV size winch is the perfect super light option for your Jimny. This winch will require your winch mounting plate to be redrilled for the smaller winch mounting footprint. Our recommendations for a slick fitout for this winch:
- Install the CW-TK6 with the supplied mounting plate and fairlead inside your bar directly to the winch cradle.
- Run the rope out through the bullbar rope outlet
- Purchase an additional standard 10 inch 4x4 winch fairlead and bolt that onto your bar. Install the hook and you are good to go.
- This will give you a factory look from the outside and allow the rope to be guided properly onto the winch drum via the large bullbar fairlead and then the smaller ATV fairlead mounted inside the bullbar.
The team at Carbon Offroad are happy to help with any unique setup. With plenty of crew fitting winches to Jimnys we thought we would answer this question on a blog to help all those thinking about what your best options might be for your situation.