KYB Skorched4 shocks for the Jimny JB74: what we found after running them hard
We fit a lot of kilometres on South Island roads every year. When stock suspension feels unsettled, it shows up everywhere: highways, gravel, hairpins. This is what changed when we committed to KYB Skorched4 on our own JB74s.
Why the stock shocks are a known weak point
The Jimny's short wheelbase and relatively high centre of gravity make it sensitive to shock absorber quality. The factory units are soft and underdamped. That is fine when you are crawling off-road or pottering around town. It is less comfortable on gravel at touring pace, or on the open road where small corrections add up. Most JB74 owners notice it eventually. It is a well-known characteristic of the platform, not a defect in your particular car.
What we tested and why we picked KYB Skorched4
We did not land on KYB Skorched4 from a catalogue search. We tried several paths, including other aftermarket brands and different tuning philosophies. Some setups felt too stiff for long days on broken seal. Others improved one kind of road and gave ground away on another.
Skorched4 stood out because the damping feels deliberate: it controls body motion without erasing the Jimny's personality. You still know you are in a light 4WD. You just stop fighting it on every mid-corner correction or gravel ripple.
The real-world difference
On the highway, the steering column does less of that lazy wander over joints and camber changes. On gravel, the chassis absorbs high-frequency chatter instead of skipping across it, so the car tracks straighter with smaller inputs. In corners, especially linked bends, the body settles sooner and there is less of the slow secondary roll that makes passengers brace.
This is not a sports car conversion. It is closer to what you expect from a sorted small 4WD: predictable, calm, and easier to place accurately without thinking about suspension every kilometre.
Who should buy these
If your JB74 spends real time on highways, gravel, or mountain passes, this is one of the most meaningful bolt-on changes you can make without altering ride height. It is also worth considering if you simply find the standard ride mentally tiring: the constant micro-corrections, the way the body takes a beat to decide where it wants to be.
If you only crawl technical tracks at walking pace and you like the soft stock feel, you might not need them. That use case plays to what the factory shocks were optimised around.
Installation
Plan for roughly an hour if you are comfortable with basic suspension work. You will want a jack, axle stands, and normal hand tools. The rear top mounts can be awkward for a straight spanner; a 17mm ratchet spanner saves patience. No specialist gear is required.
Specs and pricing
Fits the Suzuki Jimny JB74 in both 3-door and 5-door body styles. The kit is a full set: two front shocks and two rear shocks. Current pricing on our shop is $1,195 NZD including delivery within New Zealand, with AfterPay available at checkout.
View the product page on shop.jimny.co.nz
Ready to order?
Start on the sales page for the short version, or go straight to Shopify for checkout.