Exhaust: Kakimoto GTBox 06&S
Almost everywhere I went after I got the Jimny people kept asking if it was electric – mostly cause it was so quiet! I decided to remedy this with an aftermarket exhaust.
BuT hOw DoEs It SoUnD!!!!!11!!!1!!!!
Almost everyone asks first how it sounds, so here’s some tests recorded via gopro suction cupped to the window for some POV action.
It also sounds good ripping through a bit of stuff offroad.
It sounds really, really nice. I’ve heard a few other aftermarket exhausts for the Jimny and I’m really happy I pulled the trigger on this one. Zero regrets.
Fitting stuff
Fitting it wasn’t hard at all, about a 30 minute job. Rottweiler for scale as to the size of the package it came in. He’s a big dog though, so it’s clearly a big package.
The midpipe is the vast majority of the package though.
It almost exactly follows the routing of the factory pipe.
Pretty easy to fit, start at the front and work backwards to remove the standard exhaust and reverse that for fitting the new one.
A bit of silicone spray helps encourage the rubber hangers off.
The hangers do come off relatively easily although my car was < 6 months old at this point. Maybe they’ll be worse on a newer car.
There is a good size difference in the pipework and also the muffler itself, but nothing huge where it’d be a problem to fit in the car either.
Hangers obviously need to be swapped over to the new exhaust before you put the stuff under the car.
I found it easier with the car’s axles weighted to get the midpipe through, interestingly enough. The movement forwards as the axle comes down made it a bit more annoying to route despite having more room.
The front bolts when refitting need to have a washer put underneath them; these washers are supplied with the exhaust.
All goes back on fairly easily really since it follows the factory routing.
There is also a supplied gasket for the rear of the midpipe to join to the back section. Remember to put this in!
Once all fitted all you really see is the large tip, which I actually quite like the look of even if it is a bit incongruous on a 4wd.
As noted, I had it rerouted with the midpipe to suit the 80L Long Ranger tank. No details of doing this, I paid someone to do it and they did a good job, though I’ve never photographed it as I instantly buried the car in mud afterwards and it looks less nice like that.
I also had to trim the rear mudflaps to make them work with the muffler, no biggie.
The FAQs cause I get so many Qs about the exhaust
To answer most of the questions I get about it:
Where did you get it? How much was freight?
I bought it pre covid, so stuff was different. I’d search Kakimoto GTBox 06&S and see what you can find.
Does it make more power?
I really don’t think it does. It sounds meaner and so I rev the car more which makes the car faster, though.
Does it make the fuel economy worse/better?
It’s worse because it sounds awesome and I rev it more. If I drive it sensibly I get the economy I got before installing it, though. It’s not better, and it’s not worse. Just sounds amazing and that’s what matters.
Aren’t you worried about ruining it offroad?
Mud and stuff just adds character. It’s tucked up really well and I’ve not caught it on anything; there’s other bits of the car that would get caught before it did.