Any 4wd'rs in the house??

[Demon]

im looking to get a 4wd in the next few days/week so im after some advice etc on vehicles. i dont have much to spend (approx 2.5k max).
i have been trolling TM the last few days trying to find nice examples (and by nice imean will get the job done)

heres a couple that iv been looking at
pros and cons???!
surfs - always liked them
Toyota Hilux Surf 1989 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand
Pajero's - prone to tipping due to being top heavy?
Mitsubishi Pajero 1988 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand
Terannos - pain in the ass to work on??
Nissan terrano 1990 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

[DrRubber]

suzuki ftmfw

TradeMe.co.nz - escudo for sale, New Zealand

[VTAKYO]

My brother has got hardcore into it, is out most sundays and does competitions. Got a 93 Hilux Surf with 3.0L Diesel Turbo and has built it up a bit. Spent well over a grand on a lift kit; with uprated shocks, reset front leaves, and upgraded springs. Has done about 180kms, and we have just done a full fluids change, replaced the front diff after he blew it doing a offroad competition, added an aftermarket snorkel system, and got 15x8s with massive wrangler tyres. Does the trick really well. Cost 4g for the base... not hell tidy, but who cares!

From what we have found, this simple setup hands it down in competitions to others in Suzukis (too light, not enough power), Nissan Terranos/Patrols (they just don't have the ground clearance), etc. The other guys in the club are pretty impressed at how it goes for such a simple setup. It is auto too.

I think Macro is really into it too.

[Demon]

Originally Posted by badcf4

suzuki ftmfw

TradeMe.co.nz - escudo for sale, New Zealand

lol go go tincan

what sort of engine are they? 1.6l nothing?? deisel??? , turbo????

[SLOTEG]

been doin some bush bashing with the boys alot lately, there is a MASSIVE set of tracks 2min from town down the river (and the motox track late at night) that we can spend a whole weekend exploring. most of the guys have trademe specials that are basically standard but with a bit of effort can go almost anywhere.
one guy has a suzi with a 1600cc engine in it, just revs the fuck outa it and drives it like a crazy man, he only has real problems with digging out of holes or thick mud as he has NO TORQUE!
im looking at getting a half decent one too for stomping around and towing trailers n shit

[DC2r]

Toyota hilux's are a good base to start off with, i had a 1990 toyota hilux surf.. good 4wd, reliable and has good 4wd potential, only thing to loook out for is the heads, as they have a tendancy to overheat and warp... a 2.5' exhaust and larger dumppipe will sort that out to take the heat strain off the motor.

go to offroad express, awesome forums, guys are real helpful and theres plenty of threads as to what to get for your first 4wd..

[DrRubber]

Originally Posted by Demon

lol go go tincan

what sort of engine are they? 1.6l nothing?? deisel??? , turbo????

heh, dont knock one till you try one.....we went out 4wding and they were doing less slip sliding around on an 80/20 tyre than a pajero with pirelli scopions !!!

bang for buck those escudos can fuckin go anywhere really......think most are 1800cc NA or maybe 1600........

Everyone that went out that day commented as to how well they performed in the conditions

[WingIt]

Originally Posted by VTAKYO

From what we have found, this simple setup hands it down in competitions to others in Suzukis (too light, not enough power), Nissan Terranos/Patrols (they just don't have the ground clearance), etc. The other guys in the club are pretty impressed at how it goes for such a simple setup. It is auto too.

I think you will find that bang for buck you cant really beat a suzuki, with a decent driver behind the wheel a completely stock one can still show up some modified trucks.
My uncle uses one for superwinch etc and it is unstoppable (except when you roll down a bank 23 times ) granted that he has now just put a 3.8 commowhore engine in.

Also the short wheel base Safari (might as well be a patrol) is another extremely competitve base, lots of torque and lots of parts.


In saying that, if it was me I would get either a Hilux Ute or a surf (surf are cheaper for some reason?) the 2.4L motor can throw a wobbly every now and again though (dont worry I have a nice decent 3L turbo here you can have for $2500 )

[XPLOIT]

Dude, LADA NIVA.

End.Of.Story.

LADA NIVA 1600 1991 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

Lada Niva 1600 1987 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

[WingIt]

Originally Posted by XPLOIT

Dude, LADA NIVA.

End.Of.Story.

LADA NIVA 1600 1991 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

Lada Niva 1600 1987 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

Depends if you want to go up and down hills, or just down them

[Logger]

Originally Posted by XPLOIT

Dude, LADA NIVA.

End.Of.Story.

LADA NIVA 1600 1991 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

Lada Niva 1600 1987 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand

You never cease to amaze me

[Danielle]

Hilux wins hands down in my book.

[WAR TYM]

hilux or surf !!!

slap some 33" tyres on with a 2" lift and your sorted

or a suzuki with some mud 31" tyres & lift

[STina]

Originally Posted by Demon

lol go go tincan

what sort of engine are they? 1.6l nothing?? deisel??? , turbo????

Both my sister and missus had one they 1.6 (3 door) pretty good, neither had any mechanical issues (g/f had hers for 4 years, sisters had hers for about 5now), Do mean burn outs RWD selector and get sideways in the wet When we were in tekaha had an awesome time using it to drive up rivers and stuff. Only bad thing tyres are a bit pricey but the same with any 4x4

[Baz]

Chevrolet Blazer 1978 for sale - TradeMe.co.nz - New Zealand


Haha looks like a Monster-truck

[SLOTEG]

been offered cash, a scooter and a pretty wicked 4x4 for my teg.....
hmmmmm

[XPLOIT]

Originally Posted by WingIt

Depends if you want to go up and down hills, or just down them

Originally Posted by Logger

You never cease to amaze me

Ben, If I didnt have the Austin(s).... I would have a Niva.

Im being dead serious too.

Dont be put off by the name Lada, the Niva is actually a very good 4WD.
(Just ignore the part in one of those auctions where it says "Lots of rust in body, if its not rusted, it will be bogged")

From the situation I know for Mike (Demon), I think it would be a really good choice.

They ARE reliable, believe it or not. The will show up a lot of heavier 4WD in places you couldnt normally go. They are light, good on gas, fast 'enough' (Used loosly)

They are VERY cheap, this is good because you can easily use the extra money on modifing them (Or fixing them when need be).

A few simple 4WD mods will turn one of these into a weapon.

If I was to recommend something else, then a 88 Landcruiser 2 Door MWB with a 13B-T would be the way to go. Dad has one which is near factory and it is awesome. 46x,xxx ks on it now

I think you will be hard pressed to find a Landcruiser or any other descent 4WD for 2.5K. You have to start small.

[Andrew]

SOLID FRONT AXLE.

If you are serious about 4WDing then DO NOT GET INDEPENDENT FRONT SUSPENSION. A solid front axle outweighs IFS in every way except on road driving, if you just want to drive over the occasional bit of dirt and grass then they are perfect. Any big ruts or serious articulation then the suspension lets the truck down. Only thing is, with your budget you're kinda limiting yourself to IFS trucks.



Nothing wrong at all with Suzis, we have a few in our group and they keep up with the big trucks no problems. They are light and even the 410s which have a 1litre engine go well provided you're not scared to rape the living shit out of it. If you go bigger in tyres then make sure you have at least a 413 (1300cc) for that extra oomph. Aftermarket for Suzis is massive and surprisingly cheap.

Safari is a good base but you need to spend a bit of cash to get it up to spec, 35" tyres are the norm as well as a 5" lift - 2" body and 3" suspension. Driving a mates one offroad just recently and I hate to say but I enjoyed driving the Nissan piece of shit. Sure it had extractors and full exhaust but just torque on demand and quite light on steering and very nimble for a slug. You're looking around 4-5G for a standard one though.

Hilux can't go wrong but once again, SOLID FRONT AXLE. Long wheelbase doesn't really matter much as they are spring over axle so plenty of ground clearance. 2.4 turbo diesel is just a piece of shit, I have one in my little truck and it is just poos, no torque, no go when the pedal is hammered and even running open wastegate (14psi) it just makes more noise. You can play around with them a bit but at the end of the day you're trying to polish a turd. They still get the job done and I have huge amounts of fun in mine.

Landcruiser - The almighty Toyota. Older ones are still holding their value so I wont go on about them, the newer ones (mine is a 1990) are over $10,000 so maybe pass on them. Magnificent vehicles though, tow the arse end off a dead rhino.

Isuzu Mus are actually a surprise, they go really well offroad depsite being IFS, they haul arse too if you're that sort of driver.

As for mods, most trucks will take up to a 31" tyre without much trouble. You might have guard rub on full articulation but nothing serious. A 2" body lift is the norm and helps greatly with rubbing. Suspension lifts are either reset leaf springs or extended shocks and springs.

As for tyres, there are ATs which are all terrain tyres with are pretty much 95% road 5% off road. MT tyres have a slightly more open and aggressive tread pattern and are probably 75%/25% as they still have good road driving abilities.

When you get into offroad tyres there are too many choices, Wranglers/Maxxis/Mickey Thompson/Silverstone/Simex

I have Wranglers on my little truck and they are alright, they are quite hard to empty of mud (spin them fast and the mud flies out opening up tread to have another bite) and on my truck in particular I have to drop them right down to 10-15psi for them to work better.

Simexs are the extreme other end:



And are the mack daddy when it comes to mud. I just picked up a set off trademe and hope to have them on my little truck in a couple of weeks.

When it comes to mud, you're screwed if you have smaller tyres then everyone else because they will go through and dig big ruts and you'll just belly out on your diffs.

Anyway back to what I was originally going to say, fuck yea get a 4WD mean fun way better then Hondas





And for gods sake if you get a Niva I swear I will drive all the way down there and ram it with my landcruiser tip it on its roof and burn it.

Just like the one that drove with us.

Although even after being shot up with a .22 it still ran?

[Logger]

Totally agree with you on the little Suzukis Andrew. A mate had one and it would regularly show up the bigger gear. Took a hammering and was piss easy to fix. Might be a wee bit small for what Mike is after but I could be wrong?

[Andrew]

The last time I was off road I hopped in a Samurai (wider axle 413 Suzi) and it was horrible after driving around in my big Landcruiser but thats just one extreme to another - coil sprung long wheel base 3 tonne to a leaf sprung short wheelbase 1 tonner.

But Suzis just float over most of the shit out there..

[DrRubber]

I found them really impressive but your right andrew if your getting serious then solid axle ftw.........speaking of tyres I have acess to silverstone 4wd tyres now and they are well priced......very similar to the extreme trekker you pictured

[WingIt]

My uncle in ChCh as a Suzuki 410 with 2 Datsun 1400cc engines and twin steer. might be for sale too......

Not road registered though

[Andrew]

Yeah but Silverstones are just the poor mans Simex They also measure 1" under advertised size.

I got the Simexs deals off trademe so all good can't wait. I'm just worried that they will be not much bigger then the Wranglers I have now Simexs measure 1" over advertised size.

Can you do heavy duty tubes with quick dump valves?

[SLOTEG]

ok the truck im looking at as a part swap for the teg has a solid front axle (looks like a rear axle) with manual front hubs?
L200 with a petrol engine, body lift, big fuck off tires, goes all sorts of places. only thing im worried about is drowning it.



last summer the boys bought a written off terrano diesel, took all the windows out, welded the doors shut and fitted a home made snorkel that was a metre above the roofline. they had the thing submerged and it still ran