002

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T H E C U L T O F O F F R O A D

XCLASS

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THE GVM ARTICLE THREE CUSTOM 4X4s NAVARA REVIEWED 3 CUSTOM 4X4s

ISSUE 002

SWITCH OFF

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THE KICK OFF

Blowing hot air...

We remain humbled by the flood of kind words from

countless strangers (and friends) and the incredible level of

interest that issue 001 of this magazine generated. It surpassed

even our wildest expectations. We’ve clearly hit a nerve or two in

the 4WD media world, but we expected that. The time for change

is here, and we’re the tip of the spear.

Issue 002 of the only 4WD magazine that you can trust is

packing some serious content. Brendan’s GVM article isn’t the

first on the subject, but it’s without question the best and the

most accurate. If you tow or load your 4X4 to the gunwales, this

article is a must-read.

We’ve reviewed three versions of the Navara. The recently

updated Navara, a TJM Navara and the Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

Okay, to be fair, that’s two Navara’s and a nicely sorted Mercedes-

Benz that shares a basic chassis and drivetrain with the Navara.

The X-Class is next level, and that’s the truth.

Rick our ‘oil guy’ is back, there’s a bunch of opinion pieces

that you may or may not agree with, some Isuzu 4X4s in the

High Country and a guide to the Kalumburu area as well. We’ve

borrowed ‘12-volt Vince’ from Battery World, and he’ll be powering

up each issue with some really interesting 12-volt tech info.

Our three featured 4X4s this issue include the best riding 4X4

we’ve ever experienced, the smallest 4X4 you can currently buy

and one of the largest 4X4s getting around.

We also welcome seasoned writer, adventurer and 4WDer

Ray Cully to the fold. Ray’s got a bit to say about Outback WA and

his incurable vehicular obsession; he’ll be joining us on a regular

basis in future issues.

In other news, we’ve decided to go bi-monthly, and that

means issue 003 will be out at the end of June!

As was the case when we hit the button to launch the first

issue, the success of this magazine is in your hands. If you like

what we’re doing here, then please consider subscribing. If you

want to give us a piece of your mind, point us towards a 4X4 we

should feature or just want to say g’day, then please click here to

get in touch.

We hope you enjoy this issue!

CONTENTS

News and products

New 4X4 sales: First quarter 2018

Isuzu D-MAX/MU-X: MY18 upgrades

Ranger Raptor: Big truck small donk

X-Class: On sale now

The good gear: stuff you need to know about

Special features

Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM): The definitive article

Volts with Vince: An introduction to batteries

Rick the oil guy: Oil and grease basics

WA Outback: The need for change

Reviews

Mercedes-Benz X-Class Power

Loaded 4X4s

006 Chev Silverado custom: Bill’s big bastard

007 Toyota FJ custom: Smooth brew

008 Supercharged Jimny: Zook speed

Columns

Steane Klose: 4WD of the year awards are rubbish

David Wilson: The great towing lie

Ray Cully: Who is Ray Cully?

Nick Kotter: Mall Crawlers

Remote access

High Country: With Isuzu’s I-Venture Club

Kalumburu: A guide to the Kalumburu area

Updated Nissan Navara ST

TJM Nissan Navara ST-X

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NEWS: 4X4 SALES

SHOWDOWN!

Australian 4X4 sales in 2018

Ford’s Ranger was the biggest selling 4X4 in Australia in

2017. Remarkably, sales of the Ranger in the first quarter of this

year (9,457 sales) are up almost 20 percent on its first quarter

2017 result (8,022 sales). And while that is a bloody impressive

increase, the HiLux has done better. Sales of the HiLux 4X4

(9,361 sales) in the first quarter of this year, trail the Ranger by a

paltry 96 units but represent a heroic 25.5 percent increase over

the HiLux’s first quarter result in 2017 (7,459 units). Toyota has

three new HiLux variants about to launch – Rugged, Rugged X

and Rogue – so don’t be thinking that the Ranger has this year

VS

done and dusted just yet. Or has it? The radical Raptor version

of the Ranger is expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter and

with pricing starting at $74,990, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t

fly out of Ford dealerships, literally.

Mitsubishi’s Triton (5,735 sales) and Nissan’s Navara (4,043

sales) have both jumped out of the blocks in 2018 and posted

substantial sales increases when compared to their 2017 first

quarter results. The Triton’s popularity will have a lot to do with

discounting and the Navara, now that its rear end is fixed, may

just be turning the corner for Nissan. Have a read of David’s

Navara review in this issue for the latest on what he thinks is the

best riding dual-cab 4X4 ute on the market, at least prior to the

launch of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

Both Isuzu models, the D-MAX ute (2,762 sales) and the MU-X

wagon (1,976 sales) deserve a mention as the two-model brand

continues to punch above its weight. Both models are well up

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

NEWS: 4X4 SALES

Top 10 best selling 4X4 utes first quarter 2018

ALL NEW

Position MAKE/MODEL YEAR TO DATE 2018 YEAR TO DATE 2017

1 Ford Ranger 4X4 9,457 8,022

2 Toyota HiLux 4X4 9,361 7,459

3 Mitsubishi Triton 4X4 5,735 5,075

4 Nissan Navara 4X4 4,043 3,142

5 Holden Colorado 4X4 3,459 4,102

6 Isuzu D-MAX 4X4 2,762 2,221

7 Mazda BT-50 4X4 2,175 2,312

8 Toyota LandCruiser PU/CC 2,157 1,806

9 VW Amarok 4X4 1,842 2,024

10 LDV T60 4X4 528 0

on their 2017 first-quarter sales performance, and the MU-X is

leading the ute-based wagon sales race, well clear of the Ford

Everest (1,400 sales), the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (1,947 sales)

and the Toyota Fortuner (790 sales). Toyota’s Fortuner price

tweaking – they lopped $5,000 or so off the pricing last year –

seems to be working to a degree as the Fortuner is ahead of

its 2017 first quarter result by 318 sales. I’m willing to bet that

Toyota shoppers looking for a 4X4 wagon are passing over the

Fortuner for the Prado.

The biggest losers? Well, the top gong for that award goes to

the Holden Colorado. Colorado (3,459 sales) is down 643 sales

on the same period in 2017, and for the first time in quite a while,

it’s been outsold by the Navara. The Trailblazer (632 sales) ute

based version of the Colorado is also having a lack-lustre start to

2018, down 123 sales. Land Rover either has a supply problem,

or the Kardashians have stopped snapchatting their whips. First

quarter sales of the Discovery Sport (865 sales) are down 602

sales compared to the same period in 2017, and the Range Rover

Sport (692 sales) is down 343 sales.

BUILT RUGGED

FOR ANY TERRAIN.

LEARN MORE OR FIND YOUR NEAREST

DEALER AT TOYOTIRES.COM.AU

WE ARE TOYO. ALL OR NOTHING.

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Top 20 best selling 4X4s first quarter 2018

Position MAKE/MODEL YEAR TO DATE 2018 YEAR TO DATE 2017

1 Ford Ranger 4X4 9,457 8,022

2 Toyota HiLux 4X4 9,361 7,459

3 Mitsubishi Triton 4X4 5,735 5,075

4 Toyota Prado 4,169 3,766

5 Nissan Navara 4X4 4,043 3,142

6 Holden Colorado 4X4 3,459 4,102

7 Toyota LandCruiser wagon 3,288 2,851

8 Isuzu D-MAX 4X4 2,762 2,221

9 Mazda BT-50 4X4 2,175 2,312

10 Toyota LandCruiser PU/CC 2,157 1,806

11 Isuzu UTE MU-X* 1,976 1,537

12 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 1,947 2,158

13 Volkswagen Amarok 1,842 2,024

14 Ford Everest* 1,400 888

15 Jeep Grand Cherokee 999 1,129

16 Mitsubishi Pajero 882 1,212

17 Land Rover Disco Sport 865 1,467

18 Toyota Fortuner 790 472

19 Land Rover RR Sport 692 1,035

20 Holden Trailblazer 632 755

Jeep sales continue to languish in the doldrums, but we’re

hopeful that this year will be a better one for the iconic off-road

brand, as their new ‘There and Back’ warranty and fresh product

reinvigorates buyers.

There have been 61,344 new 4X4s sold in the first three

months of this year, and that’s up 6,000 sales on 2017. It seems

our love affair with the 4X4 is only growing stronger.

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D-MAX

&MU-X

MY18 upgrades

More comfort

More equipment

More kms between services

Isuzu Ute Australia (IUA)

launched its revised MY18 lineup

in April with some useful

upgrades across its two model -

D-MAX and MU-X – vehicle range.

A new top-spec LS-T

variant of the D-MAX has been

introduced and is available with

either 4X4 or 4X2 drivetrains.

The LS-T adds 18” alloy wheels,

sat nav and roof rails along with

push-button start and keyless

entry. A leather accented interior

is standard. The soft-touch dash

and interior upgrades introduced

with the MY17 MU-X now carry

over to the LS crew cab D-MAX

range, and that means padded

door armrests and a padded

centre console lid/armrest;

a simple upgrade that will be

welcomed by the ute driving sore

elbow brigade.

D-MAX is also the recipient

of a rear suspension upgrade,

with Isuzu replacing the old

five-leaf rear spring packs with

a three-leaf pack, said to be

manufactured from higher quality

materials. IUA claim that there

has been no decrease in towing

ability, one of the D-MAX’s known

strong points, and a noticeable

increase in driveability and ride

comfort. We’ve driven the MY17

and MY18 D-MAX back-to-back,

across a variety of terrains, and

there is an immediately obvious

improvement in rear suspension

compliance and ride quality.

We also suspect that the more

compliant spring will aid traction

off-road, and we’ll be putting that

to the test around our Barossa

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

NEWS: ISUZU MY18 UPDATES

MY18 D-MAX and MU-X have

been extended from 10,000kms

to 15,000kms, that together with

the MY18 Isuzu capped priced

servicing plan limits servicing

costs for the first five years or

75,000kms to $2,090.

Three new colours have been

introduced to the MY18 D-MAX

Valley test track in time to report

the findings in issue 003.

For those of you thinking that

the move to a three-leaf spring

will have the D-MAX resting on

its haunches when the Jayco is

hooked up, fear not. Isuzu gave

the press a chance to sample the

load carrying and towing ability

of the MY18 D-MAX at the recent

launch event, and the D-MAX

remains just as capable in this

regard as it ever was. Neither

600kg of ballast in the tub of one

D-MAX or 1,700kg of Bar Crusher

boat hooked up to another,

seemed to bother their stance.

Offering further assistance and

a higher level of safety to those

that tow, is the across the board

fitment of Trailer Sway Control

to the entire MY18 D-MAX and

MU-X range. All MY18 D-MAX

ute models now feature a rear

bumper and reversing camera.

In addition to the suspension

tweaks, Isuzu’s engineers have

managed to sign off on an

additional 100kg of payload

carrying capacity across the crew

cab ute range, with the GVM of

4X2 models increasing to 2,950kg

and 4X4 models to 3,050kg.

Service intervals for both the

range, including Magnetic Red

Mica, Cobalt Blue Mica and

Graphite Grey Metallic. The MY18

MU-X is also available in the new

Magnetic Red Mica.

The launch of Isuzu’s MY18

range in April took place at the

Mt Cotton driver training centre

in Brisbane, where Isuzu bravely

let journos – who talk faster

than they can drive – punt Team

Top: New three-leaf rear spring

offers up a smoother ride both

on and off-road. We’ll be doing

some more thorough off-road

testing and reporting back in

June. Left and below: Interior of

new top-spec LST D-MAX. Note

the soft touch interior features,

that are now found in all LS

crew-cab models.

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NEW

2018

range

OU T NO W!

RENEGADE

black machine face and

satin black all over

4WD & SUV

D-MAX cars around motorkhana

and drift courses. Team D-MAX’s

professional drivers ran the

bitumen based drive sections of

the launch. You’ve probably seen

them at 4WD shows and events

they attend around the country,

drifting, jumping cars, driving on

two wheels and performing a

whole bunch of precision driving

miracles. One of the owners of

the team - which runs D-MAXs

exclusively - was asked how

often they have to replace the

cars and the answer sums up

the enduring appeal of the Isuzu

product. The D-MAXs are only

replaced when a significant

model upgrade is released and

its normal for them to be ‘on tour’

with Team D-MAX for three years

at a time, after which they are

sold off in perfect working order

because nothing ever breaks.

Not gearboxes, clutches, wheel

bearings or engines. Nothing.

And that’s remarkable given the

regular spanking that these utes

are being given.

View the 2018 CSA

WHEEL CATALOGUE

Find your nearest

DEALER

Visit us online at

CSADIRECT.COM.AU

RAPTOR RANT

LOADED 4X4 FAKE NEWS: RAPTORNOT?

The Ranger Raptor is big news, quite possibly the biggest

news this year. You’ve all seen it by now, so we won’t pretend that

it’s just out and our scoop, instead we’ll take a quick and maybe

slightly tongue-in-cheek look at Ford Australia’s soon to be new

hero car. We’ll leave you to work out what’s what.

So far this year, our hugest Faceplant post was the Ranger

Raptor reveal. In true Loaded 4X4 fashion, we slapped it up on

Facebook two days late - cos there is real shyte in life to be

getting on with - but that Ranger Raptor post thumbed its nose

at us, laughed and went a bit mental. And the overwhelming

response from the digital peanut gallery was? “What were they

thinking with that little engine?” Good question eh?

Aussies like big engines in their mid-sized 4X4s. That’s why

Ranger 4X4s outsold EVERY other 4X4 last year. It’s why the

2.0-litre Amarok has failed to launch, and I’d be willing to bet it’s

part of the reason behind the 2.3-litre Navara’s recent fall from

grace. So why did Ford choose 2.0-litres of EcoBlue Transit van

metal to base the Raptor’s heart on? It could have boosted the

current five-cylinder 3.2-litre (although it is a development of a Land

Rover engine...) or even better, jammed in the F150 Raptor’s 3.5-litre

turbocharged Ecoboost petrol V6 and stolen the show with 335kW

and 690Nm of “oorah!” But no, the van engine was rolled out,

spruced up and bunged in; job done.

We don’t really know what the good folk at Ford were thinking,

but it seems to us that the Aussie obsession with cubic inches is

being ignored yet again. Maybe they just think Aussies are crap

drivers? More likely we are getting a Thai market hand-me-down

and North America will get the car we really want.

Whatever the case, it’s time to get used to smaller capacity

engines. They’re here to stay and if I swap my smarmy smartarse

hat for a serious one, for just a mo, I’d happily own a half-pint

Raptor with a moderately powerful little donk and a ten-speed auto,

but only if the full fat Ecoboost powered big daddy F150 Raptor

wasn’t available; and guess what, for us Aussies, it’s not. Check out

the next page to see what I’m banging on about here and go get

yourself a green card.

What’s the diff?

Hmmm...quite a bit actually.

LOADED 4X4 FAKE NEWS: RAPTORNOT?

Powered by

Powered by

Ranger Raptor

Available: In Australia later this year

Price: From AUD 74,990

Features:

• 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo diesel 157kW/500Nm; based on Ford’s EcoBlue

diesel range as found in the Transit van

• 10-speed auto

• Fox Racing Shox shock absorbers

• Watt’s linkage rear suspension with coilovers

• Modified chassis: increased strength and torsional rigidity

• 2WD with part-time 4WD drivetrain

• Terrain Management system

• Wide body styling

• Steel body

F150 Raptor

Available: In North America right now

Price: From USD 49,250 (AUD 64,531)

Features:

• 3.5-litre Ecoboost turbo petrol V6 producing 335kW/690Nm: based

on the 3.5-litre Ecoboost engine that powers the Ford GT.

• 10-speed auto

• Fox Racing Shox shock absorbers

• Leaf sprung rear suspension

• Modified chassis: increased strength and torsional rigidity

• AWD/4WD drivetrain

• Terrain Management system

• Wide body styling

• Aluminium body

NEWS: X-CLASS

XARRIVES

CLASS

Mercedes-Benz launched

its dual-cab X-Class ute range

in Australia this month, with its

sights – as you’d expect – firmly

set on creating a prestige niche

in the red-hot dual-cab 4X4 ute

segment. Priced from $45,540,

the X-Class is available in 13

model variants, which include

three model grades, two fourcylinder

diesel engines, styleside

or cab-chassis tray options and

a choice of manual or automatic

transmissions. We all know

that the X-Class is based on

the current Navara and uses

the Navara’s drivetrain, which

means a choice of a singleturbo

2.3-litre diesel in the X

220d or a twin-turbo version

of the same engine in the X

250d, with 120kW/403Nm and

140kW/450Nm respectively.

For those wanting a more

complete Mercedes-Benz

experience, the X 350d Mercedes-

Benz powered V6 version of the

X-Class with 190kW/550Nm, is

due later this year and it will be

the only V6 powered dual-cab ute

available in Australia with a lowrange

transfer case.

All X-Class variants include

seven airbags as standard, plus

autonomous emergency braking

(AEB), lane-keep assist, active

brake assist and tyre-pressure

monitoring. The X-Class is the

first of the dual-cab utes to

achieve a five-star ANCAP rating

under the new testing procedures,

which make autonomous

emergency braking mandatory for

a five-star rating.

There are three model grades

in the X-Class line-up; the entrylevel

Pure, mid-level Progressive

and the top-spec Power. The

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

ANCAP safety rating video for X-Class

$45,450 entry-level pricing buys

you the X220d, a rear-wheel-drive

only, 2.3-litre 120kW/403Nm

single turbo-diesel dual-cab cabchassis

ute that is only available

with a manual transmission.

The X 220d Pure comes with

17-inch steel wheels, a moulded

black front bumper, electric

rear view mirrors, and tie-down

points in the tray. Seats are cloth

trimmed, and the floor covering is

vinyl. Standard kit includes a 7.0-

inch colour display, a reversing

camera, air-conditioning, tyre

pressure monitoring, and lanekeep

assist. A $1300 Plus Pack

adds rear parking sensors and

external tub tie downs.

The X 250d Pure is the next

rung up the base model ladder.

Pricing starts at $51,450 (in

cab-chassis form) with the

higher price buying a twin-turbo

140kW and 450Nm version of

the 2.3-litre diesel and selectable

all-wheel drive as standard.

If you want the styleside ute,

the price rises to $52,400, and

opting for the 7-speed automatic

transmission – as most people

will – adds a further $2900.

The mid-spec X250d

Progressive starts at $53,950

as a cab chassis and $54,900

as a styleside, with the same

$2,900 premium for the auto. The

Progressive comes with colour-

coded bumpers, 17-inch alloy

wheels, heated exterior mirrors,

an insulated windscreen and

rain-sensing wipers. The floor is

carpeted, there’s a sat-nav system,

an improved eight-speaker stereo,

leather-trimmed steering wheel,

gear shifter and handbrake and

footwell lighting.

There are two option packages

available; a $1,750 Comfort Pack

that adds electric front seats, dualzone

climate control, man-made

leather seats and a storage net in

the passenger footwell. A $3,750

Style Pack adds LED headlamps

and brake lights, an electricallyoperated

rear window, tinted rear

windows, running boards, roof

rack and 18-inch alloys.

The top-shelf X250d Power is

only available with the styleside

ute back. The manual version is

priced from $61,600, and the auto

from $64,500.

Added extras include some

chrome on the front bumper,

a chrome rear bumper, LED

lighting and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Electrically-adjustable front

seats, keyless entry and start,

the Mercedes-Benz COMAND

infotainment system are also

standard fitment.

Click here to check out our

X-Class Power review.

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The GOOD GEAR

STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

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SPECIAL FEATURE: GVM

GVM

The definitive article

By Brendan O’Keefe

Has your 4X4 got a weight problem? Find out how much weight is too much, and which aftermarket

providers can beef up the sussy, so that you can keep packing the kitchen sink.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


The table

The Ranger

2018 RANGER WILDTRACK DC 3.2 FACTORY SPECS

GCM GVM Kerb weight Payload

6,000kg 3,200kg 2,250kg 950kg

APPROXIMATE WEIGHT OF COMMON ACCESSORIES

Accessory type

Weight

Bullbar, winch and driving lights

100kg

Steel side steps

40kg

Canopy

70kg

Rear drawers

50kg

Fridge and fridge slide

80kg

Rear bar/step/towbar

40kg

Total

525kg

Remaining available payload

425kg

GVM is the three-letter acronym striking fear into fleet

operators, four-wheel drivers and caravanners alike. While there

has been a lot of talk about vehicle capacities, there is still

a lot of confusion over what the Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM)

means and how it affects vehicle owners. The GVM is simply

the maximum amount your vehicle can legally weigh when fully

loaded. This capacity is set by the vehicle manufacturer and

includes everything on and in the vehicle like fuel, passengers,

luggage, accessories and even the trailer ball weight. The

problem facing many vehicle owners is the fact that factory

payloads are too low for the intended purposes of the vehicle.

Modifications like bullbars, winches, service bodies, long range

fuel tanks and drawer systems add a lot of weight to the vehicle

and cut into the precious payload. Whether you use the vehicle

for working or touring, it’s surprising how quickly the weight adds

up to, and often exceeds, the manufacture’s GVM.

To help explain the issues and solutions, we are going to be

using the 2018 Ford PX Ranger WILDTRAK 3.2 as the example

vehicle. We aren’t picking on the Ranger, all of these utes are

much of a muchness when it comes to the subject of this article.

The Ranger’s factory weight specifications are shown in the

above table, along with an example modification list summarising

average weights of common accessories. We’ll call it ‘the table’

and we’ll reference it from time to time in this article.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


LC79s following a GVM upgrade prior to first registration.

Four different Toyotas fitted with GVM

upgrades by The Ultimate Suspension

As ‘the table’ shows, a stock

Ranger, fitted with the usual

accessories, has a remaining

available payload of just 425kg

for occupants, additional loads

and trailer ball weight. Under

the National Code Of Practice

(NCOP), there should always be

an allowance for 68kg per adult

seating position and 13.6kg of

luggage per seat regardless

of whether you are using them

or not. For the Ford Ranger

Wildtrak, an additional 408kg

of the payload is instantly used

up due to the seating capacity.

This means there is only 17kg of

useable payload left for additional

luggage, accessories or a trailer

ball weight if applicable. You can

click here to view the relevant

NCOP section.

Exceeding the GVM is not only

potentially dangerous but also

illegal. If the vehicle is involved

in an incident while loaded over

the GVM, you will be charged and

may be in breach of conditions

set by fleet, finance and insurance

providers, work cover and

manufacturer’s warranty.

The solution to legally carry

more weight is a certified GVM

upgrade. This is an aftermarket

suspension system which has

been tested and approved

to increase the load carrying

capacity of the vehicle safely. The

correct GVM upgrade will provide

peace of mind, compliance and

improved handling and stability.

To help point you in the right

direction, this article will focus

on what type of upgrades are

available, where you can get

them done and how you go about

organising one.

GVM upgrades are split into

two different categories: Federal

and State Compliance.

Federal compliance

Federal compliance upgrades

must be fitted to vehicles before

they are registered. These

upgrades have been tested and

approved by the Vehicle Safety

Standards (VSS) branch of the

Federal Department of Transport

and Regional Development

(DTRD). Under the terms of this

approval, vehicles fitted with the

Federal Compliance upgrades

are legally recognised as having

undergone a second stage of

manufacture (SSM) rather than

an aftermarket modification. An

additional compliance plate is

fitted to the vehicle stating the

revised GVM. A replacement

axle ratings sticker will also be

fitted where applicable. The new

vehicle can now be registered

and legally operated up to the

new gross vehicle mass in all

states of Australia.

Federal compliance GVM upgrades

must be fitted prior to registration.

The process is recognised as a

second stage of manufacture (SSM).

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


to another state, or sometimes if the registration expires in

the original state. While there is a bit more involved with state

compliance upgrades, there are some benefits for consumers.

Benefits of state compliance upgrades

Applicable to a wider range of vehicles: A wider range of

vehicles can be engineered for a GVM increase. Depending on

the engineer, most vehicles can have their GVM increased to the

combined total front and rear axle capacity. This is often lower

than what is achieved in a Federal Compliance upgrade, but it still

makes a big difference and helps owners who have vehicles not

covered by Federal Compliance kits.

State compliance

Vehicles that have

already been registered can

still have GVM upgrades

fitted. In these cases, the

upgrade is considered to be

a modification and must be

independently tested and

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport engineered

under NSW state compliance for a

3” Ultimate Suspension/Karrman

4x4 lift kit and GVM upgrade to

2,850kg (Up 140kg from the factory

GVM of 2,710kg)

approved under the registered state’s compliance system. This

means the vehicle will need to be engineered by an approved

signatory once the kit is fitted. The requirements for engineering

differ between states. Please contact your State’s Transport

Authority for a list of certified engineers and clarification on what

is required to perform a GVM upgrade.

The term ‘state compliance’ causes a lot of confusion. To

make it clear, state compliance means the vehicle was engineered

under a specific state’s compliance scheme. The approval still

covers the vehicle while driving in any state or territory in Australia,

as long as the registration is still current in the original state.

The only issue that arises from state compliance is the need

to re-engineer the vehicle if the registration is being transferred

Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series fitted with a Driveline

Services DURASHOCK SMART GVM Upgrade to 3,800kg

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


Loading up 4X4 utes is as Aussie as cheating at cricket. We buy

them because we want to take everything away with us, including

the proverbial ‘kitchen sink’. What’s that behind the spare?

Other mods can be certified at the same time: A lot of

vehicle owners don’t realise that common modifications like

performance upgrades, long-range fuel tanks or the removal of

rear seats for permanent drawer systems require engineering

in most states. All of these modifications can be included on a

single engineering compliance certificate. You just need to make

sure that all of your modifications are within the letter of the

law. It is not uncommon for a vehicle to fail or delay engineering

approval because other parts do not comply with regulations

(e.g. oversized tyres or missing/incorrect size mud-flaps).

Correctly tuned suspension: As the vehicle is already registered,

the suspension can be tuned to suit the exact weight and

application, but a word of warning on this assumption. Some

states’ mod codes require the exact components to be fitted per

the SSM approval and that might require the use of specific kits

with pre-determined part numbers. This can result in a suspension

package that is miss-matched for your specific vehicle. For

example, if you require a GVM for a heavy service body, but are not

fitting a bullbar or winch, your vehicle may sit too high and ride too

firm, if the upgrade uses a raised height heavy-duty front coil.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


Towing that BIG van

To legally tow a caravan with an aggregate trailer mass (ATM)

of 3,500kg – the Ranger’s factory tow rating - without exceeding

its 6,000kg GCM, the Ranger Wildtrak cannot weigh more than

2,500kg, leaving you with only 250kg payload from the original

kerb weight of 2,250kg.

Note that the ball weight (the weight the trailer places on the

towball) is not additional to this calculation. If we were breaking

out the towball weight, we’d need to reduce the ATM by the

same figure, which would give us the gross trailer mass (GTM).

More information on how that works can be found here - Vehicle

Capacities Explained.

Putting this into perspective, you cannot have any significant

accessories fitted to the vehicle, or even five occupants based

on the standard calculation used in the NCOP. If the Ford Ranger

is modified with the 525kg accessory list in ‘the table’ and the

480kg NCOP weight calculation for occupants and luggage is

applied, the example vehicle weight is 3,183kg.

Based on this weight, the heaviest van the vehicle can tow

is 2,817kg. If a standard state compliance GVM upgrade is

completed - in accordance to NCOP14-LS11 - raising the GVM to

3,330kg, the towing capacity is further reduced to 2670kg, if the

vehicle is operating at its full GVM capacity (unchanged GCM of

6,000kg less the new GVM of 3,330kg).

Lovell’s Suspension is one of the manufacturers that provide

an increased GCM with the Second Stage of Manufacturing GVM

upgrade. This upgrade enables the vehicle to tow the maximum

braked towing capacity while operating at the new GVM as long

as neither the front or rear axle limits are exceeded.

VM

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

Q&A

PRADO TESTING VIDEO

By how much can you increase a vehicle’s GVM?

GVM Upgrades vary in capacity depending on the

manufacturer and vehicle configuration. Here is a list of GVM

upgrades available through leading suppliers. If your vehicle is

not covered by this list, don’t despair. Most vehicles can have

their GVM increased to at least the combined total of the front

and rear axle capacities. Please consult your local engineer for

more information. Click here to view a comprehensive list of the

different GVM upgrades currently available by supplier.

Can I tow more with a GVM upgrade?

In most cases, the answer to this question is no. There are

three critical capacities to consider when towing. These are the

GVM, GCM (Gross Combination Mass or the maximum combined

mass of the vehicle and trailer when hitched together) and the

braked towing capacity. While a lot of vehicle manufacturers

push sales by advertising the braked towing capacities, the true

towing capacity is determined by the GCM and actual vehicle

weight. The heavier the vehicle; the less you can tow. The GCM

is normally a fixed capacity and not altered by a GVM upgrade. If

you increase the vehicle’s GVM and accessorise or load it to the

new GVM; you are ultimately reducing the towing capacity. This

is because the GCM is not able to be modified with most GVM

upgrades. Only a handful of GVM manufacturers approve a GCM

VIDEO: Comparing stock and GVM upgraded Prado

upgrade with their kits.

Can the towing capacity be upgraded with a GVM upgrade?

Upgrading the braked towing capacity on a standard vehicle

is a momentous task which has only just been made possible

by Lovell’s Automotive Systems. Lovell’s BTC, or Braked Towing

Capacities, are now available for the Toyota Landcruiser 200

series (up to 4,000kg) and Prado 150 series (up to 3,100kg).

These upgrades come in two different stages and have to

be completed in conjunction with a Lovell’s GVM upgrade. The

above video is of a Toyota Prado that has been fitted with a

Lovell’s BTC upgrade by The Ultimate Suspension. Click here to

visit the Lovell’s website.

Are there any ongoing costs with a GVM upgrade?

With federal compliance upgrades, there are no ongoing

costs if a federal compliance kit is fitted pre-registration.

State compliance upgrades may result in the vehicle’s annual

registration charges increasing, as they are based on the tare

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


weight of the vehicle.

When a vehicle is engineered for a GVM upgrade, the new

tare weight is updated with the relevant transport authority.

Depending on the extent of modifications to the vehicle (e.g.

bullbar, winch, steel tray), the higher tare weight may place the

vehicle into a new tax bracket.

For example, the common accessories listed in ‘the table’

would push the Ranger Wildtrak into a higher tare weight range,

raising the annual cost of registration in NSW by $206.00 for

private use and $394.00 for business use.

Does a GVM upgrade raise the suspension height?

Most GVM upgrades will lift the vehicle 20-50mm above

standard height depending on the vehicle weight.

Please ensure you check with the supplier beforehand to

avoid disappointment. Suspension lifts above 50mm can be

engineered with GVM upgrades under the state compliance

scheme.

Will the vehicle ride firmer

with a GVM upgrade?

Ride quality is directly

relative to the suspension and

weight of the vehicle. GVM

upgrades are designed for

vehicles carrying a constant

load. If the vehicle is driven

un-laden, the ride quality will

be noticeably firmer with less

flexibility off road.

It is important to consider

your daily use of the vehicle

when contemplating a GVM

upgrade. Some manufacturers

Brake testing machine.

200 Series undergoing brake testing.

cater for different applications with multiple GVM upgrades to

different levels (e.g. ARB provides two different options for the

200 series: Stage 1: 3,650kg and Stage 2: 3,845kg. A constant

load of 600kg is required for the stage two upgrade.

Can I avoid a GVM upgrade?

Weight reduction and correct vehicle selection is critical.

Don’t fit unnecessary accessories and where you can, reduce the

weight of the accessories. Small changes like synthetic winch

rope or alloy bullbars make a big difference to the total weight of

the vehicle.

If you haven’t purchased your vehicle yet, do the research first

and make sure your desired vehicle can tow or carry the weight

you require.

Being prepared and making the correct decisions at the start

will avoid heartache and additional costs down the line.

American utilities are starting to make real in-roads on the

Australian market because they have the capacity to legally tow

big vans and trailers, without the need for a GVM upgrade.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


If your current vehicle is overweight and you chose to ignore

it, the consequences could cost a lot more than a GVM upgrade!

What if my vehicle is still going to be over the new GVM after an

upgrade?

Some vehicles will still be too heavy even after a GVM

upgrade. In these cases, either a change in vehicle, serious

weight reduction or major modifications are required.

There are numerous companies in Australia that specialise

in ute conversions, chassis extensions and six-wheel drive/lazy

axle conversions. These solutions provide major increases to the

GVM and GCM allowing for payloads up to 2,500kg and towing

capacities up to 4,500kg. Some examples are:

6x6 Australia - http://6x6australia.com.au

JMACX - http://www.jmacx.com.au

Multidrive Technology - http://www.multidrive.com.au

Six Wheel Conversions - http://www.sixwheeler.com.au

Specialised Vehicles - http://specialisedvehicles.com.au

How do I organise a GVM upgrade?

GVM upgrades are best considered before buying a new

vehicle. Talk to the GVM providers first to work out which solution

is best for your application. Once you have decided on the

upgrade, talk to the vehicle dealership. They can help arrange all

documentation required and incorporate the cost of the upgrade

in the purchase price of the vehicle. If you already have a vehicle

which has been registered, the best option is to contact your local

four-wheel-drive shop. All leading four-wheel drive shops have

solutions available or can refer you to a local provider.

How can I find out the weight of my vehicle and caravan?

Many 4WD and suspension specialists now have

weighbridges or portable load cells available to help calculate

With a rear axle weight of

2,171kg, this Mazda BT-

50 would be considered

illegal even with a Lovell’s

GVM Upgrade.

The total vehicle weight

is under 3,500kg, but

there is no allowance

for occupants and the

rear axle weight exceeds

the new revised limit of

2,020kg.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

your vehicle and caravan weights. Examples include

Pedders Load and tow assessment centres and Safe-T-Stop test

locations. Local public weighbridges can be found with a little

googling.

Article credits

This article has been written by Brendan O’Keefe. Besides

being a column writer at Loaded 4X4, Brendan has spent many

years working in the Australian suspension industry at The

Ultimate Suspension. Brendan also owns a 4WD parts and

accessories business called Select 4WD Products.

Brendan and Loaded 4X4 would also like to thank the

following widely respected experts for their contribution to this

article; Ken O’Keefe from The Ultimate Suspension and Mike

Davison from Lovell’s Automotive Systems.

And last but by no means least, the Ranger Wildtrack for

being such a sport.

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LOADED4X4.COM.AU

VOLTS

with Vince

Most of my work days are taken up talking with and teaching

people about batteries, and there’s a lot to talk about, from

batteries used in vehicles, to Deep Cycle lead-acid batteries, right

down to AA, and AAA sized primary and rechargeable batteries.

I’m a motor mechanic by trade and I spent a number of

years with the Royal Automobile Service (RAA) before owning

and running specialist battery shops, something that I’ve been

involved with for more than twelve years now. When it comes

to batteries, there isn’t much that I haven’t seen or had at least

some experience with. This new 12-volt section in Loaded 4X4

promises to be a unique opportunity for me to pass on some

of the more useful 12-volt knowledge that I’ve gleaned over the

years as well as add to your understanding of the humble 12V

battery and the aftermarket

systems available to help you

make the most of them.

To kick this section off, I’m

going to take a look at the type

of battery that is in every car

and 4WD made up to now, the

Lead Acid battery. Lead acid

batteries are starting batteries or

SLI batteries (Starting Lighting

Ignition) batteries. Most lead acid

batteries are a ‘wet’, or flooded

style of battery, and if you took

a peek inside you’d see a set of

plates immersed in electrolyte

fluid. Wet batteries come in two

main flavours, MF (maintenance

free) or maintainable.

Maintainable batteries include the

provision to remove the battery

caps and check the electrolyte

level. Maintainable batteries are

usually manufactured using lead

antimony plates, and MF batteries

are generally calcium batteries.

This means that calcium is added

to the plates of the battery during

construction. Each battery type

has its positive benefits along

with some negative attributes.

Maintainable batteries are

robust and long-lasting. They do

however require maintenance via

the topping up of the electrolyte

SPECIAL FEATURE: VOLTS WITH VINCE

Vince only drinks distilled water.

Alcohol upsets his electrolyte fluid.

with distilled water, and of

course maintaining their charge

if they are not used regularly.

Maintenance free batteries do not

require regular maintenance and

will hold their charge longer when

not used. They will, however –

over an extended period - lose

water from their electrolyte

fluid and being sealed means

top-ups cannot be undertaken.

Fortunately, this usually happens

towards the end of their useful

life, and running dry isn’t the

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


biggest killer of MF batteries. Which type of battery is best? Well

actually, they both are, if cared for correctly. Both will fail early if

their state of charge (SOC) falls below 12.4 volts and stays below

that voltage over an extended period. The more the voltage drops

below 12.4 volts, the less time it takes to damage the battery’s

internal plates. The damage caused is known as sulphation, and

it affects the plates in lead-acid batteries. Sulphation crystals

are spike-like when put under a microscope and eventually grow

out from one plate to touch an adjacent plate causing a short.

Sulphation crystals are poor conductors of current and raise

resistance within a battery. Increased resistance impairs the

battery’s ability to charge and discharge, resulting in reduced

performance and an increased chance of premature failure.

SOC will feature in most of my battery related articles as it is

the most critical parameter that we measure when assessing the

general health of a battery and diagnosing faults. The SOC of the

12-volt lead acid battery types

discussed in this article is 12.6

volts or to be exact 12.66 volts.

A battery’s SOC is measured

when the battery is ‘chemically

stabilised’, which occurs when

the battery has sat for 24

hours without being charged or

discharged.

“The battery of a

vehicle that sits around

unused for an extended

period will eventually

die, and the best way to

prevent this is regular

use or keeping the

battery charged.”

In saying this I will also add

that all lead-acid batteries have

a phenomenon called ‘selfdischarge’,

or in other words, a

battery not connected to anything

will over time lose its charge and

go flat. A flat battery can show

a zero SOC, but that is quite

different to having zero volts. A

zero SOC is in fact 11.8 volts.

That’s right, 11.8 Volts is a dead

flat battery!

Anything below 11.8 volts

voltage is called a drained

battery. A drained battery

occurs when something has

physically pulled power out of

that battery, such as the lights of

a car being left on, the cars own

parasitic draw to keep clocks

and memories alive within the

vehicle’s management system

or the battery’s inherent selfdischarge

behaviour. The battery

of a vehicle that sits around

unused for an extended period

will eventually die, and the best

way to prevent this is regular use


and/or keeping the battery charged. Keeping a battery correctly

charged is the best way to ensure it has a long and useful life.

The other threats to your lead-acid battery’s health include

extremes of temperature, age, vibration, over-charging and using

the wrong type of battery for your particular use.

Wet cell batteries aren’t the only kind of lead-acid battery

available. Dry cell or VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) batteries

have been around for many years and are available in either Gel

or AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) construction. AGM batteries are

used in vehicles with very high-power requirements, whether it

be higher cranking or some semi-cyclic requirements, such as

vehicles fitted with stop/start functionality. Gel batteries are used

in small electric vehicles like Gophers and many standby power

supply applications.

In summary, wet and valve regulated lead-acid batteries have

their specific applications, including the previously mentioned

SLI (starting lighting ignition), or

the ‘normal’ battery found in all

vehicles and the primary use for

wet cell type lead-acid batteries.

Other applications for the various

lead acid battery types - not

necessarily wet cell - include deep

cycle, marine, stop/start, dualpurpose

SLI/semi cyclic along

with commercial use standby and

small electric vehicles.

When it comes to 4WDers,

caravaners and campers, most of

my time is spent finding out how

they plan to use, and what they’re

expecting from the battery they

are looking to buy. When it comes

to SLI or starting batteries, the

rules are simple, replace the old

battery with something the same

or better than what the vehicle

manufacturer recommends.

Secondary batteries – adding

a second or third battery to the

vehicle - are a popular addition

to many 4WD builds. Owners

running accessories such as

fridges, lighting, inverters and

even coffee machines – as

camping evolves into glamping

– need more than just the

starting battery to handle their

12-volt requirements. Secondary

batteries are usually deep cycle

types, and the sky is the limit

when selecting this type of

battery and ‘the system’ that

adding and making the most of

secondary batteries requires.

Consider the following questions

as a starting point:

What battery size do I need?

When it comes to camping,

people have very different

requirements. The accessories

you want to run will determine

what battery size is suitable for

your setup.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


Where do I mount the battery?

Unlike the ‘good ol’ days’,

many new vehicles don’t have

room under the bonnet for an

additional battery, besides

which, heat is the biggest killer

of lead-acid batteries, which

makes protecting them from heat

essential. There’s always a way;

it’s just a matter of finding the

right battery to fit the available

locations and using some lateral

thinking if it’s a particularly

challenging puzzle!

What is the best way to charge

the secondary battery?

Many new vehicles are fitted

with ‘smart alternators’, that can

range from simple temperature

compensating alternators to

more complicated computercontrolled

types. A vehicle’s

standard alternator is fitted by

the vehicle manufacturer and

set up to handle the factory

standard requirements of the

vehicle, usually running one SLI

battery. Deciding on the most

suitable type of secondary battery

charging system and there are

many options, is crucial if you

want a reliable secondary battery

system. And charging your

secondary battery is the subject

I plan to cover when I put pen to

paper, or index finger to keyboard,

for issue 003 of this magazine.

I’ll run you through some of

the different options that are

available for charging secondary

batteries and dealing with the

various alternators fitted to

modern vehicles. From mostly

manual budget systems that

are unfortunately only 70-80

percent effective, up to the more

expensive and effective, fully

automatic systems.

Until then, consider how

you are treating the lead-acid

batteries in your care and

remember that extremes of

temperature, excessive vibration,

lack of use and over-charging

are the main threats to the health

of your batteries and a healthy

battery is the cornerstone of a

reliable 12-volt system.

Back to main menu

This article has been provided

for the benefit of Loaded 4X4’s

readers. There is no financial

arrangement in place with Battery

World for Vince to provide this

content or for Loaded 4X4 to

publish this content. Battery World

is an advertiser in this magazine.

ON OR OFF ROAD

WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED!

For your 4x4, car, deep cycle and dual battery needs

see the Batteryologists at Battery World.

batteryworld.com.au

13 17 60

BIG

bill’s

LOADED 006: SILVERADO

Bastard

By Steane Klose


This issue of Loaded 4X4 features what must be the most

comprehensive GVM article in the history of the world, so it

seems fitting that we also feature Bill’s Chevy Silverado tow tug,

cos if you want to tow that 3,500kg van folks, this is how you do

it, legally and safely. Forget your Ford Rangers and 200 Series

Cruisers, they’re light-weights that have no payload left, for you

and your gear, after the big van is hooked up.

Now our new mate Bill from Kadina knows a thing or two

about lugging big weights (no he’s not fat) and towing; you know,

what works and what doesn’t. He used to own a trick custom GM

V8 diesel-powered dual-cab GU Patrol – it was even featured in

one of those 4WD magazines that people only buy for the DVDs –

and loaded up, it cracked both sides of its chassis while travelling

north of Innamincka. Goes

without saying then, that Bill

doesn’t have a lot of time for

the ‘little’ 4X4 utes that are

lighting up the sales chart at

the moment; he thinks they’re

all a bit light-weight. Some of

them are set up wrong, with

too much rear tub overhang,

and all of the manufacturers

are playing with their fiddles

when quoting approved tow

ratings, something that David

bangs on about as well in

this issue. So, when the time

came to upgrade the 1,200kg

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


Ultimate Offroad camper for a 3,500kg Bushtracker caravan, Bill

set about finding a tow tug that wasn’t full of false promises.

It was 2015, and there weren’t a lot of full-sized American utes

on the second-hand market at the time, but a phone call to

Performax in Gympie proved fortuitous. Performax had a 2012

Silverado LTZ dual-cab on the lot, and the previous owner had

spent the equivalent of the deposit for a big house fitting it out.

Bill bought it sight unseen and hoped it was a good ‘un. Turns out

it was.

Bill’s Silverado is powered by 6.6-litres of turbocharged

and intercooled Chevy Duramax diesel. The Duramax works in

tandem with an Alison 1000 6-speed automatic that somehow

tames the big diesel’s 1,000+ Nm of torque. The Silverado has

been upgraded from 2500 to 3500 single rear wheel specs, which

is achieved with some suspension changes, and it now boasts a

Gross Combination Mass (GCM) of over 11,100kg. And that right

there is the big difference between a Silverado and a 200 Series

Cruiser. When fully loaded with the Bushtracker van and all their

gear, Bill says all-up weight is around 8,400kg, leaving around

2,700kg of available payload, and that’s after they’ve packed!

Bill tells it straight, and he knows the Silverado is a tow-tug and

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


not an off-roader. He has no plans

to use the Silverado to cross the

Simpson, and its massive turning

circle means that the Vic High

Country is off-limits. What it does

do, is eat up outback kilometres

with ease and in comfort, and

that’s exactly how it gets used.

Over eight tonnes of truck and

van can cruise at the speed limit

all day long, and Bill doesn’t

break out in a sweat when the

news that ‘scalies are up ahead’,

crackles over the UHF.

Personally, I think Bill

just loves driving what is

unquestionably a truck, and

isn’t that every red-blooded

male’s dream? When you slide

underneath the Silverado,

everything from the chassis, to

the rear diff, prop shaft, transfer

case and anything else you

can see or touch, is upsized

compared to what we’re used to

seeing in Australia. Jump into

the Silverado’s cab, and there is

more room in the back seat than

you get up front in the half-pint

4X4 utes that we’re used to. It’s

bloody huge, and I can tell you, it

would be real easy to get used to.

Now I’m sure there are more than

a few of you who will be thinking,

“yeah, but how much fuel will it

use?”. According to Bill, it’s good

for 13.5 L/100km on the highway

when not towing, and when fully

loaded with the Bushtracker

and all their gear, that rises to

19 L/100km. So not a whole lot

more that what you’ll use in a 200

Series diesel, and significantly

less than what the poor ol’ 70

Series can muster - even with a

tail-wind - in our experience.

“The addition of the

Amsoil kit has seen oil

changes stretched right

out – Bill’s clocked up

30,000kms since the last

one – as regular testing

of the oil is confirming

that it’s staying in good

nick for a lot longer.”

Bill provided quite the

comprehensive list of mods and

accessories that have been fitted

to his Silverado, and suffice to

say, it ain’t all going to fit in this

space, our article’s GVM is just

too low; but we’ll have a good

crack at telling you about as

many as we can.

Big 6.6-litre Duramax diesel can

barely be seen when the bonnet

is lifted. CSM canopy has acres

of space to fit whatever Bill can

think of packing.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


The Silverado’s 6.6-litre Duramax has been tickled under the

chin with an ‘EFI Live’ kit that offers a tune specifically for towing.

Aiding the tune is a Banks cold air intake and 4” straight through

exhaust. A Provent 200 oil vapour filter keeps the Duramax’s

intake oil free and helps prevent carbon build-up. Bill is big on

filtration and keeping fuel up to the injector pump. With that in

mind, he’s added a Fass 150 lift pump and fuel filtration system,

a Kennedy Diesel back-up lift pump and an Amsoil Dual Bypass

engine oil filter kit. The addition of the Amsoil kit has seen oil

changes stretched right out – Bill’s clocked up 30,000kms since

the last one – as regular testing of the oil is confirming that it’s

staying in good nick for a lot longer.

Bill keeps a close eye on the Silverado’s drivetrain via a

driver’s pillar mounted Edge CTS2 unit that displays - to name

but a handful of options - exhaust gas temperature, transmission

temperature, engine coolant temperature and even the

performance of each injector.

Up front is one of those TUFF bullbars that look ridiculous on

anything that isn’t the size of the Silverado, and Bills wired up a

couple of Fyrlyt Nemesis 9000s. The sidesteps and brushbars are

also TUFF items.

Underneath the Silverado is a 6” ProComp suspension lift

kit, and while they might not look overly large, those 18” alloys

are wrapped in 35” Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ P3s. That

very serious looking canopy is a CSM built steel framed and

alloy skinned unit, and it houses, well, bloody everything really.

Left: Bill and his son Zac. I’d just told Bill that I

own a Triton and he was pretty pissed.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


Inside, there’s a couple of spares, two 100a/h AGM batteries, a

60-litre Engel on a CSM dropdown fridge slide and a couple of

compressors that feed a front to back air system and 18-litre

tank. The compressed air system runs the rear airbags, a serious

set of air horns that hang above the rear diff and an AirSafe

Hitch. The Airsafe Hitch is a 6-tonne unit, and its job is to reduce

the shock loading that the van’s A-frame receives when hooked

to a heavily sprung tug over rough roads. A-frames have been

known to fail in the absence of such assistance.

As you’d expect, the Silverado’s cavernous interior has

a distinctly American feel to it, one with a whiff of the early

noughties about it. It’s big, chunky and practical, with none of the

styling fripperies that you get in Asian and European vehicles.

Bill’s fitted a VMS entertainment unit that incorporates a rearview

camera, and there’s a second 7” screen hooked up to provide a

side view of the tow hitch and the caravan when it’s hooked up.

There are a plethora (literally) of additional switches, to control

the various fuel pumps, air horns, driving lights, air-compressors

and a handful of strategically placed LED lightbars and lights.

There’s even a warning buzzer that remains on for as long as

either of the canopy’s gull-wing doors is open. That’s one mod

Bill fitted based on a less than positive experience with a similar

canopy on one of his Patrols.

I don’t know about you, but after spending a morning with Bill

and his Silverado, I spent the afternoon trawling the classifieds

for a real truck. It eventually dawned on me – I’m a slow study

– that I’ve got nothing to tow, so I started researching vans. One

step at a time eh?

Nice rig Bill and thanks for sharing it with us.

Tim’s Jimny is lined-up with the back of

the Silverado. There isn’t much in it...

Back to main menu

OIL&GREASE

with rick freeman

RICK THE OIL GUY

It’s been a crazy busy time

for me since writing my first oil

article for Loaded 4X4 issue 001.

I’ve resigned from my old job,

moved interstate and started

a new job. Since arriving in my

new locale, I’ve been working

long hours on the tools which

incidentally has included taking

oil samples and making repairs

due to lube failures, one of

which was caused by an overabundance

of oil!

So, it’s a new start for me, and

an opportunity to go right back

to oil basics 101 in this issue

and look at why lubrication is

even necessary. You’re probably

thinking the answer to that really

basic question is self-evident, but

let’s take a look at how lubricants

like oil and grease do what we

need them to do.

According to Wikipedia “A

lubricant is a substance, usually

organic, introduced to reduce

friction between surfaces in

mutual contact, which ultimately

reduces the heat generated

when the surfaces move.” Yep,

the goop is there to stop various

bits and pieces wearing, galling

and seizing. When we think of

the uses for oils and lubes, the

first vehicular items that come

to mind are the engine, gearbox,

diff, wheel bearings, perhaps a CV

- when you blow one – and, well,

that’s about it. And while they

are the lubed-up big ticket items,

there are plenty of other parts

that move in relation to each

other. A cable inside a housing,

a brake calliper slider on a pin, a

door hinge, a sliding spline as a

driveshaft plunges, even a brake

piston inside a calliper, to name

but a handful. All of these parts

need a lubricant of some type to

ease use and prevent premature

wear and failure, even if they use

whatever fluid they contain as

their lubricant.

With engine, gearbox and diff

lubrication we are concerned with

one of either two regimes, the

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RICK THE OIL GUY

first is known as hydrodynamic

lubrication for plain bearings,

such as big ends, main-bearings,

gudgeon and cam bearings. The

other is elastohydrodynamic

lubrication for rolling element

bearings, or in other words, ball

bearings, roller bearings, taper

roller bearings and needle roller

bearings, along with non-bearing

surfaces such as gear teeth and

cams. With plain bearings the

general understanding is that the

bearing and journal are supported

by oil under pressure provided by

the oil pump, but what actually

happens is that the relative

movement between the journal

and bearing creates a highpressure

hydrodynamic wedge

of oil which suspends the journal

inside the bearing, preventing

metal to metal contact.

Hydro=fluid, dynamic=motion.

Interestingly a piston inside

a cylinder is experiencing

hydrodynamic lubrication too.

The primary purpose of

the oil pump – rather than to

provide enough pressure to keep

bearing and journal separated

- is to provide a flow of cool oil

to the void between the bearing

and journal. The oil in the high-

pressure wedge heats up very

quickly due to drag and pressure,

and the flow of fresh oil from

the pump pushes cool oil into

the void, replacing the hot oil

in our oil wedge. Without that

flow of cool oil provided by the

pump, the oil in the wedge would

overheat very quickly leading to

oil breakdown.

“Have you ever

wondered why

differential and gear

oil often have a funky

sulphur smell?”

Back in the early days of

the internal combustion engine,

bearings were splash fed by

‘slingers’ attached to the big

ends; there was no pump, oil

galleries or drillings, often just

some simple grooves to allow oil

to access a bearing and journal.

Even today small displacement

and lower rev engines and

compressors still utilise splash

feed for simplicity and cost.

As engines became more

sophisticated and revs and loads

increased, pressure lubrication

became a necessity. Oil under

pressure also helps support the

journal as revs and load increase,

but the primary support of the

journal comes from the oil wedge.

With elastohydrodynamic

lubrication, the ball or roller and

race suffer an elastic strain at

the point of contact, or in other

words, they slightly deform under

load, returning to their previous

state when that load is removed.

This deformation provides a

channel for the lubricant. As the

various elements of the bearing

move relative to each other

the pressure in the lubricant

increases in a similar fashion to

the hydrodynamic regime, and it’s

this high-pressure film of lubricant

that supports and keeps the

elements apart. Grease or oil, the Roller bearing and CVs are both

method of support is the same. examples of components that rely

There is a second level of on elastohydrodynamic lubrication.

elastohydrodynamic lubrication

where the pressure in the lubricant becomes too great, the film

becomes too thin, and the moving surfaces are no longer fully

supported by an oil film and start to make solid contact. This

mixed condition is called boundary layer lubrication, and without

getting into asperities and how they react with the lube, the heat

and pressure generated by solid contact can be used to activate

extreme pressure additives in the lubricant to form a new layer of

solid film lubrication.

In situations where a boundary layer condition (solid contact

between elements) may occur, extreme pressure additives in

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RICK THE OIL GUY

the form of soluble additives

or lubricating solids may be

added to the lubricant. Have you

ever wondered why differential

and gear oil often have a funky

sulphur smell? Contrary to

popular belief, it’s not so you can

smell oil leaking from your Land

Rover. Diffs and gearboxes are

two great examples of places

where a boundary layer condition

can easily exist, and that sulphur

smell indicates the presence of

sulphur/phosphorus extreme

pressure additives in the oil.

These additives react under

pressure and heat to form a solid

lubricating layer between gear

teeth. A hypoid differential has an

extreme sliding/wiping action of

the crown wheel and pinion teeth,

and it’s possible to have localised

temperature spikes of over 300+

degrees. The extreme pressure

additives present in the diff’s oil

react to this pressure and heat by

adding a new layer of solid film

lubrication that ensures all the

parts keep sliding against each

other nicely. The plating action of

molybdenum disulphide (moly)

in constant velocity (CV) joints

is another example of solid film

lubrication at work, to prevent

metal to metal contact.

Grease is the word

Did you know that grease

is a mix of oil and a specialist

soap? The soap acts as a type

of thickener that absorbs the oil

and releases it when put under

pressure. The oil is squeezed out

under load when it’s needed and

then reabsorbed into the soap

when the load is reduced. How’s

that for clever!

Grease is used where oil can’t

easily be contained within the

bearing or assembly that requires

lubrication. The downside

of grease compared to

oil is that its use will

increase the heat of

an operating assembly

due to increased drag and lower

conduction with a slightly lower

load carrying capacity - generally

- compared to a high viscosity

extreme pressure oil.

There are a variety of

different soaps used in grease,

all with differing characteristics,

and much the same as oils,

there are a variety of grease

types available, each with its

unique qualities that are suited to

specific uses.

So that’s the basics on how

oil and grease go about easing

the pain of the various parts in

our 4X4s that are in contact with

each other.

In issue 003 we’re going

to take a look at engine oils;

what the various numbers on

the container mean and why

manufacturers specify certain

grades and types of oil for

their vehicles.

Back to main menu

OPINION: STEANE KLOSE

Steane

klose

4WD of the year

awards are rubbish.

I tell you what, there’s been

more talk about 4WD of the year

awards around tables I’ve sat at

in recent times, than pretty much

anything else, and I reckon you’ll

be interested in my defective

reasoning on this subject. It’s one

that has had more than a few

people I know, scratching their

heads in recent months. In 2017

we had one media outlet crown

the Ford Everest ‘4WD of the

year’ for the second year running,

having compared it only to two

other recently updated wagons.

Another outlet also awarded the

Everest ‘2017 4WD of the year’

but in the same breath, gave the

‘Car of the year’ award to the

Discovery. Another crowned

the Discovery and had a utebased

wagon that was half the

Discovery’s price come in second.

Each outlet had their unique 4WD

of the year process. I reckon

that if you were serious about

identifying the best vehicle of a

given type, sold new in the last

year, you’d need to get your hands

on every vehicle of that type

currently on the market and put

them through an identical testing

regime; wouldn’t you? At least to

start with. Year one simply must

include every 4X4 vehicle on the

market, and I’d be willing to bet

that no ‘year one’ for any of these

awards ever has. If it doesn’t then

you’re running a “we think this

could be the 4WD of the year, but

we didn’t test them all” award

and that’s a bloody long sticker to

slap on the back of new cars. If

you did test them all in year one,

you could then have the previous

year’s winner carry over to the

following year by default - it was

better than anything else on the

market last year – and put it up

against any new or extensively

updated competitors in future

years. Now that’s a process

currently used by one of the

media outlets, and in a general

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sense, it makes sense, but only

if you are comparing apples to

apples or should I say utes to

utes and not utes to wagons,

which would be apples to some

fruit that isn’t an apple. And they

aren’t comparing the same fruits.

Logic would therefore dictate

that you’d need to introduce

categories such as dual-cab 4WD

utes, ute based wagons, medium

wagons and large wagons, at the

very least. 4WDs have a broad

range of uses, way more than

your average poxy SUV (poxy

not boxy) that never leaves the

bitumen. 4WDs are bought for

off-road family touring, they’re

put to work on cattle stations,

they are hooked up to big vans,

and some are driven with gusto

up fire trails or along desert

tracks. These wildly varying uses

mean that two 4WDs can be

poles apart in their construction

and engineering; some have

a separate chassis, live axles

and leaf sprung rear ends, and

some don’t. Categories are

therefore a must, but there’s a

flaw in this categories idea as

well. If you automatically include

last year’s winners for each

category and put them up against

competitors that were either new

or significantly revised during the

year, you will be left with more

than one category that has only

one contender - the previous

year’s winner. In the grand

scheme of things, only a handful

of 4WDs are new or significantly

revised in any one year.

“This award would be

as irrelevant as any of

the others in existence

but would have the

advantage of being,

easily and cheaply,

decided over a goon

bag and a couple of

doobies.”

You could, as one media

outlet has - and I love the illogical

logic of this one - suggest that

you are judging each vehicle in

the competition against a set of

criteria, rather than against each

other or in other words judging

them in isolation. Now that is

awesome! But let’s apply some

‘circus logic’ to this concept. If

you judge, against the same set

of criteria, five jugglers, from five

different circuses and award

each of them a score out of 100

and then determine that the ‘best

juggler of the year’ is the one with

the highest score, haven’t you just

compared them? FFS, of course,

you have!

Alternatively, you could take

a more relaxed vibe towards

the award – at least behind the

scenes - and determine that the

‘4WD of the year’, is just the one

that is nicest to sit in while you

tick the boxes on the scorecard.

This award would be as irrelevant

as any of the others in existence

but would have the advantage

of being, easily and cheaply,

decided over a goon bag and a

couple of doobies. Unfortunately,

a genuine 4WD of the year

award, one where the process is

logical and ultimately produces

a meaningful result that can be

relied upon by the consumer,

is all but an impossibility. The

Tek screw in the tyre for the

concept is the reality that there

is a fair to reasonable chance

that you would know more about

the average 4WD than most

motoring journalists, many of

whom have next to no interest

in 4WD vehicles. Their opinions

Three 4WDs new to the market

or significantly revised in 2017

and we all know they can’t

logically be compared. Right?

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Now I really like the

79 Series, but it’s

too low-geared, too

thirsty and too solid

axled to ever be a

4WD of the year

chance. But there

was that one time at

band camp...

are based on them physically

spending a small amount of time

with the vehicle (normally a week)

and conveniently ignoring the

long-term ownership experience,

including big-ticket items like

reliability, and the performance of

the franchise dealer network from

a customer care perspective.

So why even bother with an

annual award if doing it properly

is properly impossible?

Well, in my opinion, it’s got

bugger all to do with the cars or

choosing the best of anything.

These awards manufacture a

unique marketing opportunity

for the award holder and an

opportunity to sell advertising

to the award winners. You know,

the right to use those “we think

this could be the 4WD of the

year, but we didn’t test them all”

award stickers you see on the

back of new cars, some bespoke

advertising for ‘x’ amount of

issues and a swag of mentions

craftily inserted into future copy.

The only piece of truth that

you can take home from one

of these ‘of the year’ awards is

that they are made-up bullshit.

They aren’t worth the handful of

minutes that reading them robs

from your life, and the last thing

I’d do is let them influence your

4WD buying decision.

We’ll never run one of them

at Loaded 4X4. What we will do

is let you know at the end of each

year - if we remember - which

4WDs made a lasting impression

on us. We won’t have driven

them all, and it will simply be

the individual personal opinions

of our reviewers, and you can

guarantee there is nothing

more to it than that. What you

do with our dubious and quite

possibly conflicting thoughts on

what we’ve driven is of course,

completely up to you.

Back to main menu

REVIEW: X-CLASS POWER

X-Class

The future ain’t what it used to be

Review by Steane Klose

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The X-Class is arguably, and

there’s only an argument because

the Ranger Raptor is due later

this year, the most significant

thing to happen to the 4X4 ute

segment in this country for

five years, maybe more. It’s the

reason we published this issue

of the magazine a month later

than planned and hit the road

from Adelaide to the Victorian

penal colony to get behind the

wheel. Was it worth the drive?

Absolutely, the X-Class raises the

bar and paves the way for real

change in the 4X4 ute segment.

But one thing it doesn’t have,

despite the 4MATIC badges, is allwheel-drive.

Now, I can’t help having a

bit of a chuckle at how clueless

some of the motoring dills, I

mean journalists, are in this

country. Ever since the full details

on the X-Class were released,

many of the motoring media

outlets in the country, have been

telling people the X-Class is allwheel-drive

(AWD), and even

better, part-time AWD, which I

assume means the AWD function

would come and go at its leisure.

There’s a video review out right

now that refers to ‘the X-Class

and its 4MATIC all-wheel-drive

system’, and that’s what they

came up with having spent hours

driving the vehicle at its recent

Australian launch. The confusion

stems from Mercedes-Benz’s

technical data for the X-Class

which refers to the drive system

as being ‘4MATIC selectable allwheel-drive

with low-range and

drive selection mode’. Mercedes-

Benz is splitting hairs to give

the 4MATIC badging relevance,

and the lazy ‘spec sheet jockey’

journos should know better.

For anyone that knows

their stuff, two minutes in the

X-Class is enough to dispel the

AWD myth. The markings on the

drive system dial offer a huge

clue, and if that isn’t enough, the

dashboard’s 4WD indicator light

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

confirms the fact that the front

and rear axles are locked together

in 4WD. Select 4WD, drop the

auto into drive, wind on a bit of

steering lock, ease some throttle

on and within a matter of feet

you’ll have the tyres chirping due

to drivetrain wind-up. No rocket

science required, but it seems the

current crop of performance car

loving journalists (that’s almost

all of them) can’t get their heads

around a simple 4X4 ute.

New X-Class owners should

ignore what the 4MATIC badge

on the tailgate implies and

should not drive the X-Class on

hard surfaces in 4H. If you want

genuine AWD functionality in

your ute – the kind that requires

a centre-differential or similar

arrangement to deal with the

variation in rotation of the front

and rear prop-shafts - then you’ll

need to wait for the V6 diesel

version of the X-Class – the

X 350d 4MATIC – due to go

on sale later this year. It has a

Mercedes-Benz V6 turbo-diesel

engine, and the real McCoy allwheel-drive

Mercedes-Benz

4MATIC drivetrain. According

to one high-profile media outlet,

the V6 X-Class will be the only

AD

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vehicle in the segment to offer an

AWD drivetrain and a low-range

transfer case. Everyone else

knows that Mitsubishi’s Triton

is available with the excellent

Super Select drivetrain (transfer

case really) that offers a choice

of 2WD, AWD, 4WD high and

4WD low and it’s been available

in the Triton for ten years now.

Unfortunately, the Triton doesn’t

box in the X-Class’s league, even

with its ridgy-didge selectable

AWD system.

It’d be real easy to pass the

X-Class off as a fancy Nissan

Navara, and there are plenty of

– I’m guessing a little worried –

fans of other 4X4 ute marques

doing just that, but I’m here to tell

you that’s an uneducated cop out.

Sure, it’s based on the current

Navara, but make no mistake,

the X-Class is a Mercedes-Benz.

The only exterior items carried

over from the Navara are the door

handles and window glass. Every

panel is new and exclusive to

the X-Class, and I’d warrant, that

if it wasn’t for the up-kick in the

panel below the window in the

rear passenger doors, a styling

cue shared with the Navara, you’d

never think ‘Navara’ when looking

at the X-Class. Honestly, I think

the X-Class is the new George

Clooney of 4X4 utes; it’s a goodlooking

rooster that makes the

Ranger look bland (it always has),

the Amarok boxy and the Steve

Buscemi Triton more awkward.

Not only has every body panel

been restyled, but the X-Class

also has a wider body and tub,

and like the Amarok, it will fit an

Australian pallet between the

wheel arches. The front track

has been widened, and the

ladder-frame chassis has been

strengthened. Mercedes-Benz

has installed its own braking

system that includes ventilated

rear discs, wholly revised the

suspension, re-tuned the auto

transmission and introduced

an entirely different and very

‘Mercedes-Benz’ interior. If

you think you’ll find something

‘Nissan’ under the bonnet, then

think again. Our best efforts

turned up hoses made in

Germany and a fuel filter system

made in Austria, and nothing

stamped Nissan or Renault.

The lights/indicator stalk is

located on the left of the steering

wheel, as you’d expect in a

Mercedes-Benz. The brakes feel

unflappable with excellent pedal

feel, the steering is pleasingly

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meaty - although the wider wheel

track adds a metre to the turning

circle compared to Navara - and

the accelerator pedal is a twostage

arrangement, that requires

more effort but offers better feel

and control. The entire vehicle

weighs 200kg more than an

equivalent Navara, and it feels

billet-like in its solidity. The bulk

of that extra couple of hundred

kilograms has been used to

reduce NVH levels to Mercedes-

Benz standards. Where the

Navara is a little gruff and noisy

in comparison, there is bugger

all drivetrain noise reaching front

seat passengers in the X-Class.

As a result, you notice the road

noise that enters the cab via the

vents behind the rear seat, but

that doesn’t stop the X-Class

from, in my opinion, setting the

NVH standard in its segment. It’s

not leaps and bounds ahead of

the others, but it is ahead.

The X-Class that we tested

is a top-spec Power that was

optioned with a leather interior,

heated seats and a black hoodlining

which is all very lovely.

Not so lovely – per our offroad

skewed bias – are the

optional side-steps and 19-inch

wheels with their 55 profile

tyres. Useless off-road, they are

also a compromise on-road for

those wanting to access the

best driving experience that the

X-Class has to offer.

The first impression you get

when you slide your butt into

the driver’s pew is a sense of

occasion that is missing from all

of the X-Class’s competitors. The

dashboard design is minimalist,

functional and more than a little

industrial in its feel, with the

optional brushed aluminium

look facia and those beautiful air

vents, sitting front and centre.

The leather is soft, the seats are

comfortable, and the steering

wheel is the best one that I’ve

ever come across in one of these

utes. If I had more time, I’d have

worked out how to remove it

and swapped it for the one in my

car. The interior, particularly the

dashboard, looks fantastic. There

has been some criticism of the

plastic used for the lower part

of the dashboard, but it’s there

because the X-Class is a ute and

that part of the dash can cop a

beating. I wouldn’t be surprised

to see this upgraded in the V6,

which I’ve heard may even sit a

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little lower on its haunches in an

effort to offer a sportier drive.

You’ll hear me bang on

about this a bit in reviews, but

one of the best things about the

X-Class interior is that it features

nicely trimmed and padded door

trim tops, armrests and centre

console lid. The three places

where human drivers like to rest

their arms and elbows that most

4X4 ute manufacturers don’t

seem to give a crap about. My

top-of-the-range Triton Exceed

has hard plastic in all of these

areas, and it sucks balls – sorry, it

just does.

There’s most of the usual

‘stuff’ that you’d expect in a

Mercedes-Benz, including their

8.4-inch COMAND online

multimedia system with

navigation and touchpad/rotary

controller that is standard in the

Power and optional in the midspec

Progressive. It all worked -

one of my co-testers, the

delightfully slightly OCD Emma,

paired her phone without issue

and the navigation never failed to

get me to the right address. If

infotainment is your thing, then

you’ll need to research that

elsewhere, as I’m happy if it plays

my songs without frustrating the

crap out of me. I’m not one of the

‘face down generation’, life is too

short, and no drive is long

enough, to try and work out what

a modern infotainment system

has to offer.

“The X-Class is one 4X4

ute that you can buy

and not spend another

cent on for on-road use,

because it drives, rides,

handles and brakes the

way we expect they all

should...”

The X-Class interior now sets

the standard by which all 4X4

utes will be judged, but it’s out

on the road, where the X-Class

impresses the most. It’s easy to

get comfortable in the driver’s

seat, even if reach adjustable

steering is a glaring omission,

and the X-Class feels wide,

planted and solid. It’ll ooze its

way up through the gears in a

way that has you playing ‘spot the

gear change’. Mercedes-Benz has

gone to town tuning the auto to

make it more Merc like – and if

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you want to get up it, a purposeful

shove on the accelerator gets

the X-Class moving along quite

nicely. It never sounds or feels

thrashy as it gains momentum

with aristocratic haste, and while

it’s not going to challenge your

Ranger or V6 Amarok for outright

acceleration bragging rights, who

cares? If you do, then waiting

for the V6 will give you time to

check in with your therapist and

the opportunity to more deeply

explore what went wrong in your

developmental years. Something

will have, it’s a matter of finding

the trigger point and taking the

appropriate pills.

On the road, I’d describe the

X-Class as firm but compliant

enough to be comfortable, with

none of the ‘back of the head

slap’ you get from the bucking

bronco leaf sprung utes. Viewed

in isolation – you really need to

drive it side by side with Ranger,

Amarok and Navara – I’d say

it out steers, out corners and

brakes all rivals and in this regard

is the most ‘car-like’ of all these

utes. It’s easy to forget you’re

driving a ute, with just the odd

indiscriminate jolt from the rear

– thanks to an unladen tub – to

remind you that while I believe it’s

set a new standard for on-road

handling, it’s not perfect and no

ute ever will be. A fact not helped

by our test car being fitted with

that optional 19” wheel and tyre

package. And while they’re not

perfect, the X-Class’s on-road

manners are noteworthy. We

thought the recently updated

Navara led the pack in this

regard, but the Mercedes-Benz

engineers have taken 4X4 ute

ride and handling to a new level,

vindicating their choice of the

Navara, with its coil-sprung rear

suspension, as the base vehicle

for X-Class.

Off-road, our testing was

limited by time, and we’ll be

putting an X-Class to the test

around our Barossa test track in

the coming months, hopefully, a

mid-spec Progressive with 17”

wheels, but we’ll see. We did get

to sample the X-Class on fast,

corrugated and rough dirt roads

through Lerderderg State Park,

and can confirm that on 19s at 35

psi road pressures, it will hold a

line through a corner better than

any other 4X4 ute on the market.

There was virtually none of the

sideways hopping that you’d

experience in the leaf sprung

rear suspension utes, including

Ranger, which was arguably

the best on this type of road

up until now. A play in a slate

quarry proved that the X-Class

also benefits from the Navara’s

excellent traction control system,

no-doubt aided by the coil rear

end that keeps the back wheels

in touch with terra firma for

longer. A rear-diff lock is standard

on all 4WD (4MATIC) X-Class

variants. In standard form, like all

of these utes, it lacks clearance,

particularly ramp-over, a situation

not helped by the fitment of those

optional side steps.

The X-Class is one 4X4 ute

that you can buy and not spend

another cent on for on-road use,

because it drives, rides, handles

and brakes the way we expect

they all should and that, as we all

know, is rare in a segment filled

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LOADED4X4.COM.AU


with top-dollar utes fitted with

half-baked OEM suspension and

braking systems.

I suppose I’d better talk

about safety as well. I must be

old-school, because I’d never

buy a car based on what it did or

didn’t have in the way of driver

aids, in fact, the less beeping

and bonging that I’m confronted

with the better. If you can’t drive

a car and keep it between the

white lines, then don’t drive. If you

aren’t aware enough when driving

to firstly keep a safe distance

from the car in front of you and

secondly brake hard enough to

avoid an accident, then don’t

drive. I know…I know…we live in a

world where even morons have

a right to drive, and I confess

that my views on this, besides

being non-pc (god help me)

may be flawed and that I should

put my hand up for some reprogramming

by the Loaded 4X4

Human Resources department.

Unfortunately, they’re all busy

formulating policies to ensure

their indispensability.

Anyhoo, the X-Class has

got a stack of gear built in to

take the overwhelming pressure

of staying safe on the roads,

off your shoulders. Besides

all of the usual acronyms like

ABS (Anti-Lock Brakes), ESP

(Electronic Stability Control), ASR

(German for Traction Control)

and EBD (Electronic Brake

Force Distribution), there’s Lane

Keeping Assistance and the one

with real life saving potential

(I’m being serious now) (AEB)

Autonomous Emergency Braking.

All of these systems are standard

across the X-Class range, as is

(TPMS) Tyre Pressure Monitoring

System and Trailer Stability

Assist. Downhill descent control

is standard in all four-wheel-drive

variants of the X-Class.

Specifications

ENGINE: 2.3 litre turbo-diesel,

140kW/450Nm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic

SUSPENSION: Front: independent;

Rear: 5-link coil sprung solid axle

STEERING: 13.4m turning circle

BRAKES: Front: ventilated discs Rear: ventilated discs

FUEL ECONOMY: 7.9 l/100km (claimed)

WHEELS & TYRES: 18” alloy wheels;

255/60 R18 tyres

WADING DEPTH: 600mm

TOW RATING: 750kg (unbraked);

3,500kg (braked); 1,021kg payload;

3,250kg GVM

APPROACH/DEPARTURE: 30

degrees/25 degrees

ANCAP RATING: 5-Star

PRICE BEFORE OPTIONS: $64,500

(incl GST; excl dealer costs)

LOADED4X4 RATING: 90/100

Verdict

At this point, you’ll be thinking that I’ve lost my marbles over

the X-Class, but the reality is I lost them years ago. I will confess

to liking the X-Class an awful lot. I particularly like the fact that

Mercedes-Benz has priced the X-Class competitively enough for it

to shake up the incumbent players in this niche. Anyone shopping

for a 4X4 ute that has $55,000 or more to spend can now buy a

well-equipped Mercedes, and that makes the X-Class the new cat

in the pigeon cage.

The top-spec Power retails for $64,500 which compares

favourably with the Ranger Wildtrack at $61,790 and the new

HiLux Rogue at $61,690, and if you’re shopping for a lifestyle

ute, I’m willing to bet that there’ll be plenty of buyers that would

choose a Mercedes-Benz over a Ford or a Toyota. I know I would.

The mid-spec Progressive automatic retails for $57,800, and

that compares very favourably to the Navara ST-X which retails

for $54,490. Which would you buy?

I’m not sure how many X-Class utes will see bush tracks on a

regular basis – I hope plenty do – but for now, I suspect real offroad

usage will remain the domain of the other brands. I can see

the X-Class challenging the Ranger for the attention of the mall

crawler/street machine brigade, particularly when the V6 arrives

in showrooms. Let’s face it; if you want a mint whip, you can post

about on Instagram, Mercedes-Benz trumps Ford all day long.

We should all embrace the X-Class, because it is going to

challenge the competition to add value to their 4X4 ute offerings

and force them to introduce basic gear like, rear disc brakes and

coil sprung suspension, that should have been standard years

ago. Forget the Navara connection, it’s irrelevant, go check out

the X-Class.

Back to main menu

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

REVIEW: NAVARA ST

NAVARA FIXED!

finally

Just in time for X-Class...

Review by David Wilson

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

REVIEW: 79 SERIES REVIEW: LANDCRUISER

NAVARA ST

STRONGER FOR LONGER VIDEO

that was subtly different but not

poles apart.

Then in 2005, the name

was shared with the new D40

Navara, a completely new buggy

built either in Spain or Thailand

depending on the spec. Now

D40s copped a lot of criticism for

a whole bunch of reasons that I

could never fathom, as I’d owned

a couple of them and thought

they were a decent ute. On their

features list alone they were

impressive, and when you add

their purchase price, they made

a compelling buying proposition

compared to Hilux. For a long,

long time, Navara had the number

two ute sales position in this

country and a legion of fans, but

with the release of the D23 three

years ago, those fans deserted

It’s funny how things stick in

your mind, and one that’s been

rattling around inside my feeble

brain is the tune to that silly TV

ad Nissan called “Stronger for

Longer”. You’ll know the one,

a dad and son playing in the

savannah in a Navara in amongst

a herd of Wildebeest. Yep

Wildebeest. I bet we’ve all done

that before?

Well, it was as you’d expect all

done via CGI, so no Wildebeasties

were harmed in the making of the

ad, but it got me thinking what on

earth happened to Nissan’s ute

fortunes, going from consistent

runner-up to just an also-ran with

the now D23 (AKA NP300)?

The Navara nameplate has

been around for donkey’s years,

yet has never been able to light

up the sales charts compared

to Hilux, despite it being a better

value proposition and the Nissan

badge having had an equally

reasonable cachet for durability.

The old D22s shared with

Hiluxes of the day a similarly

functioning and equally asthmatic

indirect-injection method of

fuelling that was typical Japanese

practice and slow, so they were

equals there. Suspension design

wasn’t that dissimilar either with

a parallel evolution that ultimately

ended up with a leaf sprung rear

and an IFS in the modern style

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REVIEW: NAVARA ST

the brand in droves.

That first release of the D23 didn’t appeal to users carrying

heavy loads, and the new coil sprung back-end couldn’t cope,

leaving many an owner with the front bumper pointing to the

heavens. In what should have been a watershed moment for

Japanese utes in the comfort and articulation stakes, the coiled

Navara had looked like it had turned into a liability.

Now it is possible to make a ute work with coil springs,

Land Rover did with the 130 crew-cab Defender and followed

it up with the 110 version too, it’s just a question of getting the

spring rates right. So with the imminent release of the Mercedes

X-Class, Nissan has gone to some lengths to correct the carrying

capacity and tweak and refine in other areas to make what I think

is one of the best, if not the BEST stock suspended ute in the

local marketplace that I’ve driven in ages. Pretty big call, but I

reckon it’s justified, given the blancmange suspension I’ve driven

during my professional career that’s been served up as OEM and

supposedly good, by every 4WD maker to an unsuspecting public.

Now in case you’ve been living under a rock, in a bit of badgeengineered

orchestration the D23 Navara has been morphed into

the - soon to be released - in Australia X-Class and in Europe the

Renault Alaskan. That’s three nameplates spun out of the one

platform which is either clever marketing or the realisation that

it’s far easier to do the R&D once rather than three times, or both

I suppose? My ST variant press vehicle from Nissan was white

and unsurprisingly, still the most popular colour in commercial

circles by a country mile. Despite that, the Navara I reckon is the

prettiest shaped ute that we get to see here in Australia. There’s

actually some style, style that has produced a nice silhouette,

front and bum. There’s not a ridiculous amount of chrome on

its face, so there’s a smile that doesn’t need a paper bag. The

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REVIEW: 79 SERIES REVIEW: LANDCRUISER

NAVARA ST

back end is simple, and the lipped

tailgate adds some sparkle and

knocks down the dust at the same

time. I know looks are subjective

and a couple of friends I’d asked

for an opinion weren’t so keen, but

not in the polarising way that say a

Triton gets some folk in a lather.

The lid for the centre console

bin is a beauty having a nicely

padded top that’s made for resting

an elbow comfortably over long

distances. I was reminded of this

at the end of the test when Editor

Steane and I swapped rides, he

got the Navara with the comfy

cupboard, and I got a Fortuner.

Within a couple of kilometres, it

was making its presence felt, hard

as a rock, leaving me with an achy,

Above: That big tailgate

lip is a great thing. Below:

David’s arse was right at

home in the Navara.

breaky Toyota-elbow.

The interior is a great space with ample room for my six-foot

frame, and shoulders with probably amongst the best seats I’ve

sat in that will eat up the miles without a numb bum. The fabrics

were pleasant and thankfully not leather and hold you in place

well when combined with the seat bolsters that fitted my hips

perfectly. I hate sliding around on a bush track and constantly

having to push myself up into my seat and never forget how

leather left in the sun will burn a pair of pins wearing only shorts.

If you’ve got a bigger bum, you might find it a cosier snuggle.

There’s the usual fore-aft and recline with an additional height

adjustment too. I did find the centre console tunnel intruded everso-slightly

into my left leg space, my shin resting just on its edge.

It’s not a deal-breaker though like say driving a Defender with your

leg against the handbrake!

The rear seat room isn’t as generous as some others, but

it’s not a case of having your knees up around your chin, so with

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REVIEW: NAVARA ST

regular stops to arrest fatigue, a stretch of 600-800kms day

wouldn’t be out of the question. The other things retained from

the D40 cabin are doors that open wide for easy step-in and out

and the same flip-up rear seat to leave ample room on the floor

to carry gear too precious for outside. There’s a couple of underseat

bins for the jack and tool roll built into the floor for safe

stowage. In this specification, the floors were covered in carpet,

which isn’t my favourite flooring at all, but at least the pile was

generous and looked plush for the urban moments = good for

trapping sand and mud out in the bush! Can’t win them all.

Those consumed with how good the sound might be, how

easily the Bluetooth works and how reliable is the navigation, will

be pleased to know it all works. One thing I really liked is that with

the headlights on (that’s during the day – it’s safer being seen by

other road users even with DRLs) the screen (measuring 7”) didn’t

dim to a point where my eyes struggled to see what was going

on. The prompts for changes in direction were prompt, and when

I managed a major snafu at an intersection en-route for a dinnerdate,

it was quick to pick up

my mistake and recommend

an alternative exit.

One of the Navara’s party

tricks is an electric sliding rear

window. If you were hauling

a longer load or wanting to

introduce some fresh air into

the cab, a button on the dash

on the right-hand side of the

steering column operates the

sliding mid-section, just made

for lazy drivers including me.

Speaking of things

ventilation, there were

plenty of vents and the airconditioning

pumped out

lots of cold air in the heat of

a couple of 30 degree days

followed by some pretty nippy

evenings where the heater

worked a treat. Best of all, it’s

controlled by simple dials and

all easily over-ridden if you

want fresh air. Sorry folks but

climate control doesn’t float

my boat. If it floats yours,

you’ll have to opt for the STX.

Oh and then there are

those stupid push-button

starts, being an ST midspec

model, it ducked that

idiot way of starting. Keys

go in ignitions, so thank you,

Nissan, for not caving into

peer pressure across all your

models.

OK time to do some

driving. On the road, the ST

steers beautifully and handles

high-speed bitumen, good and

bad, impeccably. Some might

find it too firm, but I liked it a

lot. I put it to the “Moose Test”,

and it passed with just the

right amount of autonomous

braking to correct the induced

oversteer I’d provoked at

80km/h. A couple of crash

stops pulled it up straight and

true despite the use of drum

brakes in the back end (yep

one of my other pet hates).

I decided I needed to

put the rear coils to the test

with a typical tradie load.

If you believe that utes in

this country can reliably tow

3,500kgs off the showroom

floor, you must also believe

in fairies and elves too. Given

the grief that’s been heaped

on the Navara, I loaded our

big tandem alloy trailer with

the Rhino and a bunch of

timber and garden soil to a

weight nudging two tonnes.

I deliberately put the timber

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REVIEW: NAVARA ST

and soil up the front to load up the tow ball and then measured

before and after what happened to the back end. Unladen I got

950mm under the guards, with the trailer attached 930mm, a very

acceptable deflection.

Towing with that lot I thought might spell trouble in the geegee

department, so I pointed the rig at Adelaide’s main route

to Melbourne, the South-Eastern Freeway, a steep and lengthy

highway that peaks at Stirling and is zoned mostly 100km/h. With

a load on, those steep gradients are a challenge, but the Navara’s

Renault sourced 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel, producing 450Nm,

held its own. The Navara grunted it out, only dropping a gear once

or twice whereas other utes I’ve driven up that same road with

a similar load have gone-a-hunting, swapping gears and trying

to find the right cog for the moment. The Navara’s 7-speed trans

was smooth, 6th and 7th speeds are overdrive translating into a

highway 110km/h of barely 2,000rpm.

Now Loaded 4X4 is all about what goes on off-road, so offroad

we must go.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

REVIEW: NAVARA ST

The 4WD selector is in the modern idiom, electronically

activated via a rotary dial on the dash. Being a part-time 4WD

there’s 2H or two-wheel-drive through the rears only, 4H equals

four-wheel-drive HIGH range and 4L naturally four-wheel-drive in

LOW range, our favourite mode of travel. Both 4WD modes are

for loose surfaces only, use them on bitumen, and you’ll likely

break the car. The low range reduction was deep, and that’s good

at 2.717. Pointing the D23 down a steep hill in first was a piece

of cake, feet off the brakes and a confident descent despite it

being an automatic. No need for hill descent control as seen on

the STX. Nissan has made some great gains is in the traction

stakes. The old D40 Nav and the R51 Pathfinder siblings had

pretty ordinary traction control, Nissan calls their system Active

Brake Limited Slip (ABLS)… but never mind the name, care about

The Navara was a big

surprise off-road. Loads

more clearance at the front

than the jutting jawed

HiLux, traction control that

was up there with the best

of them and a better ride

than any other 4X4 ute

that we’ve tested. Nissan is

back in the game.

the action, as it was quick

and decisive. On sand, it was

typically useless, but on rocky

steps and other firm surfaces,

it was as good as what I

remember we saw when we

tested the new Hilux in 2017.

As with the Hilux,

Navara has a rear diff-lock

and engaging the diff-lock

disengages traction control.

The tyres were typically

passenger car (and Toyo

which reflects a change in

OEM spec for a few makers

recently) but thankfully fitted

to a 16” wheel. I say thankfully

because there’s a lot of 4WD

makers of both utes and

wagons enamoured with 18”

wheels (the STX Navara runs

them) and they are about as

useful as mammaries on a

bull. With an 18” wheel and

tyre combo comes too many

compromises off-road, fashion

triumphing over function.

The 255/70R16 on my

ST was a dopey size that you

won’t find in the bush but

replaced with an LT265/75R16

123R in an all-terrain pattern,

would give you the perfect

rubber for the bush and a

size you’ll find anywhere and

durable too.

Underneath it looked like

a trip to the aftermarket might

be in order, as the mechanical

gubbins need protection. That

beautiful aluminium casting

of front diff and axles need

a serious bash plate, so if

something gets clobbered, it

won’t be fatal. Same for the

transfer case.

Now the Navara does

have a sports-shift function

but Nissan’s engineers need a

kick up the bum coz they got

a critical LOW range moment

wrong. Especially in sand

and mud, it’s important to get

Above centre: That air-intake is in

a great spot to suck in a lung full of

water. Above: Nissan has finally sorted

out that coil sprung rear end. You’d

think they’d know wouldn’t ya. Patrol...

some early momentum going

and starting in 2nd with a

quick bump up into 3rd gets

you that necessary speed.

My test Navara follows past

Navara form only permitting

1st gear starts in the manual

mode. That’s dumb and likely

will get you bogged rather than

on your way.

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

REVIEW: NAVARA ST

Specifications

Verdict

ENGINE: 2.3 litre turbo-diesel,

140kW/450Nm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic

SUSPENSION: Front: independent;

Rear: 5-link coil sprung solid axle

STEERING: 12.4m turning circle

BRAKES: Front: ventilated discs Rear: drum

FUEL ECONOMY: 7.0 l/100km (claimed)

WHEELS & TYRES: 16” alloy wheels;

255/70 R16 tyres

WADING DEPTH: 450mm

TOW RATING: 750kg (unbraked);

3,500kg (braked); 968kg payload;

2,910kg GVM

APPROACH/DEPARTURE: 33.1

degrees/28.1 degrees

ANCAP RATING: 5-Star

PRICE AS TESTED: $46,490 (incl

GST; excl dealer costs)

LOADED4X4 RATING: 85/100

So if you’ve stuck with this story to this point, you may be

wondering where’s the catch? There’s precious few, but maybe

the one that creates some doubt is the wisdom of using a

passenger car engine in a 4WD and a complicated one at that. I

have no doubt that in time everyone will be going down this path,

squeezing more and more from smaller and smaller engines.

Think I’m dreaming? Volkswagen’s Amarok uses a twin-turbo 2.0

litre, and my past experience with that wasn’t good. Ford’s Ranger

Raptor will be of the same school and capacity. This one is

marginally bigger at 2.3 litres but is Renault designed, and when

you look at things like the air intake point it leaves you scratching

your head about its longevity?

I think there’s plenty of positives with the D23 Navara and

I reckon it’s worth putting on your shopping list because the

suspension’s been fixed, it’s got enough grunt, and it’s fuel

efficient across a combined around town, heavy towing and LOW

range test regime.

The three-year warranty will buy you some peace of mind in

the durability stakes. With the imminent X Class release here in

Australia I think there’s going to be some interesting comparisons

made, a bit like the Ranger and BT50 considerations plenty of

new car buyers have made in recent years. Go on, go chase a

Wildebeest and do it in a Navara, I dare you!

Back to main menu

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

QUICK DRIVE: TJM NAVARA ST-X

BUILDING A BETTER

D23

Before I embark on this brief tale, I want to make it clear that

this article has not in any way been sponsored by TJM. Not with

cash, product, or even a sausage in bread and unlike us, you can

take that to the bank.

Timing is a funny thing. I was having a yarn to Rick Long,

an old mate of mine, just before a recent trip I made to WA and

mentioned that I was reviewing the updated D23 Navara. Rick

let it slip that he had a flash Nav in his TJM Kewdale office that I

needed to drive to confirm my thoughts on the suspension.

Now many of you know that the coil-sprung back end of the

Navara should have been one of those revelatory moments when

the Japanese 4WD ute industry accepted that leaf springs were

from the Dark Ages of horse and cart and that the future lies

with coils. But Nissan didn’t get the carrying capacity right and

in doing so blighted their opportunity to enlighten the world that

By David Wilson

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


there was a better way, a missed opportunity big time!

With the release of the Mercedes X-Class now with us,

Nissan had to act quickly to fix the problem before the new truck

arrived and as you will have read in my review on the previous

pages, I reckon they’ve nailed it. I’ll say again that the revised

D23 is probably the best stock-suspended ute in our local

marketplace and can now carry a load.

But after banging around in 4WDs for four and a half decades,

I can tell you that stock suspension can always be improved

by the aftermarket, especially when you’re seeking better

articulation off-road or when carrying heavy loads and loaded to

the max on that big trip or towing.

So I picked up the TJM D23 and their Mazda BT50 (which

we’ll take a look at in another issue of Loaded 4X4) and headed

out with TJM’s Ross Jevons to the Mundaring Powerlines Track in

the Perth foothills to check out whether even better performance

was possible from their kit bag of

suspension bits.

The TJM D23 is a veritable

cornucopia of TJM products of

either their own making or from

one of their many supplying

sources. The base ute was a

Slate Grey ST-X, the top of the

range automatic, and the model

I like the least as it comes

with 18” wheels, leather seats,

that stupid push-button start

and softer stock suspension

than the lesser commercial

variants. It was pretty obvious

that the TJM D23 was heavy.

Now with all that bar-work,

winch, drawers, fridge and

loaded to the hilt with other

accessories, it couldn’t

help but weigh around

the 2.5-tonne mark. Yet

surprise, surprise the

suspension was carrying

that mass with the right

attitude – tail upright

where it should be and

nose not dragging on the

ground. Big tick on that point then. Driving

around town and later on the highway told me immediately that

the spring rates were comfy for the bitumen and the initial bump

on potholes was well managed. One thing that was impacting on

the comfort-stakes though was the 18” wheel and tyre combo. I

dislike 18” wheels intensely on 4WDs, as what is purely a fashion

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


Decent flex in the rear.

exercise ruins ride comfort and 4WD ability, with a reduced

sidewall height unable to deflect bumps, a decrease in footprint

length when airing down off-road and an increase in the risk of

tyre/wheel separation in a tight turn. The other bugbear is there

are precious few Light Truck tyre options available to replace the

passenger car rubber that comes from the manufacturer stock

standard and therefore greater puncture potential or tyre failure

under heavy loads is likely.

Despite that impediment (oh and over-inflation before I

corrected that), the bitumen manners were good, and I took the

liberty of doing a mini Moose test at speed and found its swerve

and recover/stability control manners were still good despite

having a roof rack and tent upstairs.

Once at Mundaring I found a nice little diagonal opportunity

on a dirt mound and put the back axle to the test with a big old

stretch moment to see what sort of elasticity the spring/shock

combo could muster. Well bugger me, there was a great big

yawning moment as the wheel dropped out from under the guard

18s look good but

and revealed the coil and axle in the same are crap off road.

sort of fashion you’d expect from the back

end of a Patrol. That’s good because it keeps

wheels planted on the ground and forward (or

reverse) motion preserved before you have to

trouble either traction control or the diff-lock.

The Navara’s suspension is what TJM

call their XGS4000 series, and it’s a complete

replacement kit for the front struts and coils,

and in the rear, the coils and shocks get to make way for the

new gear. To get the maximum effect out of the rear end, TJM

recommend replacing the Panhard rod with an adjustable one.

There was an inspiring moment or two at a granite outcrop

on the track where I decided to take on a traverse that really

didn’t exist with lots of steps and awkward changes of direction

necessary to get onto each section.

With low range first gear locked in and a bit of two-foot

driving, right foot barely on the accelerator and left foot caressing

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


the brake for the moments going over a ledge and restricting

the brief decline, I tippy-toed my way up and around and over in

both directions. Amazingly the ramp-over angle didn’t register

a touchdown telling me underbelly clearance was good despite

the lift in the kit providing only a claimed 40mm of extra daylight.

Doesn’t seem like much but it obviously helps.

I did manage a touchdown though on the rear step bar and

left some Shale Grey bark behind on the rocks when I’d turned

too soon. Later on a section of washboard ironstone marbles at

80km/h in high range, there was a fair old transfer of corrugations

through the suspension and into the cabin, but I’m putting that

down to the wheel and tyre combo again, the sidewalls not flexing

enough to soak up the bumps. I reckon I could have tuned that out

with a 20 percent reduction in pressure.

The rear coils were rated at the heavy end, the 600kg constant

load capacity that TJM offer (there’s also a 150kg for a modest

carrying capacity or a 350kg intermediate version). If I were buying

for myself, as my weights are up and down like a yo-yo, I would

have opted for the 350kg spring to maintain some ride quality.

However this set-up demonstrated to me that heavy springs can

still be compliant on a range of surfaces. As for the rest of the fitout

it was a quality piece of kit. So was it improved?

The answer is obviously yes, for while Nissan has devoted a

fair chunk of R&D on the suspension revision, the aftermarket can

still extract that little bit more and that my friends is a good thing

in building a better D23 or anything else!

Back to main menu

OPINION: DAVID WILSON

David

wilson

The great towing lie.

I’m driven to write my piece

this time about one of the great

untruths of the new vehicle

industry, and that is the wildly

optimistic claims of wagons

being able to tow 3,000kgs and

utes 3,500kgs. I step in and out

of new vehicles almost daily and

from every manufacturer, so what

I’m about to say I can confidently

apply to every single one of them.

Standard suspension is rubbish,

engine power mostly asthmatic,

transmissions and tyres underspec,

rear drum brakes on utes

feeble and the tow weights

quoted are so far removed from

a safe reality it’s not funny. What

set this in motion was a phone

call from a client late last year

who was bitterly disappointed

with their ute’s performance

(one making great claims about

towing ability) and looking for

advice on how to improve his

situation. The ute was on its third

new automatic transmission at

only 45,000kms old and needing

a fourth. I wish I could divulge the

maker, but for reasons of privacy

and not wanting to interfere in the

outcome of a pending warranty

claim I can’t spill the beans.

In a nutshell, he’s selfemployed

in the building industry

and tows a tandem trailer that

hauls up to 2,500kgs; the loads

vary from day-to-day, a fair old

load, but well within the claims

the maker suggests.

Now the bloke in question is

no dummy. He and his wife spent

a lot of time researching how

they were going to spend their

hard-earned $50,000+, wanting a

vehicle that could haul the load

reliably and deliver on some 4WD

trips away in good comfort, the

classic dual-cab promise.

So after following the towing

advice in the owner’s handbook

(yep some people do read them)

to the letter he discovers his

first transmission is fried in

quick time. A combination of

gently undulating hills and flat

ground (they live and work in

a mainland capital city), stopstart

traffic and the odd highway

run, cooks the transmission

with a load 1,000kgs under

the suggested maximum. So

transmission number two goes

in, and the franchised service

centre gives them a pep talk on

technique, just in case the owner

is aggravating the situation. Bad

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luck about the first, perhaps a

manufacturing fault caused its

demise, so number two should

rectify the situation. Nup. A

few months later transmission

number two goes into meltdown,

won’t hold gears, starts hunting

up and down its range and then

stops, mightily embarrassing

for all concerned. Back to the

dealer it goes, and now there’s

some serious discussion about

why this has happened again.

There’s lots of finger-pointing, but

no recognition/admission that

heat has likely caused this and

a big cooler is what’s required.

So out it goes with yet another

new transmission and hello, six

months later we’re back and

busted once more, transmission

number three is toast.

I had a transmission

specialist once tell me that heat

kills 90% of auto transmissions

and sometimes scarily quickly.

Apparently for every 15°C

increase in temperature above

80°C the life of the transmission

oil is cut in half and the stock

pathetic cooling system

employed in many automatics

can barely cope when the vehicle

is operating in modest ambient

temperatures, let alone what

happens when towing and in

summer! Get a transmission

to 150°C, and the ATF (auto

transmission fluid) might last

barely 1,000 to 1,500kms!

“With yet another

transmission destined

to find its way into this

impossible situation

the couple, now with

little faith in the vehicle,

are weighing up their

options.”

All the while our builder friend

found the ride disconcerting, as

the vehicle had a distinctly noseup

attitude with bum dragging

on the ground when towing.

After getting into a death-wobble

one day, he recognised that

the suspension was woefully

inadequate and bit the bullet on

a reputable aftermarket kit, front

and rear.

Thankfully the advice was

good there, getting exactly

the right rate springs for the

imposed loads (and not going

down the path of a Band-

Aid fix with airbags or weight

distribution hitches as some were

recommending) and shocks that

truly could dampen and flatten

the ride and keep the vehicle’s

profile at the right attitude.

What’s wrong with the Band-

Aids I hear you ask? How about a

broken chassis for a start!

If the suspension is crook

from day one, there’s no point

polishing that turd. If you

intend doing anything other

than carrying tiny loads and

running around town it should

be replaced. Same rule applies

to tyres and with the 30,000km

young OEM tyres starting to look

pretty threadbare, more money

was outlaid on decent light-truck

rubber with a proper load index.

Tyres now fixed.

With yet another transmission

destined to find its way into this

impossible situation the couple,

now with little faith in the vehicle,

are weighing up their options.

Install a big cooler and hope it

fixes the issues, or buy a medium

truck with a proper payload and

forgo the 4WD opportunities the

ute would’ve delivered for their

lifestyle? If they sell, they’ll cop

a big hit in depreciation and lose

Need to tow a big van? Perhaps

you really need one of these...

the benefit of the suspension and

tyre upgrade. There’s no winner in

this story.

And then there’s the folk who

don’t know anything about this

towing stuff, or how inadequate

their new ute is for towing. Lulled

into a false sense of security by

the manufacturer’s tow rating,

they buy the biggest caravan

they can get for their retirement

lap of Australia. They then

unwittingly, because precious few

people understand GCM (Gross

Combination Mass), start loading

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everything and the

kitchen sink into the van

and chuck a tinny on the roof of

the car, on the off chance the fish

will be biting at that river in the

brochure.

Now, let’s talk about torque.

When you’re all towed-up and

on the lap doing a big transport

stage with plenty of kays to eat

up in a day the last thing you

want when overtaking that big

semi is to be left in the breeze,

foot flat to the floor and willing

that motor to hurry the fuck up!

The bigger the torque

output, the better, but having

that available between 1,000 to

2,500rpm is best most of the

time and some do it better than

others. I’ve often been surprised

that some of the four-cylinder

diesel utes we drive will tow as

effectively as a V8 powered 70

series Land Cruiser ute.

The other part of this

equation is gearing. All modern

vehicles are geared tall for

greater fuel efficiency and less

engine speed, except the same

70 series V8s which really need

a six-speed gearbox in the

highway stakes. By the time

you put a slightly bigger wheel

and tyre combo on and up the

gearing ever so slightly, your once

greyhound around town is now

an old dog ready for the vet. With

that big tow load on the back,

your paltry 400-450Nm of torque

is nowhere near enough to get

things going when that overtaking

moment arrives.

I’ve told anyone who’ll listen,

that the first manufacturer who

can truly engineer these failings

out of their 4WDs and offer a

vehicle that is right from the getgo,

will smoke the opposition

who are stuck with their heads in

the sand and drowning in the selfbelief

that they’ve got it right.

Right now, the best the

vehicle makers can serve up to us

as an improved version of their

steed amounts to nothing more

The full size North American utes are steadily

gaining sales traction in Australia. Why?

Because the buggers can tow serious loads

without blowing their poofer valves.

than some black

paint and a sticker or two!

If I’ve got your attention now

why don’t you really focus your

mind and read Brendan’s article

about GVM, in what has to be

the most comprehensive piece

written about the subject ever.

Check it out here and prepare to

be amazed.

Back to main menu

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

LOADED 007: FJ CRUISER

Smooth

BREW

By Steane Klose

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The best part of shooting 4X4s for the magazine is the

people you meet. Sav, the owner of this FJ Cruiser, is a man that

likes his cars, his coffee and getting away from the city during

his very limited time off. Sav is a fishmonger who works with his

dad in the family business at the Queen Vic Market in Melbourne,

which means long hours, really early mornings and lots of coffee.

Working hard should always mean that you get to play hard, and

for Sav, cars are front and centre on that score. In addition to the

FJ, he’s got an 11-second Monaro that he uses for the Sunday

morning milk run.

How did a fella with an 11-second street machine get into

off-roading and 4X4s? Well, Sav had a blue Tonka truck when he

was a kid (hold that thought), and a little later his mate bought a

4X4 and a little further down

the track, Sav bought his

own HiLux. The HiLux was

responsible for really piquing

his interest in 4X4s, and that

bloke with a beard and a green

truck, sealed the deal. Roothy

DVDs (remember those?) got

Sav interested in the old FJ40s

and Sav, being quite a bit

younger, parlayed that interest

into an FJ Cruiser build. The FJ

is of course, Toyota’s ‘modern

interpretation’ of the old FJ40.

Just so happens the FJ he

chose was blue, making this

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a story that starts, and for the

moment at least, ends with a

blue Tonka truck, and it’s got the

Tonka badges to prove it.

Toyota no longer makes the

FJ Cruiser, and it never sold in

great numbers in Australia. For

those that don’t know, the FJ is

pretty much all Prado under the

skin, and that means straight

off the showroom floor, it’s got

game out on the tracks. Under

the bonnet is Toyota’s 4.0-litre V6

VVT petrol engine – it was the

only engine available in the FJ –

and this fact alone would have

kept a lid on interest in Australia.

It shouldn’t have, but we’re all a

little blind when it comes to what

powers our 4X4s in this country.

I caught up with Sav on a

recent day trip to Bunyip State

Forest in Victoria, a trip that

featured a line up of serious

off-road machinery that we’ll be

featuring in future issues. But it

was coffee that got me interested

in this FJ and its owner. Oh, and

the colour. Some colours pop in

pics, and the FJ’s blue is one of

the best.

When you’re running up and

down hills (mountains) shooting

1000s of pics, just the idea that

a coffee and a five-minute break

is possible, keeps you going.

Sav was packing coffee and was

hell-bent on punching a couple

of cups out, and while it never

happened – we were too busy

– it got us talking, and I soon

found myself sitting in the best

riding 4X4 I’d ever sat my butt in;

seriously. Forget farting on the

couch; this FJ is as close as it

gets to riding on a cushion of air.

It glides over serious potholes

so smoothly, it leaves your brain

scrambling to work out where

the jarring impact you were

expecting went. You have to force

yourself to adjust to the quality

of the ride and stop tensing in

anticipation of the feedback from

each obstacle the FJ glides over.

Towards the end of the Bunyip

trip, we tackled a long, steep,

rutted and muddy hill climb. It

had beaten two standard Patrols

and was as rough as guts, but

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Sav’s FJ glided up. Honestly, we

could have both been drinking

a double shot espresso and not

spilt a drop, and for the life of me

I can’t work out why we weren’t;

just another lost opportunity

along the road of life.

The secret to this smooth

riding FJ is, of course, its

suspension, and it took Sav some

time to get it dialled to his liking.

The big-ticket mod is a full set

of custom Kings off-road racing

remote reservoir shocks. Sav

originally bought the King’s gear

off-the-shelf, but he packed it all

in a suitcase (seriously) and flew

up to Queensland to have Brad

from King Shocks rebuild them

to suit his specific requirements.

In addition to the Kings gear, Sav

has fitted a Superpro diff spacer

kit that lowers the front diff

30mm, enough to keep the CVs

playing nicely, which combined

with some adjustable upper

control arms, makes a 4” lift with

85mm of down travel possible.

The rear axle has been hooked

up to a set of King’s shocks

sporting 738mm open lengths

and 512mm compressed lengths.

Working in combination with a

set of Icon ‘Slinky’ long travel

springs, 50mm longer sway bar

extensions, offset control arms

and an adjustable Panhard rod,

the FJs rump has maintained

stock up-travel and gained 75mm

of addition down-travel.

“Forget farting on

the couch; this

FJ is as close as it

gets to riding on a

cushion of air.”

Sav’s currently running 35”

Mickey Thompson tyres on a set

of 17X8.5” Walker Evans racing

wheels that he’s imported from

the USA, and he’s had both diffs

rebuilt and re-geared to suit the

larger diameter wheels.

A 127-litre long range tank

has been fitted, in addition to

the factory 72-litre tank, bringing

total fuel capacity up to around

200-litres.

Up front there’s an ARB

Deluxe bullbar in silver, that’s

fitted with a Warn XD9000

electric winch and synthetic

rope. Sav says the silver bullbar

is a ‘classic FJ thing’, much like

the white roof. It hasn’t stopped

him contemplating hitting the

Above: That’d be the ‘recovery

gear’ drawer, not the ‘pantry’

drawer. Left: 4.0 petrol V6

Below: The FJ loves lifting

wheels but that doesn’t stop it.

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FJ with a full blackout makeover

(except the roof) as part of an

end of build refresh, which might

really be a mid-build change of

direction, ‘cos these builds never

really end.

Sav’s preferred type of

off-road adventure is touring.

Bouncing over rocks isn’t his

thing, although the FJ made

it through the rocks at Bunyip

mostly unscathed. A couple

of those Walker Evans alloys

copped a few scrapes but I hear

they make excellent coffee tables

when their time is up.

With touring being his focus,

Sav has decked the FJ out to suit.

The rear drawers are custom built

by Sav & George Fabrications

or in other words, at Sav’s place

with the help of a mate. They’ve

been designed around fitting two

essential items, the Engel fridge

and a Webber Baby Q. There are

two big drawers, one is a pantry,

and the other is where Sav keeps

a basic set of tools and some

recovery gear.

As with any well set-up tourer,

12-volt mods are plentiful. The FJ

runs a dual battery system that

is managed by a Redarc smart

charger. The second battery runs

the Engel and is hooked into an

inverter that can supply 240 volts,

which is just the juice needed to

power a decent coffee machine.

Sav’s replaced every interior

globe with LEDs and fitted an

LED headlight upgrade, LED

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spotties and a curved 50” LED light

bar mounted on the roof. Much of the

LED gear has been supplied by Stedi.

External shelter from the elements

is provided by a Darche 270 degree

awning. Rain, hail or shine, there’s a

place to sit and ponder the next mod.

Where Sav’s FJ goes from here

is anyones’ guess. He was getting

serious about selling it and buying

a Wrangler shortly after this shoot,

but he worked out what he’d done to

the FJ and settled back down again,

sort of. There was also some talk

about it being dropped around to

Double Black Off-Road along with

the instructions, “go USA on it” which

presumably would end with Sav

getting back a blacked out, crawler

style comp truck. That could be cool.

I know that I’m regularly meeting

people who regret selling one of their

trucks, only to spend years and shed

loads of money trying to make the

ones that come after better, often

without success. Thanks for showing

us your FJ Sav!

Sav could be persuaded to sell. If

you’re interested you can contact

him at mrsavs@gmail.com

Back to main menu

DESTINATIONS: HIGH COUNTRY

HIGHCOUNTRY

WITH THE I-VENTURE CLUB

Words and images by Steane Klose

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Is the Victorian High Country one

of the top five 4WD destinations in

Australia? I reckon the answer to that

question is a resounding ‘yes’.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have made numerous trips to

this part of the world, and it lives up to the hype, quite literally

having something for everyone. You can dial up the type of offroading

that you want to experience, from relatively easy touring,

right through to truck breaking madness. The choice is yours, and

whichever way you decide to cut it, the scenery will never fail to

completely astonish you.

If you’re an Isuzu 4WD owner (new or old), you don’t need a

bunch of mad mates to visit places like the High Country. You can

instead, sign up for one of Isuzu’s I-Venture Club (IVC) multi-day

trips, just make sure you get your foot in the door quickly, as they

book out within hours of being announced. I’m guessing the best

way to keep up to speed regarding upcoming trips would be to

subscribe via the I-Venture Club website.

Now, I know a bit about the I-Venture Club for a couple of

reasons, chief among them being the fact that Loaded 4X4’s

David Wilson is the face of the I-Venture club and because I

attended an Adelaide I-Venture Club course – held in the Barossa

Valley – back in late 2016.

The I-Venture Club is all about getting Isuzu owners off the

bitumen, teaching them how to operate their 4X4s and giving

them that first push towards the adventure that this type of

vehicle puts at their fingertips, should they choose to accept it;

and it seems many do. Where the one-day Adelaide I-Venture

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Club experience gave owners a

complete understanding of their

Isuzus and how to operate them

off-road, the four-day High Country

trip adds daily destinations and a

real chance to get to know your

vehicle as well as your fellow

I-Venture Club attendees.

This trip was interesting in that

there was a mix of Isuzu owning

IVC customers and motoring

journalists. Whatever you do, don’t

let the attendance of a handful

of media blowhards put you off

one of these trips, I can assure

you they’ll mostly, with the rare

exception, have less of an idea

about 4WDs than any of the Isuzu

owners in attendance.

Speaking of rare exceptions,

we were lucky enough to have

Carlisle Rogers attend this

trip, and there’s no arguing his

credentials. You may know

Carlisle from his 4WD Touring

magazine and television series.

We’re more than happy to give

Carlisle a plug because he lives

and breathes quality content,

and that’s something we respect.

Carlisle rolled into Bright, the

meeting point for attendees on the

first day, in his recently finished

custom D-MAX called Shadow. If

Above: They’ve got no idea

where they’re going. Below:

David explaining the Isuzu

drive system. Bottom: Vic

doesn’t like prickles much.

Carlisle Roger’s fresh

D-MAX build ‘Shadow’.

you’re planning a D-MAX tourer build, there is plenty that Carlisle

can teach you, and if you happen to bump into him, ask him about

his upright fridge and how much easier it makes life on the road.

Our trip leader or guide was Mr Vic Widman. Vic is a wellknown

and respected 4WD driver trainer, tag along tour leader

and owner of Great Divide Tours. He’s also a disarmingly funny

man and try as you might to resist - and I did resist – he’ll find

a way to punch some mirth through your morning fog. Riding

shotgun with Vic was our David. David is the I-Venture Club

driver trainer, and he kept the convoy on the straight and narrow,

regaling them with regular UHF banter that included driving tips

and terrain observations. He also jumped between vehicles to

assist the Isuzu owners through some of the trickier sections.

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Day 1: Bright to Blue Rag

The adventure kicked off in beautiful Bright, the gateway to

Mt Hotham and like many of these Victorian alpine region towns,

it’s one of those picture postcard perfect kind of places. Lunch

was followed by a short drivers’ briefing, and then we pointed

the noses of around 14 Isuzu 4WDs towards Mt Hotham. The

sealed road up Mt Hotham is a never-ending series of curves and

switchbacks, with the kind of steep drop-offs you’d expect to find

on a serious mountain. It’s deer country as well, so keep your

eyes peeled for those elusive Sambar. There are millions of them

in them there hills apparently.

The road straightens out a little as you near the summit, and

we pulled into a lookout area that provided million-dollar views

back over the northern side of the mountain.

Soon after leaving the lookout, we were onto the dirt for the

first time, as we headed south towards Blue Rag Range Track.

We stopped briefly to air down to 20psi before turning up what is

arguably the best-known track in the High Country. Blue Rag isn’t

difficult for the experienced off-roader, but there are some tricky

sections that can get the blood pumping and the climb to the Trig

Point lookout can be unnerving for the first timer; 1700m dropoffs

on either side of the track can have that effect!

The Blue Rag Trig Point. Click on

images to the left to see the climb to

Blue Rag and the view.

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Once you’re up at the Trig Point, the view soothes away any

reservations you may have had about the drive in and - hopefully

- gets you pumped for the return journey, which for us was a

case of retracing our steps back to Bright. There were one or

two sections on the way out of Blue Rag that, depending on your

wheel placement, had the traction control working hard in both

the D-MAXs and MU-Xs, but in stock form and on stock rubber,

they made Blue Rag look easy.

Day 2: Bright to Mansfield via Buckland Valley and

Lake Hovell

The second day was the easiest of the four and a chance

for those flustered by the Blue Rag climb to have a bit of a relax.

According to Vic, a lot of the places we were visiting today had

Above: A couple

of custom D-MAXs

posed near Lake

Hovell Right: Vic on

the attack outside Mt

No3 Refuge Hut.

Aboriginal names, all of which

meant ‘the meeting of two rivers’.

You’d think Vic would know,

wouldn’t you?

Anyway, we toured the

Buckland Valley. Drove a track

that followed the powerlines at

Mt Buffalo. Had lunch at Lake

Hovell and drove back up through

the mountains to visit a couple

of renowned cattlemen’s huts

(including Tomahawk), before

heading into Mansfield for the

evening and we did it all without

seeing two rivers even get close to

each other.

The driving was easy, and

those 4JJ1 Isuzu turbo-diesels

barely broke a sweat, making this

the perfect ‘cool down’ day.

Day 3: Bindaree Falls,

Bindaree hut, Bluff hut and

Sheepyard Flat

Day 3 found us on the

infamous Circuit Road that runs

around Mt Stirling. As the name

implies, it circles a mountain,

and its infamy is derived from

the perception that you seem to

spend a lot of time circling that

Left: Bindaree Falls is a great place

to cool down on a hot day.

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mountain in this particular neck of the woods.

All of the circling is worth it though, as, like

us, you’ll arrive at places like Bindaree Falls

- do not drive past without taking a look –

and Bindaree Hut further down in the valley.

Bindaree Hut guards the entry to 16 Mile Jeep

Track, which climbs 1,650 metres up to Bluff

Hut, which just happens to be my favourite

High Country hut. It oozes High Country

charm, and a short walk over the road is an

escarpment that you can perch yourself on

and take in some breathtaking views. You

could do a lot worse than spending a night in

this spot.

As we left Bluff Hut, an old Land Rover

Perentie arrived, and if you know your 4X4s,

you’ll understand the Isuzu connection. These

old Landys were unique to the Australian

Army and have only recently been auctioned

off to the public. The reliability of their truck-

derived 3.9-litre 4BD1 Isuzu diesel engines is the stuff of legend.

They are quite possibly the first melding of a 4WD vehicle with an

Isuzu truck engine, and it’s a formula that continues today with

the Isuzu N-Series truck derived 4JJ1 3.0-litre diesel powering

both D-MAX and MU-X. The Isuzu owners that I chatted with over

the course of this trip revealed that it was ‘that engine’ and its

reputation for reliability that sold them on the brand.

From Bluff Hut we descended to Sheepyard Flat and from

their back out onto the bitumen for a short drive into Mansfield.

Line-up outside Bluff Hut.

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Day 4: Mount No3 Refuge Hut, Monument Trail and

Craig’s Hut

The final day of this I-Venture Club adventure began with a

drive back into the Mt Buller/Mt Stirling area. This time we wound

our way up Mountain No3 – which according to Vic was next to

Mountains No1 and No2 – to the Mountain No3 Refuge Hut, before

heading out and back down to the Circuit Road, which we followed

around to Monument Trail. Monument Trail is the harder of the two

ways to get up Mt Stirling to Craig’s Hut.

Monument is steep, and there are a handful of rocky sections

that keep the drive interesting, especially for factory stock vehicles

that don’t have suspension lifts and rock-sliders to protect the sills.

The hardest section – a narrow low-traction piece of track bordered

by rocks on one side and track wall on the other - was tackled with

the aid of a spotter and put the Isuzu traction control to the test.

This is the type of track that so many inexperienced 4WD owners

would never dream of attempting on their own. It’s also the type

of track that David’s expert guidance can turn into a fist-pumping,

remember forever, experience.

The prize at the end of Monument Trail is, of course, Craig’s

Hut. Undoubtedly the High Country’s most popular hut, it’s also the

one imposter, as it was never built to house High Country stockmen

in winter storms. Craig’s Hut was constructed as a prop for the

1981-82 The Man From Snowy River film. It was later lost to a

bushfire in 2006 and subsequently rebuilt to be re-opened to the

public in 2008. Does that make it a replica of a replica? You can

drive around Mt Stirling for hours and feel mostly alone, only to turn

up at Craig’s Hut to find the carpark – it’s a big one – bursting at

the seams. It’s just one of those places. From Craig’s Hut, it was a

relatively easy drive back down to Circuit Road and the entrance to

Mt Stirling, where we aired up and said our goodbyes.

The takeaways from this trip for me were three-fold. Firstly, the

High Country never gets boring – ever. Secondly, every trip away

is as much about the people as it is the destination, and Isuzu

owners are in my experience, an interesting and down-to-earth

bunch. And thirdly, Isuzu has some serious faith in its product.

Isuzu is the only manufacturer that offers driver training days and

multi-day destination trips, and in doing so, it’s putting its product

under ongoing scrutiny in a variety of difficult conditions across the

country, often with a media contingent present. If you own an Isuzu

and want to know more about the Isuzu I-Venture Club and their

upcoming events, head over to their website.

Back to main menu

OPINION: RAY CULLY

Ray

That’s Ray’s GQ but

that’s not Ray Cully.

cully

Who is Ray Cully?

Sitting in pride of place on

top of my toolbox was a crisp

new brochure with a picture of

a flash new GQ Patrol wagon

on the beach at sunset. Every

time it caught my gaze, I’d smile,

distracted from the mundane

grind of swinging spanners and

fixing everyone else’s car woes.

My fiancé patiently put up with

me visiting the closed Nissan car

yard every Saturday on my way

home from work for months… so

that I could stand and daydream

about all the fun, we could have

and new-found freedom we could

explore together… Yep, I had

to have one! From my earliest

memory of constantly playing

with my Hotwheels model cars to

spending all my time after school

hanging out in car yards; I was

obsessed with cars. I dreamed of

a Track Red GTHO Phase III, crisp

Ermine White 350 HT Monaro,

a Hemi Orange RT E49 Charger

or the newer Jasmine Yellow

SLR/5000 or that awesome

hatchback the A9X with an

L34 engine option… finished in

Aquarius Blue.

These were quintessential

mechanical muscle machines;

the engineering principles were

simple - if you needed more

power, you just added cubic

inches. From my sixteenth

birthday, time tortuously slowed;

months were years, weeks were

months and days felt like they

would never end… I suspected

cars would become obsolete

by the time I completed my rite

of passage and obtained my

license. I think I accumulated

more hours behind the wheel

in my first twelve months than

most do in five years. Friday

night - pub, band and screaming

conversation with my mates?

Yeah, sure whatever. But a full

tank, latest soundtrack, and keys

in hand… I was out of there! It

wasn’t about being anti-social,

I enjoyed the serenity of being

lost in my own thoughts. I love to

drive, always have - always will.

I’m happiest when I’m behind

the wheel. I was more about

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OPINION: RAY CULLY

the enjoyment of the drive as

opposed to showing off in the car

and gravitated toward race clubs

and drive days on closed circuit

tracks and even into competitive

driving events.

But then I met a girl. A girl

with a dad who preferred the road

less travelled. Yes, it was time for

my first 4WDrive outing!

I vividly remember a bunch of

teenagers; sardine squeezed into

the back of a Toyota 55 series

wagon – man, that was one ugly

vehicle! Driving down onto a

beach which resembled a fourlane

highway and was just as

hard, no problem. But getting out

to air DOWN the tyres?

Had her dad lost his mind? He

wanted to drive this behemoth of

a vehicle on flat tyres, seriously?

I began to question this family’s

sanity. Was I the only one

seeing this action as irrational?

Remember, I was a blacktop

purest with no exposure to what

lies beyond the well-formed kerbs

of tourist lookout car parks.

Seeing my dubious

expression, I got invited to ride

shotgun. “Great,” I thought, “I’ll

get to see first-hand the stupidity

of our unfolding predicament as

we get this vehicle hopelessly

bogged and spend the rest of the

day trying to free it from the vicelike

grip of the soft sand.”

After all, any idiot knows

that a heavy vehicle will sink

without nice solid bitumen or

concrete under its tyres. I’d

already suffered the pain of

dropping a tyre into soft sand

when I unsuccessfully attempted

a three-point turn on a narrow

country road. It wasn’t something

I wanted to repeat unnecessarily.

“As my hand nervously

hovered over the door

handle, I wondered

should I tuck and roll

or stay, gambling that

I would survive this

surreal event.”

Back to the 55 Wagon with

flat tyres, Dad said with a happy

grin, “Time for low range”.

Noticing this vehicle had two gear

levers, its cool factor climbed

considerably, but not enough to

have me believe it could bend the

laws of physics.

Then, horror of horrors, he

selected THIRD gear – “Oh lord

does this man know anything?”

Expecting a big bunny hop

and the engine to stall, I was

gobsmacked as we moved off

effortlessly and the big 55 moved

its way slowly along the beach

like some prehistoric creature

trundling toward the valley

between two large dunes. Seeing

the sand slowly turning from

smooth compact ground to soft

powder, I closed my eyes and

waited for the vehicle to inevitably

grind to a halt. I wondered how

many shovels we’d need.

As the engine began to labour

slightly, my smug, self-righteous

adolescence attitude must have

been showing, as that crazy

fool tapped me on the shoulder

pointed to the top of a steep soft

dune and maniacally grinned,

“That’s where we’re headed.”

As my hand nervously

hovered over the door handle, I

wondered should I tuck and roll

or stay, gambling that I would

survive this surreal event. How

on earth will this lump of lard

crest that dune like a search and

rescue boat on high seas? “OMG!

He’s going to kill all of us”, I

swung abruptly, expecting to see

Ray never travels alone.

my panic reflected in the back

seat. The fools were oblivious

to their imminent doom; happily

chatting and admiring the view.

The 55’s nose began to lift,

there was a bump from the rear

wheels, and we began the ascent.

Like a plane leaving the tarmac,

we were committed to the climb.

Ever steeper, the beach fell away,

the sand tilted and there was

nothing but pure blue sky visible

in the windscreen.

I could no longer hold back,

yelling “Oh my lord” just as the

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OPINION: RAY CULLY

That’s Ray Cully!

55 lurched forward and settled

to rest at the top of the dune.

Naturally, I completed my

sentence, “Oh my lord… that was

awesome!” No-one guessed

how close I had thought I was to

death. But what I didn’t recognise,

was that I’d just been bitten by

the 4WDrive bug!

From my first cheap bunky to

that flash rig adorning the top of

my toolbox I was officially a 4WD

nut. My heart burst with pride as

my fiancé, and I picked up the

keys to our brand-new TI Patrol

wagon finished in black over

charcoal with grey leather. What a

rig! Only bettered by a fully loaded

HSE Discovery 4 many years

down the track.

I eventually left the tools so

that I could work on my vehicles

as a hobby, not a familiar chore.

And I found the pleasures

of creative outlets such as

photography and writing.

As a freelance writer, I’ve had

the privilege to work with some of

the biggest names in the industry.

For nearly two decades, I’ve

enjoyed spending time with many

different types of 4WDrives from

reviewing the latest offerings

from manufacturers to sharing an

owner’s passion and enthusiasm

for their unique custom rigs.

I’ve met some truly amazing

individuals along the way,

particularly on a leisurely lap

around our big island. I’ve

always found that no matter the

generation, gender or background

of a 4WDriver, we all share a

passion for our vehicles and the

enjoyment they bring to explore

and experience areas we couldn’t

otherwise visit. 4WDriving

in Western Australia offers

spectacular places to visit and

rewarding tracks to drive. Plus,

I will proudly say that us West

Aussies can be a clever bunch

– and we can create some great

products, with smart design and

quality manufacturing.

I’m looking forward to sharing the

best of WA. They say WA stands

for Wait A while, but hey what

better way to unwind than to kick

back and wait a good long while

somewhere special?

Keep the wheels rolling.

Back to main menu

SPECIAL FEATURE: OUTBACK WA

OUTBACKWA

The need for change

By Ray Cully

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As four-wheel drivers,

there’s nothing more we enjoy

than investigating a new track,

developing our driving skills or

tackling challenging terrain to find

or revisit special and memorable

places that have left a profound

mark on our adventurous souls.

Mother nature can provide

some of the most picturesque

and breathtaking vistas

guaranteed to soften even the

hardest of travellers. I remember

meeting a big, weathered fella

with a deep voice and steely gaze

- I had him pegged as ex-special

forces and as tough as roadkill

baked at 50°C for a month.

Turned out he was a normal

bloke, albeit a bit gruff and

intolerant of idiots.

But he was about as tough

as marshmallow dripping on the

campfire when he told me about

his favourite getaway. “The sheer

rugged beauty of this place was

a feast for the eyes; every turn

of the head revealed another

rich and colourful backdrop. No

matter

where you

looked, the chaotic

composition of hills, trees, rocks

and streams or towering cavern

walls was in perfect balance

with the rest of its surroundings.

This was one of mother nature’s

best art galleries, and l was a

privileged visitor”.

His quiet passion and

profound respect were obvious;

“I’m not what I consider to be

an emotional bloke. But I felt

my eyes tearing up as I left, I’m

not sure if it was the sadness of

leaving, like saying goodbye to a

close friend, or the subconscious

realization I was leaving what

felt so right and natural only to

rejoin what seemed more like a

virtual life filled with electronic

enchantment and deadlines”.

I was again left reflecting

we are only custodians on this

magnificent planet, and it’s more

than just our duty to protect the

land. It’s vital we can occasionally

immerse

ourselves in

peace and serenity

to break free of

those stress tendrils

that entwine every muscle fibre

with all the pressures of our daily

city routines.

“Fundamentally, anyone

running an Outback

Station in WA must earn

the majority of their

living from cattle or

sheep.”

I’m sure all of us have

experienced the wonder of

detoxification when camping

under the stars. And been angry

to arrive at a campsite to find

previous visitors had no respect,

leaving toilet paper streamers,

Image by Kerry Trapnell

empty cans, broken

glass and mounds of black

charcoal everywhere but in the

fire rings? But, as we cleaned up,

did we spare a thought for what

needs to be done to repair years

of neglect and inappropriate

usage to return the whole

Outback to good health? Did you

know antiquated laws remain

in force defining the usage of

pastural lands in accordance with

the demands and requirements

of the 1800s. Fundamentally,

anyone running an Outback

Station in WA must earn the

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majority of their living from cattle

or sheep.

The pastoralists who work

the land don’t own it – they lease

it from the government and

therefore have to abide by laws

that are demonstrably ruining the

environment through enforcing

unsustainable land usage

practices. In the early 1900s,

Australia’s sheep population

of around 112,217,000 was

the largest of any country. We

produced as much as 27% of the

world’s wool; probably why they

said: “Australia rides upon the

sheep’s back”.

But when drought struck,

animal numbers began to drop

alarmingly. The 840,000-strong

flock in the Murchison area was

diminished to 250,000 in only

five years as nature enforced

a harsh balance - as surface

water decreases so must the

number of animals grazing upon

the withered vegetation. While

man-made wells can ensure

continued drinking water for the

stock; without sufficient rainfall

to hydrate vegetation the flocks

starve – and in the process of

desperately seeking feed they

remove the vegetation preserving

the very structure of the land.

This is not a newly recognised

problem. By the early 1940s, a

Royal Commission investigation

reported, in some locations,

75% of saltbush and 25% of

acacias were gone, 90% of all

vegetation in other areas had

been eliminated leaving the land

barren, useless and vulnerable to

water and wind erosion.

With each passing drought

period, stocks have declined. All

evidence shows the land is under

stress and can no longer sustain

the volumes of pioneering years.

In the late 70s, the State and

Federal government conducted

a soil conservation study that

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unsurprisingly found the majority

of pastoral rangelands were in

need of rehabilitation if there

was any hope of minimising soil

erosion, further vegetation loss or

the onset of noxious weeds.

A survey conducted by the

Western Australian Department

of Agriculture in the mid-90s on

the Murchison area reported

an area some 1,561 km2 was

so severely degraded it may

never recover its former pastoral

capacity. Of greatest concern is

badly degraded land in the very

fertile areas alongside rivers,

small streams and creeks and

surrounding wetlands, home

to unique and diverse natural

Australian wildlife. Areas such

as these are vital to the ecology

and protecting our overall water

supplies as they filter runoff into

waterways, minimising pests

while maintaining a healthy soil

balance. If there’s one thing any

experienced 4WDriver knows,

it’s if the first line you took didn’t

work, try a different approach.

Repeating the same thing over

and over expecting a different

outcome seldom achieves a

solution. Eventually, a well-worn

track becomes over-used; it

doesn’t matter it used to be the

best way over the obstacles.

With ever diminishing returns

and increasing degradation in

land health, we’ve tipped the

natural balance and consumed

the vegetation at a rate beyond

what the land can sustain,

particularly given shifts in

weather patterns and the slow

growth rate of native species.

“An area three times

the size of Tasmania

has now been

degraded to the point

its productivity and

natural balance has all

but been lost.”

It’s time to take a new line.

The Outback needs people

to survive and flourish, but

pastoralists are struggling

to make a living let alone

undertake the considerable

scale of rehabilitation needed for

adequate land regeneration. They

want to protect and repair the

land they love; they have learned

some historical practices are

simply not viable in the long term.

Old shearing shed on a former pastoral station.

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So why are we making it

so hard by denying them the

opportunity to produce alternative

and sustainable forms of income

from the land? The October

2017 WA Auditor General’s

Report for The Management

of Pastoral Lands in Western

Australia Report confirms, “The

ecological sustainability of

pastoral lands is not adequately

protected by the State’s current

system of land monitoring and

administration. Pastoral lands

have been under threat for over

75 years, and during that time

there has been limited progress

to halt the decline in pastoral land

condition”. An area three times

the size of Tasmania has now

been degraded to the point its

productivity, and natural balance

has all but been lost. So, is there

any return from this point?

Recent initiatives such as

the Indigenous Ranger Programs

are leveraging new technology,

and modern scientific solutions

mixed with a vast experience

of traditional cultural values

and knowhow. These programs

are changing people’s lives and

the landscape they live in by

looking after and maintaining

vital infrastructure and managing

bushfires. The program is also

crucial in the control of feral

animals for the prevention of

wildlife extinctions.

As the action group Outback

WA points out, while this initiative

has been an extraordinary winwin,

the outdated pastoral laws

need to change to support

diversification; to enable

sustainable and profitable

business practices such as

carbon farming or developing

tourism into these areas. Stations

could open up their properties

and allow us to camp and explore

privately managed land.

But is it too little too late, can

we claw back the damage and

rehabilitate this exhausted and

overworked land? Well, Wooleen

Station has certainly begun the

long and arduous process to do

just that.

Founded in 1886, Wooleen

Station is located 700km north

east of Perth in the Murchison

Shire of Murchison. Sitting on

an ancient landscape, it is home

to some of the oldest rocks on

the planet. It covers 36km of the

Murchison and Roderick River

including the nationally important


Above: Regeneration

in the Mid West.

Right: Feral donkeys

on Mundale Track,

Great Western

Woodlands. Below:

‘Getting behind our

Outback’ supporters.

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wetland Wooleen Lake.

The Pollock family have

owned Wooleen Station since

1989. After traditionally working

the land for many years, in

2007 they wanted to take

drastic action to try to restore

the heavily over-grazed and

desiccated landscape. While

they were willing to financially

cripple themselves by removing

all livestock to kick-start

regeneration they actually had to

get approval from the Pastoral

Lands Board (PLB) as the law

says you must keep stock on a

pastoral lease unless you get

permission to do otherwise.

It took the PLB twelve

excessively long months to

make a decision. Since then the

Pollocks have battled to restore

a natural balance to the land.

For four years they ran without

livestock. They shut down all

pumping windmills to introduce

the natural balance of water

availability for native inhabitants

such as kangaroos. They built

ponding banks and planted

grasses to replicate natural

systems lost over time.

Today, Wooleen is the

success story many people

Introducing the next

generation to their country.

want to applaud. They’ve been

featured twice on Australian

Story, and their results were

presented to the Federal

Department of Sustainability,

Environment, Water, Population

and Communities. To which they

received a rather basic reply;

You’ve proven it could be done, so

go ahead and keep doing it.

The Pollocks have every

right to feel proud of their

achievements; for the first time

in living memory, the Roderick

river has been seen flowing

clear, clean water void of red

sediment. Wooleen proves

drastic action can bring about

change in a resilient landscape

that eventually fights back. But

it doesn’t mean a short period of

recovery will permit a return to

heavy pastoral land usage. While

running livestock can be a part

of a diversified and sustainable

approach it cannot, as the current

laws require, form the majority of

income for all landowners.

The Pollocks have diversified,

and their increasingly beautiful

property is open to visitors, but

their permit will only allow ‘lowkey’

tourism activities to be

conducted. They must continue

Which way - at Murchison

settlement.

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to try to meet the requirements

of a pastoral lease required

by a government that has

itself reported the historical

approach to pastoralism is not

environmentally sustainable.

Many pastoralists are

struggling to survive and don’t

have the resources to leverage

even ‘low-key’ tourism. Knowing

they are restricted by outdated

laws and without any support to

engage in new initiatives or look

at alternate options, they continue

to apply farming practices that

have proven themselves to be

detrimental to the environment

long term.

So what better cause for the

4WD community to get behind?

While the examples quoted here

are from WA, inspired by the

passionate lobbyists at Outback

WA, the problems and issues

don’t stop at the WA border.

We 4WDrivers can be a vocal

lot around the campfire. We

know a thing or two about the

importance of the environment

we love to explore and travel. So,

it’s high time we put our weight

behind such an important and

vital initiative. It’s simple, protect

and nurture what’s ours, so future

generations don’t look back and

curse our apathetic inaction when

there’s no more mystical and

inspiring Outback to explore.

Make your voice heard and

there are so many winners –

the farmers can move past

the frustration of dealing with

outdated laws; the land can regenerate,

the native wildlife can

survive, the livestock will have

sufficient food; the consumer has

access to good quality produce

and in the ultimate “what’s in

it for me”, the 4WDrivers could

potentially be camping in some

truly amazing locations which

are currently only available to

landowners who cannot provide

you access.

Make your voice heard, check

out the Outback WA website

outbackwa.org.au and register

your details to help support this

much needed and long overdue

change so the government

finally understand we want these

fundamental issues addressed.

Or to experience for yourself

the benefit of environmentally

sustainable pastoralism check

out wooleen.com.au to book

yourself a stunning station stay

with David and Frances Pollock at

Wooleen Station.

Back to main menu

ZookSPEED

Supercharged!

By David Wilson

LOADED4X4.COM.AU

LOADED 008: SUZUKI JIMNY

Did you read the other day that the Mercedes G-Wagen

is dropping its live front end and intends using IFS in future

versions? Well, there goes another one. Even Blind Freddie can

tell you it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a true 4WD

these days with live axles front and rear, but folks there’s still

hope from the Land of the Rising Sun thanks to Suzuki.

It’s incredible that the Jimny has been around for twenty

years in its current shape and using the same chassis and

suspension design in all that time. It’s thumbed its nose at the IFS

brigade, and the AWDs of the world (remember my contributions

are SUV excised) that have lost any semblance of 4WD capability

including low range and are simply pretenders.

Not the Jimny and it seems from what I’ve been reading, the

soon to be in production 2019 model will retain a proper 4WD

driveline, and that is cause for much celebration! We’ll make sure

we show you the 2019 Jimny

here in Loaded 4X4 as soon as

stocks land in Australia, but in

the meantime have a look at

this little beauty originally from

Queensland and now residing

in South Australia.

Tim Lindenmayer is an

aircraft technician working

for the helicopter specialists

Babcock Mission Critical,

which sounds very militaryfocussed,

but Babcock works

in transport, mining, energy

and emergency services. It’s

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a civilian-based business and

global. Tim keeps the SA State

rescue helicopters in the air from

their base at Adelaide Airport

and moved down from Brisbane

in 2017 with his partner Bea.

Tim bought his Jimny in 2016,

a second-hand, black, manual

transmission model that was

new in 2005. Now Tim likes stuff

that’s got some cred and was

attracted to his Jimny because

of the colour, its genuine 4WD

capability, along with rugged

good looks, decent economy

and that a lot of the heavy lifting

in making it better was already

done. The vehicle when he

bought it had undergone a bit of a

transformation with the inclusion

of a 1.8-litre Suzuki Liana engine

conversion complete with an

Exedy heavy-duty clutch kit, a 2”

Dobinson suspension kit and a

wheel and tyre change to Federal

muddies - 235/75R15s.

Now the Liana’s M18A engine

made heaps of difference to the

power because those of you who

have driven the standard M13A

with VVT (variable valve timing)

and especially the auto version,

will know that it won’t win any

traffic light Grands Prix at all.

Here’s the difference – M13A =

62.5kW and 110Nm, compared

to the M18 = 92kW and 170Nm

- that’s a 50 percent increase in

the ponies! The problem with

modifying a 4WD is that when

you inevitably go looking for extra

clearance a taller tyre will appear

pretty quickly on the radar and

any useful increase in diameter

always comes at a cost, and

that’s gearing.

Next time you point the car

at a steep hill on the highway,

it’ll struggle to hold a gear that

before would have worked, and

when off-roading and you point it

at soft sand, it’ll bog down easier

and precious momentum will be

lost. Well, the M18A took care

of that and offered significantly

better driveability, but you know

the saying, “you can never have

enough power”.

Tim thought turbocharging

would do the job and be a simple

solution. Surely someone had

been down that path before? As

a member of the Suzuki Jimny

Owners Forum here in Australia

he put the call out and the replies

were pretty mixed, nothing

conclusive, so supercharging

made better sense.

Getting a supercharger

installed was going to be a pretty

expensive exercise until a chap in

the Forum advertised a pre-loved

kit for sale. The kit was originally

from Bullet Cars in Queensland

who specialise in making kits for

Jimnys using Sprintex products,

and it seemed good value at the

time at around $4,000 along with

extractors and exhaust.

Sadly that value wasn’t

realised as the used supercharger

needed a rebuild and adding

the cost of some installation

issues clocked up some extra

coin. Thankfully those dramas

were professionally rectified

by the guys at One Stop Suzuki

Shop in Nerang in Queensland,

an outfit for which Tim has high

praise. He probably could have

done the work himself given his

engineering ability, but not having

access to a garage nor tools,

dictated the work had to be done

at a shop.

I found the tools comment

an oddity given his work, but he

explained. “The stuff I work on

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is made in the USA, and those

dopey Yanks are still messing

around with Imperial, and I have

nothing that’s sensibly metric”!

The Sprintex under Tim’s

bonnet is a ‘screw’ type charger,

meaning it behaves a lot

like a compressor, a pump.

Screw-style superchargers do

the compression inside the

supercharger’s housing before

being sending the enhanced

volume into the intake, in this

case at 7psi.

There’s another supercharger

style called ‘Roots’ which you

may have heard of, but are more

complex, sending the air into

the motor at ambient pressure

and then relying on the back

pressure within the motor to

create an initial equilibrium,

before a backflow creates the

boost. Probably the most famous

Roots application was the Bentley

‘Blower’ seen on racetracks in

Europe between 1927 and 1931.

Blow more air in, add more

fuel and instantly there’s more

bang for your buck. There’s a

couple of problems though, one

the age-old dilemma of forced

induction and that is compressed

air gets hot and loses some of its

efficiency (cold air is denser and

richer) and another in Tim’s case

was back pressure on the exhaust

side. The temperature issue was

fixed as the kit comes with an

intercooler but not an air-air one

like you’ll see on diesel-turbos,

a water-air version provides the

solution here.

The exhaust had them

stumped for a while as the newly

installed extractors, and 2.5” pipe

flowed too well, and the engine’s

O2 sensor was swamped and

unable to decipher what was

going on. So that was dumped,

and the original exhaust manifold

and tiny 1.5” exhaust replaced,

winning back the electronic

norms and a sweet running motor

with another huge gain in the go

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department. A stock M18A

produces 92kW and 170Nm.

Tim’s Sprintex version does a

bit better, try around 135kW

and 225Nm another 30% gain

and with little stress!

So with the horsepower in

abundance now Tim was keen

to sort out the gearing.

“The transformation

is amazing; power is

available everywhere,

no lag, it’s almost like

an electric motor...”

Diffs were swapped, the

manual stockies for those

seen on the autos with a 4.09

value meaning a compromise

was found for the highway and

off-roading.

Tim explains it this way,

“the original Jimny with the

non VVT motor would spin

at around 4,000rpm in fifth

at 100km/h, the newer VVT

models do around 3,200rpm

at the same speed, and mine

is in the middle at 3,500rpm.

Additionally I wanted the

non-VVT transfer case and

gearbox because they are

stronger and provide proper

4WD engagement with a lever

instead of the problematic

vacuum/electronic operated

button 4WD activation. You

always read about Jimny

owners being unable to

engage 4WD reliably because

the system has failed, mine is

foolproof, pull the lever, and

you know you’ve got high or

low range. With the manual

free-wheeling hubs, I can have

the best of both worlds, left

open for best fuel economy

on the bitumen, or locked and

ready for action as soon as I

hit the dirt”.

The transformation is

amazing; power is available

everywhere, no lag, it’s almost

like an electric motor, squeeze

harder on the accelerator, and

the Jimny leaps into action.

Tim likes the ‘sleeper’ form

the car takes now. “I surprise

a lot of people with this car.

Probably the best moment

was taking on a guy in a 200

series Land Cruiser at a set

of lights recently. Despite his

best efforts I totally smoked

him at the fall of the green

light! He had no idea what

Right: That’s the Sprintex

supercharger tucked away down

the side of the engine. It boosts

the 1.8-litre Liana powered Jimny

to 135kW and 225Nm.

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happened”. Off-road the car

retains its classic capability, lots

of flex when required and the

delivery only let down in extreme

situations by the lack of locking

differentials. “I think the next

development would be ARB Air-

Lockers front and rear as the

guys on the forum seem to favour

these more so than others”.

Tim and Bea have fallen for

their new State and are looking

to investigate the wilds of the

Flinders Ranges and the South

Aussie Outback, and that has

got them thinking that the Jimny

might struggle for range for the

longer trips. As is often the case

with Zook owners, a lack of space

sometimes dictates change. I

asked him what the alternatives

might be, and he said a 200 Land

Cruiser or a 76 wagon would be

obvious and typical alternatives,

but he still hankers for vehicles

with some uniqueness. This will

bring a smile to Editor Steane’s

face as Tim’s most-favoured

option is a Defender 90. Can’t get

much more unique than that and

really it’s just another Jimny but

on a slightly larger scale!

Tim’s Jimny is for sale. If you’re

interested you can contact him

at twindly@hotmail.com

Back to main menu

OPINION: NICK KOTTER

Nick


kotter

Mall crawlers...

If you read my column in

issue 001 of this magazine, you’ll

recall that I touched on one of

my pet peeves, the ‘mall crawler’.

Five years ago, the mall crawler

didn’t exist in the four-wheel-drive

world. However, the explosion

of interest in 4X4s has seen this

vehicle type become the platform

of choice for a new generation

of custom car modifiers, and

somewhere in there, the mall

crawler was - unfortunately -

born. For those of you that don’t

know, a mall crawler is a custom

4X4 that is more at home in the

local shopping centre carpark,

than in any genuine off-road

situation. Mall crawlers are

given away by their extreme

suspension lifts, large diameter

tyres, and often but not always -

as the ‘clean’ look is popular - all

of the crap that is bolted to their

roof and bar work. They can

resemble extreme expedition

vehicles, yet rarely see a dirt road,

let alone a tough track. Bright and

shiny, you’ll struggle to find a spot

of dirt on their paintwork, and

forget about bush pinstripes, you

have to go bush to get those! A

dead giveaway that you’re looking

at a mall crawler is a shiny new

set of remote reservoir shocks,

with the reservoirs mounted

where they can most easily be

seen, rather than tucked away out

of harm’s way.

Besides the fact that they are

fakes, like those ‘surfers’ who

used to bolt their surfboards to

the roof of their Sandman, let

me tell you why I have no time

for them. When you modify any

vehicle’s suspension or add

weight to the vehicle, there are

some fundamental basics to

take into consideration, including

suspension travel, handling

dynamics and centre of mass or

the point at which the vehicle can

roll over. All three are crucial to

how your 4WD operates in varying

terrains and ultimately, how safe

it is.

The vast majority of 4WDs

being sold and ‘malled’ are

of the IFS (Independent Front

Suspension) and leaf-sprung rear

solid axle variety, as found under

most of the dual-cab utes. These

vehicles have a limited range

of suspension travel with front

suspension travel being governed

by the upper and lower control

arms and their bump stops in

addition to the safe operating

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OPINION: DAVID NICK KOTTER WILSON

angle of the front driveshafts. The

rear suspension travel is largely

determined by the limited amount

of flex available from the leaf

springs. Vehicle manufacturers

design their suspension systems

to work within a specific range of

up and down travel, that is locked

in by the stock vehicle’s ride

height. Increasing the height of

an IFS front-end in simple terms,

reduces the amount of down

travel (suspension droop) and

increases the amount of up travel

that is available. A 4WD that has

been lifted too high – and this

can be less than 50mm in some

vehicles – can have the upper

control arms sitting on their

bump stops and that’s not good

at all. The result will be a harsh

ride, loss of traction and stability

as well as poor handling both on

and off road. And let’s not forget

that it’s a legal requirement that

at least 1/3 of your suspension’s

arc of operation is made up of

down travel.

Levelling out or raising the

front of an IFS-equipped 4X4

higher than the rear, removes

the factory rake angle that these

IFS equipped vehicles need to

work correctly and fundamentally

alters the suspension’s geometry.

Altering the rake angle by as

little as 20mm can cause serious

oversteer and braking issues.

If you’re keen on building a

4X4 that is safe, nice to drive and

capable off-road, there are, in my

opinion, three rules to follow and

yeah I know rules suck:

“Real off-roaders

know they want more

suspension travel and

can’t easily get it, while

the mall crawler brigade

need more suspension

travel and don’t know it.”

RULE 1 - Limit the amount of

lift so that you retain as much of

the original suspension’s down

travel (droop) as you can, or

legally modify the suspension

to increase the amount of down

travel that is available which then

makes a higher lift possible.

The MQ Triton, for example,

in stock form has just 50mm of

suspension down travel which

means a run-of-the-mill, nothing

to get too excited about, 50mm

suspension lift, has the Triton’s

This is not the same as your Ranger. It’s really not.

upper control arms sitting on

their bumps stops. The result is

compromised CV angles, zero

flex off road and a harsh ride in

all conditions. The only choice

you have with the Triton is to

either fit a smaller lift (20-30mm)

or fit something like the Karrman

kit that I’ve developed for the

Triton and Pajero Sport.

The Karrman kit lowers the

front differential and allows you

to fit a 75mm suspension lift

while retaining flat driveshaft

angles and increasing down

travel to 65mm. Real off-roaders

know they want more suspension

travel and can’t easily get it, while

the mall crawler brigade need

more suspension travel, and don’t

know it.

RULE 2 - Maintain or at least

run close to the factory Rake and

Caster angles. You won’t hear this

one talked about much around

the campfire and it’s a sad fact

that it’s a topic that is not well

understood by many (not all)

wheel alignment practitioners.

Getting the mall crawler ‘Baja

Racer’ look requires a suspension

lift, larger tyres, the levelling out

of the vehicle and even raising

the front end higher than the

rear. Raising the front-end and

removing the factory rake pushes

the front wheels forward, or in

technical terms creates positive

caster. Fitting oversized tyres

Above: Correct rake. Below: Mall

crawler rake

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This F-Truck is actually

really cool, but it’s a

show car and built in

the US where there is

only one law governing

vehicle modification; do

whatever you want.

often requires further forward

movement of the wheels (more

positive caster) to ensure the

tyres don’t contact the firewall

when the steering’s on full lock.

This abundance of positive caster

throws the vehicle’s geometry

and weight distribution right

out of whack, with handling and

braking performance suffering

accordingly. You may think your

modified mall crawler drives like

a beaut, but its ability to handle

well in emergency situations is

what you’re mucking around with

here.

RULE 3 - Respect your

vehicle’s centre mass or rollover

point. I know how it goes.

You’ve seen the ads for cool

gear, checked out the ‘mint’ rigs

on Facebook and thrown your

credit card at your truck. It’s now

rocking a 3” lift, 35” tyres, some

flash black alloys and to finish it

off you’ve added a roof rack and

stacked it high with awesome

crap, like a high-lift jack, and that

rooftop tent you don’t need but

have always wanted. Your truck

now looks ‘killer’, and ironically

you’ve just increased its potential

to kill. Its ability to turn turtle on

a sideways slope when off-road,

or in an emergency situation onroad,

has increased significantly.

That raised suspension and

the swag of heavy gear you’ve

bolted to the roof, has moved

your vehicle’s centre mass point

higher and conversely decreased

the angle at which a rollover

becomes a reality. Maintaining

the lowest possible centre of

mass should always be your aim

when modifying and kitting out

your 4X4 with gear.

Increasing the centre of

mass height doesn’t just make

the vehicle more susceptible

to a rollover, the excessive

load transfer it can induce –

much like a pendulum effect -

increases body roll and negatively

impacts steering and braking

performance. Excessive load

transfer doesn’t play well with

Anti-lock braking systems

(ABS) or Active Stability Control

systems (ASC) as it can push

them beyond their ability to

maintain control. Fitting stiffer

springs and adding or upgrading

anti-roll bars are great ways to

combat excessive load transfer,

but they reduce the suspension’s

ability to flex, and that has a

negative impact on the vehicle’s

off-road performance.

The average mall crawler

breaks all three of these rules,

and that makes them an illconceived,

dangerous and to be

blunt, pointless vehicle. You’re

better off spending the bucks

to build a well thought out, safe,

comfortable and capable 4X4

that doesn’t magnetically attract

the attention of the law. And you

know what, “they can still look

mint brah”, whatever that means…

Back to main menu

DESTINATIONS: KALUMBURU

KALUMBURU

uncovered

Words by Matthew Flinders

Image credit: Maria Fredericks from Kalumburu Photography Collective

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Kalumburu is one of the great

Australian adventure destinations.

In Australia’s ‘last frontier’ at the top of the Kimberley beyond

‘The Gibb’ lies a 4x4 adventure experience like no other. Getting

to Kalumburu at the northernmost point in Western Australia is a

feat not for the fainthearted or inexperienced.

It’s ‘4x4 country’ only, and those intrepid enough to venture

to these far-flung lands do so at their own risk with little support

once up here. Preparation is key if you’re contemplating this

journey, and for those that are patient enough great rewards

can be uncovered. As you can see from map (opposite page),

the Kalumburu area is located at the mouth of the King Edward

River, near where the Drysdale River meets the ocean. Australia’s

best fishing and endless four-wheel driving options make for the

adventure of a lifetime!

Image by Gavin Gillett - www.summit.net

The best time to visit

Most tourists head to the Kimberley

in the dry season which runs from

April through to October. The first rains

and the wet season proper starts in

December, and so far this wet we’ve

had close to 1.8 metres of rain – which

will make for an excellent tourist

season as the creeks, rivers and gorges

will retain water right through the dry.

While it can get down to 18 degrees

at night during the winter months of

June and July, average temperatures

usually range from 34 degrees during

the day to around 20 degrees at night

during the dry season months. Last

year there was virtually no rain from

April to early December, so the dry

season lived up to its name!

Image by Kalumburu Aboriginal Corp

Above: Click to see

full map. Below: Rain

is being measured by

the metre in 2018.

The Gibb

Most people have heard about the

famous Gibb River Road that stretches

between Kununurra/Wyndham in the

north-east to Derby/Broome in the

south-west. It can be a difficult road

at the best of times with plenty of

annoying corrugations and deep bull

dust sections spread randomly along

its length. The Gibb is only accessible in the dry season between

April and November, and there’s a bunch of ‘must-see’ places to

visit along the way including; Emma Gorge, El Questro, Home

Valley, Manning Gorge, Ellenbrae, Mt Elizabeth, Adcock Gorge,

Bell Gorge, Charnley, and Tunnel Creek – to name just a few.

Image by Neil Boyd

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King Edward River & Mitchell Falls

The ‘Kalumburu Road’ heads north of the Gibb near the

eastern end. Most people stay the night at Drysdale Station,

refuel and do final preparations before heading to the Mitchell

Falls turn-off on the left a few hours drive north. You haven’t

‘done the Kimberley’ unless you’ve been to Mitchell Falls, as it’s

one of Australia’s most memorable tourist attractions.

A little way down the road is the King Edward River

campground, the place that sees many travellers taking the time

to relax and have a swim in the croc-free river. You can choose to

stay here overnight or head up to the Mitchell Falls campsite but

be warned. The track to the Mitchell Falls campsite can be hardgoing

in places, due to the terrible corrugations caused by the

large 4x4 tourist buses and trucks that are as ‘thick as flies on a

carcass’ during the dry season.



Top, left and below:

The Mitchell Falls

area is a ‘must do’

Kimberely attraction.


Many tourists choose to

leave their off-road caravans,

camper-trailers and boats at the

King Edward River campsite.

Helicopter tours are available

at Mitchell Falls, and if that’s

something that appeals to you,

I’d suggest you walk into the

falls (downhill) and get a ride

back to camp in the helicopter.

Some argue that the helicopters

and their noise, spoil the natural

serenity of this beautiful place.

From Mitchell Falls most

people head back to the King

Edward River campsite, have

another swim and stay the night.

They then head back to the

Kalumburu Road, turn left and

head up to the Kalumburu region.

From the Mitchell Falls turn-off,

Kalumburu is a good 3-4 hours’

drive and potentially longer if

you’re towing. By the way, don’t

even dream of bringing your

caravan, camper-trailer or boat

unless it’s been built to handle

the rigours of off-road work.

If your particular outfit isn’t

up to the job, then leave it at a

caravan park in one of the towns

at either side of the Gibb entry

points, and head to Kalumburu

with your camping gear.


Image by Scott Airoldi

Above: Croc free

swimming holes.

Below: Don’t stray

from the tracks!

Image by Joy Davey

Image by Alison Tovey

Mud and crocs

On the way to Kalumburu, you’ll

have to navigate your way through some

muddy sections of road. Whatever you do

make sure you don’t drive off the track as

the sides are even softer and you will get

bogged. You’ll also drive through some

little freshwater creeks and rivers but be

careful – this is crocodile country, and

that includes the Carson River crossing

about 30km south of Kalumburu.

Safe swimming holes

Just south of Kalumburu is the

popular ‘Teachers Pool’ swimming hole

and further upstream is the Nalawari

Waterfall. Both are lovely places to go

for bush walks with some wonderful

Indigenous rock art to be found in both

locales. Further north towards the two

seaside bush camps are some more

welcoming freshwater swimming holes

and Indigenous rock art gorges otherwise

known as ‘Monster Rock’ and ‘Turtle

Gallery’. All are signposted along the way

and well worth the visit.

Kalumburu

Kalumburu has a population of

around 500 Indigenous people made

up of three distinct tribal groups. It was

originally known as the ‘Drysdale River

Mission’ when it was formed in 1937 and

Image by Matt Flinders

image gallery

Above: The off-camber corner near this tree catches the

occasional driver out. If only they had a winch.

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in 1951 was given the name ‘Kalumburu’, which in local Indigenous

language means ‘path by the river crossing’. Once you arrive in the

township of Kalumburu, it is important to slow down to walking

speed as the residents’ treasured ‘camp dogs’ wander the streets

paying little heed to any traffic.

As you enter the town, you’ll see the police station on the right,

and the fuel station and shops straight ahead of you. But it’s not all

about re-fuelling – diesel is around $3 per litre - and stocking up on

fresh supplies, there are things to do in Kalumburu.

Catholic mission and museum

There’s a catholic mission in Kalumburu, and it has a magical

little museum tucked away behind the trees. Don’t miss this one

folks, it is worth the visit, even if museums aren’t your thing.

Kalumburu was bombed and shot up by the Japanese in World

War 2, and the museum covers this time in history, as well as the

township’s early history, and most importantly the history of the

local Indigenous community that continue to call Kalumburu home.

The mission also has a small caravan park and air-conditioned

‘donga’ style accommodation available.

Yellow tourist permit

Across the road from the mission is the main store and (CRC)

tourist information centre. You must purchase your $50 yellow

vehicle permit from one of these two places. If you are coming into

town when the shops are closed, you can buy your yellow tourist

permit at both the McGowan Sunset Beach and Honeymoon Bay

campgrounds as a last resort. Nearly everything in Kalumburu

closes at lunchtime, and the stores are closed from 11am Saturday

to Monday morning.

Main store

The main supermarket is equal to a suburban IGA and is very

well stocked especially for the tourist season. Fresh supplies arrive

on the Darwin barge every fortnight and the funds from the yellow

tourist permits help subsidise the fresh food in the shop. There

is also a great little takeaway at the side of the shop that does

country style meals for lunches.

A dry community

Kalumburu is a ‘dry community’, but the police use their

discretionary powers to turn a ‘blind-eye’ to tourists as long as you

don’t have alcohol visible from the outside of your vehicle. If you

‘Sunset at McGowans with Troopy’ Image by Maria Maraltadj

LOADED4X4.COM.AU


drive into town with a beer in hand or

have alcohol visible, the police will

search your vehicle and confiscate

the lot. If you try and sell alcohol to

the locals, you’ll end up in the lock-up!

You are allowed to consume alcohol

at both McGowan’s Sunset Beach and

Honeymoon Bay beach camps north of

town, but again, discretion is expected.

Medical centre

Kalumburu has an excellent

medical centre - located across

the road from the main shops -

that is accessible after hours for

emergencies. This does not negate

the need to travel with your own wellstocked

first aid kit.

Art gallery

On the drive out of town, towards

the two coastal camps, there is a

rustic art gallery that’s also worth a

visit. You’ll have the opportunity to sit

down with the local Indigenous artists,

who’ll explain the stories behind their

paintings and Boab nut carvings.

Most of the artwork is for sale at very

reasonable prices.

World War 2

On the 27th September 1943,

around 20 Japanese bombers and

fighters strafed and bombed the




Above: WW2 bomber

wrecks can be found at

the Kalumburu Airport.

Some were recently

relocated to the Perth

War Memorial. Above

right: Honeymoon

Bay Fishing Charters

will take you fishing if

that’s your thing.

Image by Joy Davey

Kalumburu airport and mission buildings. Six people, including

four Indigenous children, were killed during the raid. The

Japanese also bombed the ‘secret’ Truscott airbase on the other

side of the peninsula to the west of Kalumburu. The Kalumburu

mission museum is the keeper of some fascinating pictures

and stories regarding the Japanese attacks on this area, and

you can still see bullet holes in the missions external walls.

The Kalumburu Airport area remains the home of a number of

bomber wrecks, with some recently being relocated to the Perth

War Memorial.

The ‘Washing Machine’

Just out of Kalumburu there are some lookouts that offer a

great view of where the majestic King Edward River’s fresh water

meets the coastal salt-water in a fast-flowing churning whirlpool;

affectionately known by the locals as the ‘washing machine’.

There is some great fishing to be had from the rocks in the

various gorges but be careful of the saltwater crocs – this is not

the place to take a dip!

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Seaside camps

The first seaside camp you’ll come to is known as McGowan’s

Sunset Beach, and it’s located 16km north of Kalumburu. The

second is Honeymoon Bay, located a further 7km up the track

(23km north of Kalumburu). As previously mentioned you can

legally drink alcohol in both of these tourist camps, but you will

be kicked out if you’re caught selling or gifting alcohol to any of

the locals.

McGowan’s faces the mouth of the King Edward River (in the

distance) and turns on one of the best sunsets in Australia. There

are many shady campsites and numerous beach camp options.

Honeymoon Bay, as its name suggests, is a secluded bay that

offers superb scenery, some shade camps and numerous beach

camping options.

Both camps offer plenty of opportunity for fishing

enthusiasts, particularly when using live bait, so bring a cast

net! If you don’t have a boat, there is usually the opportunity to

befriend a tourist that does and take a trip or two out into the bay

with them. Alternatively, there is a fishing charter business that

operates out of Honeymoon Bay, and they’ll take you for a fish,

regardless of where you might be staying.

Mud crabs can be found hiding in the rocky areas, and there

are plenty of large rock oysters around for those prepared to

spend the time hunting and gathering. If you like your Calamari,

pack a squid jig, as Tiger Squid are plentiful and can be caught

straight off the beaches. They’re great eating and even better

bait!

Pago ruins & history

On the northern side past Honeymoon Bay, lies the old Pago

ruins. The original Kalumburu settlement was first located at

Pago and was only moved to its present position in Kalumburu

in 1937, a move made to secure a more reliable supply of fresh

water. Early Benedictine monks established the mission in 1908,

but it’s now a Catholic mission. The mission museum has a

Click to view McGowan Beach video

McGowan Beach by Maria Fredericks from Kalumburu Photography Collective

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DESTINATIONS: GET SOCIAL WITH KALUMBURU

US

wealth of information, pictures and

plans that detail the history of Pago.

Camping is not allowed at Pago, but

the traditional owners are fine with

people visiting during the day.

Driving tips

The road from Kalumburu to

the bush camps is sandy and rocky

in places, and a case of ‘slow and

steady’ wins the race. From the

moment you hit the Gibb dirt to the

moment you leave, we suggest you

air down to 20 percent below the

tyre pressures recommended by

the manufacturer of your vehicle

(check the placard). This will ensure

a smoother ride and less chance of

punctures. Carrying two spare tyres

is a good idea in this region, as,

besides a small tyre repair business

south-west of Mount Barnett

Roadhouse, you’re on your own. A

tyre repair kit and an air-compressor

are must-haves. If the driving range

of your packed to the rafters 4X4 is

less than 500kms, then you’ll need a

couple of jerry cans of fuel.

Most 4x4 travellers up this way

tune into UHF Ch:40 and if there

are any road issues it’s common

courtesy to let oncoming vehicles

know about the issues on the radio.

A ‘sat’ phone or Epirb should be

Image thanks to Kalumburu Mission Museum


Top: Original Pago mission.

Above: Well at Pago mission.

Below: 1.7m Spanish Mackerel

caught 1km off McGowans.

Image by Matt Flinders

considered mandatory, and you’ll want an electric winch fitted

to your vehicle if you are planning to explore some of the more

remote areas of this region.

It’s also imperative that you travel with a quality recovery

kit that includes a snatch strap, as it’s not uncommon to either

require assistance or find yourself assisting others in some of the

boggier areas. Safe travelling speeds can vary, and you’ll find that

on some roads you can safely travel at 60-80km/h to ‘ride’ over

the corrugations, but in other places, it’s necessary to slow down

to 5-10km/h especially through creek crossings and rocky areas.

Remoteness and isolation ensures that the Kalumburu area

remains a ‘hidden gem’, but if you’re up for an adventure and

have the ‘grit’, patience and a suitable 4X4 vehicle then you can

and should visit what is one of Australia’s last unspoilt frontier

regions. Just don’t tell too many people!

Back to main menu

Image by Alison Tovey

image gallery

TRIP PLANNING BASICS:

REGION: Kimberely, W.A.

NEAREST TOWN: Kalumburu.

WHEN TO GO: Best time to visit the

Kalumburu area is in the dry season

which runs from May through to

October.

WHAT TO TAKE: A well prepared

4WD vehicle, with recovery gear,

compressor, tyre repair kit and

ideally two spare tyres. Food and

fuel, although both are available

at Kalumburu township. Camping

gear and some form of emergency

communication (EPIRB or Satellite

phone).

MOBILE COVERAGE: It varies - but is

available in some areas.

WARNINGS: Check with the Shire of

Wyndham - http://www.swek.wa.gov.

au/ or phone 1800 013 314

DIFFICULTY: In the dry, high clearance

and traction control/low range are

required. In the wet, some tracks are

impassable or require lockers.

CREDITS

EDITOR

Steane Klose

MANAGING EDITOR

David Wilson

CONTRIBUTORS

Rick Freeburn

Brendan O’Keefe

Nick Kotter

Ray Cully

DIGITAL DESIGN

Cast of Thousands -

Digital Media Productions

Contact us here

SALES & MARKETING

Steane Klose

David Wilson

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Chris Stewart

Nick Kotter

Heather Sinclair

PUBLISHER

Lost Track Media Pty Ltd

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INFORMATION: Kalumburu East

Kimberley Tourism Facebook page

post regular road condition updates

and other area new. https://facebook.

com/kalumburutourism/


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