Offroad-Express

hi all,

I have a brother that wants to get into 4wding on the cheap, He has $6000 to spend and likes the 2 door Vitara is there any model to steer clear of and what models have the best size motors, How easy are they to jack up ??
I have been on to Rocky road .com and they seem to be able to lift the Vitara over 100mm and run 31" tyres
Any info would be a help

Thanks

Graham

$6k would buy you a nicely set up SJ413 or Samurai.

Probably even get you a reasonable Cruiser or Safari.

does he want road legal, or is that not important?

Yes road legal I think he will use it more for fishing in the high country rivers but wants to come with me on some 4wd trips and not interested in a nissan , He is thinking of the saving on fuel as he is always away hunting of fishing but would like to come on some 4wd trips and knowing my brother he would not pussy-foot around once off road.
Graham

I wouldnt reccomend a vitara for offroad. They seem to get hung up on the chassis all the time, and the front cv's and diffs are quite weak.

If he is really set on one then the 1.6l 16 valve is probably the better motor. Steer clear of the carby ones. The 2l ones can be quite good if looked after.

All motors need a high flow exhaust.

31's fit on with bugger all lift and a little rub which can be fixed by a grinder.

Also vitaras are not great on gas.

People to talk to are mroffroader (hes had a few) and cool__bananas (who is looking to possibly sell)

The best buy would be a tidy 413 + a vitara 1.6l with a highflow exhaust, some 31's and some lifted springs from Jafa. You can often find modified 413's forsale on trademe, and out of a vitara or 413, a 413 will kick its ass anyday.

my 2c

he might be able to buy mine for 6000?
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=13644

mitch

Could also be a good buy!!!!!

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=13602

The vitara would not be a bad meduim duty 4x4 if fuel economy was an issue and wanting a road legal truck ( thus assuming a better degree of comfort over a 413 etc ) . I would stay with a 1.6 over a v6 in that case too . Likewise , fork out the money to get a steel front end . Run a max of 31" mild mud tyres with small lift ( arb front shock struts for a bit more travel )and a body lift propably ( not a fan of body lifts but you do what you have too ) and you would have a reasonably well setup truck . As funds allow a front locker would help with the front ifs susp .
I would look for a 16v auto , easier on driveline and should have 4.62 diffs that can be swapped for 5.12's to help for the gearing and speedo with bigger tyres .

If you don't go overboard they should be a reasonably reliable truck that is light to recover and not to spendy for parts ( lots around now ) and a few nicely set up ones on t-me these days .

Cool banana's vitara is heading the right way but personally not keen on the v6 , heavier and more grunt to break stuff .

Chris

a 413 is alright if you want a 4x4 that is like a block of wood to drive, a 413 with diff locks and all the shit comes with us on most trips , we are both on 30s and i can always get further than he can, i have more susp travel and way nicer to drive, for 6k you could easly sas a vitara and get rid of its weak bits, i have broken 7 diffs and 1 axle in 4 years of hard off roading,now both my diffs are welded and i havent broken any for a while now, nothing in the back breaks, what ever 4x4 you buy it is never going to tick all the boxes, 6k buys alot nowdays . any vitara uses heaps of fuel aswell.
vaughan

Rotazuk wrote:Cool banana's vitara is heading the right way but personally not keen on the v6 , heavier and more grunt to break stuff

its got spares though

I'll pass the info on to my brother as well as the earl for the one for sale,
One question; You say 1600 auto , I have a question mark on that,, My GQ safari is auto and it's as gutless as shit and I'm in the process of puting a turbo on it to give me some power, How dose the 1600 16v stack with the auto also whats this with a welded diff are you talking about front or rear, I also thought the 1600 16v fuel injected motor was good on fuel??

Graham

minefield wrote:I also thought the 1600 16v fuel injected motor was good on fuel??

My 02 has never gotten better than about 10 litres per 100 km round town, Though I'm fairly lead-footed

What's with all this talk of vitaras / escudos not being economical? I'm intending on putting a 16 valve 1600cc engine in a SJ413..........would this not be economical? Is the manual much more economical than the auto? What would be an economical engine in an SJ? I'm only intending on running a maximum of 31 inch tyres.

Anyone got a swb vitara with rooted engine/drivetrain (ideally straight body) for cheap, sorry for thread hijack, but since we are all looking

Hope the 16v is a cheap runner my 413 flatdeck just got fired up

Fuel economy would always be the way you drive it . The old man drives his 16v vitara like a nana and gets good economy , if you push it it will cost you in fuel , its not a sports car .

I mean get a steel housing front diff , most of the front diff housings are made of alloy and get torn to pieces when wheeled hard and its not hard to see why ( the way the front diff is mounted , it flexes funny when you put the boot up it ) .

I am with Vaughan and look at a locker in the front thou , better to not bounce/bash the front end around with one wheel spinning and then gripping than having the front locked and taking it a bit easier .
Although I doubt you could SAS a vitara and cert it all for $6g . You need to mount the control arms in board of the chassis for tyre clearance as a toyota hi lux diff is narrower than a vitara and space becomes an issue , from what I have heard and measured up

I never implied the auto would be a performer , worse than a manual but since low gears are spendy for them the best option ( in my opionon of course ) is the auto and then the assistance of slightly lower diff ratios , if you find one with the 4.62's that is .

If hes going to give it a really hard time off road get something else or fork out the $$$ for a SAS job . Maybe a 2.4td swb prado . Take your chances with the diesel , at least you will not break anything else , solid axle already and coils etc . Would be cheaper to get one of these and have to fork out for another engine at some stage than SAS a vitara .

Chris

nstacey wrote:

minefield wrote:I also thought the 1600 16v fuel injected motor was good on fuel??

My 02 has never gotten better than about 10 litres per 100 km round town, Though I'm fairly lead-footed

Having said that, it never goes over 10 litres per 100 km round town either

Had a talk with bro last night about the fuel econemy of the vitara and he is saying he gets 10lt per 100k's in his terrano and I have a mate with a GQ with the turbo boost at 15lbs and claims 10.5 lt per 100k's thats normal driving he said it goes up while off road , "Lead foot" so I think bro is having second thoughts may get him into a Nissan yet
Graham

lilpigzuk wrote:Anyone got a swb vitara with rooted engine/drivetrain (ideally straight body) for cheap, sorry for thread hijack, but since we are all looking

Hope the 16v is a cheap runner my 413 flatdeck just got fired up

Thread jack sorry. Finally