Offroad-Express

Hi my name is Nick,
This is my Grand Vitara, have had it for a year but only got into 4 wheeling in it in the past couple of months, before that Ive done a fair bit of 4x4ing in my Dad's Tdi Discovery (mostly tag along style trips)

Since this photo OME suspension has been fitted and I've taken off the front bumper to fit a towhook. Have taken this up Odlin's road a couple of times and will be looking to do some more mods soon.
Cheers

Welcome to the forums Nick, good to see another Wellingtonian joining. There's been a few these last couple of weeks.
Tidy Vitara. We can change that

Sorry Cloggy.....thats GRAND Vitara

Welcome aboard.....I'm organising another shiny trip soon so we can see how well it goes in the mud......my one is still relegated on Kerb crawling duty at the moment

PS join the NZ Suzuki forum as well http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/nzook/

The more you go on trips with the GV then the less shiney trips you will need to go on! Each trip you think of a new mod!! All good fun!

John

added two plates 3mm thick under one of those today,and don't bounce the front wheels off the ground to much the front diff cracks up in a big way

Steel diffs from a diesel one fix that wee problem...but these are hard to come by....I've seen a few interesting bits for the GV's on some US sites....

If you don't have airbags then you can get a bar on the front according to the rules I think....its anything after 2003? that requires OEM or aftermarket bars only.

Yea, will get a bar eventually (somewhere in the list), its a 2002 (with airbags) so shouldn't be a problem with that legislation. My understanding was that because the airbag sensor is in the transmission tunnel (not at the front) it wouldn't matter if it was newer than 2003 but I have no idea where I read that so am probably wrong. Noone seems to make an off the shelf bar for this at the moment.

Heres a picture of our discovery taken a couple of years ago. Its still stock just got some Cooper s/t's and a snorkel

TJM do an airbag compatible alloy bar... the agent in welly is fully equipped....if you push them they will knock the price down...I got quoted $1200, as far as I know you will need an airbag compatible bar otherwise its a wof fail thingy, my sensor is on the drivers side front on the chassis, there is a big box section crush tube in front of that which is pretty strong apparantly and then the nasty plastic bumper goes in front of that.

Another option is a plastic one, called a smart bar.....never seen these used offroad....