A couple of Q's for those in the know

[fiik]

i know i'm always picking peoples brains about stuff but as most of the people i know say, if you don't know then i'm not going to tell you.... Damm Them .
Anyway i gave the frontera it's inaugural run on the weekend and oh wow was everyone suprised... have discovered a few weak spots though.... proud to say i did bend it I some how manage to push the muffler in to the drive shaft... odd. AND bend on of the body mounts, made a horrible knock when driving aside from that also tore the number plate off.

The q's i have are someone what mundane but they still have me a bit baffled...

1. are the standard mufflers normally so fricking large or has someone possibly changed it?. The one on mine is about 350mmm in diameter.

2. Is there any point in making up some sort of gaurds to protect the body mounts? or am i just being paranoid?.

3. is there an easy place to relocate the plate too (it is currently zip tied to the spare wheel cover ) or Maybe some sort of mount readily availabe for purchase?

4. does the swb usually come with an lsd... was flicking through the destructions the other day and the rear diff runs lsd oil?

Incidentally this being the first 4x4 i have owned i now understand why they are so much fun!!!! I will hopefully post some photos of my first run soon.

Cheers
Will

[fiik]

Oh Yeah i forgot to ask is the front of the frontera the same as the rodeo, i'm looking a getting a bar of some description for mounting lights on. any suggestions on what fits?

[Westoztroopa]

Hey Will,

Good to see you're already putting the Frontera through its paces.
Sorry to hear about the trail damage but its an inevitable thing unfortunately. Cant help you on all of your questions but have to ask do you mean by body mounts the cross members? Cant really picture the body mounts being bent but the cross members I can. Some people have rigged up protection protection plates but I think it more comes down to driving style and knowing the low points and vulnerable parts of your undercarriage. With experience you learn to pick the better line and avoid major collisions most of the time...

As for the LSD, there should be a G80 option code on the options plate for vehicles with LSD.

HTH,

Noel

[DatRacer]

Some piccies of fiik's frontera in action. It surprised the hell outta me what it went through and over.

Craig

[Westoztroopa]

Looks like fun!

[fiik]

Cheers craig for posting the photo's, haven't seen those one's yet.

with regards to the body mount thing noel, the bolt that i bent is the one that holds the body to the chassis that comes up in the driver side foot well. Its basically a bolt through thye foot well, a rubber mount, then the bracket off the chassis then another rubber mount then nut etc... The bolt actually bent just under the head to about a 45 degreee angle and was making some rather interesting sounds... i think it was more wrong line, bad bump, too much mud at speed or something like that Either way not so good.

I guess i have a lot to learn about 4x4ing so hopefully i don't bend the frontera too much

Cheers

will

[gregp]

Unfortunatly the number plate even on the LWB model gets extremely bent or torn off, you get use to it
Welcome to the group Will.
Cheers
Greg P.

[DAZZ]

Frontera mufflers are extreemly massive. Something about structule integraty of the vehicle or something. easier to change it out with something smaller.

Looks like you had great fun. Never bent a body mount but beat the crossmember under the diff a couple of times..

[fiik]

THanks for the info guys.

Incidentally a gave the no. plate a bit of massaging today. A 60ish degree angle and 2 x 10mm bolts should hold it on.... probably not!!! also made up some stainless plates to cover the exposed mounts... hopefully they don't get torn off. It's probably overkill but better safe than sorry.

Cheers again for the help

Will

[fiik]

Here we go again....

A couple of days ago i came across a winch at work which is available at the right price (translate: carton or 2 of beer ) subsequently i have been wondering if i should fit it to the frontera. so here come the Q's, first things first;

1. sholud i bother?
2. if i go ahead with it i'm assuming that i need a bull bar. is there any thing i should look out for when purchasing one?
3. is there a big diffenence between ally and steel bars other than whet it's made out of/ what it looks like?
4. is there a better brand, so to speak, to buy?

I had a look at ARB the other day and they quoted $900 for a steel bar(powder coated) with winch mounts. does this sound about right?

Hopefully going out in the frontera this weekend(fingers crossed). I hope with all the rain thiss week it's still rather muddy

Cheers again

Will

[DAZZ]

A winch would be a good idea, so you can get yourself out of a bog. And the price is too good to pass up. (Haven't got anymore???)

ARB make the only winch bar for a Frontera. These are a good thing. Current rec retail is $905inc. Should be able to bargain on this price!!!