Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi all. Firstly, thanks again murcod, the Rocky you linked me through to turned out to be a beauty - 80k, well looked after, no leaks etc. '99 model 4 11grand!

Interesting car to drive. I've had a couple of hiluxs, an 80 'cruiser and a 100 series that was modded - chopped rear off, made an extra cab, big lift, tyres etc (bright yellow, melbournians might have seen me around a couple of years ago, or heard me - 35" claws make a heck of a racket on the road...), and the rocky is a little choppy, and doesn't like corners too much.

All the live front end 4wds, even though they handled relatively poorly, could still be pushed hard into corners, on or off road, and would eventually slide (usually w masses of understeer) whereas the rocky dives on its front outside wheel, and gets a bit unstable. I think the short w/b doesn't help either.

I've only done a couple of thousand k's so far, ended up pulling off the front swaybar which helped make it a lot more comfortable, albeit at the loss of more cornering control... oh well, can't have it all i s'pose.

I also cranked up the torsion bars (it's now got a unhealthy looking angle 'tween front diff and wheels) which seemed to help a bit with the front end.
Car came with a pedders rear spring/polyair kit installed, (pump up rear bags inside the coils), and shocks, and sits a bit higher than standard as well which is nice, and they seem to work ok ie; pump up, car goes up, carry more weight, let down, car goes down

A couple of questions for the mighty minds out there;-

I know this has been done to death, but i can't find any mention here at all. 235/85x16 tyres? I'm a big fan of this size, they are the same as 7.50x16, which is around the 32" mark. Really good off road, plenty of clearance, not too wide - in fact if they fit, they should be perfect.

If they fit.

So i'm looking for a set of 5x5.5" x 16" rims with probably a bit more negative offset than usual (25 -30 mm?) to clear the front end on full lock (and a body lift to help), but all i can find are suzi rims which look like they have a positive offset ie; really shallow dish.
Any ideas or help anyone??

Second, how do you fit racks to the rear section on these things?? The front has gutters, but the rear only has what look to be the top of bolts - no head, just round metal disks - along the roof line on both sides. I can take a couple of pics if you need visuals. I assume that these go through into the rear cab section, so maybe i can rip out the lining and unscrew them and fit something else through there..??? Seems to be a pain in the ass though?

Any comments much appreciated!!

I haven't taken any photos yet, but here are a couple from the dealer...

The ten chrome disks you can see on the roof, are the tops of the bolts that hold the roof to the side panels (The FRP rear is actually three piece) To access them, remove the rear roof lining, and you will find the phillips heads underneath.

Its possible to fabricate a roof rack that fits into these holes. I have done it before, just a frame, mounted to some uprights that were welded to the heads of the bolts. These days I have 4 eyebolts in place of the second and forth roof bolts. It comes in handy for light bulky items like swags, tents, ect. I even had a complete spare wheel up there on a trip up Karumba and Lakefield National Park. The roof is tough, and will easily handle quite a fair bit of weight, at least my fat arse.

Also, you may find a big increase in tyre diametre a bit hard for your motor to cope with. I run 30's normally, but have a set of 31's for playdays. The difference is startling, and the motor struggles to keep the 31's turning at highway speed. 5th is usually out, or only for the downhill/flat runs. And no, engine capability isnt a problem.

Thanks BRC, one of main reasons for the larger tyres (as well as clearance) was to drop the revs a bit. Tourque seems plentiful from around 2000rpm up, but cruise speed sees me doing around 3000-3200 @ 110 kph ~ (on standard rims/tyres, 255/70x15 i think, which is around 29"~)... so if i could lose 10-15% in revs, that would be good...
You think there's not enough power to do this?? Is there any way to increase the power - boost? - easily, without sacrificing reliability?? Or are 30" tyres the most realistic option?
Thanks for the info on the roof rack - i plan on putting a rooftop tent thingy up there. Will probably look scary, but they're only around 50kg, so should be fine.
Also, does anyone know of a GOOD diesel mechanic in Melb, i've heard Rankin Diesel in Bayswater are ok??
Thanks

My opinion only, but I find the 30's a bit more comfortable.
Try to find someone with a set of 30's or 31's, even off a suzuki, and fit them for a bit, and go for a drive to test them out. Better than buying a set, and regretting it later.

50kg spreadout over the rear roof would not be a problem.

Glad you like the Rocky, ayashko! It looks to be in immaculate condition and an excellent buy.

Regarding the handling, could it be a case of the rear shocks not doing their job properly? That could cause the symptoms you described. If the back is raised compared to the front (via the airbags?) it would also not help IMHO.

It surprises me a bit as Ferozas can be thrown around and handle well. I know the Rocky is heavier, but it shouldn't be that much worse?

BTW you can buy aftermarket roof racks that will bolt straight onto those bolts you mentioned. Rola make some and I think Thule do too?

Couldna b bothered reading all previous posts, so sorry if i'm repeating nething...

I got my roof racks from Roof Rack City, Rhino Racks, 'custom' fitted to the fibreglass at the back, and the front just grab onto the gutters. Great racks so far (about 9-10 months) but I felt like they must'v been gold plated when he handed me the price (about $350 from memory), but i really needed em and no one else could/would do em

As far as the weight it can carry, I usually have just a alum ladder for work, but when i go away i slap on a home made luggage rack (old security fence ), which would weigh atleast 35kg, and then a whole crapload of gear. I've also stood on the rack at each end (80 odd kgs), and sleep ontop when camping. Racks havent so much as creaked under the weight.

Only pic i have handy of it loaded up:

Guy at the store said it would hold 300kgs spread out , i think i may have tested it to about 150kg with 2 people laying on it while driving

Kevin's Thule rack installation article...
http://www.warfs.org/content/view/37/63/

thanks guys

will probably make up something - weld lugs/brackets to the top of the bolts in the frp, which will allow me to customise to suit the camper.

The link of Kevins with photos, aaarrghh!
sorry, but i lookedandlooked, and still couldn't decipher the images...bloody phone cameras with wide angle lenses!

Thanks for all the help

Measure carefully, and remove the bolts before welding. Sounds obvious. Also, it may be useful to try a wreckers for another set of bolts, instead of using yours.

I’ve been running 31 x 10.5 tyres for the last 2 years on my 1992 turbo Rocky and don’t have any problems using 5th gear. Yesterday I did some speed / rpm figures for your info. At 60kph in 4th gear, rpm is 1850. At 60kph in 5th gear, rpm is 1500. Sorry I don’t have any at 100kph as yet. From memory I think the larger tyres have dropped the rpm by about 10 % so just compare your rpm at 60 kph. 5th gear is useable down to about 80kph. The only difference I notice around town is that it is a bit slower to get away from a standing start on a steep hill. Obviously it does affect the off road performance.

I think it must be them two diff lockers sucking away all the power from BundyRumandCoke, he’ll just have to get rid of them. If you lived in Brisbane we could do a tyre swap and see for yourself.

Something else to remember - the back of the speedo has two adjustments - one for the zero rest position and the other for the calibration setting. In other words you can correctly calibrate it for the larger tyres and it will be accurate at various speeds. Good on you Daihatsu !!

.......................
The roof rack – I turned four of the bolts upside down so the Philips screws are on the outside so when I fit the roof rack all I do is remove the screws and replace them with longer ones that go through some legs in the roof rack. From memory I think I had to file out the holes in the resin roof for some reason so it wasn’t as easy as I first thought. Some attachments for your viewing pleasure.

Stu

Good thinking B-Stu, I like the flipping of the bolts. I haven't had a chance to pull the lining out yet - where the bolts go through, is there some sort of strengthening bar/rib that runs down the length of the roof (underneath)? Just what do the bolts bolt??

Or is it just the same as the rest of the roof in thickness? I'm thinking about running a length of channel down the along the roof ala Rola, then just clipping/bolting racks or bars to this... so if there is no difference in strength, i could just put it next to the bolts??

I didn't know about the speedo - much appreciated, pity i don't live in Queensland, it was over 40c a couple of days ago, and today i'm freezing my tits off...

Like BR&C says the bolts join the sections of the roof together. I'm not sure how thick the roof is at this point but I do know it's damm strong. I once carried a pallet of timber on the roof rack - it was enough weight to have the rear springs bottom out. I really wasn't expecting the forklift to just drop the whole pallet on me roof because I only wanted half of it. He just said take the lot and bring back what you don't use!

I wouldn't be drilling any extra holes in the roof, who knows how it would affect the strength, but you could attach a long bar to these bolts and then add your accessories. Just space it up off the roof so it doesn't scratch your roof or go rusty. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Finally got myself a digital camera for Christmas so it's the first time I've added an attachment.

Stu

There are 2 thin metal strips that run across the roof between the 2nd and 4th bolts. All they do is help support the roof lining, and dont strengthen the roof at all.

Big-Stu wrote:Something else to remember - the back of the speedo has two adjustments - one for the zero rest position and the other for the calibration setting. In other words you can correctly calibrate it for the larger tyres and it will be accurate at various speeds. Good on you Daihatsu !!
Stu

Can you elborate on this at all... I would love to be able to calibrate the speedo to read the correct speed.
Have you done this Stu? and how is it done?

Thanks heaps, Nick.

I have 30x9.5r15 A/T tyres.. and my rpm figures are:

60km/h in 4th gear = 2000rpm
60km/h in 5th gear = 1650rpm

I'll post a separate topic on speedo calibration so it can be found easily when doing a search.

Stu