Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi to everyone on this forum. I've just registered after reading everyones info and have found it to be very interesting and some what educational. I was given a Suzi for Chrissie and absolutely love it. I usually drive around a toyota tarago but now that has been garaged for the moment so I drive my Suzi. She has been down to The Otways for a bit of a bash but would really like to see her in tip top condition before I get into the serious stuff. I have no knowledge of how a 4x4 works so I've joined a 4x4 club and with the knowledge I'm getting from this forum, I'll eventually get up there with you guys. Love to hear from anyone who wants to give advise.

Welcome to our addiction
You have done exactly the right thing.
Joining a club, and getting some driving experience in, before you start modifying towards more serious stuff.
This way your skills and knowledge will grow with your car.
4WDring is part vehicle preparations, part driver ability and a little bit of luck thrown in.
So get out in the bush with other wheelers and have fun.

christover

christover1 wrote:Welcome to our addiction
You have done exactly the right thing.
Joining a club, and getting some driving experience in, before you start modifying towards more serious stuff.
This way your skills and knowledge will grow with your car.
4WDring is part vehicle preparations, part driver ability and a little bit of luck thrown in.
So get out in the bush with other wheelers and have fun.

christover

Experience grows,
vehicle grows,
enthusiasm grows,





















































wallet shrinks..............

Thankyou for your advise christover1. I just wish there was a Suzuki club near where I live because when I told everyone at the 4x4 club what sort of car I owned they all bursted out laughing and thought it was a great joke. But I know what Zooks are capable of doing that those other big heavy 4x4's can't do.

piglet wrote: Thankyou for your advise christover1. I just wish there was a Suzuki club near where I live because when I told everyone at the 4x4 club what sort of car I owned they all bursted out laughing and thought it was a great joke. But I know what Zooks are capable of doing that those other big heavy 4x4's can't do.

Yes we know we we can out drive many big beasts, and after a while we ignore the big car drivers, cos they'll never understand

In a nutshell 4wdriving is about keeping moving.
This is best done with all 4 wheels driven on the ground.
This can be done with suspension mods, bigger tyres, or most importantly picking a good "line" so wheels don't lift.

When a wheel is in the air, it ain't driving, and neither is the other side, unless you have a locker.

There is a lot of you zook owners down there, maybe time to start your own club, or all join the same club.

zoox rule da bush
christover

It always makes me laugh when my $1900 sierra gets thru stuff these Bigger $30,000+ machines cannot.

Another thing you may find useful is;
Getting under the car and familiarizing yourself with what hangs down.
(When parked )
Then when driving over obstacles, you know better what "line" to take.
IE so diffs and stuff don't get hit, stuck and/or damaged.

Also its a good idea to find a large safe area in which to drive.
Pick a rock, or a coke can, or some similar object, and try driving over it with a wheel, ie front left, back right etc. This is great for becoming a better judge on where to place your wheels when off road. Can try reverse, too.

I still do these things myself, after I have modded a car, or changed cars, or getting a feel for somebody elses car (ie drove a mates rock buggy in our trials day, which was totally awesome)

christover

I've had a 2" lift kit put on it and new leaf springs and a steering damper and mud terrain tyres (BF) with new rims. The disappointing thing I've found with this car though is the fuel economy. Thought by going down to a smaller engine I would get better fuel eco. out of it but it's not the case. I've just purchased a bullbar for it which has not been installed yet but I was wondering if it's worth getting an electric winch although I don't plan doing any of those hairy tracks.

Electric winch is a lot of money, if you can afford it, they are the easiest thing to get unstuck with. But you must keep them well maintained, tho, and checked and serviced, or they will break down when you need them most. Learn safety techniques for recovery/unstucking from your club, winching and snatching can be dangerous.

If you never have the intention of travelling serious offroad by yourself, I don't believe you will need one. A hand winch is cheaper, takes up little room, but is harder work of course. I carry a $30 Kmart engine lifter as a winch, but so far it's never been needed, and a snatch strap to another car has sufficed.

Fuel economy suffers when you add larger tyres, lift the car etc, wind resistance, gearing change etc.
The speedo and trip meter won't be accurate, anyway, so it may do better than you think.

christover

Im only 17 but love getting out in the bush with mine! My dads the president of the Melbourne Jeep Owners Club and they have a propartie for there driving training and when we camp there its usually wet and mudy and i keep up with the wranglers running 33's and 35's!!! It's only got a 3" lift, 30" tyres, front and rear diff lockes, snorkel and a winch but the tyres arnt even mud tyres! Cant wait to get mud tyres.

HI piglet must hook up for a ride if you know what I mean

bushpig59 wrote:HI piglet must hook up for a ride if you know what I mean

I thought you two may be related, similar nicks

yes, forget the winch. just go driving with someone else with a winch
i have a 1lithre engin in my zook and im lucky to get 10l/100km from it.
a little engine revving hard and pushing a square 4wd with a flat windscreen is never going to give great fuel economy.
but if you were driving a big petrol 4wd (patrol, cruiser, pajero etc) of the same vintage, the zook wouldnt look so bad

forget the winch save your money and get some lockers instead

forget the winch save your money and get some lockers instead