Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey guys i have a 93 dual cab hilux and im doing a fair bit of beach driving.

I was wondering what sort of modifications etc i can do to my ute to increase its overall performance on the beach. what is most important and gives a 4wd the advantage on beach?
cheers andy

get rid of pos motor n get a 6 or 8

otherwise diff clearance not ness over all height

The wider your tyres are the better.

if your doing sand driving and not so much mud/rock stay with the roadtyres, dont worry about getting muddy's or comp tyres, good old road tyres on a decent size are best in sand

Lupdog wrote:The wider your tyres are the better.

not true.


The taller your tyres, the better.

Too wide, and they will consume too much width-ways surface area. Taller, on the other hand, and they only consume lengthways surface area. (If that makes any sease)

The only mod i'd do to your truck for better beach driving would be welded rear diff and some 31"x15.5" all terrain rubber deflated untill they bag out.

Tyre pressures are the key to beach work.
Best mod you can do is buy a good compressor .
In a Lux just drop the pressures straight down to 10 psi for the sand and it will get you where you need to go.

De-lux wrote:

Lupdog wrote:The wider your tyres are the better.

not true.


The taller your tyres, the better.

Too wide, and they will consume too much width-ways surface area. Taller, on the other hand, and they only consume lengthways surface area. (If that makes any sease)

The only mod i'd do to your truck for better beach driving would be welded rear diff and some 31"x15.5" all terrain rubber deflated untill they bag out.

Surely surface area is surface area? And surely an increase of width is going to have a greater increase surface than an increase in tyre height? I'm no tyre technician so I don't know how much area touches the ground at any one time but if you increase your width by eg, 2" then how tall does your tyre have to become to match that sort of surface area increase?

If lengthways surface area was better then wouldn't camels have long feet?

Perhaps the answer lies in the middle so therefore increase the surface area of your tyres by getting larger tyres that are both wider AND taller. Letting out the air of your tyres works because it also serves to increase the surface area. The reason that road tyres are the best for sand work is that they tend to "roll" over the surface of the sand rather than dig in like tyres that are designed for mud with a more aggresive tread pattern. The last thing you want to do is dig in unless you enjoy using a snatch strap! Sometimes its fun to get bogged on purpose but of course it is ALWAYS fun to bog your mates fourby.....especially if it's a Nissan!

The larger the diameter the easier it is to climb over an obstacle, also the less sand you would have to displace compared to a smaller wider tyre. 31x10.5x15 at 15 to 20 psi on an FJ45 gets me all over Fraser.

think of a wider tyre's snoplough effect on sand. If you have a mega wide tyre there is more sand that the tyre has to compact down. A thinner tyre creates less of a wall than the wider one, but still has enough surface area under it to keep the vehicle afloat on soft sand.

Pressures are more critical anyway that what size tyre you need for sand.

The key to awesome beach driving is in my sig line

My opinion is you dont need to many mods, Just drop tyre pressures Yes 10psi will get you every were but is probably not the safest presssure, 18-20psi is a good happy medium. The list for mods is never ending you have to way up were you want to go & how much coin youy willing to spend to get there. Lockers will help more horse power & bigger tyres will allso help.

But all you need is a 4X4 & a brain & you should get most places in reason (I did say most places not all)

Dooma_ wrote:10psi will get you every were but is probably not the safest presssure, 18-20psi is a good happy medium.

Maybe in a heavier vehicle but in a lux 10 psi is fine as long as you dont go stupid doing sharp cornering (ie donuts )
Go for 12 - 15 max if 10 scares you but if you hit some soft stuff drop them to 10 and you will see the difference!

I have been going down to the coast via the dunes for years in my extra cab Lux with the tyres at 10 and never lost a single bead. The worst I have had is a slow leak around the bead after driving through a swamp.
Paul.

ausyota wrote:

Dooma_ wrote:10psi will get you every were but is probably not the safest presssure, 18-20psi is a good happy medium.

Maybe in a heavier vehicle but in a lux 10 psi is fine as long as you dont go stupid doing sharp cornering (ie donuts )
Go for 12 - 15 max if 10 scares you but if you hit some soft stuff drop them to 10 and you will see the difference!

I have been going down to the coast via the dunes for years in my extra cab Lux with the tyres at 10 and never lost a single bead. The worst I have had is a slow leak around the bead after driving through a swamp.
Paul.

I Have a 96 dual cab Hilux Yes you are right 10psi is great & will get you any were if you r having a big play , but for general driving i still think
18-20 psi is heaps safer

It also depends on the beach. There's many areas of Stockton beach for example that 20psi will go along way to get you bogged. I run 10psi in my 35x12.5 Claws and with the 1UZ I reckon I could rescue a tractor

Yet i've been on beaches in other areas where 30psi can just make it.