Table of contents for February 2024 in NZ4WD

TESTED NISSAN NAVARA PRO4X The current Nissan Navara has had a good long run on the New Zealand market. In the last couple of years, though, Ford and VW have created a clear stratum at the top of the 4WD ute market. In the same period, the previous government attempted to talk Kiwis out of their favourite vehicles and into electric appliances. Ute buyers were ‘using their vehicles inappropriately’. Naughty. Welcome a new government farewell the ute tax and EV subsidy. Buy the vehicle that suits Kiwi lifestyles, and buy an EV on merit. Auto companies suffered through the final months of 2023 and can now look forward to a boost in vehicle sales and reduced governmental meddling in the market. Nissan can look forward to a boost in Navara…

Imagine scouring Trade Me and Marketplace for weeks looking for that perfect 4WD vehicle. Then imagine spending months getting all those camp mods perfected, the off-road upgrades dialled. Put your heart and soul into the rig, planning a long-term relationship with it. Now envision waking up one morning and it is gone. This is a reality that many 4WD owners are dealing with, these days more than ever. This happened to our good friend Big D, who had just put the finishing touches on a beautiful black high roof Safari. He was only able to do one short trip to test out all his work before it disappeared into the night. As passionate 4WD enthusiasts, we understand the deep attachment and pride we feel towards our vehicles. Unfortunately, the issue…

One of the many bucket list trips for me has been to explore the Southland / Milford area. This included Walter Peak Station, Mavora Lakes, Milford Sound, Manapouri, Borland Road, Lake Monowai and, if possible, out to Lake Hauroko. While these are all public roads and do not necessarily require a 4WD, there is a lot of gravel and so it is easier in a 4WD especially when the intention is to camp out in spots where the hordes of tourists in slider vans and camper vans are not staying. The plan then was to drive from Geraldine to Kingston at the south end of Lake Wakatipu the first day and set up camp there - about five hours and 380km so a relatively easy day. He second day was…

Spectacular action at trials series The 2023/2024 Lucas Oil NZ 4x4 Trials Series kicked off in early November 2023 at the City Pavements National 4X4 Trial in Waiterimu. Counties 4 Wheelers hosted the first round of the season in the Waikato near Huntly, in a dry and challenging day. During the day there were six DNFs and a further five that broke before the finish, however completing at least 75 percent to score a placing. Mitchell Caldow and Jamie Elms came away with the win and an early lead in the series. At the second round, the series standings were shaken up with Scott Biggs and Phil Walton taking the event win ahead of Chris Gifford and Shaun Joblin. A benefit to the community Rounds of the series often fundraise…

Recently I got to return the favour of travelling In Australia’s outback with David Metcalfe of Xtreme 4×4 Sport in Australia. David was flying into New Zealand for a national pistol shooting competition and I was his driver, gofer, and tour guide for the week. The competition was in Wanganui and it would be a quick trip down there but we would have a day for sightseeing on the trip back north. To show David a bit of ‘outback’ or rural NZ we would go through Fordell and then north through Mangamahu, the Upper Whangaehu Valley Road and the Burma Hill route eventually coming out at Karioi. The original ‘track’ back in the 1890s was over the Ridge Road, known back then as Hales Track. I first drove this road…

New Triton emerges New tech takes popular ute forward Mitsubishi has unveiled its ‘New-Gen’ Mitsubishi, a completely new body/chassis featuring its Super Select II transmission and proven diesel engines. Added technology includes Active Yaw Control, first used on its later Evo rally cars, redeveloped to suit use in a 4WD ute, and seven drive modes. The Super Select 4WD-II gives four driveline setups: 2H, 4H, 4HLc (locked centre differential), and 4LLc. All Wheel Control combines all four drivetrain settings and seven drive modes to maximise capability. A centre-console ‘Drive Mode’ button enables access to an even greater depth of capability. The seven available drive modes work in conjunction with Mitsubishi’s Super Select 4WD-II system, which offer 2H, 4H, 4HLc and 4LLc drivetrain settings. The ability to switch from high-range 2WD…

Imagine being in the oil exploration business, and (of course) using tough long wheelbase 4WDs to get into and out of remote and inhospitable places as a matter of course. Imagine owning a group of companies based on this work. Using big, gnarly Land Rover Defenders as a mainstay of the transport pool. Electronic gewgaws and lane-change/lane keep assists are less of a priority than a robust pair of live axles and a strong ladder chassis. Imagine reading in Autocar that these tough trucks were to be replaced by the modern Defender. Then imagine heading on over to Solihull to ask if you can buy the tooling to continue producing the old Defender. Imagine being a Land Rover manager and telling one of the richest men in the world “sorry…

You have a business that specialises in repairing trucks and heavy equipment in the Central North Island, your business fleet consists of a number of Toyota 4WD utilities set up for mobile servicing, you love 4WDriving and you have a 2.2 tonne off-road caravan. Taupo Iron Man and Terrain Tamer agent Klem Christensen’s blood runs ‘Toyota Red’. He has a new ‘built’ 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser 79 double cab ute, with the mighty V8 diesel engine. The LC is still fairly standard mechanically with mods limited to a larger crossover exhaust pipe for the single turbo and larger fans for the top mounted factory intercooler to help power and cooling. Air comes to the engine via an Ironman snorkel. Klem says the engine is lazy, and an ECU tune is…

PERFORMANCE UPGRADES The world of performance upgrades is vast and it’s easy to get lost in a maze of tweaks. The key for any owner is to start with a firm idea of what is to be achieved, what the budget is, and what the vehicle is to be used for. A few decades ago, obtaining more performance was about engine swapping. Land Rovers received Holden six-cylinder engines, ‘shorty’ Land Cruisers had Chev V8s shoehorned under their bonnets. Then, as engines became more and more electronic, the focus shifted to performance gains achievable by ‘flashing’ the engine management or using an aftermarket chip. Turbocharging and supercharging also gained some fans, but were mainly niche modifications for off-roading. Many now know that massive horsepower is not the ideal for off-roading, and…

Weekend Drive The starting point for this trip that Ashley and I were running through the Puketoi Ranges for our 4WD club was Alfredton Domain north of Masterton. While this is a comfortable two hour run from Wellington, the need for a post-winter camp and shakedown trip for the K-Pod was a perfect excuse to avoid an early start by camping at the domain the previous night. I met up with Ashley and Gillian at the domain late on the Saturday afternoon, and while it was a bit cloudy and grey, it was warm and fine enough to enjoy dinner together in the peaceful surroundings before I settled into the K-Pod for a very comfortable night. The next morning, we finalised our trip planning, getting a clear route planned through…

4WD Sport For the second year running, a group of dedicated Waikato Offroad Racing Club members have staged an event focusing on the next wave of racers: the youth Kiwitruck category. Held on the club’s purpose-designed short course track at the TECT Park near Tauranga, the Super Fly race day attracted 11 young racers across the category’s J and M classes. Also invited this year were racers under 18 who have graduated to the sport’s main classes. There were in-class heats and a longer enduro race, with prizegiving, trophies and product prizes afterward. The event was combined with the club’s end of year celebration, with a BBQ camp-out on the Saturday evening and an all-comers ‘fun laps’ day on the Sunday. Results J class Zac Rowberry Jack Rice Bryn Willetts…

Back in December, a posting on the New Zealand Four Wheel Drive Association (NZFWDA) Facebook page drew a few comments, it read, “Please use your public land responsibly and enjoy your access while it lasts”. It was actually a copy of a posting from Arizona that was borrowed but is equally relevant here too. Several comments suggested that the NZFWDA is not doing enough to prevent closures of 4WD routes on public land. A reality is that our recreation has become so popular and unfortunately regarded by some participants as ‘antiestablishment’, in a similar vein as the ‘boy racer’ image. As long as we have drivers with that attitude, we will all continue to be seen in the same light. The NZFWDA is doing, and has done, a great amount…

Ram’s Big Horn arrives Big V8 pickup range expands Ram Trucks’ Big Horn nameplate has arrived in New Zealand in the form of the Ram 1500 Big Horn. With the 1500 DS in run-out mode at $99,990, the new Big Horn is set to be the starting point to RAM ownership. All 1500 models are now built on the DT platform. “The Big Horn, with its impressive cargo space, class-leading 4.5-tonne braked towing and legendary 5.7-litre V8 Hemi, broadens our product offering of Ram Trucks in NZ even more. It’s a true workhorse and packed with practical tech and useful features. It’s perfect for the job site during the week and dirt-biking or family adventuring during the weekend”. said Todd Groves, RAM Trucks NZ general sales manager. Big Horn uses…

The brand founded in innovation, Segway, is about to make huge inroads in the New Zealand UTV (side by side) market. At the close of 2023, NZ4WD was invited to a launch event in ‘the bush’ outside Melbourne, a slick event that included an overnight stay at the Pentridge Adina, an apartment development set with in the blue stone walls of the former prison. The briefing and drive/ride part of the launch event was held at Seven Hills, Tallarook, Victoria. It was a chance for media to sample Segway’s ATV (quad) range and the Fugleman utility side-by-sides. The quads and UTVs will be of interest to Kiwi farmers as they are priced well below the offerings of established brands, but lack nothing in tech, spec or power and torque. Part…

Klem’s business Performance and Mechanical Engineering in Taupo services the local Downer road maintenance fleet along with others. After Cyclone Gabrielle many of the Downer vehicles were working around Eskdale doing Cyclone cleanup work and the mighty 79 series was the first vehicle to get through the Napier Taupo Road to there so he could fettle their fleet during the emergency work. With radios and cellphones out of service due to cyclone damage, Klem hooked up a mobile StarLink terminal to provide communications (this now provides camping comms.) During the week the LC is a genuine work vehicle with a full tool load out and the off-road chops to go almost anywhere it is needed.…

Most 4WDers have been in that situation. A slippery uphill perhaps, and thinking “hmmm… it would be even better if it went a little bit harder.” There are two approaches to improving 4WD engine performance: ‘hotting up’ the existing engine or repowering the vehicle. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The traditional way of getting more power out of an engine is to improve its breathing and make it rev faster: that results in more ‘bangs’ per minute and hence more power. There may be a torque sacrifice, because the engine mods may move the maximum torque point higher up the rev scale and torque may actually be less at lower revs than the standard engine’s. That’s not a good result if trying to improve towing or mud-driving performance. Youtube…

It’s well known that Kiwis have stored most of their scenic treasures south of Cook Strait. The geographic oddity is a source of wonder to our cousins across the ditch, so NZ4WD asked longtime supporters of the magazine at Redarc what their top five spots were. No surprises, they are all South Island offroad camping/trekking gems: Macetown The track to Macetown begins in the historic Chinese settlement town in Arrowtown. The initial crossing of the Arrow River sets the pace for the rest of the 15km drive, which can include up to 25 water crossings. The track ends at Macetown, a historic settlement from New Zealand’s gold mining days. Though it is well posted with signage about the area, a booklet can be picked up from the Arrowtown museum with…

COLUMN Is the north taking over truck racing in New Zealand? After Leigh Bishop came south to win the Thundertruck (class 8) category at Kurow, there’s a yawning silence from southern truck racers. The Preston Toyota V8 is massively competitive, but hasn’t been seen for ages. The Giti Chev is sitting in the shad, awaiting a clean-up and some fresh fuel. Darrin Thomason really should be out there as well, but seems to have been distracted by stock car racing. Trevor Cooper has one and a half trucks in his garage, but sometimes turns out in a UTV. What? A northern racer has also bought the Prolite imported from the USA by Gary Baker, it’s a grab-bag of goodies that won’t take too much to turn out for racing. Gary’s…

TECH TALK With a bewildering range of diff lock options available the question often arises: which one works best and where? Distinct from a conventional open diff and different from a limited slip diff, lockers tie a wheel with low or no grip to its opposite partner, meaning a vehicle can maintain forward motion. Many 4WDs can now be specced from factory with locking diffs - rear, front-rear and centre. Electric lockers are generally ball-race type, activated by an electromagnet. They do generate heat in operation, which makes them best suited to recreational use. Many top end 4WDs have info screens that include a page of temperature displays for components, enabling users to keep heat within an acceptable range. Stock locking diffs are gentle in operation, with an eye to…