We all know the best 4x4 has a small block Chevy mated to an Atlas trf case which in turn directs the torque through detroit lockers and preferably multiplied by portals to earth shattering figures before 37” rubber converts all this into near vertical movement!
Did I mention that all this should roughly resemble an eighties Patrol (XJ Jeeps make for a good substitute)
The mechanical symphony you will have from all this will cause otological failure well before retirement age, but will keep your cardiologist unemployed for years!
The second best 4x4 is put together in Hanover by a man in a white suit, in a lab, it also makes for a half decent transport everyday and costs almost as much as the best 4x4!
Both will make you get on your knees in front of your bank manager on a regular basis, eventually your knees will toughen up and you will tell the sod to catch you if he can!
Quack wrote:
The second best 4x4 is put together in Hanover by a man in a white suit, in a lab, it also makes for a half decent transport everyday and costs almost as much as the best 4x4!
I thought the Merc X Class was being built in Spain or South America?
Disclaimer: Uninformed, no research, just very strong opinions
Quack wrote:
The second best 4x4 is put together in Hanover by a man in a white suit, in a lab, it also makes for a half decent transport everyday and costs almost as much as the best 4x4!
I thought the Merc X Class was being built in Spain or South America?
Its also not put together in a lab by a man in a white suit
Think we need to look at the motoring trend. Even Bentley joining the stakes for a pickup truck. These luxury cars with a 4x4 function is becoming the norm and all new 4x4`s will being built this way.
Friend of mine near Upingtons farm get regularly use for testing German cars on quite a few competitive dunes on his farm. He enjoy looking at this guys in white coats trying to setup traction control systems to concur these sandy dunes. They battle for hours and cannot get it right. They are amazed with the ease his SFA open diff`s Hilux with a Lexus v8 and 33`s do these dunes time after time. Like he neighbor once said, Ons sal hierdie Duitsertjies moet leer sand ry
Traction control is easy and cheap to install and cater for the less experienced driver off road. Look at Quacks report on the v6 Amarok, Mik en druk.
I’ve yet to see a manufacturer that have got the programming right for dunes. Their sand driving modes aren’t bad but they still need to get their heads around the difference between sand & dune driving being 2 separate things.
Disclaimer: Uninformed, no research, just very strong opinions
I have not taken my GV on dune driving yet but on sand it was beautiful. The Brake TC works fantastic and I would even go as far as saying better than any other (except Jeep Commander best TC I have ever seen) - my opinion! The Amarok I saw on sand had too much wheel spin (about a 1/4 turn of the wheel before braking) where the GV has less spin. The Suzuki's system is VERY fast. While at Kungwini a few years ago, a group of Amaroks came through who were on training. I was watching how they were driving a small uphill and noticed the wheel spin. With GV on basically the same line I had less spin and more forwards motion - was interesting to to watch the Amarok's.
Cheese, canals and mud. Flattest country in the world. Wish they had 4x4'ing here
I have watched a few 4x4's with traction control , some 4x4's you have to actually keep the rpm up for TC to work ?? My son has a D3 V8 , his TC kicks in very quick with minimum wheel spin .
But i still prefer the proper locker . Pity it cost's a arm and leg !
D3's and D4's run a center diff lock, and a limited slip/full diff lock at the back, and TC in the front that only allows 7 degrees wheel spin before it kicks in, in rock crawl mode, but you need a very steady throttle.
Rear diff lock becomes a limmited slip diff when you turn the steering wheel and then locks up when you straighten out again.
XJ
For dunes we pull the ABS, TC and DSC fuses, use sand mode to kill as much of the electronics as we can.
Disco's are just too heavy for huge dunes.
Samaya wrote:I have not taken my GV on dune driving yet but on sand it was beautiful. The Brake TC works fantastic and I would even go as far as saying better than any other (except Jeep Commander best TC I have ever seen) - my opinion! The Amarok I saw on sand had too much wheel spin (about a 1/4 turn of the wheel before braking) where the GV has less spin. The Suzuki's system is VERY fast. While at Kungwini a few years ago, a group of Amaroks came through who were on training. I was watching how they were driving a small uphill and noticed the wheel spin. With GV on basically the same line I had less spin and more forwards motion - was interesting to to watch the Amarok's.
Depends which Commander because there were some got Quadra-Trac 1 which was quiet kak & you’re GV would probably beat it. However the one that have Quadra-Trac 2 are pretty untouchable.
The auto Amarok doesn’t have low range which is why they spin too much. Then the manuals with low range don’t have decent reduction, which is why they spin too much.
Disclaimer: Uninformed, no research, just very strong opinions
Rabbiddog wrote:
XJ
For dunes we pull the ABS, TC and DSC fuses, use sand mode to kill as much of the electronics as we can.
Disco's are just too heavy for huge dunes.
If you pull ABS or TC at AD in a Disco, you’d get stuck in the car park & I can’t see how sand mode would even work in the absence of those interventions.
At what speed does the sand mode cancel the suspension height?
Disclaimer: Uninformed, no research, just very strong opinions
Samaya wrote:I have not taken my GV on dune driving yet but on sand it was beautiful. The Brake TC works fantastic and I would even go as far as saying better than any other (except Jeep Commander best TC I have ever seen) - my opinion! The Amarok I saw on sand had too much wheel spin (about a 1/4 turn of the wheel before braking) where the GV has less spin. The Suzuki's system is VERY fast. While at Kungwini a few years ago, a group of Amaroks came through who were on training. I was watching how they were driving a small uphill and noticed the wheel spin. With GV on basically the same line I had less spin and more forwards motion - was interesting to to watch the Amarok's.
Depends which Commander because there were some got Quadra-Trac 1 which was quiet kak & you’re GV would probably beat it. However the one that have Quadra-Trac 2 are pretty untouchable.
The auto Amarok doesn’t have low range which is why they spin too much. Then the manuals with low range don’t have decent reduction, which is why they spin too much.
The manual Amarok has more reduction than any vehicle other than a Rubicon and a Mog!
A Mog comes in at about 300:1 Rubi sits at 80:1 and melktrok is at 72:1
Samaya wrote:I have not taken my GV on dune driving yet but on sand it was beautiful. The Brake TC works fantastic and I would even go as far as saying better than any other (except Jeep Commander best TC I have ever seen) - my opinion! The Amarok I saw on sand had too much wheel spin (about a 1/4 turn of the wheel before braking) where the GV has less spin. The Suzuki's system is VERY fast. While at Kungwini a few years ago, a group of Amaroks came through who were on training. I was watching how they were driving a small uphill and noticed the wheel spin. With GV on basically the same line I had less spin and more forwards motion - was interesting to to watch the Amarok's.
Depends which Commander because there were some got Quadra-Trac 1 which was quiet kak & you’re GV would probably beat it. However the one that have Quadra-Trac 2 are pretty untouchable.
The auto Amarok doesn’t have low range which is why they spin too much. Then the manuals with low range don’t have decent reduction, which is why they spin too much.
Neil, I think you are referring to Quadra-DRIVE II in the Commander. It is basically the same system as the WJ, but with TC added (electronic diff locks as Jeep calls it). This was one of the TC systems I saw rendered useless by mud accumulation on the tone wheels, mentioned in my earlier post.
Quadra-Trac has open diffs (QD has varilock diffs)
I refuse to be POLITICALLY CORRECT to impress others - Deal with it
FLEX is UNDERRATED
Samaya wrote:I have not taken my GV on dune driving yet but on sand it was beautiful. The Brake TC works fantastic and I would even go as far as saying better than any other (except Jeep Commander best TC I have ever seen) - my opinion! The Amarok I saw on sand had too much wheel spin (about a 1/4 turn of the wheel before braking) where the GV has less spin. The Suzuki's system is VERY fast. While at Kungwini a few years ago, a group of Amaroks came through who were on training. I was watching how they were driving a small uphill and noticed the wheel spin. With GV on basically the same line I had less spin and more forwards motion - was interesting to to watch the Amarok's.
Depends which Commander because there were some got Quadra-Trac 1 which was quiet kak & you’re GV would probably beat it. However the one that have Quadra-Trac 2 are pretty untouchable.
The auto Amarok doesn’t have low range which is why they spin too much. Then the manuals with low range don’t have decent reduction, which is why they spin too much.
The manual Amarok has more reduction than any vehicle other than a Rubicon and a Mog!
A Mog comes in at about 300:1 Rubi sits at 80:1 and melktrok is at 72:1
(bait taken)
That’s crawl ratio. Reduction in the manual is about the same as any other bakkie. Auto has no reduction
Disclaimer: Uninformed, no research, just very strong opinions
