D40 Dual Cab and other questions?

[nthnbeachesguy]

Hey everyone, this is my first post here as I am seriously considering getting myself a Navara in the not to distant future. Going on almost the last 10 years I have had manual SS Commodore utes but I am getting fairly keen for a change.

I'm in sales and do quite a lot of city driving, I have a girlfriend but no kids at this stage although I would like to future proof myself with a car that can do the kid thing as well. I surf a lot and snowboard through winter so the ability to fit surfboards, snowboards and camping gear is a must but I don't tow anything.

My main reasons for looking at the Navara or basically any dual cab ute is better economy then the SS (15l/100km), automagic for city driving, the ability to seat 5 when required, some off road ability, still has a decent size tray and for my money the Navara is the best looking of them.

My budget is around $30K +/- a couple of grand either side so I think I'm looking at around a 2008 from what I have seen. I have a few questions I was hoping some of the member could answer.

1. I have done some reading and it appears that for some added grunt, it's a good idea to get rid of the DPF and put a chip in it, how much does this cost and is a worthwhile investment for extra grunt, is there any economy benefits?

2. What is the EGR referred to in some of the posts I have read?

3. Does anyone here surf and if so what size and how many boards are you able to fit in the back?

4. What options are there for colour coded lockable hard lids for the tray and how much are they? I have had Blueys lids on my Holdens but thought there may be some cheaper alternatives for the jap based utes.

5. Are there any other engine mods, air intakes (not snorkel, will never be doing river crossings), exhaust, extractors etc that are worth doing for performance/economy?

6. Is it a major issue to replace the standard head unit with something aftermarket and retain steering controls? Was thinking a DVD HU with screen would be nice, is there room under the backseat for a small subwoofer?

7. Are there any major issues I should be looking for when test driving?



Looking forward to the ability to drive a little more carefree and not lose fillings while driving on Sydneys quality roads, a lowered VE SSV on 20's really isn't that user friendly in city carparks either! Apologies on not being a little more thorough with the search function but it's a little hard to find exactly what you're looking for sometimes.

 

[nathand22]

hi and welcome. i am fairly new here myself so there will be someone that will be able to answer some of your questions much more thoroughly then me.
what sort of navara were you interested in? d22 or d40?

just to let you know that there is a big difference in what people are saying they are getting as far as fuel economy. some say as low as 7.5 lph and up to 15lph not towing. if towing it goes up again.

the dpf is only installed on the auto's.

putting a chip in will give extra grunt but it does change with what chip you install and weather or not you do the exhaust at the same time. getting extra economy after putting a chip in will be hard and again will depend on what chip you get and what tune you chose to use.

the egr is the exhaust gas regain system and can be easily blocked off.

as far as how many boards you can fit well that will depend on what you ride. my d40 tray is a tad over two meters diagonally and 1.5m long, 450mm deep.

as far as engine mods you wont be needing extractors with the diesel turbo. but a good exhaust will work well especially combined with a chip, but chasing both extra grunt and economy together will be hard as the more power you get normally means more fuel thrown at it.

as i said before, im sure you will get some more info from more knowledgeable people then me, but i hope that helps a little. good luck. nath

 

[nthnbeachesguy]

Cheers for that mate, definitely the D40, as far as I’m aware it is bigger and roomier and IMO look a lot better.

Maybe I’m spoilt but with the Holden (Chev) V8 when you do the ECU tuning you get more power and better economy, they run very rich from factory and benefit from cold air intake, tune and free flowing exhaust. Around town it’s 14-15 sometimes 16 if peak hour and on the freeway have seen it as low as 8.6l/100km.

Basically I would be more interested in economy as a diesel is never going to compare to what I have in the performance stakes so there’s not much point trying, just thought it might be a twofold gain as I have been used to. If I can’t go fast I would prefer to go cheap and comfortable with the ability to hit the sand and snow as well. I have taken the ute down some fairly rough dirt tracks and up to the snow but it’s always foiled by sand and there is no way in hell chains will fit!

Boards wise I ride 6’4” – 6’6” which I think equals out to around 196cms at the longer end of the scale. I might pop into a dealer with a board and see if it fits, might look a little weird but has to be done!

 

[Tiburn]

Welcome to the forum.

I would be looking at trade racks/roof racks for the boards (might be easier to deal with).

On the the other mods, I have a chip and it gives a lot more grunt in the lower rev range, but there are lots of threads on performance, so have a quick look round. Otherwise others will be able to help (I am more into 4WDing than performance on road).

 

[nthnbeachesguy]

The whole idea of a ute for me now and in the past has been to be able to secure boards in the tray without worrying about them being stolen so roof racks aren't an option on a day to day basis. Also being able to put wet gear: wetsuits, snowboards, boots etc in the back and not worry about getting anything filthy or wet or stolen as well.

Chipit would probably be my preferred option but as mentioned is more from an economy side than straight line performance, unfortunately with the D40 it would appear I can't have my cake and eat it to like the with the SS.

 

[Leprechaun]

The whole idea of a ute for me now and in the past has been to be able to secure boards in the tray without worrying about them being stolen so roof racks aren't an option on a day to day basis. Also being able to put wet gear: wetsuits, snowboards, boots etc in the back and not worry about getting anything filthy or wet or stolen as well.

Chipit would probably be my preferred option but as mentioned is more from an economy side than straight line performance, unfortunately with the D40 it would appear I can't have my cake and eat it to like the with the SS.

It's makes me shudder when I say this, but maybe a kingcab would be more suitable?

 

[nathand22]

The whole idea of a ute for me now and in the past has been to be able to secure boards in the tray without worrying about them being stolen so roof racks aren't an option on a day to day basis. Also being able to put wet gear: wetsuits, snowboards, boots etc in the back and not worry about getting anything filthy or wet or stolen as well.

Chipit would probably be my preferred option but as mentioned is more from an economy side than straight line performance, unfortunately with the D40 it would appear I can't have my cake and eat it to like the with the SS.

i spoke to a m8 and he said he can put his surf boards in the back with no probs but he only rides small boards like 6ft, but he thinks you could put as big as 6'3 depending on what tail your boards have. you could go bigger if you had a canopy .
the snow boards ect will be no problem at all i fit a couple of boards skis and all the crap that 4 people would need for a week away skiing.

with the chip. have a look at unichip they offer the same improvements and more. from what i believe they are one of only 2 companies that can adjust injection timing. from what i can gather this is what will get you more power without more fuel.

here is some info from northside 4x4 who are suppliers of unichip


Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: 19 Flinders Pde, North Lakes, QLD
Posts: 151
My Mood:

They sure do.

Huge gains in economy and power to be had by adjusting injection timing without the need to even add more fuel or boost.
__________________
UNICHIP,WORLDS BEST TUNING SOLUTION Why?
Timing Control,Boost,All The Stuff Other Chip Companies Wish they had
Northside 4x4

DYNO TUNING, WATER TO AIR [email protected]

 

[nthnbeachesguy]

Cheers for the info so far guys.

Went out to a dealer during lunch and found my board fit with a bit of room to spare in the back of the dual cab, only drama no is really the fact I could probably only really fit 2 or maybe 3 without fins as they sit over the top of the wheel well. Can anyone comment on how high the hard cover sits up?

For interests sake had a chat with the sales guy about a new ST, seems they want fairly stupid miney for em and he struggled to list the differences between the ST and the STX which was a bit of a worry considering that was another $7K premium over the ST.

 

[KraftyPg]

The brochure or the PDF from the net will tell you the exact differences between models and in a handy side by side comparison. I'd never trust a dealer to tell me every difference because they are just sales men they don't know everything about each model of car they sell.

There are differences in sizes, added bits and of course the biggest difference being the country of origin, not all parts of an STX built in Spain fit the ST or RX built in Thailand but often dealers wont tell you that because it has the potential to limit just what they can and can't sell you. Use the net and get the PDF you'll get more info from that than a salesman and it will also provide you with information when or if they try to bullshit you.

 

[nathand22]

thats what my m8 said three max but he has spoken with another navara owner who has a canopy and says that he can fit heaps more in with all that extra height.
that may be option for you. if you look around the gallery you will see heaps of them on d40 and imo some look pretty good.

i know its a long way from you, but you could ring stuart the nissan sales manager at napean motor group. i bought my brand new st 2010 build 3 months ago off him for $37'777 drive away. i test drove the ute at other dealers closer to me. i then did the majority of the deal with stuart over the phone. he was very good to deal with and more flexible with negotiating price then any other dealer i spoke with from act to newcastle.

 

[Leprechaun]

If your thinking of going down the canopy option then seriously consider a Pathfinder, far nicer to drive than a Navara, just a bit more pricey. I'm not sure of their secondhand value, but could be worth having a look at one.

 

[nathand22]

why go a pathfinder??
i would much prefer to have my water skis, wake boards, soaking wetsuits and all that sort of gear in the tub instead of in the back of my car. even with snow ski's and boards all covered in snow. its great to be able to throw that crap in the back without having to dry it all off first. i do a bit of mountain bike riding and on those muddy days i just pick up the bike and throw it in. then hose the whole lot out when i get home. anyway thats only my opinion and what works for me.

 

[nthnbeachesguy]

Nathan is on the money with the tray comment, I hate vacuuming cars so the ability to wash a tray out is great.

I think I'm most keen on the STX which with my budget has me around the 07/08 model. I found a list of differences in another thread between 09/10, is 09 to 10 the first year for a while that there was significant changes to the STX feature list?

I was looking through the web the other day and came across this.

http://www.discountnewcars.com.au/demo-cars/nissan/navara/10670263.aspx

Not sure if that is great value or not but I figured that I could sell the horrible rims, buy a more standard set and still have close to enough to put hard lid on it. Would also like to not have the poxy venom stickers on it. The bonus would be having warranty on it which would be nice, any thoughts?

 

[nthnbeachesguy]

I've tried twice now to post a reply and it has said waiting for a mod to approve my message and then it disappears, whats the story?

 

[WoodyD40]

The site is having a few glitches atm ... i know Dylan is working at it in the background trying to keep it all up and running.

I just swtich off for a couple of hours and come back to it later in the day or next day - its usually good again by then.

 

[nthnbeachesguy]

Been doing some more reading on here and some of it is sinking in I guess. Just struggling to work out which year they first fitted the DPF to the auto diesels? UI'm kinda in two minds as to which way to go, get the latest model I can for the money with a bit of warranty on it or go for the model prior to the DPF being introduced. From what I have read it seems to be a bugger of a thing.

Bearing in mind my V8 goes through around 15L/100km part of the attraction of the Navara was better economy, I think I would tear my hair out going from 250rwkw and 480nm to 120fwkw and 300 odd nm and paying the same amount for fuel.

Seems to be a bit of a lottery as to what the economy of the truck is like from what I have read so far.

 

[KraftyPg]

From what I have read it seems to be a bugger of a thing.

Horses for courses. There is millions of cars and trucks running DPF's world wide and they have been doing so for a long time. Sure some people have had issues but people have also had flat tyres and blown radiator hoses. Just because a car has a DPF doesn't mean it will cause you trouble.

Seems to be a bit of a lottery as to what the economy of the truck is like from what I have read so far.

That's true but the biggest thing the lottery doesn't show is how people actually drive. Many of us have described our own techniques and while a heavy foot surely makes a huge difference to economy it's still hard to compare one persons words on a screen about how light footed they are to your own methods.