Just got an STX 550

[kodaz]

So,

The wife and I traded our TI Pathfinder about a week ago now as we've found we are throwing a lot of stuff in the back for landscaping our house and really was starting to show.



We really liked the gadgets and features of the TI but had no use for 7 seats and I wanted a bit more grunt (previous vehicle was a turbo ford). So we had a test of a STX 550 at a local dealer and promptly fell in love. We were all signed to get this one then saw another dealer was doing a sale.

We dropped in for a look and they had a lovely blue one on the lot. Not only did we like the look more than the silver one but they would give a little more for the trade and would knock $5k off the price. We quickly sh*t canned the other contract and jumped on this one.



Now we got it home I quickly went about getting a tonneau added to the back. We were lucky in that we got a second hand one with ladder racks for $250. It's a little worn, has some paint marks on it and was missing the cross brace but for the price its great.

 

[sparra04]

welcome and enjoy

 

[Cobez]

Welcome aboard mate! Let the mod bug begin! Plenty of good blokes on here and a massive hoard of money saving information. Enjoy

 

[kodaz]

I got that fitted and have sent the ladder rack parts off to get powder coated to match the satin black sports bar now on there. I also got it tinted 5% all round for $230 from Mastertint Underwood. Looks great.





The only other thing I wanted to do was to add a towbar to it. I had a phone around and the best deal I could get was a kit from Towbars Australia for it. I was a bit concerned that it would be a PITA to fit but the instructions and quality of it made it p*ss easy to do. Really have to say it's a great bit of kit and saved me $200 by doing it myself.



Now the next thing on my list is to fix the cr*ppy standard headlights. Coming from the TI's HID's these are really quite bad.

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome to the forum.

Standard headlights can be improved by sticking glow-in-the-dark stickers all over them and drive around in the sunshine a bit. Or HID - although they're troublesome because of the glare unless you use lenses. Alternatively you can try Fat Boy bulbs (about $160 a pair and always use gloves because they're more fragile than eggs) or even the Philips high-brightness bulbs (someone was on here saying they weren't too bad).

 

[kodaz]

hey tony, thanks for the advice.

Looking at the HID kits with lenses that a guy sells on here but may have to go some cheap Philips ones in the meantime.

I'm fairly sure my watch face gives off more light than the navara headlights. Wish they had the TI's!!

 

[Old.Tony]

Dealer will tell you (like they told me) it's a tradie's ute. Bullshit excuse as far as I'm concerned, with a price tag up in the luxury car range there's no way on this earth it's "just a tradie's ute". I agree - should have better headlights - but retrofitting HIDs to be standard isn't easy:

1) HID globes need to be behind lenses
2) Washer jets must be installed that spray water onto the glass front
3) Auto-levelling mechanism must be employed in the light mount

If you get something lensed, I doubt anyone will ping you for the rest. The thing that annoys me about HID lights is when someone just sticks the globe into a reflector designed for a halogen (short filament) globe. Bloody oodles of squintingly bright light blazing everywhere, it makes you want to stop and get the XM500 out of the tub!

 

[BMGTZ]

I do agree with old tony....poorly aimed HID lights are a pain in the butt.

 

[TigerST]

Wellcome,
I use Nava 120% that are awesome over standard

 

[siringo]

Still getting around with the original 55/60 watters in mine (no driving lights or LED bars) and I drive home in the dark through roo infested forest 3 nights a week. You guys are girls ;-)

Welcome to the forum buddy.

 

[TigerST]

Siringo never said I used mine. Just get a bull bar everything would bounce off

 

[J13NST]

welcome to forum.. how do you find 550 over TI pathfinder