The bank has been nice enough to let me spend up to $10k on my 2005 D22 Navara V6.
I currently have a 2" EFS lift, 265 75R16 BFG KM2 Muddies on the stock rims and some other minor mods such as a Gitsham front alloy bar & a bigger than needed sound system.
My wishlist as it stand is:
-Custom rock sliders and bash rails
-Canopy & roof rack
-Long range tank
-2" body lift
-Winch
-Dual battery system
-Exhaust
-Custom snorkel & airbox
-Bigger tyres & new rims
-Supercharger (much later)
-Rooftop tent (cut)
-Front air locker (cut)
-Custom rear bar/wheel carrier (cut)
I met with a custom 4x4 fabricator ( www.wasp4x4.com.au ) yesterday and went through everything I want done and after much discussion he informed me to be very wary of doing the body lift. He went on to explain his experience (especially in more modern vehicles) is a simple and cheap body lift exercise can turn into an excruciating and expensive exercise very quickly. Supposedly many minor things can need extending or custom items made up to replace parts that no longer fit/reach as required. He did go on to say that he has done a number of body lifts on various cars and some have been very easy but many haven't and if I wanted to go ahead he would do the work, but that I should be prepared for a possible cost blowout if custom parts and workarounds are required. His suggestion was to look at ripping out the EFS lift and installing a new 5" lift kit that he estimated a cost of $3000 - $3500.
You might be looking at the list and laughing at my hopes of getting most of it done with $10k and I am feeling the same at the moment. But I have a mate who works for an ARB reseller who is looking into what he can do to help me out with the off the shelf stuff. So this will hopefully bring things like the $4k canopy and roof rack down at least a little.
So my questions to you all are:
1. Would you change anything on my wishlist above??? Based on the fact that I am aiming for a capable tourer to visit Cape York later in the year.
2. Has anyone done the 2" body lift to the V6 D22??? If so what modifications were required besides the obvious breathers & front/rear bar mods???
3. What order do you suggest I get things done??? My thinking is that getting the body lift done before anything else so the custom work will suit the higher stance.
4. Does anyone run 33's on their V6 D22??? We would obviously all like more power from our vehicles, but overall I am pretty happy with what the 3.3L V6 puts out as the car stands now. But how much of a power cut am I going to get if I do up the tyres to 33's??? Will this be offset by the new exhaust or will the extra load and new tyres completely drain the power and force me to rob a bank so I can get the supercharger sooner rather than later???
5. Has anyone had similar work done to their Nav in SA??? If so, who did your engineering sign off and what sort of costs should I allow??? I know this is a difficult question, but I need to have a $$$ figure in mind to make my final decisions on what work I can afford to accomplish.
Thank you to all those who made the effort to read this essay and I look forward to getting some input from you all.
I currently have a 2" EFS lift, 265 75R16 BFG KM2 Muddies on the stock rims and some other minor mods such as a Gitsham front alloy bar & a bigger than needed sound system.
My wishlist as it stand is:
-Custom rock sliders and bash rails
-Canopy & roof rack
-Long range tank
-2" body lift
-Winch
-Dual battery system
-Exhaust
-Custom snorkel & airbox
-Bigger tyres & new rims
-Supercharger (much later)
-Rooftop tent (cut)
-Front air locker (cut)
-Custom rear bar/wheel carrier (cut)
I met with a custom 4x4 fabricator ( www.wasp4x4.com.au ) yesterday and went through everything I want done and after much discussion he informed me to be very wary of doing the body lift. He went on to explain his experience (especially in more modern vehicles) is a simple and cheap body lift exercise can turn into an excruciating and expensive exercise very quickly. Supposedly many minor things can need extending or custom items made up to replace parts that no longer fit/reach as required. He did go on to say that he has done a number of body lifts on various cars and some have been very easy but many haven't and if I wanted to go ahead he would do the work, but that I should be prepared for a possible cost blowout if custom parts and workarounds are required. His suggestion was to look at ripping out the EFS lift and installing a new 5" lift kit that he estimated a cost of $3000 - $3500.
You might be looking at the list and laughing at my hopes of getting most of it done with $10k and I am feeling the same at the moment. But I have a mate who works for an ARB reseller who is looking into what he can do to help me out with the off the shelf stuff. So this will hopefully bring things like the $4k canopy and roof rack down at least a little.
So my questions to you all are:
1. Would you change anything on my wishlist above??? Based on the fact that I am aiming for a capable tourer to visit Cape York later in the year.
2. Has anyone done the 2" body lift to the V6 D22??? If so what modifications were required besides the obvious breathers & front/rear bar mods???
3. What order do you suggest I get things done??? My thinking is that getting the body lift done before anything else so the custom work will suit the higher stance.
4. Does anyone run 33's on their V6 D22??? We would obviously all like more power from our vehicles, but overall I am pretty happy with what the 3.3L V6 puts out as the car stands now. But how much of a power cut am I going to get if I do up the tyres to 33's??? Will this be offset by the new exhaust or will the extra load and new tyres completely drain the power and force me to rob a bank so I can get the supercharger sooner rather than later???
5. Has anyone had similar work done to their Nav in SA??? If so, who did your engineering sign off and what sort of costs should I allow??? I know this is a difficult question, but I need to have a $$$ figure in mind to make my final decisions on what work I can afford to accomplish.
Thank you to all those who made the effort to read this essay and I look forward to getting some input from you all.
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