New Navara owner with silly questions....

[eddy89]

Hi All,

I just got my first ever 4wd - Navara 2012 d40 Auto.

Haven't picked it up yet so cant put up any photos yet but am extremely excited!!!!

I am from Melbourne Australia, just wondering if there are much people from Melbourne on these forums?

As its my first ever 4wd I do have some questions,

I would like to do a couple little modifications, I would like to put abit bigger tyres on it not too sure on the size but nothing too big and just want the car to sit (or look a bit higher).

For this do I need to buy a lift kit? which I can find online (ebay) for approx. $250 or do I need a suspension upgrade with bigger springs? which cost approx. $2500?
I am a little confused as to what the difference is between the 2 and not sure as to which one I should get?

any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Eddy

 

[Vigilante]

Hi - welcome to the forum. This forum is made up mostly by Aussies with a fair proportion from Melbourne. I live in the SE burbs

In Victoria it is illegal to run a lift kit that uses spacers (i.e. strut spacers or blocks) and/or extended shackles. These generally make up the cheaper lifts that you described. To keep it legal you will need to go the whole hog and replace the front struts as well as the rear springs and shocks.

There is a lot of variation in price and quality out there so best to hunt around. As far as cheapies go, the Ironman and Dobinson setups are quite popular (I run an Ironman setup). If you are looking to spend a bit more, Outback Armour are getting a good wrap at the moment. Classic brands such as Koni, Bilstein and King Spings are solid options too. People tend to steer clear of the Old Man Emu and Tough Dog setups these days mainly because for the same or similar price you can get a Bilstein setup which is far superior.

From a tyre size perspective, in Vic you can legally go up 10 mm width and 50 mm diameter. Therefore, legally you can run 265/70r17 (or 265/75r16). These will work on a stock height D40 without a drama.

If you are looking to go down an illegal route then there are a multitude of options available to lift you rig and make it far more capable off road. But unless you are looking to tackle some hectic terrain there really isn't much point (besides the obvious, you are also not insured). Better off spending some of your hard earned on the best you can afford and go from there. Also if you are planning on splashing some cash on accessories (like a bullbar, bar plates, winch, etc) then you need to take spring rate into account.

 

[eddy89]

Hi Vigilante, Thank you very much in your response and it was very informative, atleast now I know were to start looking and what to start looking for lol.

Thank for that.

Yeah im from SE Suburbs to.

Are there many meets or anything like that going around?

Cheers

 

[Vigilante]

No worries. Not much gets organised through here but there is a D40 Victoria Facebook page where people organise day trips etc.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1416976031911684