Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2017 i NZ4WD

Whether it’s the recovery of Fontera’s dairy payout, the abundant rain all over the country or just the mild early winter weather, the crowds flocked to the 49th New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek in June in record numbers. Total crowd numbers over the four days (Wed-Sat June 14-17) were 133,588, a new record, with Friday the biggest day at 40,104 ahead Saturday (33,816), Thursday (33,528) and Wednesday (26,140). New Zealand National Fieldays Society CEO Peter Nation said “I was delighted with the overall show. The level of investment and professionalism by exhibitors, combined with reasonably good weather has resulted in record crowds. We’ve had early reports from exhibitors stating that sales were strong, in some cases exceeding show targets in their first day of trading.” There was plenty…

OK, so with the Waitanguru 4WD Safari cancelled I was able to visit the Hawke’s Bay VIntage Machinery Club’s second annual Junction Vintage Machinery Expo just up the road (Takapau, Ed). In stark contrast to points further north that day it was a great morning in the northern Wairarapa, just raining as I left the farm but that is almost normal these days. To get to the Expo I headed up country, stopped at Woodville for fuel, then getting a rude shock in Dannevirke just down the road where I discovered it was 15 cents a litre cheaper! But that does seem to be the deal with fuel these days. The drive was great, not that much traffic and then the event sign and traffic down to 50km/h for the entrance…

Boss Air Suspension products have been available for over eight years in New Zealand and over the past three-four years Boss Air Suspension NZ Ltd has expanded its range to include products for a greater variety of vehicles and be more current with the latest models as they arrive. Load Assist kits are a key area of expertise for the company with product lines available for light commercials, utes, vans, camper vans and small motorhomes. The company can also help with individual product/s for customisation and has a large range of on-board air kits for use in almost any vehicle, with the ability to run small air tools with the bigger compressor/ tank kits. Each kit has been designed and developed specific to a particular vehicle with some crossover where…

At an Auckland 4WD Club meeting recently there was a guest speaker on the subject of what he termed ‘overlanding’. Such overlanding equates to what many in New Zealand have been doing for years and is pretty much equivalent to ‘touring’ or ‘safaris’. It’s become popular in Australia and the USA where it is promoted by several magazine formats such as Overlander 4x4, Outdoor X4 and Overland Journal respectively. To quote Overland Journal; “Overlanding is about exploration, rather than conquering obstacles. While the roads and trails we travel might be rough or technically challenging, they are the means to an end, not the goal itself. “The goal is to see and learn about our world, whether on a weekend trip 100 miles from home or a 10,000-mile expedition across another…

Comprising of highlands, croplands and lowlands, the Caucasus has a rich tradition. It also has the distinction of having the highest peak in Europe (Mt Elbrus at 5642m). And when it comes to off-road 4x4, the inhabitants of the region from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and southern Russia are second to none, with 50 teams entering the new event. The field was split into four classes; Extra Light (stock standard for newcomers), Light (modified), Medium (promodified and upgraded) and Hard (proto/extreme). It was a great show of force and support for RFC format, with kudos going to to RFC West Russia (Pro-X) which has the foresight to expand the RFC format to the region. “We are proud to be included as one of the chapters of the RFC Global Series and…

A wild custom Triton tagged the ‘Huntaway’ by creators, Mitsubishi Motors NZ, proved to be a real crowd-pleaser at this year’s Fieldays in Hamilton in June. Based on its top-of-the-line 4WD VRX model the Huntaway is a one-off designed to highlight what a buyer could do given the desire, time and budget. “What we have essentially done,” the company’s general manager of vehicle sales and marketing,” Daniel Cook, told NZ4WD magazine, “is untamed the beast. If our regular Triton is tough, this is the Terminator.” Key to the aggressive new stance and look is a serious lift – achieved with a combination of a 60mm (2.5”) body lift and 25mm (one inch) spacers between the struts and chassis up front and 50mm (two inch) leaf spring blocks at the back.…

Last season High Country Journeys, which had just been taken over by Ranfurly-based John Mulholland, introduced two new fully guided tour options which were extremely popular, the ‘South Island High Country Grand Slam’ and the ‘Great Mackenzie Country and Central Otago Explorer’. ‘The Grand Slam’ is a seven-day/eight-night package that starts in Blenheim and takes in Molesworth Station and the North Canterbury high country then follows the usual route from Lake Coleridge and the Rakaia River area down through the Mackenzie Country to Cardrona/Wanaka in Central Otago. ‘The Great Explorer’ is a six-day/five-night tour that starts in Omarama and takes in the rugged tussock lands and majestic high country of the lower Mackenzie Country/ Lindis Pass and Central Otago area also ending in Cardrona. Great response “We have been absolutely…

No, we don’t want you to feel left out, but take it from us, you really had to be at this year’s Mount Shop-backed 2017 Mudfest. With just on 200 entrants and at least three times that in spectators, a fine early winter’s day at Meremere (in the northern Waikato) on Sunday May 28 was – literally had by all. With slick, but low-key organisation thanks to Azhar Bhamji’s 4 & Rotary Promotion’s team, enthusiastic trade support from naming rights sponsor The Mount Shop and supporting sponsors like Chris Trundle from Trundles Automotive, Nulon and Vernon Developments this year’s meeting built on the success of the 2016 event. While the organised Mud Drags and Mud Drifting was well supported most of those entered were happy enough freestyling their way around…

If there is one thing that is certain about Land Rover, it is that it is a company that is hampered by its remarkable heritage as much as it is helped by it. Why is this? Well, while that illustrious history has it firmly jammed up there as one of the most respected, capable and downright adored off road vehicle manufacturers of all time, it also paints it into a rather tight metaphorical corner when it comes to facing a brave new future with actual modern vehicles. Take the iconic Discovery, for example. It is much-loved (not by all, admittedly) and extremely capable off-road. More current versions have added impressive on road abilities and luxury to the mix, but the company has never been able to move away from the…

Is there a rational reason to travel around the world, buy an old Land Rover that will break down all the time, and climb mountains that are legendary for their perils and accidents? Of course not, but that’s exactly why we set out to this journey. My partner Kristina and I are both mountain enthusiasts. Because we live in the Czech Republic, a country which is indeed beautiful, but does not have any high mountains, we travel almost every weekend into Austria, Italian or to the Swiss Alps to enjoy the still unspoiled pure nature and the outdoor pursuits we love. Every now and then, we also travel a little bit further beyond the borders of Europe, suffering in the thin air of South America’s highest summits, discovering the vast…

Few products can transform the performance and ability of a 4WD like a vehicle specific suspension upgrade, and Old Man Emu (OME) has been at the forefront of suspension development and innovation for decades. Aftermarket 4WD suspension is extremely complex, and determining the right solution for your vehicle and your requirements demands special attention to many factors. OME offers a range of tuned and matched integrated suspension systems to ensure the right suspension is available to suit how the vehicle is outfitted and the conditions it will encounter. OME employs a team of full time ride control engineers to carry out an exhaustive testing and development program on each component in an OME suspension system using the likes of Motec data acquisition and Finite Element Analysis programs, spring and shock…

This month, in the second of two columns dedicated to winches and winching, NZ4WD columnist Geoff Anders looks at ratings and safety. A numbers game Ratings can be confusing. An industrially-rated winch will have a safety margin so will pull more than the rating, about double. However, most vehicle drum winches are rated at the lowest layer of rope on the drum. The pulling power at the top layer will be about half that. For maximum pull you need to get most of the rope off the drum so it’s a mistake to have too much rope on the drum, carry an extension instead. It’s also good practice to use a pulley as often as you can. Electric avenue An electric winch’s pull will be related to battery, charge and…

Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works, an all-new facility in Coventry in the British Midlands, is now the world’s largest classic car sales, manufacturing and restoration facility of its kind. It is the first purpose-built site for Jaguar Land Rover Classic, which brings all sales, servicing and restoration operations under one roof. And the brands’ global expansion will continue later this year with the launch of a new facility at Essen in Germany. At the official opening of the new Coventry facility in June, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Managing Director, John Edwards, said: “Classic Works is hugely important to Jaguar Land Rover. It’s much more than a building – it’s the heart, and soul, of Jaguar Land Rover Classic for our clients worldwide. “Being able to support owners and enthusiasts…

On the face of it, Isuzu’s 2017 D-Max and MU-X model upgrade is simple, run-of-the-mill, stuff. The front end sheet metal is new, but unless you parked a new ’un beside a ’15 or ’16 model you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Bar, of course, if the engine is running and the new daytime running lights are operating. But you get my drift. At a casual glance, little has changed. The engine gets a new freer-breathing, Euro 5-compliant cylinder head (and with it a Diesel Particulate Filter system) which provides a useful bonus in peak torque, there are new – now six-speed – transmissions (manual as well as auto), the infotainment system is upgraded (from a seven to eight inch screen and now including GPS as well as a…

You know what you want don’t you? First and foremost you want the ‘look’ and the on and off-road ‘presence’ a suspension lift offers. Sure you can convince your wife/partner/significant other that the ride/ground clearance/ fuel consumption (???) etc etc will be better too. But at the end of the day it’s the ‘look’ you’re spending your hard-earned money on. Achieving it could hardly be easier as well. Flick through through the pages of any issue of NZ4WD and you will find plenty of ads from reputable companies selling suspension upgrade parts and services. Once you start looking the choice is vast – from simple replacement of your OEM struts, coils, leafs and dampers with aftermarket equivalents, to extravagant lift kits which will see your humble daily driver or weekend…

Rear leaf spring bushings and shackles are often overlooked when upgrading the suspension of a 4WD. Leaf spring bushings stabilize the movement of the rear axle. Inferior bushes in this area will cause the solid rear axle to move and impart rear end passive steer to the vehicle. It also causes the vehicle to “wander” all over the road and be unstable under heavy braking. This can be especially noticeable carrying a load or towing a boat or caravan. Original equipment (OE) rubber-style bushes are designed to work at standard height with standard tyres and with standard loads. By fitting SuperPro Bushings and upgrading to greasable shackles the rear end of your 4WD will handle just about anything you can throw at it! You could benefit from a SuperPro Greasable…

FK Bearings came onto the world scene over 30 years ago, manufacturing their product in Connecticut, USA. The US racing market quickly embraced a local manufacturer that would maintain a high level of inventory across many sizes and ranges throughout the year. Ten years ago Fluid Power Products in Auckland saw the opportunity of importing FK Rod Ends along with race hose and fittings from their other family-owned business, Fragola Performance Systems. Over the years the FK Bearing product line has grown to encompass many different industries and category of race car. From the wilds of off road Baja Mexico, to the “good old boys” of NASCAR.... from mowers to care for your lawn and all manner of industrial applications, FK have a rod end or bearing to suit. For…

As luck would have it, the weather for this trip was cloudy with a bit of drizzle, not exactly the perfect weather for photography, but good driving weather especially for gravel roads. Our trip started from SH3 near Sanson cutting cross-country on sealed back roads to the small settlement of Halcombe, then further across to Beaconsfield with a few photographic stops for the rolling fields of either lush green growth or freshly-cut stubble. use of 4WD, or at least having a higher-clearance AWD SUV was advisable, not just convenient. The road followed the ridge for a reasonable distance, affording us panoramic if murky views east to the Ruahine Ranges before finally joining Waituna Tapuae Rd, where we returned to smooth seal for a while. Waituna Tapuae Rd followed the same…

As spectacular crashes, mechanical failures and wildlife incidents claimed top contenders, Palmerston North’s Grant ‘Rowdy’ Rosenberg steered his van der Wal-built unlimited class truck through the Woodhill 100, New Zealand’s longest and toughest one day endurance race this year, to win 4WD Bits class 8, finishing 14th overall. In doing so he overtook Mal Langley, who lost drive to the rear of his Donovan Chev-engined ‘ProLite Plus’ truck; drove past Nick Hall who was out on the first lap after losing a rear brake, and fended off the challenge of ProLite racer Dale Buckley, who had taken class honours at the muddy, rain-affected first round held at Meremere in March and ran hard at Woodhill till mechanical problems struck late in the race. he stopped to push two race cars…