Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i NZ4WD

An uninterrupted and hassle-free summer holiday requires preparation and planning. Don’t forget, your vehicle plays a vital role in making your summer trips memorable and enjoyable. Summer’s high temperatures can take its toll on everyone and everything, including your vehicle. Extreme heat can push a vehicle past its limits which sometimes leads to finding yourself stranded roadside. Preemptive vehicle checks should include your cooling system, drive belts, brakes and tyres including tread and pressure. These form some of the essential safety checks, but your vehicle will not take you anywhere unless you have a starting battery that is reliable and in a good state of health. In fact, summer heat can have more of a negative impact on your battery than freezing winter temperatures. Heat is the worst enemy of…

Early in the year, we attacked our lineup of 4WD events with enthusiasm. Little did we realise that it would be our total travel for Covid-dominated 2020. First there was the enjoyable Manawatu 4WD Charity Safari from Ngamatapouri, inland from Whanganui, during a weekend in early February. March was taken up with travelling the BAM railway in Siberia, Russia – see my article in November’s NZ4WD magazine. In between we tackled the South Island high country with Stew, Graeme and Linda, on their Summer Escape venture. The trio are intrepid 4WD adventurers who have been running trips for a number of years. And a listing on NZ4WD magazine’s Events page produced a company of 12 vehicles and 22 participants, 15 guys and seven women. Martin and I, North Island residents,…

Most manufacturers calibrate their ECUs to optimum emissions, fuel economy, component longevity and safety which limits performance. It is also logistically simpler and more cost-effective for car manufacturers to produce as few region-specific model variants as possible. Therefore, one engine management map is developed with the necessary flexibility to cope with all these limiting constraints. Thus, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ map that is conservative enough to cope with running various octane fuels, potentially at a high altitude and in massively varying temperatures is used. The potential improvements from having your ECU remapped are often impressive with a better power spread across the rev range, higher peak torque, increased power at lower engine speeds, better throttle response, quieter and smoother idle and cruising and increased rev and/or speed limit, etc. Perhaps paradoxically, a…

It was a trip that my wife, Terri and myself, Bruce, had planned for a couple of years; to trailer our pleasure boat down to the South Island, give it a run on most if not all of the southern lakes, plus have a nose around some of the more out of-the-way places when we weren’t out on the water. We planned to do so in our 2012 Nissan X-Trail Ti 2.5 petrol 4WD, towing a 2004 20ft Bayliner Capri with a V8 stern drive on a tandem trailer. First on my schedule was to check the boat trailer wheel bearings and brakes. I removed all the wheel bearings and cleaned them for a visual inspection then re-packed them and refitted them with new seals. The ‘Karavan’ trailer has a…

I’m a great fan of ingenuity. Anyone’s, but especially the Kiwi variety. Historically we’ve been short of ‘stuff’ so learned how to adapt materials to make or repair equipment. Often farm supplies were all that was available – fencing gear, timber, nails, wire, staples, gates, piping, posts, Waratahs, sometimes even old bones carved into useful shapes as Maori did. All manner of household appliances were repurposed. Many farms had a policy of ‘nothing leaves the farm’, hence long lines of rusty gear along a fence line beneath a row of Macrocarpa trees. Useful stuff. Washing machines became power saws, shearing plants became generators, dead trucks became trailers, ubiquitous No. 8 was tweaked into toasting forks and a myriad of useful shapes. Some people took things further. Here’s a great example…

Your 4s Our monthly feature showcases 4WDs doing just about anything except rolling over or burning! We will award a grand prize of a set of four Kumho 4x4 tyres in the NZ4WD Annual issue. This contest is open to all readers who are not professional photographers. IMPORTANT: Photographs must have been taken by the person entering them, or have the photographer’s written permission. Email your digital images and a detailed caption to: editor@NZ4WD.co.nz Send your prints and detailed captions to: Your4s with Kumho, PO Box 65-092, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 0754. Be sure to include your postal address! Submitting photos The basics: as with any photo, there’s no substitute for an image that’s sharp – in focus and free of camera shake. It should be well-exposed. Size and type The…

Ford’s Ranger Wildtrak X is making a return to dealerships this year, offering a range of design, value features, and interior upgrades over the standard Ranger Wildtrak. For 2021, the RRP $75,490 Ford Ranger Wildtrak X includes the following upgrades over the standard Wildtrak: • Genuine Ford Black nudge bar • Lumen 20.5” slimline LED light bar • Unique 18-inch black alloy wheels with 35 mm offset • Ebony black finish on wheel arch flares, front grille, rear sail plane, roof rails, box rails, lower front bumper insert, rear bumper, headlamp / fog lamp bezels, mirror caps, fender features, door and tailgate handles. Popular Ranger Wildtrak attributes like the Power Roller Shutter, are included as standard, along with SYNC 3 with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone capability. The 8.0-inch…

Defending series title-holders Greg & Chris McDell enjoyed a winning start to their 2021 NZ 4x4 Trials Series campaign at a sensational opening round of the new-look Lucas Oils-supported championship at Tirau in the South Waikato on Saturday December 05. The Hamilton brothers won both their class (D Class) and the outright for the day in their LS2 V8-powered CowperTruck, with series returnees Hamish Auret & Paul Barnes claiming the runner-up spot after an 18 month absence, and Scott Biggs & Sam Thomsen third in their Nitro buggy. C Class was won by Michael & Laura Thomsen, in the ex-Jarred & Scott Biggs 4-cyl. Mitsi Evo-powered buggy, from Rhys O’Brien & Clarrie Vazey in their Honda K24-powered machine with Nathan Fogden & Mike Gibbons third. Honours in E Class and…

“...MY GUESS IS THAT MAZDA DEALERS – LIKE THEIR ISUZU COUNTERPARTS – WILL ALREADY BE DOING GOOD BUSINESS WITH THEIR NEW ‘BROTHERS-FROM-THE-SAME-MOTHER’ MODELS.” Mazda has proved that there is definitely life after its ute sector breakup with Ford, creating an impressive all-new BT-50 based on Isuzu’s latest D-Max. When motor industry behemoths Ford and Volkswagen announced that they would be working together on building their next-generation Ranger and Amarok models it looked like Ford’s previous long-term light commercial partner, Mazda, was going to be left out in the cold. However, on the strength of having now driven both Mazda’s all-new Isuzu D-Max based BT-50 and the D-Max itself I can say with some confidence that not only is that not the case, but by pairing up with a truck and…

Eleanor is a regular client of 4x4Explorer Adventures and is fiercely proud of her Suzuki Jimny, which I believe means “flea” in Japanese. I’m not really sure what the colour is, but I’ll call it “lime green”. I must admit that the first time I saw it, I was a little unsure of its off-road capability but having seen it in action, any doubts that I had were quickly dispelled. The entry and exit angles are awesome and it is only really hindered by its limited wading depth and low ground clearance. Eleanor is becoming an experienced off-road driver however, and with good wheel placement, she is able to overcome these issues. To the point that it reminds me of a mountain goat; simply bouncing over rocks and anything else…

Based on the iconic 4x4 famously featured in the British secret agent’s recent movie, the hand-made Himalaya Spectre is priced at $NZ352,504 ($US250,000). “The Spectre Defender uses a rare Crew Cab pickup configuration,” says Himalaya President Greg Shondel. “Himalaya is able to create that very same layout using all-new body panels and frames sourced in England. After that process is complete, our team customises the powertrain and interiors to the customers’ preferences, as with all of our other builds.” Himalaya is somewhat unique in the custom-Defender world for combining British styling with American mechanicals. Each project begins with an all-new UK-sourced frame, which is reinforced and also galvanized to fend off corrosion. Himalaya replaces the stock Buick/Rover 135kW (182hp) 3.9L V8 engine with – in this case – a much…

Unfortunately, from my perspective it is most of a day’s run from home just to get to the area, so any visit has to be a long weekend trip. Our plan this time was to have a leisurely start on the Saturday to avoid as much of the peak traffic as we could, taking the day to get to our base in an Airbnb on the coast south of Stratford, with Sunday and Monday morning for exploring before the return trip to Wellington. The trip up to our base was easy and uneventful, with no hold-ups once we got past Otaki. Apart from a detour to the beach out of Levin for a pleasant and quiet lunch stop at one of our previously-discovered picnic spots, we drove straight through to…

Writing during the Christmas break, I’m getting the Giti Tyres Chev ProLite ready for a big trip north to contest the inaugural Mickey Thompson New Zealand Stadium Championship. I think we may well be the only four cylinder truck to line up among around 15 other Thundertrucks, though we may see Dale Buckley and Cam Witheford out there too. Being surrounded by V8 trucks doesn’t worry me at all, nor does the track layout. There are a couple of fantastic jumps there, and the Chev does jumps best of all. We’ve overtaken V8 trucks mid-jump before now, you just have to allow a couple of inches of clear space because the big iron makes them a bit squirrelly when they land. The gearbox has been sorted and re-oiled, the engine started…

Fickle is hardly a word I’d use to describe local Toyota Hilux owners. Yet, many were driven to seek pastures new when the first of the then new seventh-generation model arrived here in 2004. The problem - and the irony here is not lost on those who relate the tale – is that the Hilux buying group was one of the most profiled and ‘market researched’ at the time…and the message apparently from them, was clear... they wanted their new Hilux to be ‘more car-like’ than the one they already owned, had owned, or had long admired from afar. As it turned out Toyota was thinking along the same lines, it’s ambitious ‘Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle’ (IMV) project seeing it develop five new models from what in effect was the…

Our trip started in Fairlie and we were due to head cross country down to Omarama, spend the night there, then make our way down to Cromwell where we would be based for the rest of the week. I have been away with Gav several times and know that he is a solid 4WD driver with a capable vehicle and is also just a great person to spend time with. So, over dinner at the pub in Omarama, I suggested that since it was just the two of us, we could deviate from the planned trip and do some wilderness camping. Gav immediately said ‘yes’ and so we set off with me thinking about where we could end up at the end of each day. The next morning, then, we…

With turbochargers becoming the norm on most vehicles, now is the time to be trained on the correct procedures for turbo diagnostics and replacement. The path to gaining recognition as a Garrett Turbo Installer starts on our free training website “Installer Connect”. The tips from our experts will get you on track to achieving the Garrett Advancing Motion recognition. Currently there are now four levels of certification with a bonus racing level and a further fifth level to be added. Each level will give you more in-depth expertise about turbos, from what a turbo is to internal parts and functions and various troubleshooting conditions. You can proceed to the next level after you pass an exam to test your knowledge. Learn how to diagnose turbo failure Before replacing a turbocharger,…

Continuing on from the theme set in my column in the December 2020 issue of NZ4WD magazine about beach use, and that summer means beach time for many with often the use of a vehicle to get to a spot on a beach for picnics, camping and maybe fishing. Perhaps that is not going to be our future, despite increasing desires to escape the crowds. With a growing population, the pressures on beaches around Auckland are rapidly creating management problems. Inner city beaches are crowded, and nearby parking is diabolical. The lure of the wilder west coast beaches with their black sands and surf is strong too and Auckland Council data showed that on the 2020 Labour Day, 580 vehicles drove onto Muriwai Beach. Unfortunately, not all of those vehicles…

Those of you who regularly keep an eye on our Your4s column will be familiar now with the work of keen Geraldine-based Overlander and photographer Paul Richards. Paul won the comp in 2019 and since then his work has featured fairly regularly in the mag. This month Paul sent us some pics from a recent trip he and partner Raewyn took to Central Otago where they based themselves at the historic Cardrona Hotel and travelled in a different direction each day, as this stunning mixture of images attests. YOU ARE NOW ENTERED TO WIN A GRAND PRIZE OF FOUR KUMHO 4X4 TYRES TO BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NZ4WD ANNUAL ISSUE.…

Trying to find a fault in an older vehicle is very much a love/ hate relationship. Take a friend’s Range Rover that I had done a couple of small jobs on for him and was still at my place. It was booked in elsewhere for a small panel beating job after my big barn-style shed door blew closed on the vehicle, as I was backing it out a few weeks earlier. So, a couple of days beforehand I went to start it and the battery was dead. No problem, I used one of the fleet to jump start it and while it turned over it wouldn’t fire. What had happened? Now stepping back, it was running well when parked outside the house a couple of weeks earlier so what happened…