4wd For first Car????

MTBmaster05

Likes Dirt
Hey Guys, Getting a first car in bout 6-7 months but idk if i should get a 4wd becasue i wanna go 4wd driving but im going to have to have mum or dad with me till i finish my 100 hours. So question is is it worth get a 4wd with all teh expenses such as rego and ect or getting a a 2wd???

Help really appreciated
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
I guess it depends on your expenses, if you can get a cheap 2wd car its probably better to learn in as you will probably be a bit more cautious.however then you need to fork more cash out for a 4wd later.
I have 5-6 mates with 4wd who go 4wd alot all completle beast cars raises,bigger tyre roll bars cages, independant suspension drop shocks etc and this is what i know so far.
There are a couple of things:
1. going 4wd is pretty expensive when it comes to upgrades and replacing parts,tyres. petrol is also a cost, going turbo diesel seems like the best option.
2.you will do some body damage to the car eventually depending on the level of trails.
3. IMPORTANT
If you have a 4 wheel drive car you have to take it off road once and a while to drive it in 4wd, if you dont use the 4wd gearing it wont get lubricated/oiled and will end up shitting its self by time you want to use it. also you cannot simply use 4wd on tar,because each wheel is never exactly the same size and becasue the tar limits the ability for the tyre to spin/slip you end up skipping your tyres and its not good and will end up requiring you to replace parts.

Always good to have some cash left over when buying a 4wd just incase of replacements or upgrades, if you do get a modified car make sure it has a heavy duty control arm. trust me its not something you want to snap in the middle of the bush, i know from experience. And get everything checked over to make sure its all mechanically good. Be a good idea to do some research into the parts so you know their limits as well so you can drive the car to its limits to avoid breaking anything.

For yourself and the post bellow, some of best 4WD's are older toyota hilux utes, patrols,pajero's and 4 runners are great cars, ussually all of them have or need some upgrades like body and suspension lifts, but shouldnt be hard to find one with this done already. all cabable of towing big loads and in case of hilux ute just throw a moto or bike in the back.
 
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hayden olsen

Likes Bikes
sorry if im kind of stealing the thread (tell me if you want me to delete my comment)

but im in the same boat as you right now, i get my P's in around 3 months and im really looking into jeep wranglers and how there quite compact and still very good 4wd cars, im first of all worried about road noise for the soft tops, is that a problem or am i just being silly ? and second is, are jeeps good to drive around town and the odd offroad trip to straddie or when i go dirtbiking with mates ? thanx
 

rollingrambo

Likes Dirt
if your even pondering gettin a 4by, do it you wont regret it. as driftking says though it is rather expensive. i had a v8 hilux and i have been kicking myself for selling it 18 months ago
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
if your even pondering gettin a 4by, do it you wont regret it. as driftking says though it is rather expensive. i had a v8 hilux and i have been kicking myself for selling it 18 months ago
My mate did that also had a patrol sold it for a skyline then few months later sold the skyline( which was a car he has wanted for his whole life) to get another 4by.
I think once you get one you always want one.

I should note that 4by is expensive but if you drive within your cars limits and dont treat it like crap you will significantly reduce the cost of this sport. It is ussually also more expensive when starting as your car tends to be a bit basic but once you get your upgrades and your cars cababilites increase you can avoid some cost.
 
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rollingrambo

Likes Dirt
ithe fuel economy of a carby v8 not on gas did kind of get to me and we had our first baby on the way but i still miss it so much. so i bought an xr6. now the missus wont let me have another one :(
 

Sethius

Crashed out somewhere

I had an old jacked up extra cab hilux for my first real car. I loved the bugger!

You'll have less troubles with mr. police than a tuner, you can go more places, have some fun, feel safer, whether people like it or not you will get more drivers being cautious of you which is great in my eyes. I had 35s and 31s for it, would of loved some 32's and to of finished my rollbar/tray etc.

Only reason I got rid of it was a canary for a bold tyre/no muddies/loose steering and I never got it back up to stratch as a few other things ( ie. breaking the drivers door in the carport etc).

If it was more fuel efficient and had a v6 it would of been perfect, a good quality of speakers eliminates the need for a sub. Had 2 race seats mounted onto the original railings, this worked a treat!

I'd love another one without a doubt! many MANY good memories in it!

Oh yea, rego was cheap as chips with only 2 seats..

I'd recommend getting 2 sets of tyres, a good road travelling tyre, and some MT's for you go out to play, just watch diff ratios with the bigger tyres, it's not the best thing for them, and your speedo will be different.



Wrangler sport: will get you the chickies, it can go offroad just be prepared for expensive insurance and repair bills, oh and crap resale value if you buy a relatively newish one.
 
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Pebble

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Wrangler is no more expensive to insure compared to any other 4x4.

We have owned a variety of LandCruisers (80 Series, 75 Series Ute, 79 Series Ute, Troopy) and also a Hilux Turbo Diesel.
Recently we sold the 79 Series Cruiser ute and Purchased a Wrangler Unlimited 4 door (would love a 2 door but have a couple of kids!).
Now my Husband who is a true Landcruiser man is loving the Jeep, it certainly is easier to drive around the city as well compared to the big cruiser (parks more easily, better turning circle etc).
Yes the plastic top (haven't tried the soft top yet) does have a bit more wind noise compared to your standard car, but if you're into 4wheeling you will end up with chunky tyres anyway so if you're concerned about road noise I don't think a fourby is the right kind of car for you!

Losing value is all relative too, you will lose a similar percentage on any car when buying new, it may seem that Jeeps don't keep their value compared to Toyota but one must remember the horrendous new price that you would have paid for the Toyota to start with ( probably twice as much as you'd paid for your Jeep! ).

We looked at other fourbys like Mitsi Triton, Mazda BT50 etc, but the Wrangler is a bit more capable out of the box I reckon and it's a lot more of a fun car. And I'm impressed that when you buy new it comes with free 3yrs worth of Jeep Assist, so breakdowns shouldn't be a huge drama.

Diesel vs Petrol is a whole other debate, we've been into diesels our whole life and this is our first petrol fourby, considering petrol is mostly cheaper to buy compared to diesel as is the servicing it would take about 5yrs to break even costs wise compared to having brought a diesel vehicle and then even longer for it to be significantly more economic money wise in owning a diesel, so depends how much of a keeper your car is. (That analogy includes the fact that the initial purchase price of a petrol fourby is significantly less to start with compared to buying an equivalent diesel, the difference which can buy you a whole lot of petrol!).

We do also own an older Mitsi Lancer, it drinks half as much petrol compared to the fourby, so I think in getting any fourby the fuel consumption is the biggest thing that will hit your pocket if you do a lot of k's, followed by all the mods you will ultimately want to do...suspension upgrades, tyres / wheels, spotties etc!

I hope my kids want a fourby when they grow up, better than hooning in some sports car (not necessarily safer just better :D). Just like when it comes to bikes, in an ideal world you'd be able to own one of each!
 

l +Jarrod+ l

Likes Dirt
This seems like a good place to bring this up. If not ill just start a new thread.

Im starting to get serious into looking at a nissan navara STR turbo diesel dual cab. It looks like a twenty grand loan will do the job and i have a stable job to afford it.

More to the point i was wondering what we all thought about it. Reliable? Pros? Cons? Fuel efficent? How does it handle 4wd? I havent heard much about the navara so anything chit chat would be sweet ;)
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
This seems like a good place to bring this up. If not ill just start a new thread.

Im starting to get serious into looking at a nissan navara STR turbo diesel dual cab. It looks like a twenty grand loan will do the job and i have a stable job to afford it.

More to the point i was wondering what we all thought about it. Reliable? Pros? Cons? Fuel efficent? How does it handle 4wd? I havent heard much about the navara so anything chit chat would be sweet ;)
I cant comment on the car as i haventhad any experience with them but i will say I like the look of navara's.
It depends on your primary use, if you are a 4x4 bush warrior and go out regulaly you will know about body damage and upgrades to the car,, if this is the case, you would probably be better off getting a hilux like the above post or something alike, you can pick them up for about 10K probably less, and then spedn 5-10k putting suspension/body lifts, roll bars, plates, independant suspenion, heavy duty control arms and other parts, dif lockers ( saves you getting out the car),snorkle, bigger tyres and if needed dual battery system. there are a thousand upgrades you can use on a 4x4 and for 20K IMO id go something cheaper and spend alot on upgrading to make it a beast for offroad.
However if your not doing anything insane then im sure the navara will do fine, and its gonna look a bit more shiny.
As always buyingbrand new or a later model car is ussually better/more reliable plus having a 5 year warrenty on the car is quite handy.If by offroad you meant like shuttles and some minor rock climbs i cant see it been a issue, it has a big towing capacity in 4x4 think its 2tonnes?, so plenty of torque and you will be amazed at what a set of offroad tyres will do.

good luck
 
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l +Jarrod+ l

Likes Dirt
I cant comment on the car as i haventhad any experience with them but i will say I like the look of navara's.
It depends on your primary use, if you are a 4x4 bush warrior and go out regulaly you will know about body damage and upgrades to the car,, if this is the case, you would probably be better off getting a hilux like the above post or something alike, you can pick them up for about 10K probably less, and then spedn 5-10k putting suspension/body lifts, roll bars, plates, independant suspenion, heavy duty control arms and other parts, dif lockers ( saves you getting out the car),snorkle, bigger tyres and if needed dual battery system. there are a thousand upgrades you can use on a 4x4 and for 20K IMO id go something cheaper and spend alot on upgrading to make it a beast for offroad.
However if your not doing anything insane then im sure the navara will do fine, and its gonna look a bit more shiny.
As always buyingbrand new or a later model car is ussually better/more reliable plus having a 5 year warrenty on the car is quite handy.If by offroad you meant like shuttles and some minor rock climbs i cant see it been a issue, it has a big towing capacity in 4x4 think its 2tonnes?, so plenty of torque and you will be amazed at what a set of offroad tyres will do.

good luck
Thanks. The usual shuttles etc but more looking at going to moreton/fraser island camping. The only thing i can think of is putting 3 inch blocks on for lift. would this suit both road and mud tyres?
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
Thanks. The usual shuttles etc but more looking at going to moreton/fraser island camping. The only thing i can think of is putting 3 inch blocks on for lift. would this suit both road and mud tyres?
Sorry cant help you out with that, I have about 6 mates who have 4bys but i unfortunatly dont, so im not really 100% sure on everything as I dont work on them. Im not sure on blocks.

hopefully someone can help you out, or have a bit of a google search for a 4x4 forum mabey. get some advice from some experts. repost your question there and you will probably get some more detailed answers about the navara and what they would suggest doing.
 

Doggy

Inconceivable!
Thanks. The usual shuttles etc but more looking at going to moreton/fraser island camping. The only thing i can think of is putting 3 inch blocks on for lift. would this suit both road and mud tyres?
It would suit nothing....
3" body lift is illegal. 2" body lift and 2" suspension lift is all you have to work with on the lifting front. If you get a navara and do such a lift you will be able to run 33's but things will crap out fairly quickly. If you are only going to do beach work and shuttles and so on but still want a fairly aggressive tyre then look at Cooper ST's, Ive had mine on for nearly 80 or 90 thousand and they still have plenty of life in them. They've been given a flogging in rocks, mud, sand, clay...anything and no problems. They will last longer then MT's but still have some aggressiveness about them
 

Purt

Likes Bikes and Dirt
but im in the same boat as you right now, i get my P's in around 3 months and im really looking into jeep wranglers and how there quite compact and still very good 4wd cars, im first of all worried about road noise for the soft tops, is that a problem or am i just being silly ? and second is, are jeeps good to drive around town and the odd offroad trip to straddie or when i go dirtbiking with mates ? thanx
I don't care what you get as long as you don't park in that one street where every P plater and his dog park. That is assuming you go to fg?
 

MasterOfReality

After forever
Get a Sierra or something.

Pretty cheap and learn how to service it yourself.

Then if 4wding is hooking you, then you can always get something better.

I have a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara myself which is getting a 2" lift kit, full underbody plates and prob some new AT's.

I don't service it myself but it does cost more than a standard sedan to service, prob on par with my vp v8 hsv which was around 200-300 per service.
 

Purt

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Luxs are good but you'll find they're expensive. Every 17 year old guy wants one, a mate bought an '86 for 5k a few months back without a rwc.

Which is fuckin expensive for a car that old and for a hilux but you won't find much better. In saying that it was lifted with few extra things but also in saying that if you do get one, don't be like every other dickhead and give it a 4" lift thinking they can tackle anything because "oHHHH sikkk manggg i gotts ma lux lifted". It doesn't work like that, fuel economy is shit and you end up rolling it and scavengers stealing all the parts anfd selling it on the bay.
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
Luxs are good but you'll find they're expensive. Every 17 year old guy wants one, a mate bought an '86 for 5k a few months back without a rwc.

Which is fuckin expensive for a car that old and for a hilux but you won't find much better. In saying that it was lifted with few extra things but also in saying that if you do get one, don't be like every other dickhead and give it a 4" lift thinking they can tackle anything because "oHHHH sikkk manggg i gotts ma lux lifted". It doesn't work like that, fuel economy is shit and you end up rolling it and scavengers stealing all the parts anfd selling it on the bay.
My mate runs a TD and gets very good fuel economey like im accually suprissed how much fuel he gets out of it. of course out on the 4by trails they suck it up but so does every 4wd car when on the trails.

"oHHHH sikkk manggg i gotts ma lux lifted" haha it can work like that......for about 1 day then your car is rooted. but yeah this is true there is alot to learn about 4bying its not about going balls out there is alot of detail in driving. If you want your car to last that is.
 

downhillar

Likes Dirt
i borrowed a mates wrangler for a couple of weeks. it's lifted on 35's, 2inch body lift, some ridiculous suspension, rockcrusher diffs, air lockers, lightforce spotties, blablabla.
gloss black, black wheels, black hard top, 5% tint, also had a mad sound system.

no one fucked with me when i was driving that thing, it was awesome.
we used to spend saturdays trying to get it bogged but nothing could stop it!

i've always said to him if it had the speed and handling of my WRX i would own one in a second :cool:
 
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