Hertz Donut

This guy knows. We had an early Q7 rated to 3,500kg that barely raised a sweat towing heavy loads. That was written off and now we have the newer shape model - 200kW and 600Nm, good times. Not really a budget option though. This guy also knows. I've towed our 680kg braked double-axle trailer behind the PNM35, with 440kg worth of drainage pipes on it, and it...wasn't flash.

Where'd my alert go? Sheesh... Towbar is just an off-the-shelf item, it's only rated to 1200kg braked so if a load is big then it has to be light since my largest trailer is 680kg empty. Still assessing options at the moment for the paddocks.

Cheers, will do. Once I'm back on two legs, of course.

Thanks for the response, I guess ground clearance is the number 1 issue we need to deal with, we can probably get by with just the tractor in the muddy part of the year. I spent a fair bit of the Winter towing 4x4 utes out. We crop over Summer, and while the car can still get around the paddocks after tilling it always comes out with plant remnants jammed into every nook and cranny. I might have to look for a taller wheel and tyre for the M35 though, looks like 245/45R18 is only a (*thumps calculator buttons*) 4.7mm difference in radius. Afaik snow mode eases throttle response and starts off in 2nd gear, I don't know if it does much else. I used it on a muddy, rutted uphill section of a track on the way to a caving trip a few years ago and it handled it ok but that was nothing compared to how we ended up in July/August. I may abandon this plan in the end and just get a kei truck or similar for the paddocks, but I think I'll look at what tyres are available for smaller SUVs first and see if there's anything I can squeeze in.

You hate me already, I can tell. Wall of text follows. Our once-mint-condition PNM35 is now a neglected, dented shadow of its former glory. It's done us well but times have moved on, and the family hauler is now a Q7. The Stagea is now referred to as Farmtruck. No, sadly I haven't put a big block in it and trolled supercars at drag strips (if you know, you know). It's currently sitting outside with 6 bales of hay in the back, because I tore my calf muscle wide open trying to get the 7th in there a couple of Saturdays ago and I'm on crutches so can't unload it. Did you know you can get 8 bales of hay in an M35? Well, now you do. Farmtruck spends the majority of its life as a paddock support vehicle, for things like fencing, drainage, and towing a trailer for tree pruning. My property is almost entirely flat, so there's nothing too challenging most of the time, except one small uphill that gets muddy enough over Winter that I nearly bogged the tractor trying to get up it a few weeks ago. AND SO I APPROACH MY ACTUAL STUPID, LUDICROUS, DON'T-BE-A-DICK, JEEZ-HERTZ-YOU'RE-A-MUPPET POINT... Has anyone tried lifting an M35 by any great amount, and fitted more offroad-appropriate wheels and tyres, even A/Ts? The car's almost guaranteed to fail the WOF/roadworthy that was due a couple of weeks ago due to at least one near-bald tyre, so now is the time to consider if there's something that'll handle the slippery stuff a bit better. I guess ARX springs would lift a little bit but I suspect I'd run out of wheel arch pretty quickly so tyre circumference would have to be about the same. The AWD seems to do ok but I'll be keeping it away from the worst of the mud. I haven't had to resort to snow mode yet, that could be interesting. I know, "just buy a ute, you moron", but honestly, if Farmtruck had ~200mm clearance and could tow about 2,500kg we'd run it forever, it's been a near-faultless hero for us for over 9 years now, fits a butt load in it, and we won't cry if we scratch it (more). Also, we already own Farmtruck, and utes are stupid money nowadays, while our budget is...not so stupid. The end result doesn't have to look pretty, it just has to work on and off road. I might even cut the back off down the line and turn it into a "proper" ute if this works out well. You may now scoff.

This thread needs resurrection. Normally I use a Q7 for towing duties but that's been purloined for school run duties lately so I had to resort to using Farmtruck to pick up some pipes from the local rural supplies depot. First of two loads, which were better secured than it looks in the photo...

For those playing along at home, I took a punt and replaced the AFM (realised I'd bought a replacement years ago but never fitted it), and it's back to normal now. Then a couple of days ago the rear view mirror fell off on a heavily rutted road. Sigh.

I know, I searched, which is pointing towards what I suspect but I need validation. Validate me, folks, please. After all these years my Stag (VQ35DE) has now been relegated to farm hack and general waste carrier. It's performed near-faultlessly, and is a well-loved, albeit neglected, part of the collection. Then a couple of months ago or so the exhaust rusted through, with the rear muffler left hanging by the rubber. It was loud af but hilarious to drive around in while I waited for an exhaust shop appointment a few days later. I live in a rural area so not too many people around to annoy. Then after a while on the beans it suddenly dropped into limp mode with a CEL. No worries I thought, I'll sort it after the exhaust is fixed. Got the shop to clear the CEL and away we went, sweet as a nut. A few days later it went into limp mode again. I gave up and took it into my local Nissan dealer to get it diagnosed. They're possibly the worst dealer in all of humanity and said the air filter was blocked, we tapped it out and cleared the CEL, here's your several-hundred-dollar bill. I swore twice - once at them, and once to never return to them. Naturally a couple of days after that the CEL was back on. Fuel smell in the car, stalling when engaging D after a cold start, unsteady idle when cold, in and out of limp mode, CEL, the whole works. Left-side exhaust tip (standard dual tip muffler) is black. SO... I'm guessing most likely candidate is O2 sensor, otherwise airflow sensor? The latter was replaced a few years ago (unnecessarily) but I guess it could have failed. I have an OBDII scanner but it's not good enough to find out exactly what the issue is - it says the AFR is 16384 (i.e. high values) and can't detect the fault code, although it will clear the CEL. if I pull the O2 sensor out can I test it somehow? Run a current through it and check for a reading? I've never had to deal with this side of an engine before. As I say, this is now a farm hack that spends most of its time being driven into garden walls and paddock ditches by my son so I'd rather not throw a bunch of money at it, but best guess backyard mechanic suggestions will be gratefully accepted. Cheers.

Hi, I'm back. No one missed me. We went looking for something to use as a tow vehicle and general family wagon, and ended up with a Q7. I really, really wanted to like a Prado but after test driving them back to back there was only one choice my wife could live with (she has a chronic back injury). The Prado (a year newer than the Q7) was like being back in our old VS Commodore by comparison. My 13yo son is also over 6ft tall and hitting another growth spurt, and the Q7 was the first car we've found he can sit in the back of for 800km+ a day and not feel crippled when he gets out. Naturally we got a 3 year warranty with it. Somewhat not-surprisingly the boot space with the third row seats down is much the same depth and height as our PNM35 Stagea, and only 100mm wider. I've always thought M35s were a hidden gem of the automotive world, if they could tow 3,000kg+ and had more rear legroom we'd probably just keep buying them until they couldn't be found any more. Oh, this also replaced our Leaf, which also couldn't tow 3,000kg+. We're holding out for decent EV tow wagons to show up but all the manufacturers are taking their sweet time in releasing them.

That could be right, it's several years since I looked so it's more likely my memory that's added 60kg.

I believe the R32 Skyline GXi (came with a CA18) was about 1180kg, but then you have to consider weight added by upgrading brakes etc.

Personally I'd take the opportunity to check over and replace worn suspension bushes while I was under there.

Update: SOMEONE (not giving anything away but you can bet she's going to cook me some eggs*) left the dome light on, hence the drained battery. *NZ in-joke.

Bought mine another battery, it was fine on Friday but dead today. It hardly moves since we got the Leaf, and the battery was churning out a massive 0.03V this morning when I checked it. Not ideal considering I'm off on a 600km business trip on Friday. I think one of the bonnet hinges has collapsed as the bonnet is catching on the left-side quarter panel when I open it, takes quite an effort to get past the point of resistance but eventually it goes "BANG!" and everything moves freely again. The tip of the quarter panel is rusting now after all the rubbing but meh, it's just the beater these days. One day maybe I'll show it some love. Maybe.

IMO it's not as bad as the good old VX-kit-on-a-VN travesty, but it's a bit too rounded for the boxier lines of the R32. It's almost there, but I'm going to have to say no.