Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

i want to buy a ute for work/personal transport. and im looking to buy it in lpg/gas.

these are the utes i was looking at.

nissan navara

ford falcon au

mazda bravo dx

in particular will the 4cyl's have the power to pull a track car arroud? the track car would be arround the weight of a stripped and caged silvia on a trailer. allong with some spare tyres and tools.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/209566-which-ute-to-buy/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

i want to buy a ute for work/personal transport. and im looking to buy it in lpg/gas.

these are the utes i was looking at.

nissan navara

ford falcon au

mazda bravo dx

in particular will the 4cyl's have the power to pull a track car arroud? the track car would be arround the weight of a stripped and caged silvia on a trailer. allong with some spare tyres and tools.

go the falcon mate, much better torque for towing, higher spec interior, larger tray and as far as economy you can LPG the things for dirt cheap

cheers, jono

Id be looking at the falcon too Craig.

The 6 cyl is pretty torquey! :)

If you going one of the other ones, I'd look at a deiseal model

And when you say a silvia....whats happening with the 33 mate!?!?

ugh falcons suck. well I guess towing is one thing they are good at.

but they still suck.

I originally used the 2.4 navara which was underpowered but acceptable - it couldn't keep to 110 on the freeway up hills though, dropped as low as 70 on catherine hill one the hume hwy. but it was so cheap and fine the rest of the time so i forgave it. also was rated to tow 3t so it was actually legal.

I'm happier with the stagea but it was much more expensive $10k so its not really in the cheap range. still excellent value tho

Id be looking at the falcon too Craig.

The 6 cyl is pretty torquey! :/

If you going one of the other ones, I'd look at a deiseal model

And when you say a silvia....whats happening with the 33 mate!?!?

im going to sell it in the not to distant future mate. it's costing me a fortune to run it everyday with high 98ron petrol prices, insureance, reg. and giving it the regular oil changes etc. the silvia will be is lighter as standard. and should have a fun ammount of power. and be cheaper to maintain.

oh the navara has 320000klm and is still going as well as it ever did lol

gold. thats what i wanted to hear.it does the job. a bit slow on the freeways though. but like u said it can be forgiven for it's cheap running costs.

whats the furthest youve taken it with the race car on the back?

only to wakie but it has never left me stranded in the 3 year's I've had it. apart from oil the only thing it needed was a radiator and water pump (they were farked). Oh and the head gasket was blown when I got it but chemiweld fixed that.

so, it has been super reliable and a good choice for cheap car. but a foulcan would be just as good i guess.

the main things i looked for were running well, aircon, powersteer and a tow bar. And its funny how many cars had one or more of those things not working but the dealer still advertised it lol.

the patrol is a bit of a guzzler id imagine. got decent torque for the kw. but all diesels are like that.

Make NISSAN

Family PATROL

Model Variant Ti 4x4

Car Series

Year 1991

Doors and Body Style 4D WAGON

Engine Size 4.2litres (4169 cc)

Fuel System DIESEL

Cylinders D6

Driven Wheels 4WD

Std Transmission 5M4x4

Optional Transmission 4A4x4 opt

Standard Features Air Conditioning, Central Locking, Limited Slip Differential, Power Mirrors, Power Steering, Power Windows, Radio Cassette

Optional Features

(Features offered when new and not necessarily on this car.)

Dealer Options

No Cost Options

Bore and Stroke 96x96mm

Power 85KW

Torque 264Nm

Weight to Power Ratio 25.41 : 1kg/kW

Front Brakes DV

Rear Brakes DV

Wheel Dimension 10Rx15

Turning Circle 13.4m

Compression Ratio 22.7

Final Ratio 3.9

Tank Capacity 95litres

Exterior Length 4810mm

Exterior Width 1930mm

Exterior Height 1995mm

Front Track 1580mm

Rear Track 1585mm

Wheel Base 2970mm

Front Suspension RiA; 3-link coil springs with leading arms panhard

Rear Suspension RiA; 5-link coil springs panhard rod telescopic sh

Kerb Weight 2160kg

Ground Clearance 235mm

Seating Capacity 7

Highway Fuel Consumption 0 (lt/100km)

City Fuel Consumption 0 (lt/100km)

Towing Capacity 2500kg

Release Date 01/12/1989

Discontinued Date 31/01/1992

New Price (standard) 42198

Average Kms 0

Model Run

VIN Location Rear Driver Side Chassis

Country of Origin JAPAN

im just curious duncan is your navara 3 tonne capable?

here are the specs for towing capacity from drive.com

1986 model

Make NISSAN

Family NAVARA

DUAL CAB P/UP rwd

Towing Capacity 1000kg

Make NISSAN

Family NAVARA

Model Variant ST 4x4

DUAL CAB P/UP

Towing Capacity 1000kg

4x4 in 2.5l has a tow capacity of 1500kg

yeah it is, I have the workshop manual with all the details so drive is not correct (OMG internet wrong!). the trailer is over 2t with the gtr on it, but I would hate to see how it pulls with a full 3t. Like the patrol it has no power but low down torque is OK and the commerical clutch takes absolute abuse without any slipping. its the dual cab rwd.

pete was running an rb30 patrol I think it was fine too. they are all similar - slow but will do the job. plus I couldn't buy a car from anyone except nissan lol

Duncan are you baiting me?.

You must excuse Duncan,,,If Nissan stop making cars and started making push-bikes he would buy 4 of them and tell the world there the best.

The Navara while a great vehicle,very reliable and drifts well is a very slow tow vehicle. The hill out of Goulburn sees it doing 60 kays max,,,no about 40,,,

the old EF falcon wagon is doing 90 kays. Easy maths 2.4 against 4.0,,,carby against EFI. It's a no brainer.

Now the Stagea is a different kettle of fish,,,absolutely beautiful wagon,,,all the mod cons,,,but IRS,,,NO thanks. I can see the rear end dragging it's arse all around NSW in the not to distant future.

My advice would be to buy a single cab ute with leaf springs and with one of those lockable canopies. Dual cabs just don't have the room.

Now a LWB Patrol would be great or a Falcon Wagon with an extra leaf or what I did and had installed polyair helpers.

Neil.

i had 1 of those AU falcon utes on gas as a work ute,had some heavy heavy truck parts on the tray

and it always performed well and had nice air con nice and roomy inside, and my fav the stereo buttons on the steering wheel.Was a good cruiser for coming back from a hard days work.

oh yeh it was auto too.also shift kits help for towing too.not just for chirping.

and theres plenty of places who sell/install air bag systems for towing.

but i like the look of the Navara's

Personally I wouldn't have another ute as a tow car, it has zero security for your valuables when you park it. Guys in the race team have lost wheels, tyres, jacks, tool kits and plenty of spares out of utes. Park it for 20 minutes while you go and have dinner or a drink after a race meeting and bingo it's an open supermarket in the back of your tow car. It got to the stage where I packed up after a race meeting and never stopped until I got back to the workshop. In the rain (it always rains at race meetings) we used to get a swimming pool in the back whenever we had more stuff than the tonneau would cover.

Then there is the passenger problem, take 2 guys with you and you have to take 2 cars everywhere. So we gave up on utes about 10 years ago, everyone in the race team now has either a waggon or a 4wd.

As for IRS being a problem, that's ancient history and pretty much a mythe these days. I have been towing the race cars around with the Stagea for 3 years, not had a problem. My trailers have always had load equalising stabiliser bars on them, so there is no up and down motion on the draw bar. Ad some decent shocks, which the Stagea needs for everyday driving anyway, that's about all else plus the electronic brake controller of course. Waggons are the go. An example, for the 24 hour, tow the race car to Bathurst empty out the waggon, into the pits. Stick 5 guys in it and go everywhere for the weekend, no need for 2 cars.

Automatic, never manual, and 4wd are an advantage, remember it rains at every race meeting and getting out of the pits in a 2wd manual ute is next to impossible.

I have had 9 tow cars over the years and the Stagea is the best at towing and daily driving of all of them. It just needs a bigger fuel tank, 65 litres gets you nowhere when you have 4 tonnes to move.

Cheers

Gary

hmm not good news. I was deciding between petrol and diesel for the new pathfinder....guess you've made the decision for me. BTW I'm with Gary on wagon v ute, but they are all in a totally different price range to what Craig is looking for

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Even with the piston at TDC there was room for it to drop, but I don't think it can drop fully into the cylinder, the problem you have is that you need something pushing against the valve to hold it up so you have enough room to put the new stem seal on and the spring etc.  I used compressed air only because putting rope in the cylinder seemed a bit risky to me, I know people have done it countless times before like this. Overall it's a pain in the ass job. Honestly you'd probably be better off taking the head off because the risk of dropping something in the engine and the finicky-ness of it all is very stressful. If you are going to attempt it though i 10000% recommend a 36050 valve spring/keeper tool. I had both the traditional lever type and after doing 1 cylinder it was absolute pain to get those valve keepers in place, even with 2 people. That 36050 is amazing, you do have to push hard to get them in place but it works perfectly almost every time. Back to my actual issue I think my engine is just tired and old and the rings have gone bad. The comp numbers (cold, no oil) were: Cyl 1 -129psi Cyl 2 - 133psi Cyl 3 - 138psi Cyl 4 - 137psi Cyl 5 - 157psi Cyl 6 - 142psi   Cylinder 5 and 6 having the most carbon on them.
    • Who did you have do the installation? I actually know someone who is VERY familiar with the AVS gear. The main point of contact though would be your installer.   Where are you based in NZ?
    • Look, realistically, those are some fairly chunky connectors and wires so it is a reasonably fair bet that that loom was involved in the redirection of the fuel pump and/or ECU/ignition power for the immobiliser. It's also fair to be that the new immobiliser is essentially the same thing as the old one, and so it probably needs the same stuff done to make it do what it has to do. Given that you are talking about a car that no-one else here is familiar with (I mean your exact car) and an alarm that I've never heard of before and so probably not many others are familiar with, and that some wire monkey has been messing with it out of our sight, it seems reasonable that the wire monkey should be fixing this.
    • Wheel alignment immediately. Not "when I get around to it". And further to what Duncan said - you cannot just put camber arms on and shorten them. You will introduce bump steer far in excess of what the car had with stock arms. You need adjustable tension arms and they need to be shortened also. The simplest approach is to shorten them the same % as the stock ones. This will not be correct or optimal, but it will be better than any other guess. The correct way to set the lengths of both arms is to use a properly built/set up bump steer gauge and trial and error the adjustments until you hit the camber you need and want and have minimum bump steer in the range of motion that the wheel is expected to travel. And what Duncan said about toe is also very true. And you cannot change the camber arm without also affecting toe. So when you have adjustable arms on the back of a Skyline, the car either needs to go to a talented wheel aligner (not your local tyre shop dropout), or you need to be able to do this stuff yourself at home. Guess which approach I have taken? I have built my own gear for camber, toe and bump steer measurement and I do all this on the flattest bit of concrete I have, with some shims under the tyres on one side to level the car.
    • Thought I would get some advice from others on this situation.    Relevant info: R33 GTS25t Link G4x ECU Walbro 255LPH w/ OEM FP Relay (No relay mod) Scenario: I accidentally messed up my old AVS S5 (rev.1) at the start of the year and the cars been immobilised. Also the siren BBU has completely failed; so I decided to upgrade it.  I got a newer AVS S5 (rev.2?) installed on Friday. The guy removed the old one and its immobilisers. Tried to start it; the car cranks but doesnt start.  The new one was installed and all the alarm functions seem to be working as they should; still wouldn't start Went to bed; got up on Friday morning and decided to have a look into the no start problem. Found the car completely dead.  Charged the battery; plugged it back in and found the brake lights were stuck on.  Unplugging the brake pedal switch the lights turn off. Plug it back in and theyre stuck on again. I tested the switch (continuity test and resistance); all looks good (0-1kohm).  On talking to AVS; found its because of the rubber stopper on the brake pedal; sure enough the middle of it is missing so have ordered a new one. One of those wear items; which was confusing what was going on However when I try unplugging the STOP Light fuses (under the dash and under the hood) the brake light still stays on. Should those fuses not cut the brake light circuit?  I then checked the ECU; FP Speed Error.  Testing the pump again; I can hear the relay clicking every time I switch it to ON. I unplugged the pump and put the multimeter across the plug. No continuity; im seeing 0.6V (ECU signal?) and when it switches the relay I think its like 20mA or 200mA). Not seeing 12.4V / 7-9A. As far as I know; the Fuel Pump was wired through one of the immobiliser relays on the old alarm.  He pulled some thick gauged harness out with the old alarm wiring; which looks to me like it was to bridge connections into the immobilisers? Before it got immobilised it was running just fine.  Im at a loss to why the FP is getting no voltage; I thought maybe the FP was faulty (even though I havent even done 50km on the new pump) but no voltage at the harness plug.  Questions: Could it be he didnt reconnect the fuel pump when testing it after the old alarm removal (before installing the new alarm)?  Is this a case of bridging to the brake lights instead of the fuel pump circuit? It's a bit beyond me as I dont do a lot with electrical; so have tried my best to diagnose what I think seems to make sense.  Seeking advice if theres for sure an issue with the alarm install to get him back here; or if I do infact, need an auto electrician to diagnose it. 
×
×
  • Create New...