Advice on a new GV welcomed

[Orbea777]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, but have been reading your posts for a week or so.

I'm about (within the next 3 weeks) to order a 2009 Diesel Suzuki Grand Vitara.

I'm very impressed with the vehicle - mainly with its fuel economy, the apparent standard of build (compared to something like the X-Trail), its off road credentials, and the overall look of the beast.

I'm able to spend a bit more than the $36,990 for the base vehicle and have asked for a quote on the following extras:

Aluminium bullbar
Winch
Rola Roof Racks
18" mag rims with a 90/10 (90% road, 10% off road) tyres
A set of Sunrasia rims with offroad dedicated tyres (the plan is to swap them over whenever I plan on some serious bush bashing)
A tow kit
Spot lights

I figure that if I can afford all this at once, I may as well do it and get the dealer to fit it all and sell as a package (under warranty maybe).

I plan on using this GV for general around town driving, trips down the coast and the occasional off road adventure.

Any tips/advice would be muchly appreciated

[andrew_wale]

Welcome to the Forum.
I until recently owned a 1999 V6 Suzuki Grand Vitara (not like the 2009 Gv's though). As all the GV's have a LOW Range, they are definitely more capable than the other soft roaders on the market i.e XTrail etc.

I am not sure if there is a winch bar available for to new models yet but the other after market bits are.
My motto is if you need a winch, then you should not be there in the first place. However, I am sure others in the club will disagree.

As for tyres/rims, I only have 1 set as I could not be bothered changing them every time I wanted to go off road.
I know there are a few members in the club that have a number of sets. You will be surprised where the standard out of the box tyres will get you.

Spot lights, is very much a personal thing. There are heaps out there now all ranging in various prices.
There are ARB (IPF), Light Force, Roo Light etc and the list goes on. Also there are now the HID spot lights.
I have always gone with the IPF lights but then thats my personal choice. If you can, have a look at issue 139 of the 4WD Action mag. They did a comparison of a host of different driving lights available.

Below is a URL link to the 4WD action forum that me be useful.
http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/show ... hp?t=64431
http://www.vandre.nl/_private/COMPAROWEBVERSION1.pdf

Aluminium bullbar
Winch
Rola Roof Racks
18" mag rims with a 90/10 (90% road, 10% off road) tyres
A set of Sunrasia rims with offroad dedicated tyres (the plan is to swap them over whenever I plan on some serious bush bashing)
A tow kit
Spot lights

Anyway, I hope I have added something.

[Orbea777]

Andrew,

Thanks for this advice!

I'm really enjoying the whole planning phase of getting a new vehicle like the GV.

I'm currently driving a '89 Rodeo ute, so this will be a big change.

Cheers.

[steve125]

I've had an '08 diesel GV for just over a year now.

ECB have an alloy bar available, but it costs close to $2k and doesn't look that good in my opinion. Plus it's not winch compatible. ARB have a steel winch bar in development but you may be waiting a while for this to become available. Another possiblity is Outdoor Auto in Qld, I believe they have a winch bar in the works. I have seen a winch fitted without a bar (on a South American car I think), not sure how or if it would be legal in Oz.

I went with the Suzuki roof rack, made by Whispbar. They seemed to be the lowest profile ones available

The 08 model came standard with 16 inch steel wheels which the dealer replaced with 17 inch alloys as a no cost upgrade. If they are still doing this on the 09 model, ask the the dealer if you can have the 16s as well, save you buying Sunraysia rims.

If you want to go offroad, you really need a bash plate to protect the engine/gearbox (the standard plastic one will just fall off). Brown Davis make one, but I think the one supplied by Outdoor Auto provides more protection.

On the price of the car, I think you could get a diesel for close to $35k on road. For $36,990 I would be wanting things like the roof racks, tow bar and driving lights supplied and fitted for free.

[andrew_wale]

ARB have a steel winch bar in development but you may be waiting a while for this to become available

ARB gave me the same answer about the 1999 GV's. As you know, we are still waiting.
The answer I was given was there is not enough call for it.

I think this may the same answer for the 06 and up models.

Anyway, good luck with ARB.

[Orbea777]

Yep - I totally agree on the bash plate - I've now added it to my order.

If I dont go for a winch I guess I could always buy a manual winch (I think they are called "snatch blocks"?). Is this a reasonable option? It may give me more options on a nice alloy bullbar. I'ld just hate the thought of getting stuck somewhere out in the bush because of my limited 4WD'ing experience. I've done a lot of rock climbing and used to be a white water rafting guide, so I know how to set up a z-drag system.

I've decided on alloy bullbar because of the less weight compared to a steel one - sound reasonable? I dont want to balloon the great fuel economy of the GV by loading too much weight on.

I'll also consider using the 17" alloy wheels that the GV diesel comes with to use as the "off road fitted tyre" set of wheels.

Just on the wheels, I've heard that you can legally go 2" bigger than the factory fitted rim here in Victoria - is this the case?

My thoughts on having two sets of wheels could be to do something like truck freight the off road tyres to a Bob Jane type store in Adelaide (or maybe a 4WD club), drive there with the 18" rims/road tryes, swap them over, drive to Oodnadatta, then do the reverse on the way home. Does anyone do this, or is it just too much buggering around?

I'll do a bit of ringing around with the price of the diesel GV - see if I can find it cheaper anywhere.

I'm test driving the GV tomorrow....really looking forward to it!

[steve125]

Hand winches are great, you can pull the vehicle in any direction not just forward. But they are hard work. A snatch block is a pulley that allows you to double the winch cable back to the winching point and halve the load on the winch. A problem with the GV, and many vehicles, is the lack of 'rated' recovery points. The GV has a loop under the front of the car, none on the back, but this is more for towing/tying down than winching. I don't believe an alloy bar will provide any rated recovery points (check with the manufacturer). And on the back don't use the tow ball either.

Why so keen on a bar? You said the car would only be offroad occasionally. I would spend the money on tyres, some recovery gear and maybe a suspension lift.

Not sure about legal tyre sizes, check with Vicroads. What you will find limiting your tyre size is the wheel well. Go bigger than 30 inches and it will start to rub.

And don't worry about freighting tyres, a good set of All Terrains will make it to Adelaide without wearing out.

With the price of the car, you will get the best deal face to face rather than over the phone. A customer on the showroom floor, willing to buy a car RIGHT NOW, is what gets the salesman's attention.