Rookie

[Jarryd_P]

Hey Guys,


Brand new to this forum and 4wding. Recently got myself a '97 Vitara Wagon.
I'm just looking around for some advice and guidance as to what the first things i should do to it. Where else is better than a Suzuki forum
I'm a student so budget is pretty limited, thought you guys my be able to tell me what money is best invested in.
I'm really keen on getting some new tyres firstly as previous owners had bigger tyres on back so cant even put into 4wd without wrecking it, though not sure on max size of wheel sizes need for Stock.
Any advice or tips is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

P.S. Not very knowledgeable on cars so try to keep the language simple :p Thanks again

[christover1]

Just drive it, get used to it, get some off roading experience, come along to a meeting or a trip, before spending any time or cash. That way you know what you really need. Mine is a budget build, as a lot of Zookers builds are.

[gwagensteve]

^ Chris is 100% on the money here. Other than the normal items required for a club trip (fire extinguisher, first aid kit, snatch strap and two rated shackles) there's really no substitute for getting some off road miles on the car and getting the feel for it.

It's common to think you need to throw heaps of accessories/parts at the car to make it effective, but that's not the case.

If you are busting to spend some money on the car, the first thing I would buy is a quality compressor and a tyre deflator like the ARB one. Reducing tyre pressure makes a huge difference to the performance of the car off road. Also, you can experiment with removing the front sway bar. This is a reversible (and free!) modification and many people prefer the feel of the car off road with the sway bar removed. It helps in getting the front suspension to work properly. Some people even prefer feel of the car on road with the sway bar removed.

Other than that, make sure the car is in good mechanical condition. Driving off road will tend to highlight small problems and accelerate the failure of items that are worn or faulty.

Other than those things, I'd really wait until you highlighted something you wanted to change or improve about the car's behaviour before you spend money on something that was unnecessary, or ineffective.

Steve.

[greyghost]

X2 on what Gwagensteve is saying, as there are more ineffective products for Jimny's than there are effective ones.

[Jarryd_P]

Thanks for the advice guys,

Car seems to be mechanically good now. Will hopefully be able to get out to a club meeting soon.
Is there some where that's got the details? Keen for some adventures

Cheers,

Jarryd

[christover1]

http://www.vic.suzuki4wd.com/forum/view ... f=5&t=1539