Innehållsförteckning för July 2019 från NZ4WD

There’s no doubt about it, New Zealand’s road toll is nothing to be proud of. Particularly the recent trend for a year-on-year increase in the number of deaths. From a high of 795 deaths in 1987 the number had actually been falling – to a low of just 284 in 2009 and 253 in 2013 – before trending back up, to 378 in 2017 and 380 in 2018. The causes are obviously many and varied, but the bottom line is that the figures – any figure in fact – are too high. For those of us who I will describe as ‘active’ drivers (enthusiasts of all things dynamic) the toll is particularly frustrating. Why? Well I don’t know about you but a bloke I know who is a volunteer fire…

We four wheel drive fanatics tend to be a passionate lot. In a disposable age and planned obsolescence we tend to hold fast to the tried and true. That means looking for engineering solutions to the mechanical problems we face when our vehicles are used hard offroad. Lamberts Engineering are that rare breed: old-school precision engineers who specialise in repairing components to breathe new life into all sorts of vehicles. That means automotive engineering, axle and driveshaft builds and repairs, full engine rebuilds and refurbishments. The Masterton-based company was a family operation for three generations and has seen enormous change since it opened for business in 1922. Now co-owned by John Brogden and Peter James, who says the company can do “pretty much anything” – and if they can’t do…

It’s distinctive looking, its boxy, it's retro, it's funky; whatever way you look at the new Jimny from Suzuki, you either like it or hate it. While the rest of the world have built vehicles that all look so similar it’s hard to tell them apart, not so Suzuki with the new Jimny. Its unique squared off body is a breath of fresh air from the current crop of new vehicles, but looks alone are not the only changes to this fourth generation Jimny. The new Jimny still has a traditional ladder frame chassis with the 2,250mm wheel base the same as its predecessor. The body is wider by 45mm and shorter by 30mm but at 1,720mm tall its 40mm taller as well. It continues to use live rigid axles…

Whenever there is mud, there will also be someone who has to give it a go, and in this case it was Matt Holden who attempted the swamp in his Hilux. Needless to say he was in deep and attempts to snatch him out were unsuccessful. It didn’t help that the strap had a knot in it causing it to break. We were tempted to leave him there but as bar manager for the “Stagger Inn” back at camp we needed him, so he was winched out. But not before young Sam Rasmussen had to dig through the black mud to hook the winch cable on. This was the first day of the 2.5 days of the biennial Hereworth 4WD Trek, Horonui, based on Poukawa Station in rural Hawke’s Bay.…

Whether venturing into the high country, traversing sand dunes or on an alpine adventure, it’s important to have the right equipment, and that includes the battery. New Zealand’s diverse climate and extreme off-road conditions can put intense demands on a vehicle and its equipment; if the battery is not up to the job and built to handle these challenges, it could be a short trip. Excessive under bonnet temperatures, continuous vibration, repeated impact and the demands of power hungry accessories, create havoc for batteries, attacking critical internal components which can lead to early battery failure. Unlike some batteries which focus on delivering higher starting power at the expense of more critical design features, Century batteries are designed to suit our climate and remote conditions. Century’s Ultra Hi Performance battery range…

When ARB first launched its Linx Vehicle Accessory Interface package, one of the most exciting features was the expandable platform it was designed on. To that end the company has just announced its latest update including two new modules, all at no extra cost to the user. Monitoring the roll and pitch of a vehicle, the inclinometer module allows users to set alarms to display and sound when approaching the vehicle’s roll or pitch limit. The roll and pitch screens can be viewed separately or double tap the screen to see them together. The Linx clock module includes a range of functions such as local and world time, date, timer, alarm and stop watch. The date and time can be manually set in the Android main setting menu or will…

Headin’ down south as reported in an earlier column I spotted three intriguing tracked vehicles languishing in a roadside paddock. There were all red and sporting wide snow-style tracks. Further research proved they were made by Thiokol, an American company with an interesting and diverse history – condensed from Wikipedia: 1926: Two chemists, in the course of an experiment, created a gum whose outstanding characteristic was a terrible odour. The substance clogged a sink and none of the solvents used to remove it were successful. Then the frustrated chemists realised that the resistance of the material to any kind of solvent was a useful property. They had invented a synthetic rubber, which they christened “Thiokol”. 1945: They discover the use of thiokol as a stabiliser in solid-fuel rockets. 1949: Thiokol…

After a wonderful summer of three months with no or very little rain, the heavens opened up and the rain fell, even the temperature dropped significantly. This meant only one thing; Tararua 4WD Club were holding another winch challenge! Just as it did for their previous winch challenge, the competitors were greeted with rain and cold at Rallywoods, a dedicated 4WD playground in the hills 45 minutes north of Wellington, and the venue for the event. Coming from as far away as Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson and Christchurch, 20 competitors converged onto Rallywoods for scrutineering and for those brave enough to set up camp. A few crafty ones have purpose-built covered-in trailers for transporting their vehicles, which then double as accommodation for the weekend; or trucks with canopies for the…

There have been a few reports in the media of late of rescues of people from 4WDs stuck in rivers. Often at night or early morning with rescuers having to liberate the stranded occupants off the roof of their vehicle. Driving through water and rivers is guaranteed to bring a smile to our faces and as 4WD owners we do it because we can. However there are some real dangers with driving through water and proper techniques are needed. Unless a vehicle is properly equipped, driving deep water or fast flowing rivers has its risks, and just because you have four-wheel drive it doesn’t mean you can go wading into water without some preparation. Water can get into the mechanical and electrical components and if you flood the vehicle items…

Hamilton racer Paul Smith has won New Zealand off-road racing’s toughest race, the 2019 North Harbour Woodhill 100, improving from a start position of 60 and overtaking 59 other cars to do so. Ten laps of fast and free-flowing racing on rocky forest roads where the cars touched 200 km/h, two laps of ‘hard yakka’ as the slower sandy tracks under the forest canopy turned choppy, and the chequered flag fell on Smith’s Jimco class one car. Early leaders Jardyne Lammers and Tony McCall were also early dnfs – Lammers with two flat tyres, McCall with front suspension and steering damage after an incident with a deer. Former race winner John Morgan enjoyed a brief run in the lead – one lap – before he too was out. Karl Fenton…

Months in the making and sporting significant aesthetic and dynamic upgrades, Holden New Zealand has revealed the ROX, a radical new home-grown Colorado concept ute. Built with the annual Fieldays agricultural show in mind, the Colorado ROX will take pride of place at Holden’s site at Mystery Creek from June 12 then will embark on a nationwide dealership tour coupled with call-ins at major events and activations. “Our driving desire was to take our most capable vehicle, the Colorado, and beef it up to become the greatest awe-inspiring, eye-catching piece of machinery ever devised by Holden New Zealand,” said company boss Marc Ebolo. “We know many of our customers have grand visions of what they’d like to do to personalise their own vehicles after driving them out of the dealership,…

4X4 Australia is one of the distributing partners for AFN Portugal, the head office and manufacturer of AFN’s range of 4WD accessories. It is represented here by Kiwi company SUSD. AFN has developed 4WD products that will interest anyone looking to kit out their vehicle with a distinctive ‘European’ style that’s a little different to what we’ve become used to. The Jimny you see here is the Kinetic Yellow Camo model put together by 4x4 Australia and already doing the rounds of shows across the ditch. No bull-bar! Key to its new, tougher, more purposeful look, is AFN’s full replacement bull-bar. Finished in satin black (but able to be colour-coded) it weighs in at 32kgs, replacing the plastic-capped Suzuki original fitment. If you want a pared-back look you can opt…

Australian manufacturer Redarc Electronics is a technology-based company that designs, manufactures and supports patented, reliable and fully integrated portable vehicular power solutions that continue to lead the way in the 4WD industry. This year, Redarc is celebrating a very special milestone, its 40th year. Over the decades, the business has grown exponentially to become a world-class advanced electronics manufacturer, servicing both domestic and international markets with over 200 staff. Managing Director, Anthony Kittel said, “Redarc is not just a world-class manufacturing facility, it’s an agile and innovative problem solver. We give our customers confidence in mission-critical situations where things just have to work.” The company’s $AUD22m investment strategy to scale up the business has resulted in the recent expansion of their Lonsdale, VIC, factory, the introduction of new state-of-the-art manufacturing…

Engineered in Australia and manufactured in the United States, the ARB Intensity LED light range has been specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements of 4WDers throughout the world. From producing white light that is the closest possible imitation of sunlight, to a virtually indestructible polycarbonate lens, these lights are the premium choice. Built with the latest LED technology, the Intensity V2 driving lights feature higher wattage ‘Osram Giants’ LEDs to deliver a light that is controlled and focused for the naked eye to see. Unlike high intensity discharge (HID) lights, the LED range does not require time to warm up, and performs brilliantly on corrugated roads by producing a broad field of light that helps diffuse vibration. Submersible to three metres, and compliant for radio interference suppression, ARB Intensity…

Our trip up the Waitotara Valley was strongly recommended by a friend in the 4WD club. Although not a particularly long one, adding the time to get from Wellington to Whanganui and back again made it too long to do in a day, so we decided to plan for good weather and go up on Saturday afternoon to camp at Ashley Park, just out of Whanganui. We could then make a day trip out of exploring the Waitotara Valley and returning to Wellington. Arriving at Ashley Park on a warm and sunny evening we found it to be a very pleasant place with a range of accommodation including enough secluded campsites for even the children’s birthday party not to be a problem. Although it was getting a bit colder at…

Like the Monster Jam series on TV3’s CRC Motorsport, the annual Suzuki Extreme 4x4 event is filmed for TV and therefore guarantees maximum entertainment with rollovers, air time and high adrenalin. But you have to be there to smell the petrol fumes and hot baking mud! Held at Dan Cowper’s Turakina property for the fifth consecutive year, the venue offers very easy access and good viewing of all the action with spectators just metres away from their favourite team. For 2019 Dan bought a digger and spent some time making up the 10 courses that would challenge the competitors. At first the climbs and turns seemed virtually impossible but somehow these little purpose-built vehicles defy the laws of physics and at times literally fly through. Also for 2019 the 10…

After more than half a century of watching others have fun with Californian Bruce Myers’ original Type 1-based Beach Buggy, Volkswagen themselves came up with this fun thoroughly modern interpretation of the genre as an attention seeker on its stand at the recent Geneva Motor Show. Beach Buggies, and their close cousin, the cut-down Baja ’Bug,’ have always appealed to those in the 4x4 community, something to do with the traction possible with all the engine weight over the rear wheels. While VW remained tight lipped about what was ‘under the hood’ the smart money was that it was not a wheezy old 1200cc flat four!…

Earlier this year I posted on the 4x4Explorer Facebook page a photo of a gate, asking people if they knew what lay behind and inviting people, in turn, to post their own photos. Only two did, however, which led me to believe that the area where the gate was – the Clarence River Valley inland from Kaikoura, is something of an undiscovered gem, and therefore, warranted another look. As with a lot of my most recent trips, this one started with a text conversation with my good friend, Scott Gray. Scott is based in Timaru and I was in Motueka. After having spent the previous few months around South Canterbury and Central Otago, I wasn’t that keen to drive all the way back down and the weather wasn’t looking too…

What started as a group of auto electricians meeting each year to work with one of New Zealand’s largest battery suppliers, has now evolved into a strategic partnership set to challenge the existing battery retail landscape. Launched last month Battery Zone is the coming together of a national network of auto electricians to officially trade on their expertise with Yuasa Batteries, all with one combined aim: provide the best local battery replacement service and advice throughout New Zealand. Battery Zone’s Bruce Johnson (pictured) said for many years the group existed primarily to learn about changes and advancements in battery technology while doing some essential networking along the way Johnson, who owns Johnson Electrical in Waipukurau, said with so much change occurring in battery technology there was a ground swell to…

Tired of struggling to see at night and worried about potential hazards on poorly lit roads? Hella’s range of award-winning LED light bars provide additional long-range light when high beams are just not enough and are fully road legal with ECE approval. The sleek low-profile housings are expertly designed, and precision manufactured using ultra-durable materials, ensuring a long life and exceptional value for professional and recreational drivers. Due to their slim profile, the streamline light bars are ideal for applications where discreet fitment and aerodynamic styling is a valued attribute. Lightweight housings also increase fitting options, removing the need for a bulky bull bar to mount to. You can also double stack lamps to double the light output or combine different lens options to suit your requirements. With a choice…

Normally Dunedin is the last round and it is cold and wet. This year the event hosts, the Land Rover Owners Club Otago, put on the opening round between May 10 &11 and it was pretty much still summer. A nice change for the co-drivers, not so good for the trucks as this meant the grounds were dry and hard. That said, five of our mainland competing teams (Nathan/Daniel, Scotty/James,Brock/Nic, Andrew/Steve and Nic/Ryan) had already had a bit of a warm-up in the mud at the Tararua Winch Challenge held in Wellington at the beginning of April (see separate story this issue. Ed) with three of the five coming home with podium placings. The North Island-based Goodmans (Stan/ Chris and Lance/Danny) also entered the Tararua Winch Challenge and have once…

The 2019 off-road racing championship season is under way, and already the gossip mill is in top gear. Trucks with heritage, history, provenance – call it what you like – are moving and reforming and re-animating from one end of New Zealand to the other. The Thomasen/Milne/Wayne Wilson class four Toyota truck has been sold and is moving to Christchurch. From Nelson this month comes news of an old (ish) truck getting a new lease of life: The Demon Energy truck built by ‘short order’ constructor William van der Wal in Palmerston North was bought some time ago, went south and has languished in a shed until a rebuild programme brought it back to the track with a six cylinder engine. It will run in 4WD Bits class 8. Of…

Our monthly feature showcases 4WDs doing just about anything except rolling over or burning! We will award a grand prize of a set of four Kumho 4x4 tyres in the NZ4WD Annual issue. This contest is open to all readers who are not professional photographers. IMPORTANT: Photographs must have been taken by the person entering them, or have the photographer’s written permission. Email your digital images and a detailed caption to: editor@NZ4WD.co.nz Send your prints and detailed captions to: Your4s with Kumho, PO Box 65-092, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 0754. Be sure to include your postal address! Submitting photos The basics: as with any photo, there’s no substitute for an image that’s sharp – in focus and free of camera shake. It should be well-exposed. Size and type The ideal submission…