Innehållsförteckning för July 2021 från NZ4WD

According to the typically whimsical caption written by fellow competitor and regular Central Zone Club Truck Challenge contributor Andrew Gee, this is a pic of Mike Ward (aka ‘Mickey McMullet’) winning the ‘Top Gun award for flying, and the Bottom Gun award for landing at the final round of the 20/21 series in May... We also think it is one of the best shots of a 4WD ‘in action’ we’ve seen this year – hence its elevation from the back of the mag to our premier spot at the very front!…

The new, limited edition, NZ-market only Safari from Suzuki NZ is clearly distinguished by a black ARB Base roof rack with side trade rails and wind deflector, a set of larger section Maxxis Bravo 980 all-terrain 215/75R15 tyres fitted to the black steel rims, matching mudflaps front and rear, a large rear cargo tray and Safari decals on the rear wheel cover. The 1.5 litre/five-speed manual Safari launches with a recommended retail price of $29,990 plus on-road costs and is additional to the range that also comprises the standard JX manual, and Sierra with manual or automatic transmission. ALLGRIP ‘Pro’ selectable four-wheel-drive incorporates three driving modes with 2H for two-wheel-drive high gearing, 4H for four-wheel-drive high gearing and 4L for four-wheel-drive low gearing. Standard Safari spec. includes six airbags, cruise…

Nelson driver Dan Fisher won the second southern round of the 2021 New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship, a 250 km forest-based enduro at Nelson in May. Starting from sixth place on a wet track, he carved through the cars in front over the opening 120 km of the race to hit the lead and was never headed, finishing with a seven minute advantage. Fisher said his qualifying sprint for the race in Spooners Forest southwest of Nelson set him up to ‘eat a lot of road grit’ as he pushed through from a single-flag start to overtake his rivals and lead. “Once we were in clear air we pulled a decent lead. Then for the next 11 laps we extended the distance of our lead to 7 mins and drove…

The key advantage, of course, in owning a 4WD like ‘our’ Cherokee, is that it is old school motoring at its best – with basic engine and systems allowing DIY workshop time. After use over the summer and once again parked up due to the first Covid lockdown, winter 2020 was ideal to attend to a couple of issues. One was a slight coolant leak from the heater hose into the head. Again, the clamp was the spring clamp type so it would be replaced, especially as the heater hoses have to be disconnected to aid removal of the rocker or tappet cover. The oil leak from around the engine was still there so yet another degrease and water blast underneath and it was considered it was coming from higher…

We all love to kit out our 4WD vehicles to make them our pride and joy; this can be for the purpose of sheer comfort, luxury, obsession or simply to up-spec the performance and safety. Whether you are installing a massive stereo system, a winch, or a portable fridge the thought of an upgrade to a dual battery system should always be on the cards. And rightly so, you will always want to have enough energy to keep all your accessory add-ons functioning efficiently when you need them and also for how long you need them. Having a dual battery system will also give you the security of having reserve energy to start your vehicle when you need it most. And we all want that, don’t we? Two batteries connected…

Faster charging of 12-volt auxiliary batteries for recreational and boating use, as well as those used in cars and light commercials, is among the features of the new ‘Intelli-Charge’ IDC45 model from Projecta that has just been introduced to New Zealand. The new 45A 12V, three-Stage IDC45 provides many of the same market-leading features of the original Projecta IDC25 charger, but with much larger output. The new IDC45 provides safe, reliable and faster charging and also has the versatility to handle more demanding applications; such as charging a 12V secondary/auxiliary deep cycle battery on the go. Like the IDC25 before it, the IDC45 can charge simultaneously from both solar and alternator inputs, and it can automatically shift between solar and alternator (9-32V) inputs without the need to manually switch from…

With the years getting on, I was thinking to myself, ‘You only live once, so I should make the most of it’. One adventure I had been keen to go on for some time, was exploring the Australian Outback in a 4WD. Luckily, I have a very understanding wife who was happy to wave goodbye to me for a couple of months while I did so. I think New Zealand is the best place in the world to live, but I have always had a hankering to explore the outback and some of Australia’s desert areas. And when you think about it, based on some YouTube clips and magazine articles, how difficult could it be? I had thought of renting a vehicle, (too expensive unless it is a short trip)…

We had a good crew from Wairarapa 4WD club including some Rockstar National 4x4 Trials competitors in current K class champions Brent and Mike Ward, and Kevin “the Hulk” Galbraith, who along with Gary pegged out the hazards. Thanks guys, even if they spent the night before trying to psych out the other competitors about how hard the hazards were going to be. giving Dave some work to do over the winter layoff. We had a good day of well-designed hazards that had a different design signature, longer than in the past, with well-placed pegs that made you work for the score. The scoring points were placed just beyond where your wheels would land and needed the driver to give it a red hot go; but then used turns to…

First the good news. We found a gearbox to build for the Chev. Then the bad news: a flood of biblical proportions has cut the South Island in two, leaving the gearbox on the new southern island, while we sit in Christchurch wondering what to do. Helicopter evac? Could one of the rescue flights bring it up for us? This is turning into a reality TV show without the TV. Stay tuned for the next episode of “How hard could a replacement gearbox build become?” Meanwhile, work is proceeding at a million miles an hour on the course for the two-day national championship final. Otago club – eight members including me – is the little club that can. They cover a massive geographic area, and have had some epic courses…

Unlike a lot of Kiwis, I really feel the cold, and as I get older, I am enjoying less and less the prospect of climbing into a cold tent and sleeping bag at the end of a hard day’s driving. I’ve also been away a lot with my friend Aaron Rich and his family and have always been envious of them with their large family tent and diesel heater. About a month before my final guiding trip of the season, Aaron and I were discussing our various projects and he told me that he was seriously considering producing diesel heaters for the NZ market. Answer to my prayers He asked me what I thought, and I immediately said that it would be the answer to my prayers and signed up…

In this regard, Suzuki seem to have chosen the add ons for the Safari Special Edition of the Jimny well, as they are things many owners would add. The base vehicle for the Safari is the base model JX manual. The most visual addition is the black ARB base roof rack with side rails and wind deflector. This provides a great platform for extra loads for what is a pretty small 4WD, you can add additional components from ARB’s range to further enhance the load carrying ability. The Base Rack has a recommended load capacity of 30kg. In the ‘make it go better department’ there is a set of Maxxis Bravo 980 all-terrain 215/75R15 tyres, replacing the more road-oriented rubber on the standard Jimny. These are fitted to the standard…

In mid-May, we moved into our new house in Christchurch – the first time that we have had our own solid roof over our heads since selling our last house at the end of 2018. In the intervening period, we have been camping and living out of the 4x4Explorer vehicle, here and in Europe. When the shipping container arrived with our gear, I don’t mind admitting that I was overwhelmed! I couldn’t believe just how much stuff we had accumulated and had being paying to have in storage all that time. With a house full of boxes and very little furniture, I was delighted when I got a message from my good mate Scott Gray, asking me if I was up for a weekend away. Up for it? I was…

After revolutionising the Australasian LED driving light market four years ago with the Ultima 215, key market player Narva is leading the way again with an updated model that delivers 30 percent more light. Back in 2017, the Narva Ultima 215 range set the standard with a class-leading hybrid beam pattern that provided outstanding volume and penetration. Since then, the company’s engineering team has worked hard to develop a worthy successor, culminating in the introduction of the Narva Ultima LED MK2. Now available in New Zealand, the newcomer offers 30 percent additional light over its predecessors, as well as a 20 percent longer beam. The outstanding lighting performance is complemented by a range of bold new bezel colours to keep up with vehicle trends, along with ‘Black Edition’ kit options…

They convert electrical current to heat to keep us warm. We call them electric heaters – previously they were known as electric fires. It seems an EV can become an enormous electric fire. I guess many of our readers would have seen the videos taken in early May by a truckie and others of an SUV’s spectacular and devastating burnout. There was copious black smoke as tyres and other parts could be heard exploding. The prestige vehicle was so completely burnt that no part of it was higher than half a metre above the road. The occupants had escaped without injury. EVs run on lithium-ion type batteries. Few people realise the hazard potential of such batteries. There are hundreds of small cells inside and one damaged cell or wire can…

The National Final of the 2020/2021 NZ 4x4 Trials Championship was held over ANZAC weekend by the Hawke’s Bay 4WD Club, at Argyll in Central Hawke’s Bay. The trial was located 15 minutes inland over hill country from the main road and quickly turned into a showdown between the two Biggs brothers, Scott and Jarred, who were the only two in contention for the NZ#1 plate, after last season’s champs, Greg and Chris McDell, pulled out due to injury. Three out of four Then with Jarred Biggs and Fleche Crawford out in the afternoon due to a loss of oil pressure, Scott Biggs and Sam Thomsen pushed hard to win the day along with first in D Class and first Overall for the season, Scott’s third title in four years.…

By now, eagle-eyed readers, might well have picked up on a strong ‘Series’ model Land Rover-ish trend in this issue of NZ4WD magazine. As much as we would like to claim it as some sort of grand plan, we can’t. Because like this mix of pics of Wellington man Jonathan Goodson’s nicely set-up late model Series Landy, the timing of the turning up of the words and pics of the other two Land Rovers featured in the mag his month was purely coincidental. Jonathan made sure we had plenty of pics to choose from too, simply saying: “Please feel free to pick and choose whichever pictures you like best.” YOU ARE NOW ENTERED TO WIN A GRAND PRIZE OF FOUR KUMHO 4X4 TYRES TO BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NZ4WD ANNUAL…

Recently I added another vehicle to the dismantling fleet with the purchase of a Land Rover Discovery 3 V6 which had been written off by the insurers due to water damage. It had been in a flood and because of all the electrics, wiring and electronic computer modules that may or may not have been wet it was deemed a write-off. Initial checks show the engine oil is still clean and at the correct level, so water hasn’t been high enough to fill the engine. In fact it has been hard to determine what level the water may have got to in the flood as it has been a while since it was written off. Seems plenty have played with the electrics with the centre console having been removed by…

Toyota here is continuing to drive towards lower emissions for New Zealand customers with a fuel efficient and environmentally conscious new Toyota Highlander line-up for 2021. Following the success of the RAV4 hybrid, the 2021 Highlander becomes the ninth model in the current Toyota range to feature a hybrid powertrain. There is now a hybrid variant in almost every passenger vehicle offering from Yaris through to Highlander. Steve Prangnell, Toyota New Zealand General Manager of New Vehicle Sales and Product Planning, says one in three of the company’s new vehicle sales are now hybrid. The 2021 Toyota Highlander features a stylish, family-friendly design with significantly improved safety and advanced technology. The new hybrid variants will feature a revised version of the 2.5L petrol engine used in the RAV4, and an…

So, where do I start a story about Oxford’s New Zealand adventure? I guess for the benefit of the nonbelievers, I had better start at the very beginning. Back in 1955, three graduates from Oxford University and three from Cambridge University in the UK set themselves a challenge to be the first to drive Overland from London to Singapore. Perhaps a bit ‘ho-hum’ now, but it had never been done before and being less than 10 years after WW2, many parts of the journey still had smouldering ruins. All had just finished their degrees when they set out on the expedition, with the exception of Nigel Newbery, who had one year left. All of the team members were selected based on their skills. Antony ‘BB’ Barrington-Brown – Cameraman. Adrian Cowell…

Founded in Australia more than 70 years ago, Matson is a leading name in the manufacture and supply of quality battery related products. The diverse product range covers everything that charges, discharges and connects batteries, such as: Charging – Battery chargers ranging from 6V through to 48V applications, big and small, waterproof, domestic and industrial. Jump starting – 12V and 24V jump starters and jump leads for all applications. Lightweight, high-tech lithium jump starters for passenger vehicles through to trucks, as well as super duty lead-acid starters for the heaviest applications. Testing – Industry leading battery testers for all 6V and 12V batteries, including Stop-Start/ISS. Featuring patented Single Load Dynamic Resistance technology, Matson battery testers simulate actual vehicle starting conditions and are not susceptible to errors caused by poor cell…

Ironman 4x4 has a comprehensive line-up of driving lights tried and tested in Australasian conditions with a range suitable for any application. Within that line-up is everything from standard halogen driving lights to the latest LED light bars and multi-LED driving lights. All lights in the range have heavy duty diecast alloy housing and shockproof polycarbonate lenses and operate from 10-30 Volts DC. Lights in the range can be chosen for different beam patterns with some lights extending to 1442m and others with 60-metre-wide coverage. For example: ECLIPSE driving lights with side shooters Eclipse LED driving lights have a stylish rectangle design with side shooters that produce a 140-degree Beam Spot. The Eclipse has a 75W driving light and 24W side shooter lights. It produces 7540 Raw Lumens and 6000k…

Our plan was to travel from Reefton to Hanmer Springs via the Rainbow track, have a rest day at Hanmer Springs, then take the Molesworth track, with a final night at Marfells Beach south of Blenheim, before catching the ferry back to Wellington. The main challenge with this plan was the early morning start it required to give us enough time for the Rainbow track. After a flurry of early-morning packing, we were on the road out of Reefton by 8:30am and travelling through an interesting mix of clear sunny weather and the cold fog of being below the cloud base. After a steady two-and-a-bit-hour drive we reached St Arnaud, where we fuelled up again for safety and bought an ice cream to combat the rising heat. Following well signposted…

The Suzuki Extreme 4x4 Challenge is certainly one of the most entertaining motorsport events in New Zealand, if not Australasia. Here NZ4WD’s Ashley Lucas kicks off our comprehensive coverage of the 2021 event. Held for the 6th time, the Suzuki Extreme 4x4 Challenge is the brainchild of Dan Cowper and is held at his property at Turakina, a venue that offers good access and viewing of the whole event for spectators which this year seemed to break all previous records for numbers. The event is also filmed for TV and centres around providing challenges for the best of the best teams in NZ as well as close up action for spectators. Despite rain in the days leading up to the event the weather was fine and sunny making it a…

It was a worthwhile wait for D-Day of the first RFC Poland on 21 April to take place on Polish soil; after all, among the Europeans, the Poles have been the longest (since 2021) and continuous supporters of the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia, rated number three of the world’s top five toughest off-road races. The city of Elblag in Poland’s northeast, proved the ideal venue for a RFC off-road racing event. D-Day was 21 April with the organizing team led by local RFC rep. Jakub Urbankiewic, wasting no time at all to plunge the participants from R1 to R3 categories (Hard, Medium, Standard classes) into 4x4 action at the Prologue SS which followed immediately after the opening ceremony. With many of the 50 teams experienced off-roaders in rallye and 4x4…

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…