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Do I _really_ need a 4x4?

Mostly highway and mainroad driving, occasional rare light offroad, probably automatic for the wife to drive.

I wont mind the 4x4 but the price difference is insane, especially if I wont need the part time 4wd.

Thoughts?

Thanks

The value of your truck is higher when it's 4x4. Resale is better. Also the way I think about it, if you don't intend to use the 4x4 , it's always good to know you have it.

what he said^^^ but it comes down to price, if yuh pay 30k less for the van cause its 4x2 doh expect to sell it for the same price as a 4x4 one,

I agree I just sold my 4x4 navara TCR fully loaded for 260K My friend at maska showed me a 2012 4x2 for 260K ....just goes to prove the above point if you can afford buy the 4x4 it will pay off when time to sell...but on the other hand in a year and a half and I never used the 4x4....

if you dont need it go 4x2

put good tyres and difflock if anything

it all comes down to $ vs actual use

i have a 4x4 auto sportero 3.2L

80% of times it is used on street - highway and mainroads

sometimes i think i wasted the extra $ in buying teh 4x4 since i mostly use it as 4x2

but then there are the times when i use teh 4x4 and i am really glad that I have the option there that it is totally worth it

i would buy an auto 4x2 for my wife if the opportunity arises as she will never need 4x4 for what her needs are, but the mostly the height, rigidity and fuel economy of diesel would really be teh selling point for that

^^ what that dude said.

My navara is 4x4, and I drive mostly on highways.
But when I need the 4wd, i does be glad for eet... .

Depends on how adventurous you are? Once you don't go trying to drive on soft sand / grassy fields / etc etc, the 4x2 would be your better buy.

4x2s should be better on fuel economy as well since you not carrying around the extra front steel differential / transfer case all the time. Plus you wont have to worry about front CVs / rubber boots etc going bad.

If funds is an issue, take the 4x2.
If you could afford it, then take the 4x4 for those rare occasions.

4 by 4 anyday have you ever driven an unloaded 4 by 2 on a wet road ? no matter what tires you have on son always safer with 4 by 4 traction proven fact

brawnybro wrote:4 by 4 anyday have you ever driven an unloaded 4 by 2 on a wet road ? no matter what tires you have on son always safer with 4 by 4 traction proven fact

4x4 are only used part time and I've never heard of anyone driving for extended periods on any paved road (wet or not) with a 4x4.

I'm leaning towards the 4x4 personally eh, just wondering how often you guys actually use yours.

Venum/Lighthammer any long term reviews on the vehicles you drive?
I'm torn between teh Hilux, Sportero and Navara; but I'm hearing REALLLL horror stories with some of n&m's stock.

i can tell you from experience that any problems with our Navara, n&m fixed under warranty, with no fuss or run-around. i would say the after sales support is excellent. but that's only from my experience.

that being said, we've only had two, somewhat minor issues

Paullct are you a corporate customer?

The Navara was purchased privately, if that's what you're asking. Not in the company name.

Correct me if you're asking something else

What sort of issues you faced under warranty, if you dont mind me asking?

we had a problem with the fuel rail i believe getting clogged, they serviced it and we were advised about the quality of our diesel and not to run the tank below quarter, to reduce the chance of this happening again.

the other problem i believe, was a boost line breaking or something along those lines. this was a few years ago though.

Wont the 4x2 have less maintenance due to just being 2 wheel drive? just asking

^^yup less maintenance , less fuel too - it's really up to you , if you want a 4x2 then get one - juss have a Padna with you( with a 4x4) if you decide to drive on the beach

Hi guys is the 4x4 suspension more rugged meaning if it can take like more licks on bad roads than the 4x2?

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i'm actually torn with this decision as well

but knowing when / if i do puchase a van, i'm sure the offroad bug will bite me again and i'll be in the mud again

so i'm leaning towards the 4x4 for now, but it would always come in handy

it really is a matter of personal need basis and what you can afford, remember the saying "dont hang ur hat where u cant reach it"

4X4s will call for more maintenance and will be more costly..

it it was up to me and i could afford it, id go hilux, yeah yeah im Toyota biased, but the fact aside, they are power houses, resale is good, upgrade is easy, and in stock trim, they do well offroad...

There was a post before with a video showing the difference in how your pickup performs in 4wd as opposed to 2wd in wet weather at only 30kmph . THAT is what convinced me to buy my pickup 4wd. I personally use 4wd whenever the roads are wet highway or otherwise . Tyre wear and maintenance and overall price can never be a consideration over safety for me .

VexXx Dogg wrote:
I'm leaning towards the 4x4 personally eh, just wondering how often you guys actually use yours.

I use mine occasionally, whenever Side B has an off-road run (which is about once or twice a month).

But... when I do go offroad, this is what I do with my 4x4 Navara (even with open rear diffs!)

Venum/Lighthammer any long term reviews on the vehicles you drive?

I will write a long term review soon, and i'll post it here and on my blog too....
but in a nutshell - no major mechanical problems so far, and I've gotten to 65,000km now. Mostly highway driving, with some hard off-roading in between. Recently upgraded with a 4" lift and 33x12.5R18 tyres, and still planning to go higher. Soon there will be an upgraded suspension, snorkel, bumper and maybe a diff locker later on this year or early next.


After teh 20,000km service at N&M, I was dissatisfied with their service or lack thereof; basically they were overcharging me for very basic stuff that I coudl have done myself or have done at another company like Masterserv or laughlin & degannes. After that I did all servicing, major & minor, all by myself (oil changes, fuel filter changes, changed diff fluids, new tyres/rims, tightened the serpentine belts, checked timing chain, and last week i replaced the brake pads with a set of Mintex pads).

Next set of upgrades - same as above, and quite possibly a SuperChip or Spyder chip to get that horsepower up to 200HP and maybe 400lb/ft torque, as well as a heavy duty clutch out of australia.

I'm torn between teh Hilux, Sportero and Navara; but I'm hearing REALLLL horror stories with some of n&m's stock.

What kind of horror stories man?
I'm yet to be horrified by my own Datsun.... the worst I've heard is a blown turbo... from a guy who owns a 4x2.

All the navara's, 4x4 and 4x2, LE, SE and even the XE (single cab, long bed) have the same YD25DDTi engine... they just have differently tuned ECU's to give different power outputs.

If you're worried about a bad vehicle - then just do your servicing at N&M for the first 50,000km, by that time any major problems would have surfaced.

I'm almost 100% sure that most of the problems you've heard (well, at least the ones I've heard) are from first-time owners of diesel, and worse yet, common-rail diesel vehicles... who don't know one sheit on how to drive and maintain their vehicles. Things like over-revving their diesel engines (these short-stroke, low redline engines DO NOT like to be high-revved to redline.... it doh have no VTEC to kick in after 3500rpm, FACT!!)... or not using proper diesel additives to keep the fuel lines clean, not changing oil on time, not using turbo timers... and so on.


Look through this forum, there's a crapload of advice from guys who know their sheit about diesels - ppl like venum, team loco, sweeks... and guys like Biggy82 and Sliderz know much more about Nissan vehicles than I do!! Listen to these guys, they know what they talking about (they don't call the diesel boyz, the "Diesel Boyz" for nothing!). Other guys like droppa, rottedV, etc. can tell you more about engines than you'd care to know.


BTW, I don't plan on selling my nav anytime soon - my long term goal is to reach 300,000km like my dad's K34T L200 (he has a TBA-series, one of the first 10 to land in trinidad, in pristine condition, 320,000km on his original 4d56T engine, and it could tow my mom's frontier at 100km on the highway normel-normel).... and when I eventually kill the YD25DDTi - it's gonna be a V6 4.0L Frontier swap for me, or maybe a nice big-block V8 cummings.



As far as value for money - I found that buying a stock 4x4 manual navara was the best value for money - cuz with all the upgrades I listed above, I'm still getting out cheaper than a stock 4x4 automatic hilux with leather seats... and wwwaaayyyy cheaper than a brand new 2012 Ford ranger.
It took me 6 months of intense research, test-driving and blogging about it... and when it came down to buying the vehicle.. I knew I wanted a 4x4, and I knew it was either the Hilux or the Navara in terms of best value. I was *this* close to buying the Hilux, but the very next day I woke up and decided that the Navara was the way to go, esp. since tehre was a $25,000 price difference in similar specs between the Navara and Hilux.


I thought to myself.... why buy the 4x2, when I haver a 4x4 that I know I'm gonna use more than occasionally, plus it will retain better resale value than a glorified 4x2 grocery getter and chrome-magnet/mobile carry-boy accessory display for housewives who drive their trucks like small cars??


Any questions?

wow, hammer yuh swing meh opinion right around there.

If I decide on the nav we'll chat. (may be within the next few months or so)

cheers,
-n

VexXx Dogg wrote:

brawnybro wrote:4 by 4 anyday have you ever driven an unloaded 4 by 2 on a wet road ? no matter what tires you have on son always safer with 4 by 4 traction proven fact

even a 4x4 unloaded on wet road will swing loose on the rear end

doesn't happen as much with my auto sportero as it used to happen with my previous manual l200, but it happens

if you buy a 4x4 and use it like LH then you will be a Happy Dogg

my 3.2L Sportero is really nice

big on comfort and reliability

not the most powerful on the roads, but enough to keep you happy

plenty power on the low end

a bit less robust than the previous model l200, but it can take the stress

NGC has a fleet and them fellas does test them

maintenance isn't too bad, but I use OEM parts only and AMSOIL fluids

the dealer does not bring the 3.2L anymore, but instead is bringing the high output 2.5L

great vehicle, but hey I am biased . . . I am a Mitsu man

brawnybro wrote:I personally use 4wd whenever the roads are wet highway or otherwise .

then you're an idiot.

part-time 4WD vehicles need to slip the wheels when cornering in order to not strain the drive components. using 4WD on high traction surfaces does not allow the wheels to slip and thus causes all the drive components to "bind". this is called "driveline windup" and is normally exhibited by a increasingly stiff steering wheel. when this "binding" gets excessive, it can break gears in the diff, TC and driveshaft bearings.

brawnybro wrote:Tyre wear and maintenance and overall price can never be a consideration over safety for me .

obviously, since you will end up spending a batch on driveline components if you continue to use 4WD on high-traction surfaces

biggy82 wrote:

brawnybro wrote:I personally use 4wd whenever the roads are wet highway or otherwise .

then you're an idiot.

part-time 4WD vehicles need to slip the wheels when cornering in order to not strain the drive components. using 4WD on high traction surfaces does not allow the wheels to slip and thus causes all the drive components to "bind". this is called "driveline windup" and is normally exhibited by a increasingly stiff steering wheel. when this "binding" gets excessive, it can break gears in the diff, TC and driveshaft bearings.

brawnybro wrote:Tyre wear and maintenance and overall price can never be a consideration over safety for me .

obviously, since you will end up spending a batch on driveline components if you continue to use 4WD on high-traction surfaces

thanks for the info tho , then i maybe lucky no probs yet . Thats why the forum is so useful

you're welcome.

sorry for calling you an idiot tho. you just didnt know

actually when i read the comment there i was thinking something similar
that using the 4wd full time would cause damage as the traction / power output would not be required