Overlanding and suspension lift

[DaveB]

I love this one from the Australian testing video. Doesn't matter how good you are when red dirt becomes red mud and you are towing a two tonne generator

 

[globalgregors]

I love this one from the Australian testing video. Doesn't matter how good you are when red dirt becomes red mud and you are towing a two tonne generator
View attachment 7792387

Yeah, indeed. That starts to look like a job for a ‘Mog or Iveco…

 

[bemax]

Bemax, sounds like you are talking about the Landcruiser 200 and 300 series.

I do not why, but the Landcruisers till now are not that often in Germany

 

[bemax]

I love this one from the Australian testing video. Doesn't matter how good you are when red dirt becomes red mud and you are towing a two tonne generator
View attachment 7792387

And to be honest there are quite a lot ways to get in a „less controllable“ state of driving where people with no 4x4 can’t see a problem building up.
For example wet grass on a light slope to the left or right.

 

[DaveB]

It was good

Yeah, indeed. That starts to look like a job for a ‘Mog or Iveco…

It was good to see Justin Hocevar the Australian MD of Ineos getting more than just his hands dirty in some real world driving

 

[DCPU]

I love watching people on the highway in vehicles so heavily loaded for holidays that the front wheels are barely touching the ground. Rear tyres rubbing on the guards.

I hope these were going further than the local Centre Parc.

 

[globalgregors]

I hope these were going further than the local Centre Parc.

View attachment 7792388

Doof… South Africans out and about. Where is that?

 

[DCPU]

Not sure where, more details here:

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[stickshifter]

I'll echo some of the previous comments here.

If you are new to overlanding / off-roading, drive the vehicle stock. Don't make any changes until you feel forced to do so by (1) your actual usage (like regularly getting close to or going over your payload), or by (2) the terrain you want to drive through (rocky trails, etc.).

Specifically:

1. Do not increase tire size unless you regularly bash your undercarriage or face other problems of ground clearance. Increasing tire size robs you of some power, might disrupt suspension geometry resulting in poor handling or other problems, and might necessitate other vehicle modifications - like a suspension lift or re-gearing the axles; these modifications get expensive and might void your warranty. If you eventually decide you want larger tires, do lots of research, and go into it with eyes wide open. Lastly, 31-inch tires are more easily replaced globally than larger tires, are cheaper than larger tires, will yield better fuel-economy than larger tires, and will place less strain on your steering components and suspension than larger tires. And this is coming from an American who prefers larger tires - that's a reference to an earlier comment on this thread

2. Do not add a suspension lift in order to increase payload. The Grenadier comes with excellent payload for its class. If you get into overlanding in such a way that you feel limited by the stock payload, then start looking into modifications that you know you need (based on lived experience). Or consider a reassessment of your gear and try to travel a little lighter. In general, as a vehicle gets heavier stuff starts to break. Then you can go down a rabbit hole of upgrading various components to beefier versions, which are heavier, etc. etc.

A lot of research went into designing this vehicle. It might work perfectly for you in stock form. Planning on adding extra lights is one thing, but I wouldn't plan on making any changes to tire-size or suspension until you know you can't live without those changes.

I'd say "that's my two cents" but due to inflation, "that's my $25"

 

[grenadierboy]

I'll echo some of the previous comments here.

If you are new to overlanding / off-roading, drive the vehicle stock. Don't make any changes until you feel forced to do so by (1) your actual usage (like regularly getting close to or going over your payload), or by (2) the terrain you want to drive through (rocky trails, etc.).

Specifically:

1. Do not increase tire size unless you regularly bash your undercarriage or face other problems of ground clearance. Increasing tire size robs you of some power, might disrupt suspension geometry resulting in poor handling or other problems, and might necessitate other vehicle modifications - like a suspension lift or re-gearing the axles; these modifications get expensive and might void your warranty. If you eventually decide you want larger tires, do lots of research, and go into it with eyes wide open. Lastly, 31-inch tires are more easily replaced globally than larger tires, are cheaper than larger tires, will yield better fuel-economy than larger tires, and will place less strain on your steering components and suspension than larger tires. And this is coming from an American who prefers larger tires - that's a reference to an earlier comment on this thread

2. Do not add a suspension lift in order to increase payload. The Grenadier comes with excellent payload for its class. If you get into overlanding in such a way that you feel limited by the stock payload, then start looking into modifications that you know you need (based on lived experience). Or consider a reassessment of your gear and try to travel a little lighter. In general, as a vehicle gets heavier stuff starts to break. Then you can go down a rabbit hole of upgrading various components to beefier versions, which are heavier, etc. etc.

A lot of research went into designing this vehicle. It might work perfectly for you in stock form. Planning on adding extra lights is one thing, but I wouldn't plan on making any changes to tire-size or suspension until you know you can't live without those changes.

I'd say "that's my two cents" but due to inflation, "that's my $25"

Agree and add that, even if you not new to overlanding/off-roading - then maybe still not make immediate changes, as stickshift suggests, until you have driven the IG in the planned terrain.

 

[stickshifter]

Agree and add that, even if you not new to overlanding/off-roading - then maybe still not make immediate changes, as stickshift suggests, until you have driven the IG in the planned terrain.

My first thought was "I couldn't agree more".

On second thought, I do think that if one has a lot of experience with a vehicle that has similar dimensions to the Grenadier (length, wheel base, approach & departure angles) and similar capabilities (solid axles, locking differentials front & rear, low range 4-wheel drive, decent wheel articulation), then one can anticipate with reasonable accuracy how the Grenadier will perform in terrain that one knows well.

I drove a 4-door JK Wrangler Rubicon for years, and over time, progressively built it up to handle the terrain I wanted to drive. Our Jeep came on 32-inch tires, was shorter than the Grenadier, identical wheelbase, better approach & departure angles, similar breakover angle, locking diffs, disconnectable front anti-sway bar, and a much lower crawl ratio. But we eventually moved up to 35s, and replaced the front axle which we had bent; at the same time, we replaced all the front-end steering components (tie rod, track bar, drag link, and ball joints). We also had a 2.5 inch suspension lift and aftermarket shocks. Of course the stock Jeep did fine on dirt roads, but the hard trails we were driving were both steep and rocky, including the trail up to our off-grid cabin. I can't tell you how much nicer it was driving up there on 35s. We could make the drive without repeated hard impacts to the undercarriage. It was relaxed, and actually fun, whereas on the stock Jeep it was pretty uncomfortable, and damaging to the vehicle. A three-inch increase in tire size, and a suspension lift made all the difference. Since getting rid of the Jeep five years ago, we've been hiking or skiing that access road to get to the cabin, but that is getting a little old - hence I'm in the market for a new vehicle. The goal is to find a vehicle that can drive that road (and other similar trails), be better built and more reliable than the old JK, and also drive on-road with better acceleration and more comfort than the old JK.

I'm hard pressed to imagine that a stock Grenadier on 31s will outperform a new stock JL Wrangler Rubicon on 33s in technical rocky terrain. They will each do some things better than the other, and I know that both will suffer a lot of impact to the undercarriage on the road to our cabin.

Its equally obvious to me that the Grenadier will be able to haul twice the payload as a Wrangler, and tow over twice as much as the Wrangler. I'm also anticipating that - with forced induction and Brembo brakes - it will drive better on road. That's why I'm here. If it checks all these boxes, I'm all in.

 

[DenisM]

I hope these were going further than the local Centre Parc.

View attachment 7792388

Lane-keeping sensor obviously not working.... perhaps it was a loose nut holding the steering wheel... "#all the gear/no idea" comes to mind...

 

[Bushguide]

Does anyone know if there is any provision to have an antenna cable threaded through to the inner cabin from the front Roo Bar to cater for a UHF or HF radio?

 

[DCPU]

There certainly seems to be no shortage of holes in the front bulkhead.

 

[emax]

But I am afraid they are there 'on purpose' - not for free use ...

 

[Stu_Barnes]

Hopefully they’ll leave at least one bulkhead penetration with blind grommets fitted. If not I’m sure it won’t take long before we have some feedback on where to drill

 

[DCPU]

It's usually possible to squeeze a single extra cable through an existing grommet.

There's clearly the holes for the steering column for both left and right hand drive. I've not seen any photos to show whether the "spare" hole is just fitted with a blind grommet or utilsed for another reason.

Who knows, as part of the vehicle functionality, there may even be a dedicated cableway for reasons such as the OP was looking for?

This man probably knows...

 

[stickshifter]

It's usually possible to squeeze a single extra cable through an existing grommet.

There's clearly the holes for the steering column for both left and right hand drive. I've not seen any photos to show whether the "spare" hole is just fitted with a blind grommet or utilsed for another reason.

Who knows, as part of the vehicle functionality, there may even be a dedicated cableway for reasons such as the OP was looking for?

This man probably knows... View attachment 7792520

DCPU - do you have a spy in the factory?

 

[DCPU]

LOL, I wish...

 

[DaveB]

I do not why, but the Landcruisers till now are not that often in Germany

Landcruisers became big in Australia during construction of the Snowy Mountain Hydro Electric dam project. As they are made in Japan, which is right hand drive market, the same as Australia there was no modification needed. European and American vehicles were all left hand drive so needed to be converted.