[ninjamoses]

Just thinking out loud here... after my recent Pilbara trip I've got a bit of a taste for touring so I've been doing a bit of looking around at larger vehicles.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with auto V6 GVs running substantially bigger boots than factory? From my dodgy calculations, even changing to 5.12 gears (from the 4.8 standard) would only let you go to a 28.4" diameter tyre and retain standard gearing - a hell of a long way short of the 235/85/16 tyres (~31.6" diameter) I'd be wanting to run.

The manual GVs are much better suited on paper as they came with 4.3 ratios standard so swapping to 5.12s is a considerable reduction, however the more I think about it the more I'm liking the idea of an auto considering the purpose of the vehicle.

Anyone had any experience with either? Would the auto be a pig to drive or does the V6 combined with the auto trans make up for it? The last thing I want is for it to struggle on hills when loaded up and chew juice like its going out of fashion.

[atari4x4]

pretty sure the early auto will have an alloy front diff.

[Brett]

i run 31's on std gearing with a 1.6 auto lwb vitara. i get the same k's to the tank than my last 1.6 manual lwb on 235s with a newer engine. i get 400ks to 40 litres. the auto on 215s gets 510k to a tank. auto never labours the engine and revs 500 rpm lower at 100.

my bet is the v6 would do it even easer but go a auto

[ninjamoses]

atari4x4 wrote:

pretty sure the early auto will have an alloy front diff.

I'd be keeping the diffs out of mine if I was to change over so that wouldn't be a problem.

On that note, anyone happen to know the year the auto V6s changed to steel? Was it the series 2, which I believe was mid 2000?

[Built4thrashing]

Its a hit and miss with the autos and steel diffs. Not sure and cant pinpoint when they changed permantely.

Autos would work well with slightly larger tyres as they can stall up when offroad.

The biggest tyres you will fit on a GV without cutting heaps of plastic after a 2-3 inch lift is a 245/75/16 (31in). Non airbag models can be bodylifted so you could even push it to 33's.

Vitara gearing will fit so there are other diff ratios out there from the states. And there is even crawler gears.

[shabz]

ninjamoses wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

pretty sure the early auto will have an alloy front diff.

I'd be keeping the diffs out of mine if I was to change over so that wouldn't be a problem.

On that note, anyone happen to know the year the auto V6s changed to steel? Was it the series 2, which I believe was mid 2000?

Pretty sure it was mid 2001. Easy way to tell is by the updated front grill (even though its still the older interior - they didn't update the interior till 2003 i think).
Mine is either July or August 2001, so its one of the first 'series 2' models. Comes standard with air bags, but no ABS. thats the v6 'sports' model. The 'sports limited' comes with leather and some other fancy interior stuff.

Mines manual so i can't comment on the auto thing.

[gregdixon]

I didn't think any GV auto had steel front housings. I am sure the one my gears came from was a later model and it was alloy.

[truongski]

I bought a 2004 GV Auto over the weekend. Came with EFS lift and 225/75 MT ATZ. We bought it to replace the fiance's Festiva. One thing I did notice, is boot in ridiculously small. You'd fit 1 suit case in there. I don't know how you'd go touring though. If you can fold down the rear seats, it would help. Roof racks and roof basket would be a priority.

As for fuel economy, we've only done about 100 odd k's. The auto is fine. It feels a little sluggish, but does the job. The speedo is slow by about 7km/h @ 100km/h.

I think upgrading the diff ratios and other things like manual hubs, exhaust upgrade, snorkel - should help.

Either way we are happy with the car.

[Mugwui]

With a bunch of mods, I'm running Manual V6, 5.12's 31 x 11 1/2 muds and that brings it back to standard gearing.
Yesterday I fitted 265/70R16 and noticed a difference right away.
Definitely revs higher. Yet to check the speedo with the GPS.

[ninjamoses]

Cheers guys for the feedback so far.

truongski wrote:

I bought a 2004 GV Auto over the weekend. Came with EFS lift and 225/75 MT ATZ. We bought it to replace the fiance's Festiva. One thing I did notice, is boot in ridiculously small. You'd fit 1 suit case in there. I don't know how you'd go touring though. If you can fold down the rear seats, it would help. Roof racks and roof basket would be a priority.

As for fuel economy, we've only done about 100 odd k's. The auto is fine. It feels a little sluggish, but does the job. The speedo is slow by about 7km/h @ 100km/h.

I think upgrading the diff ratios and other things like manual hubs, exhaust upgrade, snorkel - should help.

Either way we are happy with the car.

Thanks mate. Considering they have got about a metre more interior and roof space than my current bus I reckon they'd be pretty bloody good space wise

Thats 2" bigger than standard, so by my reasoning I'd only be about 3" bigger than standard if I was to drop in 5.12s so hopefully would be okay.

[Built4thrashing]

Your gonna really struggle to fit the 235/85/16 tyres without some creative hammering.

[truongski]

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[ninjamoses]

Built4thrashing wrote:

Your gonna really struggle to fit the 235/85/16 tyres without some creative hammering.

Hammer and body lift should do the trick I reckon!

Just dreams at this stage anyway, will have a think about it some more

[shabz]

I think you'll be pretty impressed with where a GV can go with just 2" lift and 29" tyres can go...especially if it's more for touring. As others have said any more than that and you'll have to get creative with a grinder and hammer.

[Gwagensteve]

ninjamoses wrote:

Built4thrashing wrote:

Your gonna really struggle to fit the 235/85/16 tyres without some creative hammering.

Hammer and body lift should do the trick I reckon!

You're going to need a pretty big hammer. Clearance around the front edge of the rear guard is very tight and there's limits to what can be done as the door is in the way.

Auto's are far more forgiving than manuals as far as gearing bigger tyres. Autos effectively have 2.4 times lower gearing off idle due to the converter ratio, and there's some room cruising too as you can split top gear due to converter lockup.

Steve.

[MacDaddy]

Good thinking... you wont be disappointed by the GV as a tourer, and you wont feel sore or ache at the end of the days trip, very comfy, and they are a good 4x4 with a few simple mods...

The auto version would be great for touring, but they do use more go juice than the manual, and i have heard that the auto doesnt like getting too hot, so if working hard offroad, it will heat up and reduce efficiency... but an oil cooler will fix that problem... personally, i would always go for a manual option...

The stock suspension doesnt have much load carrying capacity, its very soft/comfortable, and has a fair bit of body roll, when cornering, and will droop with even a slight load, but a suspension upgrade/lift, will improve that greatly, and give you much more load carrying capacity...

As for room inside, the area behind the back seats is fairly small, but i could get four suitcases in there... but lower the back seats down, and there is about 3 times the volume of a SWB Vit... and if you were to lay the front seats down as well, you could easily sleep inside with straight legs...

As for tyres, unless you are going to take it offroad a fair bit, i wouldnt bother with tyres that big... i have 225/70's on mine, and i think Greg has 235/75's on his, must be a tight fit... the rear wheel arch is the smallest, i measured the widest part of the wheel arch, and it was just over 30in, my 225/70's measured at 29.5in in diameter, so i went with those to give me enough room for the tyre to move within the rear wheel arch... only cutting and hammering would fit a bigger tyre, but would you do that on a GV if its mostly a tourer..

[Built4thrashing]

Quote:

As for room inside, the area behind the back seats is fairly small, but i could get four suitcases in there... but lower the back seats down, and there is about 3 times the volume of a SWB Vit... and if you were to lay the front seats down as well, you could easily sleep inside with straight legs...

You must be a short ass. I looked st sleeping in mine and there was no way as the base of the back seat folds forward against the back of front seats.

[Eddy]

Built4thrashing wrote:

Quote:

As for room inside, the area behind the back seats is fairly small, but i could get four suitcases in there... but lower the back seats down, and there is about 3 times the volume of a SWB Vit... and if you were to lay the front seats down as well, you could easily sleep inside with straight legs...

You must be a short ass. I looked st sleeping in mine and there was no way as the base of the back seat folds forward against the back of front seats.

remove the back seat entirely. Only four bolts and out she comes. switch to 2 door seats for the front, as they move way forward.

[MacDaddy]

Built4thrashing wrote:

Quote:

As for room inside, the area behind the back seats is fairly small, but i could get four suitcases in there... but lower the back seats down, and there is about 3 times the volume of a SWB Vit... and if you were to lay the front seats down as well, you could easily sleep inside with straight legs...

You must be a short ass. I looked st sleeping in mine and there was no way as the base of the back seat folds forward against the back of front seats.

Ha ha, nope not that short... if you were going touring or camping, you take the base of the back seat out, easy to unbolt, then you slide the the front seats fully back, and then lay them forward, throw in a foam mattress, and Bingo !

[MacDaddy]

Eddy wrote:

Built4thrashing wrote:

Quote:

As for room inside, the area behind the back seats is fairly small, but i could get four suitcases in there... but lower the back seats down, and there is about 3 times the volume of a SWB Vit... and if you were to lay the front seats down as well, you could easily sleep inside with straight legs...

You must be a short ass. I looked st sleeping in mine and there was no way as the base of the back seat folds forward against the back of front seats.

remove the back seat entirely. Only four bolts and out she comes. switch to 2 door seats for the front, as they move way forward.

Beat me to it, ha ha...

[nobes]

Don't want to steal the thread but has anyone fitted 225/75 16' to a Manual GV (mines 98) together with 5.12 gears?
Whats it rev like on the highway?
Its been a little hard to find any spares in tassie but i have just stumble upon a 2001 Auto GV which looks to be a 2.0l, so apparently this has 5.12 gearing.
ideally i am after 4.8 gearing.

[VitNick]

Last post was 2011, plenty of info around about diff gearing . In good tech there is a thread for Vit diff rartios

[got_bar_work]

Auto 2l will be 4.8