Which Ute To Buy

[Trust33]

i want to buy a ute for work/personal transport. and im looking to buy it in lpg/gas.

these are the utes i was looking at.

nissan navara

ford falcon au

mazda bravo dx

in particular will the 4cyl's have the power to pull a track car arroud? the track car would be arround the weight of a stripped and caged silvia on a trailer. allong with some spare tyres and tools.

[thatjonokid]

i want to buy a ute for work/personal transport. and im looking to buy it in lpg/gas.

these are the utes i was looking at.

nissan navara

ford falcon au

mazda bravo dx

in particular will the 4cyl's have the power to pull a track car arroud? the track car would be arround the weight of a stripped and caged silvia on a trailer. allong with some spare tyres and tools.

go the falcon mate, much better torque for towing, higher spec interior, larger tray and as far as economy you can LPG the things for dirt cheap

cheers, jono

[evil_weevil]

Id be looking at the falcon too Craig.

The 6 cyl is pretty torquey!

If you going one of the other ones, I'd look at a deiseal model

And when you say a silvia....whats happening with the 33 mate!?!?

[Duncan]

ugh falcons suck. well I guess towing is one thing they are good at.

but they still suck.

I originally used the 2.4 navara which was underpowered but acceptable - it couldn't keep to 110 on the freeway up hills though, dropped as low as 70 on catherine hill one the hume hwy. but it was so cheap and fine the rest of the time so i forgave it. also was rated to tow 3t so it was actually legal.

I'm happier with the stagea but it was much more expensive $10k so its not really in the cheap range. still excellent value tho

[Duncan]

oh the navara has 320000klm and is still going as well as it ever did lol

[Trust33]

Id be looking at the falcon too Craig.

The 6 cyl is pretty torquey!

If you going one of the other ones, I'd look at a deiseal model

And when you say a silvia....whats happening with the 33 mate!?!?

im going to sell it in the not to distant future mate. it's costing me a fortune to run it everyday with high 98ron petrol prices, insureance, reg. and giving it the regular oil changes etc. the silvia will be is lighter as standard. and should have a fun ammount of power. and be cheaper to maintain.

[Trust33]

oh the navara has 320000klm and is still going as well as it ever did lol

gold. thats what i wanted to hear.it does the job. a bit slow on the freeways though. but like u said it can be forgiven for it's cheap running costs.

whats the furthest youve taken it with the race car on the back?

[Duncan]

only to wakie but it has never left me stranded in the 3 year's I've had it. apart from oil the only thing it needed was a radiator and water pump (they were farked). Oh and the head gasket was blown when I got it but chemiweld fixed that.

so, it has been super reliable and a good choice for cheap car. but a foulcan would be just as good i guess.

the main things i looked for were running well, aircon, powersteer and a tow bar. And its funny how many cars had one or more of those things not working but the dealer still advertised it lol.

[evil_weevil]

Craig,

yeah good point mate, let me know when you do sell the 33, I want dib's on some parts

My r31 "can" tow but not sure how long it would last though

What about a Nissan Patrol?

[Trust33]

the patrol is a bit of a guzzler id imagine. got decent torque for the kw. but all diesels are like that.

Make NISSAN

Family PATROL

Model Variant Ti 4x4

Car Series

Year 1991

Doors and Body Style 4D WAGON

Engine Size 4.2litres (4169 cc)

Fuel System DIESEL

Cylinders D6

Driven Wheels 4WD

Std Transmission 5M4x4

Optional Transmission 4A4x4 opt

Standard Features Air Conditioning, Central Locking, Limited Slip Differential, Power Mirrors, Power Steering, Power Windows, Radio Cassette

Optional Features

(Features offered when new and not necessarily on this car.)

Dealer Options

No Cost Options

Bore and Stroke 96x96mm

Power 85KW

Torque 264Nm

Weight to Power Ratio 25.41 : 1kg/kW

Front Brakes DV

Rear Brakes DV

Wheel Dimension 10Rx15

Turning Circle 13.4m

Compression Ratio 22.7

Final Ratio 3.9

Tank Capacity 95litres

Exterior Length 4810mm

Exterior Width 1930mm

Exterior Height 1995mm

Front Track 1580mm

Rear Track 1585mm

Wheel Base 2970mm

Front Suspension RiA; 3-link coil springs with leading arms panhard

Rear Suspension RiA; 5-link coil springs panhard rod telescopic sh

Kerb Weight 2160kg

Ground Clearance 235mm

Seating Capacity 7

Highway Fuel Consumption 0 (lt/100km)

City Fuel Consumption 0 (lt/100km)

Towing Capacity 2500kg

Release Date 01/12/1989

Discontinued Date 31/01/1992

New Price (standard) 42198

Average Kms 0

Model Run

VIN Location Rear Driver Side Chassis

Country of Origin JAPAN

[Trust33]

what parts are you after?

[Trust33]

im just curious duncan is your navara 3 tonne capable?

here are the specs for towing capacity from drive.com

1986 model

Make NISSAN

Family NAVARA

DUAL CAB P/UP rwd

Towing Capacity 1000kg

Make NISSAN

Family NAVARA

Model Variant ST 4x4

DUAL CAB P/UP

Towing Capacity 1000kg

4x4 in 2.5l has a tow capacity of 1500kg

[Duncan]

yeah it is, I have the workshop manual with all the details so drive is not correct (OMG internet wrong!). the trailer is over 2t with the gtr on it, but I would hate to see how it pulls with a full 3t. Like the patrol it has no power but low down torque is OK and the commerical clutch takes absolute abuse without any slipping. its the dual cab rwd.

pete was running an rb30 patrol I think it was fine too. they are all similar - slow but will do the job. plus I couldn't buy a car from anyone except nissan lol

[Neil]

Duncan are you baiting me?.

You must excuse Duncan,,,If Nissan stop making cars and started making push-bikes he would buy 4 of them and tell the world there the best.

The Navara while a great vehicle,very reliable and drifts well is a very slow tow vehicle. The hill out of Goulburn sees it doing 60 kays max,,,no about 40,,,

the old EF falcon wagon is doing 90 kays. Easy maths 2.4 against 4.0,,,carby against EFI. It's a no brainer.

Now the Stagea is a different kettle of fish,,,absolutely beautiful wagon,,,all the mod cons,,,but IRS,,,NO thanks. I can see the rear end dragging it's arse all around NSW in the not to distant future.

My advice would be to buy a single cab ute with leaf springs and with one of those lockable canopies. Dual cabs just don't have the room.

Now a LWB Patrol would be great or a Falcon Wagon with an extra leaf or what I did and had installed polyair helpers.

Neil.

[FATAZZ]

i had 1 of those AU falcon utes on gas as a work ute,had some heavy heavy truck parts on the tray

and it always performed well and had nice air con nice and roomy inside, and my fav the stereo buttons on the steering wheel.Was a good cruiser for coming back from a hard days work.

oh yeh it was auto too.also shift kits help for towing too.not just for chirping.

and theres plenty of places who sell/install air bag systems for towing.

but i like the look of the Navara's

[Sydneykid]

Personally I wouldn't have another ute as a tow car, it has zero security for your valuables when you park it. Guys in the race team have lost wheels, tyres, jacks, tool kits and plenty of spares out of utes. Park it for 20 minutes while you go and have dinner or a drink after a race meeting and bingo it's an open supermarket in the back of your tow car. It got to the stage where I packed up after a race meeting and never stopped until I got back to the workshop. In the rain (it always rains at race meetings) we used to get a swimming pool in the back whenever we had more stuff than the tonneau would cover.

Then there is the passenger problem, take 2 guys with you and you have to take 2 cars everywhere. So we gave up on utes about 10 years ago, everyone in the race team now has either a waggon or a 4wd.

As for IRS being a problem, that's ancient history and pretty much a mythe these days. I have been towing the race cars around with the Stagea for 3 years, not had a problem. My trailers have always had load equalising stabiliser bars on them, so there is no up and down motion on the draw bar. Ad some decent shocks, which the Stagea needs for everyday driving anyway, that's about all else plus the electronic brake controller of course. Waggons are the go. An example, for the 24 hour, tow the race car to Bathurst empty out the waggon, into the pits. Stick 5 guys in it and go everywhere for the weekend, no need for 2 cars.

Automatic, never manual, and 4wd are an advantage, remember it rains at every race meeting and getting out of the pits in a 2wd manual ute is next to impossible.

I have had 9 tow cars over the years and the Stagea is the best at towing and daily driving of all of them. It just needs a bigger fuel tank, 65 litres gets you nowhere when you have 4 tonnes to move.

Cheers

Gary

[RNGTR]

Id go a AU Wagon on gas, its cheap & ugly sure, but will do the job without fuss. Wagon will have plenty of room to chuck stuff in & has the extra row of seats a ute wont have.

[giant]

i have a new petrol navara, great tow car power and speed wise good for 150 kph odd with trailer behind! lol

but absolutely sh!t house for fuel consumption!

[Duncan]

hmm not good news. I was deciding between petrol and diesel for the new pathfinder....guess you've made the decision for me. BTW I'm with Gary on wagon v ute, but they are all in a totally different price range to what Craig is looking for

[giant]

yeah dunc go diesel ! we dont see anymore than 300/350 kay when towing on 80 litre tank!