GQ X-Cab Ute - Daily and weekend rig.

[surrender]

Yeah it is definitely all about compromise. It's a tricky balance to find sometimes, though I have driven a GQ ute that was built for touring and tough tracks, it ran 37" creepies full time and drove great (obviously not quiet and smooth like A/T's) but I could still happily live with it, I think it came down to the fact it wasn't lifted super high. The body lift in my truck is letting me down, it's just 2" of height I don't need. That will be dealt with eventually, first thing is getting the suspension sorted.

The new longer superflex arms are definitely looking promising although I am very much liking the x-link idea as dobbins have the locking pin which will drive just like it does now and then unlock it in the bush and there goes all the binding issues with the radius arms.. I think once you get the right balance of hardcore/touring it's a combination that can't be beat, no tow car, just pack it up and go anywhere, that idea really appeals to me. What are your plans for touring/camper setup on the back of your ute Ben-e-boy?

[Ben-e-boy]

I think it depends on your idea of handling.

I want mine to handle as good if not better than stock. (mine is 4 inch lift, long arm rear, superflex front and adjustable king shocks). At the moment I can easily take the ute in an out of understeer (dirt or bitumen), its very controllable with fine throttle adjustment even though I have no ability to make adjustment to increase/decrease understeer, Its just what mr nissan gave me and that is my limiting factor and I can deal with it as I am hitting a corner pretty dam fast when it decides to let go.
Oversteer is good to a point where if you get it out too far the lack of sway bar (just need extended links and drill and tap superflex arms and they will be reinstalled) come into play when you correct, the body flops around and unsettles it wiping off whatever speed I had or directing me to the closest tree then the closest toilet lmao
If I just put it into oversteer when exiting a corner as fast as possible as opposed to 'drifting' if you could call it that lol, again its controllable with fine throttle adjustment the rear just squats down and sits there and even though I have broken traction its still putting power to the ground and still accelerating at a decent rate (as much as my boosted diesel will give me).

with a few more add ons and adjustment I think I will accomplish what I set out to do handling wise

As for the tray I have a thread in the DIY section. Its just a google sketchup drawing atm I havent done anything more than that.
I have a 130L tank under the tray which I need to get modified so I can sit it lower and it wont foul on the drive shaft. I am going to build the tray as low as possible. This is where comprimise really starts to kick in. Its probably going to be heavy, and space is going to be taken up by wheel arches and I need to make provisions for shock mounts. I would like to section the rest of the tray for storage and have it so when it is enclosed I have a nice level area to sleep on, then most likely a cage and canvas canopy. Still all on paper at the moment it will no doubt change in time.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...my-tray-design

This is where it sits in the flex department (although it looks stupid on the 31's but its the most recent shot lmao)


flex new shocks.jpg

[rusty_nail]

This is where it sits in the flex department (although it looks stupid on the 31's but its the most recent shot lmao)


flex new shocks.jpg

the 31's look tough mate!!! haha

[Ben-e-boy]

the 31's look tough mate!!! haha

for a rollerskate lmfao

[surrender]

I think it depends on your idea of handling.

I want mine to handle as good if not better than stock. (mine is 4 inch lift, long arm rear, superflex front and adjustable king shocks). At the moment I can easily take the ute in an out of understeer (dirt or bitumen), its very controllable with fine throttle adjustment even though I have no ability to make adjustment to increase/decrease understeer, Its just what mr nissan gave me and that is my limiting factor and I can deal with it as I am hitting a corner pretty dam fast when it decides to let go.
Oversteer is good to a point where if you get it out too far the lack of sway bar (just need extended links and drill and tap superflex arms and they will be reinstalled) come into play when you correct, the body flops around and unsettles it wiping off whatever speed I had or directing me to the closest tree then the closest toilet lmao
If I just put it into oversteer when exiting a corner as fast as possible as opposed to 'drifting' if you could call it that lol, again its controllable with fine throttle adjustment the rear just squats down and sits there and even though I have broken traction its still putting power to the ground and still accelerating at a decent rate (as much as my boosted diesel will give me).

with a few more add ons and adjustment I think I will accomplish what I set out to do handling wise

As for the tray I have a thread in the DIY section. Its just a google sketchup drawing atm I havent done anything more than that.
I have a 130L tank under the tray which I need to get modified so I can sit it lower and it wont foul on the drive shaft. I am going to build the tray as low as possible. This is where comprimise really starts to kick in. Its probably going to be heavy, and space is going to be taken up by wheel arches and I need to make provisions for shock mounts. I would like to section the rest of the tray for storage and have it so when it is enclosed I have a nice level area to sleep on, then most likely a cage and canvas canopy. Still all on paper at the moment it will no doubt change in time.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...my-tray-design

This is where it sits in the flex department (although it looks stupid on the 31's but its the most recent shot lmao)

Yeah it definitely depends on what you want out of it too. I don't do too much high speed stuff off road, but I still want decent on road manners from it. Still tossing up what I wanna do with the rear sway bar, am thinking of maybe going a currie style setup to keep it working well while keeping the handling reasonable. I think I need to just drive it some more and find out where I want to make changes and go from there. Just got the truck back about half an hour ago, the rear end feels 10x better now on road with the panhard back in, took it for a quick bash then and the rear end still works fine, don't feel it as much as I thought I would. Like I said, time will tell where I wanna go with the rest of it. I imagine your kings made a good difference too? Quality shocks are such an improvement, some people don't really think about it that much.

Your tray idea looks excellent, utilising the space underneath is essential, my chassis has been shortened and in turn my fuel tank is up next to the cab, I am thinking of putting another fuel tank and water tank in the existing space, then a cage and canopy for storage and the dog, with a roof top tent ontop of it all. It shouldn't really be too difficult, just a matter of planning it out and gettin it done. Having a super capable go anywhere touring rig is gonna be great.

Here are some pictures of the rear end with the panhard back in, the original plan was to move the shocks again, this time to the front of the diff so the panhard could go in and wouldn't foul the shocks. Was much easier just to move the panhard mount on the diff and make up a bracket that spaces it out enough to clear the shocks. No need to mess around with the rest of the setup.

This is the bracket and how the panhard sits now:



and here is where I will put some more fuel and water:

[surrender]

You are getting real good flex with the long arm/superflex combo too, I will definitely be keeping my options open. I think a bit of work on the cage and the possible removal of the body lift is next on my list. Right after new tyres anyway.

[surrender]

Went for a play the other day, didn't have anybody to take real action shots but heres a couple photos of it dirty and one of it after a clean..








After a quick rinse..

[Ben-e-boy]

where are the flex shots

[surrender]

I'll get some decent ones tomorrow when I head out as long as you promise not to laugh at the lack of front end flex! It's already covered in dirt again after I cleaned it the other day. I also cut the lower windscreen bar off and it's much better, don't think structural integrity was compromised too much but visibility is a shitload better and now it will be engineered very soon.

[DX grunt]

The 'floodway' you went through, is about my limit, too. PML.