So... what car do you guys drive when not flying?

Not a fan of air suspensions, not compliant enough for me.
Current drive is on steel but a replacement is nigh and it will be on bags much to my disappointment
 
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Buzzard said:
Just hit 170k. I'm about to replace the suspension as the rear shocks have just started seeping.
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Not a lot of km!. Are you going the full recondition and replace the bushings too?.

There is definitely an argument for keeping a car for an extended period.

My 2005 Chrysler Grand Voyager 4 Spd 3.3V6 now 190000km. Worth prob $8k but it’s recently had a complete rebuild of the gearbox and I’ve put in a new Kenwood head unit with Apple CarPlay which fits neatly into the dash fascia so it’s looks OEM and spent another $3k fixing up dents etc that was built up over the years.

One thing I did do when the tranny was rebuilt was to change out the engine mounts. They were cracked.
 
Depends on what the weather is like as to whether I go topless in my Boxster or whether I take out my WRX. Both have less than 40k on the clock.
 
My simple equation is that I will not own a vehicle that is not under warranty.
My current drive is just out of extended warranty and if/when the hpfp dies.. it's a $9k >$17k repair.
I give my Toyota driving friends curry , but tractor jokes aside, the make has a stellar reputation for reliability
 
Today, we got back from a 2,500 km run in drive along the Murray to Broken Hill. Only issue was a mud flap that had to be replaced, probably because I snagged it on something. Fuel consumption was 7.2 lt/100km, which isn't bad for something with over 300 old style horses. Still loving it. The seats are a real high point.
 
Quickstatus said:
What are the usual issues with air suspension
Im sure Landrover will be a pricey repair as well even though its owned by the Indians
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Compressor failure as they are small and running a lot.

Strut failure, pipe leaks, valves failing and once you get one of these the compressor can't keep up. There are sensors and all the electrical that goes with that.

Go for old fashion mechanical springs.

Having said that there are some good American air systems for aftermarket serious off-roaders. The beauty of the Americans is it's all there to see and check unlike the Europeans.

As I've got older in more interested in simplicity and reliability over push button height adjustment from the drivers seat.
 
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jb747 said:
which isn't bad for something with over 300 old style horses. Still loving it. The seats are a real high point.
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How was the handling on dirt roads?. Did you encounter any corrugations - how did it go in corrugations?

Buzzard said:
Never gave that much thought but now that you mention it, probably a good idea.
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There are quite a few bushings scattered over the suspensions. If you use an aftermarket suspension provider they will ask you about polyurethane or rubber bushings. Rubber less stiff than poly.
 
tgh said:
Not a fan of air suspensions, not compliant enough for me.
Current drive is on steel but a replacement is nigh and it will be on bags much to my disappointment
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What are you using as your basis for that comment? Like all suspensions, they range from firm to soft, but those I've driven, I've found to be very compliant.
 
BAM1748 said:
Benz c180, need something heavy and under powered as its Miss 23 yo third car already!
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Sounds like some driver training might be a good investment.

When my son got his licence, I put him into a new RAV4. It had airbags, stability control, etc. I've never understood the logic of putting your kids in vehicles without decent safety features.

12 years later, he's still driving it.
 
We didn't take the RRS off road to any degree this trip. But, the LR4 that preceded it went down many. Took it down the Oodnadatta track a few years ago, and it went out to western Vic on shooting trips many times. It was way better on those roads than the Toyota that came before it, which would axle tramp terribly. I think you could say that they weren't an issue.
 
jb747 said:
What are you using as your basis for that comment? Like all suspensions, they range from firm to soft, but those I've driven, I've found to be very compliant.
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Time rolls on …had a 95Classic , it certainly went where it was pointed compared to the coil sprung edition that preceded it.
Test drove the bagged version of the current wheels and unimpressed .. but to each his own.. :)
 
jb747 said:
It was way better on those roads than the Toyota that came before it, which would axle tramp terribly. I think you could say that they weren't an issue.
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Was that the live front axle cruiser?.

My Toyota 200series Landruiser has aftermarket bags inside the rear springs. The payload was only about 600kg beore it hit GVM limit.

The weight issue was:
300kg towball weight for the horse float
85kg diesel
350kg self loading freight (5 pax)
90kg luggage
50kg roof rack stuff
Putting us Nearly 300kg above GVM.
The aftermarket airbags pumped to 10psi would more or less level the vehicle during these weightyvsituations but return the vehicle to near factory setting when unencumbered
 
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