Driving to Mongolia - advice on mods and supplies to take!

M

Micra_to_Mongolia

Hi guys, new to the forum but was hoping you could possibly help me out and give some guidance on this.

Long story short, we're participating in the 'Mongol Rally' this summer, which will involve driving our 1.0 K11 for 40 ish days through Europe, Iran, the stans, Mongolia etc - plenty of desert and unmade roads.

I was hoping you could give us some advice on how you reckon we should be looking to modify the car to ensure it has the best chance of getting us there. The attached pdf gives an idea of our initial thoughts on modifications (sump + tank guard, better shock absorbers, better tyres?) and supplies to take (filters, oil, general spares).

Would also be great to hear thoughts on the best way to go about the above (e.g. homemade vs bought sump guard, find a garage to do it all for us vs do majority ourselves, recommended garages etc).

Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • Mods & Kit.pdf
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You want it setup like a dirt/gravel rally car in my experience :)
Lots of shielding required. Seems counter productive but close the holes in bumpers, grilles etc on dusty roads either with duct tape or foam. Dust soon kills an engine ad pulleys/bearings suffer most, it gets everywhere

Under-armour is easy to construct but most people forget that parts move and end up causing conflict with said parts.. always build guard with the car jacked up and the wheels hanging down

An easy suspension upgrade is diesel springs all rounds. They'll give you more ground clearance but stay soft enough to absorb punishment. New shocks are also recommended

Smaller narrower wheels are best with higher profile tyres too :)
Icould go on for hours :p
 
Pretty sure K11 diesel springs are same as petrol springs, even if they are advertised as diesel specific springs am sure the part numbers are all identical.
 
I stand corrected:
K11 1.3/1.0
Front:
103mm OD
10mm coil thickness
380mm free length
Rear:
112mm OD
10.75mm coil thickness
332mm free length

K11 1.5D
Front:
103mm OD
10.5mm coil thickness
415mm free length
Rear:
112mm OD
10.75mm coik thickness
332mm free lenth
 
Last edited:
Enuo said:
Pretty sure K11 diesel springs are same as petrol springs, even if they are advertised as diesel specific springs am sure the part numbers are all identical.
Click to expand...
And surely much harder to come by. :O
That's quite a challenge, good luck!
 
how about dual/concentric springs :)

c314612p2389198d4075490.jpg
 
Mounts can be fabricated fairly easily if you've a bit of welding knowledge... If not, find a rally/motorsport place to fab one for you. Shouldn't be too much. Covering the sump and fuel tank/lines is what I'd say to cover. It's not a rally, more like a cruise through the desert from what I've read so the above guards should suffice.

I'd go for uprated dampers, taller springs if can be found, and high profile gravel rally tyres (they're Road legal, or should be anyhow).

I'd go for oil, air filter and oil filter (replace petrol filter before you go). Not quite sure what else
 
Careful with gravel tyres as they are usually a very soft compound so unlikely to last.

Van tyres are usually used on these events.

You can make a tank guard out of the bottom half of another micra fuel tank.
 
Budget winter tyres would be my preference
Long lasting
Decent groove for dispensing sand
Grip well when cold and hot
Cheap too :)
 
Very helpful stuff, thanks!!

Struggling to find any diesel springs - will springs from a 1.5 fit in the 1.0? And in terms of replacement shocks, what sort of price range would you recommend - trying to avoid anything "unnecessarily" good, so to speak?

Initial thought was definitely to go for some long lasting tyres (since we're not racing). Kingpins look good :) will they hold up in the heat though?
 
Presumably you have dizzy caps and rotor arms, plugs HT leads and coil on the pdf, what about a spare ecu and fuse box as well as some inline fuse holders and crimps plus plenty of wire. Throttle body maybe, all that giggling will likely crack the circuit board connections - gas soldering iron. Couple of headlamp lenses. Emergency windscreen. Tyre leavers & inner tubes. All of the gaffer tape and cable ties.
 
Micra_to_Mongolia said:
Very helpful stuff, thanks!!

Struggling to find any diesel springs - will springs from a 1.5 fit in the 1.0? And in terms of replacement shocks, what sort of price range would you recommend - trying to avoid anything "unnecessarily" good, so to speak?

Initial thought was definitely to go for some long lasting tyres (since we're not racing). Kingpins look good :) will they hold up in the heat though?
Click to expand...
The springs are the same width and fit on the standard shock :) just the amount of coils / material thickness varies

Heres a diesel springs:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NISSAN-K1...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item45ff6e23e3

They're a tad expensive but they'll be your best investment
Expect to pat £25 a corner on the shocks. A couple is used spares wouldn't be a bad idea. Chances are if the bump stops are in good condition your shocks will hold out

Take some elecrical tape with you and some plastics bags to cover things like the dizzy, expansion bottles are prone to crack etc
 

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