Suspention mods for the desert

T

Tonka

Hi guys and girls.....been reading through stuff on here and you lot seem like the people in the "know"
I'm driving from here to Mali in Africa in a 1990 1Ltr...through the sahara etc etc...the cars pretty much ready to go...but i would like to raise it a bit not just for the desert but also what is laughingly reffered to as roads in Africa!!!
Now i've read about the rally guys on here using uprated shock's and other exotic goodies...what i'm looking for is the budget option :blush:

Is there any taller shocks/struts from other Nissans that would do the job???....Any advise would be very very welcome!!!...Just don't fancy a hole in the sump..:eek:
I'm usually part of a Fiat forum (Don't all shout at once!!!) and we get such requests from newbies so lets see how friendly you guys are..:redface:

One more thing...I love the "Old school" micra design...there you go..is that enough sucking up to you lot??!!..:laugh:

Many thanks in advance.....Kev
 
a k10 :D
you might have to go down a custom route for this, i dont know of any "heightening" parts.
Probably best to get some kyb gas shocks for stiffness ( not sure what you want for desert driving )
and maybe some of those spring assister things?
and maybe a sump guard :)
 
could you not fit a spacer of sometype inbetween the strut towers and the suspension top mounts...should be cheapish to make up (easy to remove), though a dual bolt mounting system would be needed. No idea what it'd do to the cars handling though :D

guess it really depends how much you want to raise the shell up.
 
Cheers guys....(Y)....the spacer idea seems fav at the moment!!!....Will check it out and let you know...:grinning:

kev
 
rednecks here in canada who drive trucks and want a lift use a hockey puck, drill out the middle to fit it over the strut and then mount ehe sping onto the puck, should give you a 1" lift.
 
The only problem with roads in Africa is they have pot-holes in them. The dirt tracks are much better, unless it's been raining of course :p

The K10 should be ideal, though I don't remember seeing any - mostly Nissan Sunnys etc.. The Sunny I had was great fun for off-road driving :)

I'm sure you're aware you'll need plenty of water for the radiator, as it'll vapourize quite fast when doing a lot of climbing, especially if it's really hot.


BG
 
Heres one for you, the front wish bones, hubs, brakes and suspension struts from the k11 (93-01) all fit the k10 with mild adjustment to brake pipe holder.
The wishbones bushes are half an inch bigger and certainly stiffer, same goes for the rest of the setup.
Perhaps reducing the bounce would be a good first step, then i would make a metal guard to protect the sump. Could double up as bracing for the chassis.
 
Cheers again guys...like the info..(Y)....am making a sump guard out of checker plate...may try to protect the fuel tank too....Good to see you guys are helping out so thanks again...:cool:

kev
 
Hi Kev,

I drove across Mongolia on no roads with an unmodified K10 with no problems at all. We found that other people struck rocks with their fuel tank, but when asked one team, it turned out they were driving flat out in the middle of the night. So the basic conclusion was that you need to look where you are going.

Make sure if you do fit anything underneath the car that you preserve the original plastic water guards and keep them well fitted (the rusted bolts tend to snap if you try to undo them), as ours fell off and the spray from the wheels would go all over the engine, causing us to have to really avoid puddles. I actually removed these originally to change the cambelt and didn't do a good enough job putting them back on.

Fit 13 inch wheels, if you don't have them already, that is the most important thing.

Unfortunately my photo galleries don't seem to be fully working anymore, but my website is: www.turtleracing.co.uk
 
Great pic's....thanks for posting them....Strange thing is i have 6 fiat pandas and belong to a fiat forum..the guys on here have been helpful about the rally im doing....
Now if someone posts on the fiat site saying they are taking a panda on a rally (which we get alot!!! more so about 4x4 versions)...they are told to "sod off"...i have to admit i'm one of those who who is against killing a panda as there are not to many left (i have most of them..haha) and the 4x4's are very rare (not the most reliable 4x4 in the world and you cant go over 15mph without having probs in 4 wheel drive!!)

So...i guess i have double standards and the guys on this micra site are tolerant and supportive!!!....(Y)
 

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