Where to start? What to do?

Hi there, Im Apollo and im 21 years old.

Just bought myself a 2006 ST-X Dual Cab 4x4 Turbo Diesel on the weekend (stock as a rock). Ive never owned a ute or four wheel drive before, as i have just gotten off my provisional license and taken the mature steps in buying a turbo diesel 4x4, rather than a nissan silvia, or evo, or wrx as most people my age do when off their provisional licenses.
I must say, i have learnt a lot from reading all the posts on this forums.

Now the question..

What to do?

Im not sure where to start.

I do some hunting as i do competition shooting and have quite a few fire-arms, but apart from using this car on farms, or the state forest, or the beach - There won't be any other rough terrain (compared to sealed roads)that i would be taking this car to.

I have saved a few thousand to start off. and im not sure whether to lift the car up 2" first?
Or buy and ARB bull-bar.
or buy the chipit or dp chip?
Im confused. and would love if someone or many people could point me in the right direction. What brand suspension would i be looking at?
What chip would be better for my use?
Do i need to do a 3" cat-back exhaust if i buy a chip?

I simply just don't know.

Regards,

Welcome to the forums.

The order in which to do things is usually a necessity thing, what can you afford and what do you need. No point giving it a lift before other things if you don't need it immediately. There is heaps of threads here about what you can do but the order will be completely up to you.

There is also several threads about chips and what people recommend so it might pay to read those and decide for yourself.

As far as farm use goes my STX is stock except for a canopy and the bits inside and it travels mountain goat country where we have live stock and I've never had any issues. Sure I could get lift and go further but that's what the tractor is for so at the end of the day my STX even on standard tyres traverses the hills and cattle tracks of our paddocks no problems and I'm sure yours will too.

If your gonna chip it, get a bigger exhaust.

More fuel, more heat.

What do you want the vehicle to do ?

well to be honest i dont need anything immediately. probably tint is the first one which is happening tomorrow morning.
i will probably do the diesel chip next, but from all the threads i have been reading, i can't make up my mind on whether i should go for a tunit chip or the chipit.
im not well educated with that. and so i dont want to do make the wrong decision which would be a wild stab and end up damaging the car. i also want the height but im not sure which way to go about it?
should i go for the whole kit?
or just buy strut spacers for the front and leaf springs for the back?
or should i go all out and get new shocks aswell?

If you're going to do a bit of dirt road driving with a group of 4x4's then a snorkel is a good first step in my opinion, follow that with a UHF CB for talking to other 4x4's in the group and then perhaps a bull bar and you'll be well on your way.

I wouldn't go doing lift kits or changing tyres until you're reaching the limitations of the standard vehicle.

Having said that one of the best bang for the buck ways to improve your off roading is to go and do a 4x4 driving course, it'll teach you some basic skills that will improve your safety and make life easier for your vehicle.

Bush Roads i'd go:

Bullbar
Rails
Snorkel
CB

would the stock suspension be able to support say..an arb safari bull bar?

and regarding uhf cb, i did a little research and have concluded that i want a GME.
Now has anyone got a tx3100? are they any good? or should i go for the more powerful models?

My opinion is based on the info you've given us already.

1. If your not going offroad heaps, just beach and state forests then lift kit would probably be useless.
2. If you've just bought the ute ie days ago maybe get used to the power of it first and see if you really need the extra from a chip / exhaust. You might find that the power increase you get ( seeing that a lot of cars have been differing ) you might find a waste of $$$.

I'd think camping/hunting etc you'd probably benefit from a bar, UHF and even canopy. Something to keep your guns etc dry.

Apollo said:

would the stock suspension be able to support say..an arb safari bull bar? <SNIP> Now has anyone got a tx3100? are they any good? or should i go for the more powerful models?

Click to expand...

I have stock suspension and I've fitted an ARB steel bar to my my D22. The suspension is fine for what I use it for (dirt roads and light off roading) but I haven't fitted a winch to the bar yet. If I do end up fitting a winch and 2nd battery then I might need to look at the suspension again, in my opinion (and the local ARB dealer) it's not needed just for the bar.

I had an Electrophone 3100 recently fitted with a 4.5db antenna and it works fine, it's no Icom with 25 watt programming but then it doesn't cost that much either

Protective metal, ie. bullbar, rock sliders, bash plates
Muddies (largest legal size)
Snorkel
UHF
Winch
Lockers

Done.

You'll notice there's no lift - I don't see the advantage.

Welcome to the forum.

I think if you're a hunter, you'll travel outback some, and for that the first thing you want is frontal protection: a good steel bar. Throw a decent set of driving lights on it while you're at it. Get a decent snorkel professionally fitted (not a cheap Chinese knock-off, the plastic degrades in sunlight, so I hear). Airtec make a nice one that follows the 'A' pillar closely, Safari make a good one also.

I don't think there's a need to raise it, or chip it - the standard D40 is quite powerful and while it doesn't have huge ground clearance, it should get you most places that you describe.

However, for sand driving you'll want a set of deflators ($80-100) and a really good compressor ($300-400). These will also come in handy if you're doing lots of rough-road driving, as softer tyres will absorb some of that as well.

As for radios ... I don't see the point in a lot of mucking about with fixed radio units. A hand-held unit that has a 12V charge cable is not only more than satisfactory when you're in convoy, but you can take it out into the bush with you while you're away from the vehicle. If you get one that can take an earpiece, there won't be any risk of scaring your prey either.

The only other things I'd consider - if I were looking at dealing with those sort of destinations with that sort of gear - is somewhere to sleep. There are many ways to do this, like a camper trailer, or throw on a canopy and pop a roof-top tent, swags on the ground (not my favourite in snake country) - the choice is yours. You might also want a fridge and an auxiliary power system in the tub, and I'd recommend a canopy to protect these.

As far as the bar goes check the recalls website (or a thread here with "bonnet recall" in the title) and see if your model was effected, I can't remember which years were effected but if the 06 was in that range you'll need to have the recall done before you put a bar on it.

Just watch the good ol'people at Nissan they aren't too keen on doing the recall unless you buy the genuine nissan bar or so I wad told! I have a 06 aswell and am slowly getting there with mods underbody protection number 1 thing to get anything else in any order you wish! Although suspension before bar would prob be wise considering 06 was in the recall! Keep us updated