new D22 st-r TD

[kaynexxx]

Hey guys, new to the forum! i am looking into buying a navara D22 03' 3.0L Turbo diesel, ST-R, dual cab from a mates mum, shes kept it real clean and always serviced, done 180,xxx km's or so. i was wondering what mods/upgrades sorts of thing i could do? any help would be great! wanting it for a work ute so mainly to drive to and from work every day but to be able to take it up the beach 2-3 times a month. what do you think?

THANKS!

 

[RustyNav09]

Welcome mate.

Well the d22 is a good starting platform for anything you may wish to do. Beach work I would look at sticking an intercooler I'm to keep engine temps down and in the worst case catch the turbo bits.180***kms may not be that much if its regularly serviced and kept in good condition. Also for beach work some sort of electronic rust prevention to protect it. A lot of guys start off with the basic lift kit giving you more height and clearance, then go into the more technical mods such as chips and tray fitouts etc.

Rusty

 

[kaynexxx]

okay intercooler was something i was thinking, would you go top mount? i was thinking about just starting with a 2" body lift as i would like to keep it a nice drive on the road. i currently have BMW 328i so not use to the whole turbo diesel game but whats considered alot of km's on a diesel?

 

[bullwinkle]

My old man's (now my nephew's) Landcruiser ute has done about 700,000km, so don't stress. Just drive it sedately, regularly service it and it will last for bloody ages.

 

[kaynexxx]

okay yeah been researching, sounds good.

 

[RustyNav09]

As for your comfy ride why not go a set of comfort springs? Body lift is cheaper option but it doesn't lift the car off the ground. Meaning the chassis etc. Intercooler is up to you really custom work is cheaper and lots of threads in here with peoples builds or you can buy a kit from somewhere and install it.

Rusty.

 

[kaynexxx]

isnt body lift the one that lifts the chassis? and suspension lift the one that doesnt? but yeah i want to lift the whole car get more clearance rather than just the cab. what else could you reccomend? i was thinking maybe starting with power upgrades first then go to all the rest so like a chip, and exhaust, intercooler, would a bigger turbo be better? or the stock go alright?

 

[RustyNav09]

Exhaust intercooler chip is good start. The suspension lift lifts the chassis the body lift only lifts the cab. Bigger wheels(not really necessary) will lift the diffs higher.

 

[kaynexxx]

Okay thanks mate. What would you recommend starting with for power gains?

 

[kaynexxx]

Ignore this.

 

[kaynexxx]

Sorry what I meant was like are ther any supporting mods I should be before putting in exhaust/ intercooler/chip. I just really need a starting point what would you recommend doing first?

 

[RustyNav09]

Mate its what you can afford. My personal opinion would be exhaust, intercooler, chip. Open it up and let it breathe first the starting adding the extra bits.

 

[Old.Tony]

If you like beach work, the very first thing I'd buy is a Gerni.

Then I'd look at a long-handled shovel, some Maxx-Traxx (or similar), a compressor (the $350 one from ARB is a great unit) and either a set of deflators or a fast deflator (about $50-80 depending on where you get it from).

A suspension lift raises the height from the wheel hub onwards. That means everything gets lifted. A body lift only lifts the cabin and tray. Consider a body lift ONLY if you're going to put tyres on that won't fit underneath. A 50mm suspension lift will raise your chassis, so if you're going for height that's the place to start.

Your diff will still be lower and that can only change with a change of tyre/wheel size. Be aware of the rules though, and if you want to throw a set of 285/85R16s on (raises the diff by 63.75mm from standard tyres) the cops may not like it - consider putting these on a spare set of rims and take them along in your tub and change over when you get there.

 

[kaynexxx]

I have a geni, shovel & my mates all have maxtraxx on them ready to go.
I would definitely go suspension lift to start as stock wheels/rims are decent enough & if I was going to go with bigger wheels I would want them on a new set of rims so the cops dont hassle me. A compressor? As I for inflating the wheels you mean?
Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Old.Tony]

Yep. Dropping the pressure in your tyres is good for sand, but you need a way to get the pressure back for the trip home.

 

[kaynexxx]

Yeah I know about tyre pressure & stuff, I think I might have to leave a compressor as an option not a necessity seeing as the places I go all have a petrol withink a few km's of the beach. As for exhaust what would you reccomend? I was thinking 2.5" straight through turbo back? If that makes sense. How hard would it to be to get a new bonnet as the one I'm looking at doesn't have a hood scoop then I could put in a top mount.

 

[Old.Tony]

I've not bothered with the exhaust on my car so I can't tell you much about that. I've more than enough power for the work I ask of my car.

You might consider getting a chip to increase power. Ranging from about $150 for a No-Limits chip (which will give you more power but may shorten the life of your engine) to a Chip-It chip or UniChip for over $1,000. You'll certainly get more ponies with one.

As for the intercooler, it's probably better mounted up front - there should be room - there are a couple of people who have done this. Niss4x4 in Victoria may be able to source a bonnet for you if you still want to throw on a top-mount.

 

[kaynexxx]

Okay so exhaust not a real biggie on this sort of thing?

Yeah I will be looking into chips, $1000 might be pushing it a little, is there like a midway chip you would reccomend?

Okay so front mount, fair enough. How do they go as far as overheating at low speeds? A mate of mine has mounted a twin fan on the front of his radiator in his Subaru l series ej22 then wired a rocker switch. Would this work on a intercooler? And would it help?
As I said before first 4x4 and first turbo diesel, well first turbo car actually.

 

[Old.Tony]

I drive a D40 which already has a front-mount intercooler. Its fan might be a little different to yours as it's been designed to handle the heat from the engine coolant, gearbox oil cooler, air conditioning condensor and the intercooler - so you might need to look at a thermal fan.

You could try getting a chip through eBay, or second-hand from one of the guys here. There are times when people sell their Navaras and since some of the chips are vehicle-specific they sometimes remove the chip and sell it separately.

If it's your first turbo-powered car, there's one vital piece of advice to give you: allow your turbo to cool before shutting down your engine. Hot turbos cook the oil that's inside the bearings in the turbo, causing the bearings to self-destruct.

To avoid this, choose any or all of these options:

* Plan your journey so that the last couple of km are driven very gently. The turbo will naturally cool down and you can just turn off your engine at your destination.

* After running the engine hard, sit in the cabin for 2 minutes with the engine idling before turning it off and leaving. That's boring, and you'll quickly change to the previous option.

* Fit a turbo timer. While not strictly legal and costing some $, this will achieve the second option without you having to sit there.

* Fit an EGT-controlled turbo timer. Still not legal, but smarter - it will keep the engine running until the thing is cool enough. Requires the combination of two kits from Jaycar.

Hope that helps!

 

[kaynexxx]

Okay so it'll go something like

1. Full turbo back exhaust is it worth going 3" or is 2 1/2 enough? Anything else need to be changed with that?

2. Front mount intercooler, I would like possibly mount a fan to the front of it so I can pus more air through at low speed. Thoughts?

3. A chip. Someone has messages me with a decent one.