Comments by "Andy Dee" (@AndyViant) on "American Reacts to The ULTIMATE 4x4 Setup - Australia" video.

I think MORE Aussies are into their 4wd's as the biggest selling section of the car market is the dual cab ute (medium truck) market. But due to regulations and safety concerns we don't tend to see 6 inch lifts and 38 inch tyres. Once I drove stuff like that (GQ Shorty on 36" Super Swampers) but those days are long past, because the police have heavily cracked down on those kinds of vehicles. What we build for now is mostly distance touring. When I travel to go camping, 4wding and hunting with my mates it is normally a 2000 kilometer (1200 mile) trip, so it has to have good reliability, reasonable fuel consumption and good comfort. 33"s are the go rather than 36"-38" tyres, and these days I'd be buying a radial aggressive all terrain over a pure mud tyre or a rag* tyre. So while the 4wd has to be quite capable when I get there, as I'm usually talking about something like Victorian High Country driving through mud and snow, or Cape York and crossing crocodile infested rivers bonnet deep in water. Although to be honest with what I drive, twin difflocks and all, I'd probably bypass Gunshot Creek. As such, we tend to build something that might be capable of getting through MOAB or Rubicon trail (but only so long as you get your lines right or pull out the winch) it's more an all terrain tourer that can get the family into places that most people will never experience. *rag tyre relates to construction (bias ply, meaning "fibre" plies as opposed to metal plies) and is not in any way derogatory. Just because I know someone, somewhere will get triggered by another meaning for that word.
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Should point out that 2000 km is ONE WAY. 4000 km return.
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imho they've become a charicature of 4wding, like the way that "reality tv" is all about drama and far removed from reality. If you watch it with that in mind, and remember that all their stuff is paid for by sponsors and they can break as much of it as they want to without consequence (or actually with the consequence of even higher views and more income) it starts to make a lot more sense.
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@oldbloke204 Tyler Thompson was better, but now his channel has grown to 3 rigs you have to start to wonder about where it's gonna end up too.
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Keep going. Second hand Ranger Raptors are selling in my part of the country for over $90k, and a brand new GWM is over $40k. The only new 4x4 utes under $40k are the Mahindra PikUp and the SsangYong Musso (neither of which is Chinese btw)
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GVM upgrades are the biggest con ever. Getting a different GVM plate on a vehicle does not make it safe to carry the extra weight in any way.
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And I can tell you my Nav kicked the ass of 2 of 3 land cruisers the last time I went to the Cape. I'd back an IFS dual cab ute over a 105 series or 80 series unless you throw a lot of money extra at the 105 or 80 series, which you can't afford to do since you're already spending twice as much. What it comes down to is that ground clearance is lowest under your diff centres. IFS vehicles may not have the flex but their front diff is MUCH higher so they get way way better approach angles. Sure, they lack the flex, but diff locks will get you through a lot more stuff than flex will, since at high flex angles you aren't really getting much downward pressure and thus not much traction. Any fully kitted solid axle, on bigger tyres to compensate for the clearance issues, will be better offroad. The Patrol even more so :) I don't disagree. But for anybody with a limited budget, the IFS vehicle will win. (especially given a flogged out ex mine 79 series will set you back 130k now). And actually still be road legal doing it.
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Nothing wrong with that I have a 64 convertible too. And a Harley. All in all, a car guy should respect people's choices to be nvest in, collect, repair and love anything. From Sports Cars to Steam Powered Tractors to 19th century sewing machines.
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@AUmarcus ah ha ha ha. Tax rates are the second highest they've been since WW2.
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Honestly not super impressed by his setup, but as he explains it's a new tray and he's still finalizing his build as he works out how to use the space to best efficiency.
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imho 70 series cruisers, other than the 73 series middy, are the most overpriced, overrated 4wd on the market today. What are the current secondhand price in Brissy for a ex mining industry single cab 79 series? In excess of $130 grand.
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@triggerhappy8872 The TD27 was 4 cylinders off a 6 cylinder TD42, so hardly "unreliable" or "weak" The QD32 was a stroked version of that motor. Weak, with a 3.2 litre diesel engine and 15 pounds of boost, running an effective compression ratio of about 45 to 1? Yeah, nah mate.
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@mezanian doesn't impact the radiator at all but certainly helps on the air cleaner side, especially if you run a donaldson.
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Awesome, I once had a Vitara SWB with a combined body and suspension lift of 4" and 31" tyres, making for about 7" taller than stock. Was an absolute offroad beast.
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@adamparisi745 Yes. All the old suzuki 4wd's were very serious offroaders in the Jeep style (just without the unreliability issues). Early Jeeps, such as the famous WW2 jeep were much smaller lighter cars with 4 cylinder engines. The current generation Jimny is one of the few seriously capable small 4wd's and has a waiting list of 2 1/2 years for a new one. If you don't know how capable they are, I suggest you watch some videos of the Suzuki Sierra, Suzuki Samurai (same thing just different name), Suzuki Vitara and Suzuki Sidekick (same thing) offroad. For comparison, my Vitara on Geolander Mud Terrain 31's, welded diffs, and custom lift was more capable than my 4.2 litre Nissan GQ SWB (renowned as one of the toughest 4wd's ever) with it's factory diff lock and 36" not legal for road use swamp tyres.
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