D22 Turning Circle

[Bigalski]

Hi Guys, I only bought my D22 about 4 weeks ago. I'm loving everything about it except the turning circle. Wondering if its just my vehicle or if its a common issue. I got a 2004 D22 ST-R and parking is proving to be a bit tricky. I usually adjust to new vehicles pretty quickly and have spent plenty of time driving 10t removal trucks in the past with no issue.

I havent noticed any noises like CV clicking etc so im wondering if its just me

As far as i know its stock standard (+canopy) with all terrain tyres fitted. Any tips on how to improve the turning circle would be much appreciated.

Cheers!
Al

 

[charlie strayarc]

Yeah the turning circle is a bit big.
Reminds me im driving a real mans car.
Thats what i tell myself anyway.

Id much rather have a big turning circle than a LAPO mobile.

 

[Bigalski]

Thanks for the advice Charlie. It's certainly the manliest car i've owned

As I mentioned before, I'm fairly certain my D22 is pretty much stock standard. What do you guys recommend as minimum / most important mods I should do?

I plan to do some beach driving / touring and a bit of bush, but not really interested in rock hopping.

Cheers!

 

[Dave 2011]

Main mods I have done to mine (as I am the same, like to go off road but not trying to climb Everest with it) include a Bull Bar, decent set of spotties, I have Lightforce XGts, 2inch OME lift and replaced the standard fuel tank with a 125l tank so when going on that long road trip you go a little further.

 

[Old.Tony]

The turning circle is related to the wheelbase, and the D22 is fairly long. Don't worry, the D40 is even longer! I try to reverse into parking spots rather than go in forward, because it makes it so much easier to line up.

As for mods - you don't need many for what you're doing. You DO need a GOOD compressor, and either a set of deflators or just a single fast one. Tyre pressures on sand should be dropped to 18-20psi. You can go lower, but the lower you go, the more careful you need to be - sharp turns or sudden changes in elevation (eg a hole!) can separate the tyre from the rim. ARB sell an excellent portable compressor that can inflate your tyres - and probably two other 4WDs - before it needs to have a rest. They also sell a twin motor model that mounts permanently in your vehicle and it never needs to rest - it just goes all day.

For forest trails (which we do a LOT of) the standard car only really lacks light. We've got a pair of IPF 800XS spotties but there's still not enough light - I've got loads of it pointing forwards, but I sometimes need to see about 30degrees left or right, so I've been considering adding some 55W halogen lights pointed a little sideways for when we're in the really tight stuff. It may not matter as much to you - we do these trails with a 7.5m caravan behind us!

A good UHF radio and a tyre repair kit would probably round off the list of things you'd initially want to have with you. We bought the GME TX3540 and a GME 6.6dB broomstick antenna. It certainly works nicely.

 

[scooba_285]

i rekon the turning circle isnt too bad considering the size of it, i have driven worse ones

 

[Bigalski]

Cheers guys, The wheel base is the longest ive driven for awhile, Maybe the problem exists between steering wheel and chair .

Im hoping to pick up a bull bar in the next couple of weeks from a forum member. Ive also been looking at air compressors and a dual battery set up.
With regards to the UHF, are there any brands i should avoid? Supercheap stock Oricom and have a 5w unit for $199 - there seems to be a lot of price difference between brands yet they all seem to be identical.

So far i've replaced the factory standard stereo head unit and speakers because they had died. I've also replaced the instrument panel lights with new globes. I'm still not happy with how dull the back lighting is though so i bought a flexible tape of blue LED's that im going to try my luck with. I'll take some photos of the process and results and put it up here.

@Dave - the long range tank, was that a difficult job?

With regards to Spotties, am i right in thinking Narva are an overpriced brand name?

Cheers guys!

 

[Old.Tony]

With the top brands of spotties you could argue that any of them are overpriced, but if you want quality you're going to have to pay for it.

My IPFs have a metal case not a plastic one, so that the sun won't distort it over time and let the water in. If you're looking for quantity of light, HID is far superior to halogen.

Make your choice based on the best you can get for the $ you're willing to part with. The most common lights you'll see here are Narva, Lightforce and IPF. There are a few with Hella, XXX and RooLites (which aren't bad). You don't see many with Cibies.

 

[Bigalski]

Cheers Tony, Sounds like i may have to save up a bit more

 

[mitch92]

Yep, the turning circle in these things is pretty horrible. Once ya get used to it though it's all sweet.

Spottie's as old tony said depends on what you're willing to part with. Don't be afraid to nail people for price. I got set of lightforce 240 XGT's, normally around $550, i managed to get them for $440. I had narva's previous to this, and they are a good light for what they are, but the lightforce are heaps better.

 

[PWR2W8]

Bigalski where did you source your instrument lights from? I am having a similar disappointment with the brightness. How did your LED strip go?