BEST CAR
BEST CAR

Sunday, 14 March 2010

The 1997 Toyota Hilux


My Hilux is a 1997 Toyota with leaf springs all round. The Toyota Hilux was originally built way back in the 1980s with leaf spring suspension, and then when the SR5's came out independent front suspension was brought in. After 1997 the other normal hiluxes became independent front end too, which frankly for serious four wheel driving can cause issues.
Independent suspension is generally better for on road use, but off-road it isn't as strong or reliable and doesn't offer the same amount of flex. In saying this, they are still good cars. My Hilux has the leaf springs all round, and as a result is incredibly robust. I have put a set of 33 inch Maxxis bighorns on it, and it will keep up with all of the land cruisers and patrols out there. It doesn't have any difflocks, but the LSD at the back seems to help every so often.
I love the fact that My Hilux weighs so little. When you consider that some of the new four wheel drives today weigh almost 3 tonne and my car only weighs 1.5 you can see why they are such capable little machines. The only gripe that I have with it is that a 2.4 liter engine isn't very powerful. However, on a positive note they are incredibly economical, and not that slow on road. To make mine even more economical I converted it to gas, which gives it a good range for driving long distances.
The Maxxis Bighorns have to be the best modification I did. They are 12.5 inches wide (slightly wider than the standard tires) but a lot more aggressive. I have used mine so far for over 20 thousand kilometers and have yet to fault them. They wear hardly at all, are very grippy, bulge well when you let the tires down and love the mud. It's a great car!
Link to My Hilux and Maxxis Bighorns
Hidden Gems North of Perth
There are quite a few hidden gems found north of Perth. The farmstead at Wagoe is something that very few people know about, but it is one of the best places you can ever stay for fishing and snorkeling. Lucky Bay is just south of Wagoe, and as long as you are well set up for camping you will have a ball. Both of these places are about a 5.5 hour drive north of Perth, but they are well worth the drive.
I would suggest that you need a four wheel drive for both locations (especially Lucky bay). Wagoe you can get to the farmstead without one, but you would have to walk down to the beach every time that you wanted to go, which would become a real issue. By car, it's only a 3 minute drive, which is great as you can roll out of bed, throw the fishing gear in the car and roll down the hill. The beach there has masses of reef, and you can catch some huge fish. Every time we go there we have an absolute blast. The accommodation at Wagoe is much cheaper than in kalbarri, although it is not exactly luxury!
If you prefer something even cheaper you could consider lucky bay. This has a brilliant reef which runs about 100 meters parallel to the beach, about 50 meters out. The reef stops all of the bad weather, and snorkeling on the inside of the reef is always pretty decent. On a calm day though, you can head out the back and see some huge fish!

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