NS-- a good news story

[Rusty]

Hi all
Feeling a bit depressed reading all the DPF thread so thought I might change the theme a bit by updating on our vehicle. And you can tell by the title that the dreaded DPF has not struck us -- yet.
Just on that we use (mainly) Caltex just cause the local is about 4 cpl cheaper than the supermarkets even after the docket discount. We have used 1 tank from Coles and now on a tank from Woollies. The vehicle is not used as a daily driver and most trips would be 30+ kms. Although I did try last week to emulate short drives by driving into town 2.5kms leaving the car for 30 minutes and driving back. Did this 6 times over 2 days.

But back to the theme.

Vehicle done 7200 kms now and about half with the camper (1.2T approx loaded) attached. Have observed fuel use at below 11 l/km but only on highway driving and not loaded, generally around town is showing 11.5>12.5. On our trip this weekend we did over 1000kms and noted 15.5 l/km on the way west with a raging head wind and 13.4 l/km on the way back. Not unhappy with the latter given the load we had on and can't blame the car for the head wind. These readings are only from the display panel but arithmetic checks on this weekend show about the same level.

Problems??
1)Vehicle delivered with a leaking oil seal which took a couple of goes to find as it was minute and seemed worse only after lots of kms travel. But fixed now.
2)Bluetooth connection unuseable but fixed after I raised it with dealer. But why was the car delivered with the problem when they obviously knew about it??

What do we like??
1)Vehicle is extremely comfortable to drive, quiet, handles the camper load no worries and has power to spare. We can now pass slower vehicles with the camper on whereas with the 3.5L NM it took a long time to wind it up.
2)The diesel "rattle" reported by some is only noticeable at low revs in too high a gear, ie when the driver is slack. The vehicle wants to stay in a higher gear and unless it is kicked back or changed manually then it rattles. Ours has not had an "ECU upgrade", if such a thing does exist.
3) Instrument panel is great, clear, easy to read.
4)Rear vision mirror auto dimming a real safety plus. As are the head lights, so much so that I will not bother putting the driving lights on.
5)In car DVD set up was great this weekend with the gkids in the back. We would not have selected this if it had been an optional extra but we are now happy with the fact that it is there.

What don't we like/not happy with??
1)There are some "wank" factors on the vehicle that are unnecessary and it would have been better with real value items. For eg the seat warmers will probably never be used but keyless entry/start would help us grey haired lot when we struggle to fine the keys amongst the pocket or hand bag rubbish. Reversing sonar is old technology and would be enhanced by vision. Cannot turn the rear sonar off (permanently) even with the trailer on and yet cheaper vehicles have this option.
2)Suspension is marginally or no better in handling a load than the NM, which is disappointing as they claim to have upgraded it. So much so that it is off to the doctors for some work and more money.
3)Minor but the really dark interior is ordinary--- especially the dark carpet/rear mat covering which all show the dirt badly.
4) The 18 inch rims/tyres obviously present an issue if you want to fit off road tyres and I am yet to resolve what we will do.
5)The rear wheel position and cover is a botch. I would be surprised if the plastic cover does not shake apart the first long trip we do off bitumen. I have arranged with 4x4Equip to modify it so I can remove the cover easily before heading out and so that we can use the axe/shovel holder on the spare wheel. Will not look the best but will be much more practical.

So, all in all as you can probably tell, we are very happy with the vehicle.
Just that now I constantly drive along checking the display panel for the dreaded indicator lights to show up....

[Wilmo]

Get the ECU update done, the rattle will be almost totally gone whether you leave it in 5th or not.

Yeah, I agree some of the extra bits are unnecessary, like roof spoiler (just gets in the way loading the roof rack), the seat warmers - that's why I got the GLX, including the fact that it had 17inch wheels.

Also happy with mine and no DPF hassles yet at nearly 9000kms

[Pickle]

Good report Rusty, well done!
Dave

[Walker]

Nice report thanks for that.

What is the total size of your fuel tanks now?

What springs are you planning to put in?

[Rusty]

Hi Adam
Nominal capacity is 88 plus 70, useable in the aux tank is 60 comfortably, so I work on 140 all up. That gives me about 950>1000 kms at about 14 l/km with the trailer and upwards of 1300 at (an estimated) 11 l/km highway cruising.
Suspension?? Don't know yet so would look forward to some advice. We had OME on the NM and they did the job but the back shockers bent the shaft after about 50,000 kms or so. I must admit it was after doing 16,000 kms over 10 weeks, mostly towing the camper, and included the Tanami and part of the Canning plus other assorted rough roads. So maybe the bent shafts were to be expected....
So, if anyone has any suggestions on the suspension options lets see them. I need something that will handle a tow bar weight of 150kg+. The main criteria would be not too great a lift (50>60 mm out of the OME) and ability to take the weight without angling the vehicle too much.

[Walker]

So it sounds like the Brown Davis is about the same capacity as the LRA tank. I guess I will just see how the prices compare.

I plan to use Bilstein shocks. They are a bit more expensive but I have always found them to be fantastic on other 4WD's and they are rebuildable.
I also plan to install polyair or firestone airbags inside the rear coils. That should help with towing and when fully loaded for touring.
I am not sure yet on springs. Ideally I would like something which gives only a small (25mm) lift so it will not affect warranty. I was thinking maybe of using the raised springs for the petrol model which Lovells sell. In theory his should give less than the stated 50mm lift if used on a diesel but not sure how it will work out in practice.

[Mike DiD]

Just picked up the new Paj - woohoo.

So quiet, compared with the NP DiD.

Haven't got time to chat here - gotta get out and do some night driving with those stunning HIDs.

[matthewfnorbert]

congrats, you will love it enjoy the drive

[JandG]

Congratulations on your new car.
Hope you may enjoy it as much as I do.

Let us know how you going with it.

Cheers
Gerard

[linou]

Hi Rusty,

What is the 'control and distribution system' you refer to in your signature block?

Cheers

[Hopperoo]

Hi Rusty,

Can you open the rear door with the camper hitched up and do you have the spare wheel lift kit fitted?
What type of hitch does your camper use and which towball attachment do you have, the long lanky one or the short sharply bent one?

The reason for asking is in several earlier threads there were problems reported with opening the rear door with a van or trailer attached which would be a proverbial pain.

Also you mentioned "bent shafts" on your previous NM at the rear! Which shafts are you refering to?

Regards, Dennis.

[Mike DiD]

The towbar fitting points seem to be identical with the NM/NP, but with the Spare Tyre now mounted centrally and lower, you will have less clearance at the Towbar hitch

[icysyrup]

The towbar fitting points seem to be identical with the NM/NP, but with the Spare Tyre now mounted centrally and lower, you will have less clearance at the Towbar hitch

That sucks cause I personally hate how little clearance I Have with my NP...any lower than mine and the first thing I would be building would be a swing away carrier on a metal bumper in the rear.

[Rusty]

Hi all
Couple of replies I owe. Bit late as yesterday spent at the Sandown show and today out driving the wonderful NS

LINOU-- the control and distribution system just relates to the Piranha aux battery set up.

DENNIS-- don't have the spare wheel lift fitted. Camper has a Treg type hitch. Can open the back door probably half way or a bit more. What stops it eventually is the door hits the stone guard on front of the camper. This is actually better than the NM where the bottom of the spare wheel hit the hand brake on the camper. The tow bar tongue is not the 90 degree one but has a "sticky out bit and then and angle then the straight bit with the hole in it"---make sense?? The advantage of this one is that it takes the hitch outside the line of the "rear" of the spare.
There is no doubt that the camper hitch is lower than on the NM and this could present us some issues later with off road trips. This is another reason I have decided to do something about the suspension to get a 50mm lift. I am guessing here but I reckon the front of the camper draw bar is 100mm at least lower than on the NM as the old tongue used to angle up, not down, and if I reverse this one then I won't be able to open the door any more than about 18 inches or so.
The shafts that bent were on the rear shockers. The mechanic tells me that the shockers were not retracting completely. He had no idea why-- just a guess that the rough travel on our trip last year contributed to it. So my read is that the OME shocks are not up to it. I had worked out there was an issue as the car was "banging" as it settled after a bump-- obviously the shocks coming the the end of their travel.

WALKER-- others on the forum (and the old one as well) have heard my views on Brown Davis. I thought I was dealing with experience in going to them but I would have to be hard pressed to ever go near them again for this sort of thing. Have a good hard look at your options before you go to BD.

[Hopperoo]

Hi Rusty,

Thanks for the feedback.
On my NP the towbar tonge is straight with the flat plate that holds the towball welded to the bottom edge. This places the top of the towball level with the top of the small plastic insert that is in the back bumper. I would be able to re-insert this upside down which would raise the towball height by approx 60mm, however it would make it difficult to attach anything to clear the lower edge of the door.

On the NS the "longer tongue you have should be the best, for as you mentioned, it places your hitch further away from the door however it would in theory place more leverage on the rear of the vehicle, as it's protruding out further, but in practice probably makes little difference.

For your shock shafts to have bent it sounds perhaps that the shocks fitted were too long and couldn't allow the suspension to travel it's fuul length on the compression stroke.

Dennis.