Help with car setup

[Paj man Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Paj man]

Hi All

Just recently switched to the Toyota clan after 12 years in a Pajero. Signed the deal for a white 2012 GXL over the weekend so will hopefully be picking it up this week sometime - bloody excited.

The Pajero has had a fair bit of work to it so will stay in the background as the play car but I'm wanting to do the Prado up to be a mild touring wagon so any information on the following would be appreciated;

- Bullbar - had ARB on the Pajero, will have ARB on the prado (but colour coded)

- Suspension - seems to be the usual story for brand vs brand. I can get the remote res WCS setup pretty cheap through a friend - although it is very hard to find reviews on if they are any good or not? They seem to get their suspension out of China but thought I might give them a go.

- Dual battery - this link tells me a lot https://www.pradopoint.com.au/forum/...-battery-guide. I'll be doing the voltage boost diode with the above install too (talk to LeighW)

- Tyres - going up a size to a 265/70R17 for some clearance doesn't seem to have any ill effect. Puts the speedo back into line and can still fit the rear wheel cover? I put 110k kms of pain on my first set of toyo's on the pajero so will probably go the OPAT 2's

- Floor mats - Have 3D mats in the Pajero which seem decent so I think I'll go them again. Doesn't seem to be much between them and the sandgrabba other than the price.

- Bash plates - the gen 4 Pajero boys won't kit their cars up without a set of decent bash plates. How necessary are they for a prado? (will mostly be on the beach and gravel road - no rocks or ruts)
- Recovery points - standard ones are ok?

Apologies for the lazyness - I've done a bit of research on the suspension, mats and battery front but not much yet for the bash plates and recovery points. Any other must do's for a Prado?

Thanks in advance

Nick

[Grinbot Member Find all posts View Profile Close Grinbot]

Welcome!

Couple of things:

"can still fit the rear wheel cover" -- not with BFG KO2 265/70R17. Maybe with the OPATs, though. The rear wheel cover can easily be completely removed; I've done that and I think many others do too. I also had to fit a spacer on the spare wheel bracket to avoid the tyre rubbing on the paint (it only *just* touched).

"Recovery points - standard ones are ok?" -- Probably debatable, but I think many people get upgraded recovery points. I have them built into my TJM bullbar.

[Paj man Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Paj man]

Thanks mate

Not fussed on the rear cover - she wants to keep it but realistically with the wheel bag on each trip it'll become a pain to take on/off/

Is one option for the front recovery points to put a bridle between the two? I see a few Hilux's using that setup

[Gurilla Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gurilla]

Just get road safe recovery points there able $100-150

had them on all my cars cheap insurance,

looks like you’ve done a lot of research also and have a lot of idea about what’s going on

but becareful with mounting a aux battery in the bonnet as this can cause inner gaurd cracks and yours being a earlier model too these weren’t upgraded till the update with the facelift ??

[Paj man Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Paj man]

Ahh I didn't realise they were so cheap - may as well then.

I've read a little on the aux tray - apparently mounting the top of the battery straight down with the rods is the way to go (ie stay away from the top tie down which fixes to the bonnet)

[kizbot Member Find all posts View Profile Close kizbot]

Not sure where you are located but check out kaon accessories for under body protection. Also you can make up a bracket from the battery tie down to the front support which should help prevent guard cracks when offloading. Also can't go past sandgrabba mats. They are more expensive but are also better.

[Paj man Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Paj man]

Thanks mate - I'll check that bracket out for the battery as well as the bash plates. How necessary do you think the bash plates are?

Have you compared the sandgrabba's against some 3d ones? They honestly seem 6 of 1 and half a dozen

[Gurilla Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gurilla]

I had sand grappas In my 80 good kit but 3r mats in the 150 can’t fault either

3D look better in a nice new car though compared to rubber

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

TJM batter tray comes with the necessary forward support as does the Pirana one. The Kaon bash plates are a well priced bit of gear. Check out some of The Ironman gear
As well.

[Gurilla Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gurilla]

I’d also recommend the kaon uvp, I don’t be have them personally but lots of members do, I am going to get a set in the future, he had designed them for maximum approach angle and clearance and also has where the bolts are it’s recessed to protect the head of bolts

[kizbot Member Find all posts View Profile Close kizbot]

Kaon.com.au is the website for the underbody stuff. Never owned the 3D mats so can’t comment on them but the Sandgrabba are great. I spent the extra money as I have two small children in the back. Prob both do the job so maybe go the cheaper 3D mats if you were happy with them. No point in spending more money than necessary. kaon also do a auto transmission cooler kit for cheap insurance. Auto temps can get high if beach driving or especially towing. I would try not to add unnecessary weight to the vehicle if you don’t need to. Also check out your egr valve and make sure it does not require a clean out. Fit a 7mm plate to block off the egr if / when clean.

[Paj man Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Paj man]

Yeah that's what I was thinking re: mats. I'm pretty happy with how the 3D have gone in the Pajero with dogs/beach/south west runs - hopefully once the bub grows up they'll hold up to him too.

The Kaon plates look the part - very neat and tidy. I think I'll be getting some of these as a bit of insurance.

So my list so far is looking like;

ARB Bar
Dobinsons coils and their new monotube shock (M/T shock) - it seems these are getting some great reviews
Piranha/TJM tray plus isolator (i like the CTEK's so far)
Kaon plates
3d mats
Recovery points
Slightly larger Toyo OPAT's

I'm liking this build already haha

Thanks

[juz Member Find all posts View Profile Close juz]

Hey man, congratulations on your new Prado!
I have had 3D mats in my 150 for over a year now. Love them. Definitely get recovery points (especially for sand driving). There are no stock recovery points on the Prado. As other have said, ditch the rear wheel cover. Its the last thing you want when travelling, get a flat and then have to try and replace the cover over an out of shape flat tyre. KAON has quality products. I have their rear door table, roof rack grab handles and cargo barrier.

[Paj man Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Paj man]

Thanks mate - I'm going to order a set tonight!

[acerider Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close acerider]

i have 3d matts in my 120 and i have also inspected sandgrabber.

Sandgrabber:
seriously tough and will hold a fair bit of bit mud/crap in (with its high sides)- but aside from its price premium, it's too much a agriculture look - looks like it belongs to a ute or people doing hardcore offroad where your boots maybe soaked in mud;

3D mat:

no where as "tough" but will hold a bit crap - the sides are not as high and therefore wont hold as much mud in -more chance of overflow - benefit is that it looks classier.

for the amount of "off roading"we actually do, we chose 3d Mat