OK it's Time to Upgrade

[Redback]

The time has come to upgrade to a D3, SO, here are some questions

Q1) Are there any issues with the manual gearbox, I have seen a few manuals for sale with low Ks and this will be our prefered option..

Q2) Are 17in rims easy to come by.

Q3) As we do alot of offroad driving, is under body protection a must, I have heard the muffler and transfer case is known to be damaged easily AND should we consider the extened height devices (ie) LLAMS.

Q4) Will it tow a 1.5 tonne camper trailer comfortably.

The fun begins

Baz.

[gghaggis]

Q1: Not really, but the auto is a seriously nice box - nothing like the disadvantages of the older autos. If you're offroading, it's close to perfect.

Q2: There are quite a few 17" options - LR, BMW, Dynamic, BBS

Q3: Air suspension compressor - protect that first. Then radiator/intercooler, then transmission. Haven't heard of much muffler damage?

Q4: Easily ..........



Cheers,

Gordon

[discowhite]

Q1: Not really, but the auto is a seriously nice box - nothing like the disadvantages of the older autos. If you're offroading, it's close to perfect.

Q2: There are quite a few 17" options - LR, BMW, Dynamic, BBS

Q3: Air suspension compressor - protect that first. Then radiator/intercooler, then transmission. Haven't heard of much muffler damage?

Q4: Easily ..........



Cheers,

Gordon

you will never convince baz that the auto is good for towing

cheers phil

[WhiteD3]

Q3) As we do alot of offroad driving, is under body protection a must, I have heard the muffler and transfer case is known to be damaged easily AND should we consider the extened height devices (ie) LLAMS.

Easily? Sorry Baz but that's rubbish (no offence). My D3 has too many dings underneath it to count! In 4 years I've never had an issue caused in this manner.

Lost mud flaps, a door sill cover, ground away the thermal plate between the exhaust and the spare, but that's all.

[Ean Austral]

Mate I haven,t done anymore than about 160ks of dirt in our D3, but this is what I have found.

I swore I would never buy an Auto..got a d3 with 6sp auto, towed our camper trailer 4000kms so far, would take alot of convincing to buy a manual again.

My D2 struggled to pull our camper safely above 90ks/hr unless you were happy to drive with the trailer doing 10km every 100 further than the car is swayed that much.
The d3 pulls it like its hardly there and rock steady at 110ks.
Have towed the camper from Adelaide to Melb along the coast back via the A1 highway and now upto Alice springs and Ave 10.4 ltr/100ks, best I got from the D2 with the same trailer 12.6lts/100. and the D3 at a faster speed.

The biggie tho is you can drive 900ks in a day and not feel as tho you have had to wrestle the car the whole way..

Of course everyone is different and if the D3 is as good off road as on then I will be real impressed, and if it can match my D2 then even better.

Ours is a 08 TDV6 and after 8 yrs of the D2 its a BIG change in the right direction..

My 2c worth..for the very short time i;ve had it

Cheers Ean

[chuck]

Baz

The D3 is fantastic.
Upgraded from a well sorted D2 18months ago & got the last of the
TDV6 SE D3's with ediff.
Just come back from Port McDonnell - 5 1/2 hours drive to destination & then out in the car again exploring.

Great on highway at 110kmh and then fantastic in the dunes for 5 hours & 50 km at 10kmh.

I have a soft spot for the D2's and still get to drive one occasionally as my son has a D2a.

OEM 17's can be expensive & difficult to get - I ended getting two sets from Ebay UK at a reasonable price (kept 6 & some one on here needed 2).

The 17's are worth sourcing though as I have found 17" MTZ's to be as good on road as 18" oems although a little noisier.

Also picked up 5 brand new dynamic steel 17's for $220.00 for my trailer.

The 6 speed auto is great however you need to play with it in manual mode off road to get the best out of the car. I have found the car operates far better off road in manual mode.

Hope this helps

Regards

Chuck

[BigJon]

You mention 6 speed manual and air suspension. You won't find them on the same car in Australia.

[irondoc]

Not sure if that is tru BigJon - i think you used to be able to order both S and SE with a manual and could also get air suspension added on the S.

Can't confirm this, but pretty sure that is what i was told when i was browsing the dealers.

Might not be many around though.

cheers
lucas

[WhiteD3]

I thought that air suspension came with TR, and that TR meant the auto. I'm sure the manual S only came in the TDV6 with coils.

[Narangga]

You mention 6 speed manual and air suspension. You won't find them on the same car in Australia.

I thought that air suspension came with TR, and that TR meant the auto. I'm sure the manual S only came in the TDV6 with coils.

At least one of the SE manual transmission vehicles currently advertised on carsales states air bag suspension in the vehicle description.