First off-roading with Grand Vitara

[Raajiv]

You are absolutely correct.BTW, you are lucky to live in such a heaven on earth man.Really a cool place.

You would have surely hurt your GV if you had taken that path and also you might have got dents on the side due to the rocks.About the GC part,will switching over a tyre with slightly higher sidewall give you the benefit.So if ever you are changing to A/T tyres,may be you can look for a one with higher sidewall.

Just my 2 cents.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Raajiv

About the GC part,will switching over a tyre with slightly higher sidewall give you the benefit.So if ever you are changing to A/T tyres,may be you can look for a one with higher sidewall.

There are two ways to achieve that. The simplest would be to put over-sized tyres as you suggested, but that can touch the wheel arches since there is not much room. I don't think I can push beyond 235/70R16 on this.

But, if I install a suspension lift kit, then I can raise the whole car, for example the following custom kit for Grand Vitara lifts it by 54mm. After that I can go upto 245/75R16 size without touching the wheel arches, that will add 26mm more, bringing the total GC increase to 80mm. But then I'll have to kiss the warranty goodbye after installing this lift kit.

Suzuki Grand Vitara lift

[Jaggu]

Samu dear hold on for a while, atleast before you go kissing away the warranty. these are CBU and parts can be mighty expensive, so warranty is a good safety net.

[Samurai]

Oh, no! I have no plans to use the lift kit. The on-road behavior suffers pretty badly by lift kits. I was only mentioning the ways to raise the GC.

[GRV]

Fantastic article and photograph clearly demonstrating off road prowess of Vitara. You have used 4L lock. I was wondering if we can turn the vehicle when 4L is engaged ? I have read that when differential is locked one should never turn a vehicle otherwise drive train will ve severly damaged ? I have MT Vitara and need to confirm this before I use 4L lock
Thanks
GRV

[tsk1979]

You should not turn the vehicle with 4L lock if you are on tarmac or on hard ground, eg rocks etc.,
In mud you can turn

[Samurai]

Going by my limited technical knowledge on 4WD, this is what I understand.

There are 3 differentials on the GV. The front axle diffs, the rear axle diffs and the central diffs.

The front and rear axle differentials allow for left wheel to turn in a speed different than the right wheel in the given axle. This is necessary because while turning the far side wheel turns faster than the near side wheel with respect to the turning direction. I think these are called open differentials.

The central differential on GV is a torque sensitive limited slip differential. It sends more torque to the wheel with more grip. It also allows the front and rear to axle to turn in different speeds, but to a limited extent. Again this is necessary in turning. This is the normal 4H mode in which GV is driven most of the time.

When you lock the central diff by switching to 4H lock or 4L lock, it only locks the central differentials. The front and rear will rotate at the same speed. This will be a problem for turning in higher speeds since no difference in speed between front and rear is allowed by the lock. Therefore any attempt to turn will stress the diff locks. Therefore in 4H where you can drive faster, it is better not to take any turns.

But if you are very slow, I don't see why wheels can't be turned. The front and rear diffs are still open. If there is enough slippage on ground to counter the slip between F/R wheels, then there shouldn't be any stress on the diff locks.

The only difference between 4H lock and 4L lock is the extra gear than gives 1.97 times more torque in 4L lock. If the terrain is slippery, at very low speeds you can turn in locked mode (4H or 4L), but don't try that on dry non-slippery road or at higher speeds.

I am no expert, this is just my deduction based on what I picked up from various sources. Experts please add your inputs.

[tsk1979]

your limited knowledge is correct. Just one doubt. So when central diff is locked, the front right will rotate at same speed as rear right and ditto for left, right?
Suppose you get stuck where the front left is free and rear right is free.
So when the front left wants to freewheel, it is locked with rear left, hence you retain traction....?
Little confused.

[Samurai]

That is beyond my understanding too, I have to experiment and see. I'll create a depression in the ground that helps take one or two wheels off the ground and try. Damn, the 2WD was never this fun.

[oldmodel]

Guys...

This is not real off road, Its just a half kilometer inclined mud road. If you come to Kerala, You can see lots of roads like this and Maruti 800 passing through....

Try off roading, where there is no road, or at least 2 ft of water under ur Car..

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by oldmodel

This is not real off road, Its just a half kilometer inclined mud road. If you come to Kerala, You can see lots of roads like this and Maruti 800 passing through....

I am not referring to the mud road part here. There were only two places that were challenging. The first incline from the initial posts, the second incline from the recent shots by Rudra. Both were loose mud, resulting in major wheel spins, no 2WD could have taken it. If you actually know anything about off-roading, you would also know that you can't judge off-roading situations without being present there. It can look simple from photograph, if you kneel and feel the earth, that's a different story altogether. I am assuming you know that.

[GRV]

Hi
Thanks for response on my 4L lock question. Here is link to company video on Off roading with 4L lock (pl use 256 kbps 4th row link). It seems that they are turning the wheel on hard surface with 4L lock
GRV
SUZUKI ESCUDO�@ƒvƒ�ƒ‚�[ƒVƒ‡ƒ“ƒ€�[ƒr�[

[tsk1979]

Wow that is some serious offroading

[IMP]

Great video, serious offroading. Shows the capability of the GV very well.

[Samurai]

I can't believe I am saying this. It looks impressive, but it pales in comparison to what we did in Kelambakkam this Sunday. I am sure other participants would agree. Too bad we didn't have videos from it.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-of...am-quarry.html (Report - Offroad Training Day at Kelambakkam Quarry)