First off-roading with Grand Vitara

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

This Grand Vitara is entirely too clean.

Clean, in what sense Dan? You mean the styling or lack of mud.

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

What is the ground clearance by the way, on one of these GVs?

It is 200mm according to specs. The under-body is one of the flattest I have seen. Only the exhaust system is butting out.

Originally Posted by Nattusbs

I took the photo above (incline, post #101) and using Photoshop and taking the length of the GV as 4.7m (from a website), have roughly calculated the incline to be 62.5 degrees.

Are you kidding?

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Samurai, i would say that the slope is around 35 degrees from the horizontal. I do not know how this would translate in terms of % gradient.

What is % gradient? Is it same as gradeability which is a function of torque and host of other things?

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Clean, in what sense Dan? You mean the styling or lack of mud.

It is 200mm according to specs. The under-body is one of the flattest I have seen. Only the exhaust system is butting out.

Are you kidding?

What is % gradient? Is it same as gradeability which is a function of torque and host of other things?

yes, actually it is gradeability that i was referring to ......AshokLeyland buses, for eg. , have a gradeability of 24.5%.

[Nattusbs]

Samurai

Do you think that 62.5 degrees is wrong? Pythagoras theorem is not wrong

From the picture it is entirely possible IMO.

Cheers

Nattusbs

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Nattusbs

Do you think that 62.5 degrees is wrong? Pythagoras theorem is not wrong

From the picture it is entirely possible IMO.

I thought 45% was the upper limit for climbing...

[sudev]

Lovely reading. I too am owning a GV but 62degree is impossible angle for cars. If your calculations are right and pythagoras has been invoked correctly ....maybe you are taking the angle from verticle instead of horizontal. so 62 could be read as 28?


I had started another thread on GV off roading but it is moderation queue. Will add more once it is allowed.

[Samurai]

Here is a short video to show the flimsiness of GV plastic skid plates. I could bend it with my fingers, it stands no chance against stones. Click on the photo for the video.

[tsk1979]

This video is showing the flexibility, thats all.
If its flexible does not mean its flimsy.
I guess after you change your skid plates you can try hitting the original skid plate with a stone and see if it punctures!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

This video is showing the flexibility, thats all.
If its flexible does not mean its flimsy.

After feeling the plastic with my hand, I have a pretty good idea about that. If the skid plate is this flexible, it is not really protecting. It will transfer the hard impact to the parts it is supposed to protect.

[headers]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

This video is showing the flexibility, thats all.
If its flexible does not mean its flimsy.
I guess after you change your skid plates you can try hitting the original skid plate with a stone and see if it punctures!

I'd second that..

ANd Samurai..the skid plate being flexible does not mean it is not protecting the parts its supposed to protect..i guess it is protecting it against impact.. sand and fine dust that can cause the real damage..

I'm still inclined to think that aluminum skid plates may not be a good replacement..

An OE from Suzuki must have come in after immense research on the material and the placement position etc..

WHy not break it and claim warranty replacement..?? Does your manual exlude that part from warranty..?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by headers

ANd Samurai..the skid plate being flexible does not mean it is not protecting the parts its supposed to protect..i guess it is protecting it against impact.. sand and fine dust that can cause the real damage..

Vikram, why is it so hard to accept my judgement? Why don't you at least look at a GV skid plate first hand before trashing my opinion? From what I hear from GV owners worldwide, the GV skid plates get torn very fast. Should I not listen to such first hand opinions?

As a martial artist, I was into braking anything I could during my late teens and early 20s. Then sense prevailed. Anyway, the point being I became good at figuring out what is breakable and what is not. The GV skid plates don't stand a chance against a sharp stone impact.

Originally Posted by headers

I'm still inclined to think that aluminum skid plates may not be a good replacement..

An OE from Suzuki must have come in after immense research on the material and the placement position etc..

I spent more than a month researching GV skid pates. Suzuki Germany does offer aluminium skid plates for 600 euros. There are many companies worldwide offering aluminium skid plates specially for GV because of the demand. Too expensive to source it from there, I have to get it done locally.

WHy not break it and claim warranty replacement..?? Does your manual exlude that part from warranty..?

Warranty covers defects, not breakage during use.

[rrnsss]

Samurai,

I had faced similar problems with my Chevy Silverado 4x4. The front diff and oil pan was protected by a fibre glass plate. It would flex and ultimately broke and took my borg warner transfer case actuating motor along with it, stranding my truck in Neutral off the road.

Only few customers take the GV off road and I am sure thats why Suzuki has given a fibre glass based skid plate. The only thing it can skid on is sand and dirt . If you touch a rock , there is no telling what would happen.

If GV is not a unibody (monocoque) , you should think of getting 5 mm steel plate, and bolting it on to the chasis. You could cut holes in the plate to let the water drain / debris drain etc and to also reduce the weight.

If GV is unibody , dont go for a heavy skid plate . It might transfer forces to the body and "might" deform the unibody. Better to go with a flimsy skid plate and keep lots of glass cloth and epoxy resin handy to repair it. It is pretty easy to patch up those skid plates. (not so easy to patch up the transfer case though :( )

[Samurai]

Ram, the GV stays somewhere in between, it is unibody on ladder frame.

Originally Posted by Edmunds.com

The 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara masters two competing opposites that often make or break so many small SUVs: on-road manners and off-road ability. Unlike the previous Grand Vitara (also sold as the Chevy Tracker), which was truck-based (had body-on-frame architecture) and quite capable in the rough, the new version features unibody construction. On a unibody vehicle, there is no separate frame and some body parts (such as the floors) are incorporated into the base structure of the car. The result is lighter weight and usually a smoother, more comfortable ride. But off-road ability is sacrificed as the unibody vehicle isn't as rugged.

In order to keep the previous Grand Vitara's off-road character, the new version incorporates a ladder frame into the unibody structure for an extra measure of off-road performance while still delivering a carlike highway feel. Like the new Chex Mix, it's "Sweet and Salty" at the same time. After a whole day of on- and off-road driving, we're happy to say that the unibody/ladder frame design works well. Off-road, the Grand Vitara tackled rutted trails and steep hills like a champ while still delivering a quiet and comfortable highway ride.

None of the after market skid plates available for GV require any holes to be drilled. The chassis has bolt holes in the right places, even the local Maruti dealer has confirmed it. I am getting the aluminium plates made through them. All of overseas skid plates available for GV are using 6mm alumunium with many holes to allow servicing, weight reduction, debris clearance and flexibility. We will be doing the same. This is not really a new experiment.

[rrnsss]

I think the new Montero also uses the same technology. Thats great news then. I agree that the Aluminium plate would be a good investment to protect the mechanisms

[headers]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Vikram, why is it so hard to accept my judgement? Why don't you at least look at a GV skid plate first hand before trashing my opinion? From what I hear from GV owners worldwide, the GV skid plates get torn very fast. Should I not listen to such first hand opinions?


I spent more than a month researching GV skid pates. Suzuki Germany does offer aluminium skid plates for 600 euros. There are many companies worldwide offering aluminium skid plates specially for GV because of the demand. Too expensive to source it from there, I have to get it done locally.

Warranty covers defects, not breakage during use.

Ok..I understand your POV..And I do not underestimate or ridicule your judgement or the video..which was infact very nice..

I just had a different POV and hence the posts..

Also.. i thought a breakage during use is a manufacturing defect..especially for an item like a skid plate..Anyways..thanks for the clarifications..

And no offense to you or your judgements..just had a different point of view..

Sorry

[nitrous]

OT:
Wow! Someone has managed to convince headers.
I bow to U, O great Samurai!