I want to know… who's responsible!?

I don't how many of you read Bushdriver magazine, but the latest issue contained a couple of observations by Ray Barker that are worth noting, and relate to a little thing called responsibility.

The first relates to the watchdog story from America a few months ago about Samurais being easy to roll. When we first heard about it here, I'm sure we all had a bit of chuckle and dismissed it as being a bit of a bad American joke. Having heard more since then and hearing the Samurai sales statistics brought back by Geoff from Japan, it has turned into a fairly serious problem for Suzuki.

The general idea being presented by the Yanks is that the light weight and ultrashort wheelbase of the Suzukis make them dangerous and likely to tip over. Consequently sales have dropped dramatically. No doubt the Vitara, or GeoTracker as the septics call it, offers a far more acceptable handling proposition, but it's at the expense of off-road ability. Extrapolate that, and in another 10 years time you may as well not own a 4WD. Even now, the 4WD concept is being applied to passenger cars in the form of "full time 4WD" or "All wheel drive" traction. i.e. it's become just another sales gimmick to sell "ordinary" cars, and the ideas of long wheel travel, high clearance and steep underbody angles is quickly going out the window.

But, back to the Suzuki's problems. Fancy losing about 80% of its market, just because of a few lunatics who can't, or won't, drive properly!

The manual for the Sierra clearly states that the vehicle is shorter, narrower and taller than a 2WD. It points out why. It goes to the extent of saying "Please drive this vehicle within its design parameters. Do not make sudden turns or abrupt maneuvers." And yet, people go out there; thinking that it's a sportscar simply cause the roof comes off, and drive accordingly. What happens? They fall over.

As Mr Barker points out; you can't go and buy a new Porsche, take it down to your favourite fire trail, and then, once you've torn the underneath out of it and dented every panel, take it back to Porsche and expect warranty. They'll tell you, quite rightly, to go to buggery. Why? Because you are doing things with the car that it was never designed to do. Isn't it the same if you drive a Sierra faster than it was meant to be driven? How people can then turn around and try to sue the manufacturer, because of their own lack of common sense is quite ridiculous and pathetic.

To quote veteran rally driver Doug Stewart, "People say the car ran off the road, but I was driving, so I guess it was me who ran off the road, and the car just followed." Well put Doug.

The second point Mr Barker raises also relates to responsibility, or rather the lack of it, or more precisely, peoples unwillingness to face up to it. It concerns the new Nissan Patrol ads on TV - the one that shows a GQ pulling a punt across the river. No vehicle preparation. No checking the depth, nothing. It just plunges in.

The thing is, if somebody buys a brand new Patrol, and tries the same stunt, how well do you think the Nissan dealer would take it? "Certainly Sir, we don't mind changing the bearings in your diffs and wheels, replacing the radiator from where the fan went through it and rebuilding the motor from where it took in water; No problem at all". I just don't think so.

The ad has no disclaimer or warning, and it would be interesting to know legally where a GQ owner stood if he were to bring his car back under warranty, having it broken it by doing the very thing that the TV ads show you can do with it. From what I hear, the GQs already have some pretty serious camber angle problems which causes the cars to want to run off the road, and Nissan don't even want to about that. That's a manufacturer facing up to their responsibilities. That's Nissan know how. Oh what a feeling!

Volume 14, No 6
June 1989
Chris Betcher

Breathless

When I was a little boy, I used to suffer from mild attacks of asthma. Terrible thing asthma. It becomes a shortness of breath, a feeling that you can't quite breathe deeply enough, and the harder you try, the less air you seem to be able to take in. It wasn't till I was older that the causes of asthma were explained to me. The bronchial tubes, those things we breathe through, tend to close down and restrict the flow of air to the lungs, a bit like trying to drink through a squashed straw. Not much fun.

What's all this got to do with your car?

Cars are a lot like people. They all have personalities, they throw tantrums, the have their little breakdowns and they also need to breathe air. Taking the analogy further, the carburetor is the equivalent of the lungs, and the air cleaner system is the bronchial tubes. Unless the air that passes through the system is free to flow without obstruction, then your poor little Suzi is suffering from automotive asthma. You drive along, see a big hill and put your foot down; the carby says to itself "Oh, more power required… I'll deliver some more fuel, [gasp], if only I could breathe more air!"

The thing that obstructs a flow of air is the air filter element. You see, when Suzuki built your car it built it to a price. Certain corners were cut to save a little bit of money at the engineering end so that you could buy it for a reasonable price at the showroom end. If you would like to see a classic example of a cut corner, open the plastic box that houses your air filter element and there you have one... the paper filter.

Paper filters are an example of a single depth filter. In simple terms, a screen. If you get a microscope and have a close inspection, you will see that the paper has lots of little tiny holes in it .... the concept is very simple, if a piece of junk is too big for the holes it gets caught, but if it's smaller it passes through. Hence the term 'single depth' filter; there is only one layer doing all the work. When all the little holes get full of all this junk, they stop passing air through and your Suzi begins to suffer from asthma.

New members of this club often ask the question "What accessories should I get?" Lists of things like wide wheels, fat tyres, hi suspension, sunroofs, etc, etc. get thrown around in conversation. But let's make the point clear... unless your car has a good flow of 100% clean air, everything else is a waste of time and money!!

There is a product available which will not only deliver pure, dust free air to your carby, but it is highly resistant to clogging, quick and simple to clean, and costs about the same price as the horrible paper thing that you are using now. What I'm talking about of course, are Finer Filters.

Finer Filters are a replacement air filter element which fits directly into the standard air box. Instead of being made of paper, it is made of aerated foam. The idea is simple. There are 2 layers of foam, an inner and an outer band. Both are impregnated with a special tacky oil. This filter is referred to as a "full depth filter" because to get through the filter, a piece of airborne junk must pass through a complicated maze of tiny irregular "shafts", which is the void that makes up the foam. Because there are so many of these shafts, and there is so much void, the filter can trap many times the junk that a paper filter can, and so will not tend to clog up and become asthmatic. The tacky oil further traps the dirt and dust It sounds too good to be true, but not only does it stop ALL airborne rubbish from entering the carby, it performs the task with almost zero obstruction to the air flow.

Impressed? You should be. Now consider this. The owners manual for the 1.3 litre Sierra advises that the air cleaner element (for want of a better term) should be cleaned every 10,000 km. This is on paved road conditions with, I assume, nobody kicking up dust in front of you. For dusty conditions, it recommends cleaning every 2,500 km or as required, and replacement every 40,000 km. It also says that more frequent replacement should be necessary under dusty conditions. Now think about what you do with your car. If you go on club trips, you will spend a considerable amount of time driving in very dusty conditions, usually with a full load on board, and still expecting top performance from the little beast. Seasoned club members could tell you some real horror stories about dust, I'm sure. So let's say you replace a paper element every 20,000 kms which is more likely. My car has 140,000 kms on it ... that means I'd be on my seventh paper element. At around $45 a throw, I would have spent roughly $315.00 in paper filters since I've had the car, and they wouldn't even have been doing a very good job anyway. My engine would still be suffering from wear due to the tiny particles that easily slip through a paper filter.

But no, I put a Finer Filter in almost from the word go. I think it cost me about $45. A bottle of Finer Filter Fluid cost about $10. Not only has it cost a fraction of the price, but it has been doing the job properly, which explains which such a high km engine is still plodding along so nicely. When a Finer Filter gets dirty, you don't replace t. You simply peel off the outer layer, clean it, re-oil it and put it back. It takes about 5 minutes, costs bugger all for the fluid, and can be done anywhere, even on the side of the track, in the middle of nowhere.

On top of being 100% efficient, Finer Filters are also 100% Australian made, which has got to be a big plus. If you want to know who uses them you could look at nearly every vehicle in dusty events like the Wynns Safari, winning off-road racing teams, leading 4WD accessory houses, Turbo manufacturers, not to mention the Suzuki Club!

There are types available for 50's, 80's, 1.0 and 1.3 Sierras and they've just released one for Vitaras as well. When you weigh it all up..... the cost, the efficiency, the convenience, and the protection, there really aren't any good reasons for NOT having one.

Now if only we could find a cure for asthma as easily!

Volume 14, No 6
June 1989
Chris Betcher

The Art of the Reccie

One of the most frustrating things about being the trip organiser for the Suzuki Club, is knowing what type of trips to put on and how often one should put them on. Another of the most frustrating things, (because there are several), is the task of trying to make it all really interesting and varied for you lot, and not repeat trips too often.

On becoming Trip organizer, or Trip Convenor or whatever the correct term is, (I kind of like "Road Director" myself, but to be honest, it is all a bit academic, and quite outside the realm of this preamble anyway.) Where was I? Ah yes, the trip calendar. Basically, we don't have enough trips. Our membership has doubled over the last few years, while our access to certain areas has diminished. Changing emphasis by the manufacturers of 4WD vehicles has also led to a rethinking of the types of tracks we have to use. Put simply, they don't make ‘em like they used to, and what with the theories of entropy working on an environmental scale, tracks can only become more difficult with the passage of time, (Bulldozers excluded, of course.)

"What's he on about now?" I hear you ask. Reccies, my friends, Reccies. The long lost Art of the Reconnoiter is due to become more fashionable again. And not before time either.

Reccies are fun. They involve lost skills like map reading, recovery and ingenuity, whilst rekindling childhood feeling of adventure and anticipation. Expect the unexpected. And remember, even the oldest joke in the world is still new to somebody. So it is with Reccies.

Let me set up a timeframe for you, so that you might begin to see a point to this ramble. May 13, 1989. Colo River crossing on the Putty Road. 4 diminutive vehicles all gather to experience the Art of the Reccie. Tackleberry, Andrew and Uncle Len, Greg and Leone, Donna and myself. Some lines are on some maps. We sit down to an open hamburger, pore over the maps and a plan of attack is formulated. One map in particular, the 1:25000 topographic of Colo Heights, has some intriguing dotted lines, leading to what could be spectacular views over the Colo Gorge. After reasonable contemplation, we set off, looking for the break in the bush, for the tell-tale signs that 4WD lifeforms do, perhaps, have a future on this planet.

Without any further ado, we locked our hubs, deflated our tyres and sallied forth. The terrain followed a ridge heading west, and upon closer inspection it was found that there were a set of wheeltracks in front of us, and the width and tyreprint looked suspiciously like a vehicle of our own persuasion .... a Zuki. We eventually came across the aforementioned piece of machinery, parked in a clearing with no sign of an owner. Thinking perhaps he or she had gone for a wander into the bush, we made some noise, consumed our lunch, and waited to see if anyone should turn up. No Suzuki owner was forthcoming so we continued on our way. The track began to get quite interesting, both in terms in the grade and the ruttiness of the terrain.

Coming to a clearing of sorts, we paused briefly to consider the alternatives. The narrower of the two seemed to go downhill, towards the river reasoned Mr Hamilton. As things turned out, he was quite correct. It did go towards the river, and would later prove the pseudo-mathematical equation; Find the limit of the Cockroach as the track approaches the river. More on this in a moment.

We chose instead to pursue the other trail. It was narrow, very overgrown, and began to descend via a very rutted and twisty route. Parts of the track were so thickly overgrown, that some of us resorted to using our headlights in order to see .... it was still mid afternoon. Despite our desire to continue, the track came to a rather abrupt halt with only a difficult walking track winding off up the hill.

We retraced our steps, back through the darkest jungle, and around the ridge to the difficult looking climb - Perhaps this would be an appropriate opportunity for me to compliment the driving skills of my companions. All drove extremely impressively, and it was a pleasure to witness Suzukis being handled in such a professional way. At no stage did anyone have trouble, take an awkward line.... I don't think anyone even spun a wheel.

We returned to the clearing, which was really just a bend in the track, a bit wider than the rest, and the prospect of investigating the track towards the river became obvious. Being the duly elected trip leader for this sojourn, I offered the Cockroach as a guinea-pig, (which would be a good trick, no?) Off we went, down the hill, down a steep section, down, down, further down... till without warning the track suddenly ended.

"Terrific", I thought.

Not having a CB radio to communicate with the group at the top, Donna offered to ascend and inform. Soon my companions joined me. Turning around on the side of the hill presented no great problems... It was the slipperiness of the clay, and the steepness that afforded only minimal traction, which caused the problem with not even the MudTerrains gaining any purchase on the ground. The decision was made to winch the car up. This was a good idea. The rear of the car was opened to gain access to the winch, but because of the steepness of the incline, the entire contents of the rear of the car spewed out and down the hill. This was not a good idea. It seems that the tightness of the pack did not offset the angle of the car.

The next three quarters of an hour was spent handwinching the car up the difficult sections, driving it as far as possible, and resetting the winch further up the hill. Eventually it reached the top.

Camp that evening was a pleasant affair, with tents set up on the track itself, such was the apparent remoteness of the location. An excellent fire was started, courtesy of our very own, Bushman Len. Bushman Len kept us all very well informed with his observations and insights into the Great Australian outdoors. "This spot here", he would say, "was a spot where someone once had a fire. You can tell by this ring of rocks and the ash!" Needless to say, we were all spellbound by these incredible observations.

The sensible boundaries of camp oven cooking were explored, with Greg H giving us all a spectacular display of his own particular brand of campfire pyrotechnics by setting fire to the oil in his oven .... Ole!. Andrew, as usual, amazed us all with his bag of spices and herbs, concocting some truly gastronomic delights. Tackleberry had his usual high cuisine from a can. Ah, but those roast chickens were delicious, except they were broiled. Perhaps not so much water next time.

Next morning we awoke to the sound of bellbirds and lyrebirds, had a hearty breakfast and broke camp. Today we would attempt to find the infamous Fred’s Hill. Instead we found Fred himself! Yes dear reader, Fred is an old man that lives in a caravan up near Wallaby Swamp. He was pleasant enough to talk to, although his directions to his own hill seemed to be a little wide of the mark. We spent an hour or so searching for the trail, but didn't quite find it. We found some other interesting options though, including a steep rocky descent to a prime campsite, which had not seen campers for many years. Now a home for deer, its potential was noted for further visits to this area.

Volume 14, No 6
June 1989
Chris Betcher

An Adventure in Jamboree Land

Once upon a time, on a property far, far away, there lived a man with a big red 110 Landrover. He used to drive up and down the hills of his kingdom, but he got very lonely, even though he had RED-110 number plates. So he decided that he would get together with two nearby kingdoms, the Landrover owners club of Newcastle, and the Raymond Terrace Toyota club and organise a huge festival every year. People in 4WDs would come from near and far, from right across the land to take part in this gathering, which became known as the 4WD clubs Jamboree.

And so it came to pass that the invitations were sent out, and people bought new ballgowns and tents and jaffle irons, just so they could go to this glittering event. Stories circulated about the spectacular scenery, and the wonderful 4WDing to be found on this magic kingdom, and pretty soon, everybody began to arrive at this distant land they called Mount Seaview.

Somewhere in the middle of all this there was a group called the Suzuki Club. Everybody thought that they were just a little club, but they soon grew and grew and grew, till finally they were bigger than everybody else! The Suzuki club made their camp on a little hill and everybody set up their tents and some people dug moats, and some even lived in palaces. There was quite a bit of excitement as they prepared their little Suzukis for some fun in the bush, and others made about setting up tarpaulins, while some others thought about making a fire and starting to eat, and some others began to try and find the bar.

But up high in the mountains a wicked storm was brewing, planning to ruin the fun of the weary travelers. Soon it began to rain and rain and rain, till eventually everything began to turn to mud. There was mud on everything, and so much rain that the 4WD trips had to be postponed till it stopped. But still it didn't dampen the spirits of our little group. They still ate and cooked and partied just as though it had never rained, and indeed some even found the bar! But still it rained and we thought it would never stop. The Kingdom had a huge moat around it called the Hastings river and it began to rise too, till eventually it got so deep that it threatened to wash away any little Suzukis that dared to cross it. Soon not even big Toyotas and Nissans were brave enough to try and cross.

Nonetheless, there were still things to do in the kingdom itself. The little Suzukis went and had a play on the Funkhana course, doing all sorts of fun things like wearing blindfolds and spilling water and trying to do things to the gearbox that the factory never even thought of. One day, out of sheer desperation, a few Suzukis went for a little drive around the test track, and had quite an entertaining time, not to mention getting quite muddy as well.

One night, when it was very dark and quiet, a strange noise came from the gully below the Suzukis campsite. It seemed to get louder and louder and more and more ferocious, and for a while it sounded like the yobbos in the next campsite had turned their music up and begun to party again. But no, it was decide that they should all go and have a look. So off they went, following Kevin with the axe, and what should it be but a big bad Hilux trying to get through the gully. It huffed and it puffed, but try as it might, it just couldn't get through the gully at all. Eventually a big man in a Middie came to the rescue, but he seemed to know nothing at all about recovery so Chris and Kevin gave him a short talk while young Rodney held him in a headlock, just to be sure he was paying close attention.

It still rained, and the big moat kept rising, so to stay amused the Suzuki club decided to enter just about every car they had in the monster boghole contest. In the end, there were too many Suzukis and not enough time, and they only managed to get a Beasty, a Black Beauty and a Cockroach muddy, but the whole club still seemed to get very excited and very wet and some got very muddy as well.

By Sunday, people were starting to going home, because the sky was still raining, just for a change. But alas, there was no way out of the magic kingdom. The wicked storm had made the Hastings moat higher than ever. Some people weren't bothered at all by this and found things to amuse them, like the bar, but some others were getting very worried and were starting to to think they might never be able to leave. But the Great Wizard Fred had begun to make plans for a way across the mighty moat in the form of a trailer (which must have been hired, because if anyone owned it, they would've been very upset at its treatment!) Little by little, the Wizard Fred began to build on his idea for a magic ride across the moat that desperate people could take a punt on. Soon it was ready and lo and behold it worked! The people were overjoyed and formed a big line to get rides on the magic moat crosser.

So that was the story of the 1989 Jamboree weekend and a bit, which we will all remember for a very, very long time. And nobody else will ever know what went on, except me, you, and I think maybe the little zuke knows something too, don't you?

4WD Clubs Jamboree, Coolendel 1988

It had finally arrived. The big Bicentennial jamboree hosted by the Toyota Landcruiser Club of Sydney. Neil, Ross and Caroline met at my place on Thursday afternoon, we stopped by to pick up Donna, then we were on our reasonably swift way to Nowra. Despite a few Easter traffic hold-ups, we arrived at Coolendel just as night settled in and we set up our campsite by the light of our headlights.

When we drove in, we were informed by the organisers that they had spent the last two years planning for this jamboree. Having been a participant of the 1986 Colo River Jamboree and the 1987 Mount Seaview Jamboree, the Cruiser Club certainly had some pretty hard acts to follow. My compliments must go to the TLCC because they had done a terrific job in organising such a mammoth event. Coolendel was a really beautiful property situated on the Shoalhaven river. Being about an hour out of Nowra on fairly poor dirt roads, the organisers had certainly put a lot of effort, time and money into making this Jamboree a success for all concerned.

However, the rot started to set in when we followed an official past Cruiser Crescent, down ARB Boulevard, to our campsite in "Crapo Crescent".

Now let me make one thing very clear… the endless streams of Suzuki jibes become a bit tedious after a while. Not because I believe for one minute that our little Suzis are inferior. No, I know as well as anyone that there is no such thing as an inferior vehicle; they are only as good as their driver. I will be the first person to admit to being very pro-Suzuki. I would expect a Cruiser Club person to be very pro-Cruiser… that's only natural. But I can't understand why being pro-something means you have to be anti-everything else.. If somebody wants to drive a Patrol or a Lada or a Jeep or a Landrover or whatever, then good luck to them. Hell, we all own 4WDs for pretty much the same reasons anyway. A bit of good old fashioned rivalry is great, but there becomes a point where it gets carried a bit too far.

And that's what happened on the weekend.

Both trips I attended had idiots on them who continually criticised us, not because of the way we drove, but because of our choice of vehicle. There were a few morons who had never seen basic techniques like a stall recovery, and would refuse to listen to any explanations. "Gee, the Suzukis are off to a bad start, they keep stalling and won't start", or, "Do you talk the same way you drive? With a S-s-s-stutter?"

Look, the jamboree is a perfect place for all 4WDers, no matter what their choice of vehicle, club member or non-club member, to get together and see how the other half live. But to have things turn into a malicious mud slinging match is not, to me, what the Jamboree should be all about.

The Suzuki Club members that I saw driving on the weekend were in a class all their own. That is obviously a biased opinion, but I think it's nonetheless accurate. Several trip leaders, who generally speaking did a terrific job, commented on the impressive driving displayed by our club. One said he had never seen a Suzuki being driven with as much control as we displayed. It's possible to drive ALL vehicles with control as far as I'm concerned, most even more so than a Sierra with its dreadful gearing.

The sad thing about all this is that it set up certain tensions that made it so much harder to enjoy this Jamboree than previous ones, which is a real shame because the organisation and location of Coolendel were superb: the facilities, flushing toilets, hot showers, Leon and his Roving Spit, the bush band, the kids' activities… they were all fabulous. Even the wet weather held off for most of the weekend.

The work put into researching the various trips was obvious and the organisers and the Jamboree committee bent over backwards to make sure everybody's stay was an enjoyable one. Full marks to you guys.

But I want to enjoy the jamboree regardless of the type of car I drive, not in spite of it.

I tell you, I saw some people do some really dumb things on the weekend.

• I saw a MWB Toyota roll over purely because of the stupid way it was being driven.
• I saw blatant examples of things that would not only get the Greenies upset, but had me furious too.
• I don't think that drinking beer on a 4WD trip is a responsible thing to do, even there are no booze buses around. And yet I saw one fellow, the son of a senior TLCC committee member, drive all day and every time I saw him he had a beer in his hand.

I don't consider damaging a car by rolling it to be a "normal" event on a club trip.

And yet, I felt I was in a minority. Before you accuse me of being a brat crying about some big bad bully saying nasty things about my car, that's not at all what it's about.

I think that 4WD clubs need to look very carefully at their membership and identify some of these ratbag elements, because they are destroying what the rest of us are working very hard at. They need to take those people aside and explain to them, very carefully, the situation.

The situation is this. We come together at events like the 4WD Clubs Jamboree to share the common interest of 4WDing. Getting stuck into each other about something as petty and personal as our choice of vehicle is self destructive to the whole movement, and that is something we can all do without.

Chris Betcher
April 1988

Straight Torque - Gearing and Tyres

OK trendsetters. So we've looked at Power and Torque, and we've spun it up on the dyno, and we've had a bit of a rave about what it all means. But hang on, all that P & T (let's just call it energy) is still up in the driveline somewhere. It doesn't do any good till it gets out onto the road, and that happens through the wheels.

You may have heard people rambling on about gear ratios. Very briefly, when the energy comes out of the motor it has to pass through several gear ratios: the gearbox, the transfer box, the diff centres and the tyres. (yes, that's right, the tyres!) Have a look at these figures for the 1300 Sierra. (Other models, just check the back of your workshop manual somewhere)

• Lo range 2.268
• Hi range 1.409
• Diff Centres 3.909

• 1st 3.650 
• 2nd 1.946 
• 3rd 1.422 
• 4th 1.000 
• 5th 0.793 

Now it's very simple. If you want to know the final gear ratio for an give gear combination, you simply multiply the three appropriate figures together.

For example, take a look at your main gear for 4WDing which is low range first gear (usually just called low-low). It would be 3.650 (first gearbox gear) X 2.268 (low transfer gear) X 3.909 (diff centre) = 32.827. Don't take my word for it… check it yourself.

The same goes for any other combination of gears … gearbox X transfer X diff = gear ratio. OK, so you might be thinking this is a really useless piece of information, and you might be right. Until you start comparing it with a few other 4WDs and asking a few question. We'll stick with low-low for a moment. Look at this…

• Audi Quattro 14.000
• Subaru Sportswagon 21.996
• Suzuki Sierra 32.827
• Mitsubishi Pajero SWB 35.440
• Landcruiser Sahara 39.023
• Toyota Hilux 43.583
• Landrover 110 Diesel 47.837
• Mercedes Benz 300GD 48.634

Notice anything? The really capable 4WDs all have one thing in common - a really low low-range gear ratio. They are all around the 40 to 50 range. By the way, gear ratios work back to front, the bigger the number, the lower the gear. Conversely, vehicles that are not generally regarded as "serious" 4WDs like the Audi Quattro and the Subaru, have quite high gearing (lower numbers).

That should immediately tell you something. Having a decent low range gearing is a very important characteristic if you intend to use your vehicle for "serious" offroad driving. So where does the Sierra fit in then?

At 32.8:1, it is the worst geared of the whole bunch if you don't count the Audi and the Subie, which are really just passenger car derivatives and not real 4WDs. Now, generally speaking, most Suzuki owners can get away with the gearing as it is because of their applications for the vehicle. Let's face it, the number of people you will find that use their Suzukis to go to Wirraba Ridge or Heartbreak Hill are in a definite minority. And because the vehicles are so light, and the motors are really quite efficient for their size, even the diehards can get away with the standard gearing in most situations.

But here is a problem to think about. The Sierra comes standard off the showroom floor wearing LR78/15 tyres. When Joe Public picks up his new Suzy and starts to think about modifications, he generally wants to start with different tyres (you know, rooly big ones!), and so he heads down to the local tyre dealer (who spends most of his time working with passenger sedans, so often doesn't think about this stuff), and gets a set of 10Rs fitted. They look great, but when the guy drives it out on the road, he suddenly wonders why it doesn't go fast anymore. It gets along ok on a flat road, but then dies in the arse at the first sign of a hill.

What this unsuspecting chap has actually done is to raise all his gear ratios. The original tyres were about 28 inches tall; his new ones are about 31 inches tall … that's about a 10% increase in all of his gear ratios! The poor little motor was never designed to pull that around… it simply doesn't develop the amount of torque needed to keep the wheels turning. Even if it did, when you went off road, you would have to do everything at far too great a speed just so the motor wouldn't stall. It would be like driving everywhere in high range.

The final result of all this is that it is very unwise to go to a much bigger tyre (in diameter) unless you are prepared to do some serious modifications to the rest of the drivetrain to bring the final gear ratio back to where you started from (or lower!) If you're not prepared to do these mods, and you still want your car to perform well, then don't use any tyre bigger than a 215/75-15, or about 28.5 inches in diameter.

On the other hand, if you really don't care how much of a dog it is to drive, and you don't mind using second gear to climb hills, and the farthest offroad you get is your front lawn, but you don't care because at least it looks mean, then go for it. Try Unimog wheels.

Chris Betcher
October 1987

Straight Torque - Running the Numbers

Righto. Heads still reeling from last months little discussion? Good! This month we will take a look at these figures in practise and see how all this waffle actually gets to the wheels.

As promised, CB-2801 revved itself silly on ARB's dynamometer last week and spewed forth a collection of power and torque numbers. Before we look at them, pick up a copy of Suzuki's 1300 Sierra brochure, flip over to the back page and look up the figures for maximum power and maximum torque. You'll find that maximum power is 47 kw (kilowatts, remember them?) at 6000 rpm, and maximum torque is 100 Nm (Newton-metres) developed at 3500 rpm.

Now when I tell you that the Mobile Fueltank developed only 40 kw at 6000 rpm, you might think "What a wreck! It's 7 kw below standard specs!" But it also developed maximum torque of 1500 Nm at 3000 rpm. That's 15 times the standard spec!

Whoa! What's going on here? Down on power, up on torque? Well, the first point to note here is that the output figures quoted in most manufacturer's brochures are measured at the flywheel, not the rear wheels. Remember, that power is "the engine's ability to do work". And turning all those gears, shafts, wheels, tyres, etc, is hard work! So by the time it gets to the back wheels it has lost a bit of its oomph. Around 30% of its oomph, in fact.

And the torque figures? Well, you see, a gear box goes by another name… engineers refer to a gearbox as a "torque multiplier". And simply stated, the torque that goes in one end gets multiplied so there is more of it at the other end. By the time you put in 100 Nm, when it comes out the other end, the gear reduction ratio is responsible for my ensuing 1.5 kNm, or 1500 Nm.

So, you see, Betcher's Beast is not really that breathless after all; in fact it is quite respectable… 47 kw minus 30% drive train loss is about 33 kw. Mine had nearly 40 kw. You will also notice that the Cockroach developed maximum torque at 3000 rpm, 500 revs lower than standard spec. All this can be attributed to, I suppose, the extractors, sports exhaust, Finer Filter, Nulon oil additives, good HT leads and new plugs. All these things add up and they do seem to make a difference.

Now, while we are on the subject of gear ratios, you have all heard the common old sierra whinge "the gearing is too high". What does that mean exactly? We all want to do our hard 4WDing at the optimum speed - very slowly! But when you go down to a nice slow crawl, the motor slows down as well. When the motor is just ticking over, say 800 to 1000 rpm, it is developing bugger all torque, or turning force, and of course it takes very little to make it stall. The motor simply cannot keep turning the load being placed upon it, and so it gives up and stalls.

What you really want is a system whereby the motor is able to get up higher into the torque band, say at least 2000 rpm, preferably higher, but to still allow the car to crawl along at a very slow pace. This is what's meant by having lower gearing. 1.3 Sierras are geared low-low at 33:1. The early 2-stroke Suzukis were geared low-low at around 56:1 … the needed to be geared like that because 2-stroke motors only really develop torque if they are spinning quite fast. But that gearing is about 40% lower than a Sierra. Disgusting isn't it?

You can work out the end ratios by looking at the Suzuki brochure again, finding the gear ratios for Transfer Box, Gearbox and Diff Centre (sometimes called the Final Drive) and multiplying the three together. For the 2-stroke, it's 3.012 x 3.835 x 4.875 = 56.324:1.

Why? Because in the modern day rush to get from place to place quicker, Suzuki (and indeed nearly every other 4WD manufacturer) has made a compromise between a very low first gear and a reasonably tall fifth cruising gear. It is simply easier to build it that way because the transfer case can be made a reasonable size… having a big difference between the high and low range means a big difference in the actual cog sizes… hard to fit in a compact case.

In the 1300s, you can drop a 1 litre transfer box into it, but it will lower your high range a little too. You can pop in some lower ratio diff centres, but again, down come all your ratios in every gear. Maxi Drive in Queensland were talking of designing an interconnecting gearbox to fit between the back of the gearbox and the front of the transfer case, which would be a third box with 1:1 and then something lower again. So, when low-low wasn't enough, engage the interbox and you have low-low-low, if you get what I mean. Sounds like a great idea, but when will it surface? Don't hold your breath waiting - the total percentage of zooks that would even consider the use of such a device is pretty minimal, so it's no surprise it isn't on the 'things to do' list of most manufacturers. Wouldn't it be good if the club could design and manufacture one? Something to think about anyway!

Chris Betcher
September 1987

PS - Since this article was written back in 87, there are a couple of solutions to the gearing problem. The best one seems to the Rockhopper, a set of replacement transfer case gears which reduces the final drive by about 83%!

Poor Rod's Tent

Through the air the frisbee went.
And in the catch, the catcher leant
Upon Rod’s tent…
And down it went!
I’m sure the tent was never meant
To take such stress, and so it bent
Poor Rod’s tent…
Down it went.
Into the fire the tent pole went.
To heat it up and fix the bent
Poor bent tent.
That never meant!
Then Andrew’s car in circles sent,
Went silly, for the tent it went.
Poor Rod’s tent …
Again it went.

By now the tent was looking bent.
You’d think that someone would invent
Poles for tent
Too strong to dent!

So, "sorry" Rod, about the tent
To bent the tent we never meant.
Poor Rod’s tent.
‘Tent for Rent’.


Chris Betcher
Volume 12. No. 5
May 1987

Catherine Hill Bay Day Trip

Perhaps I should explain a few things.

Firstly, I normally take my own vehicle on club trips. Unfortunately, some fool in a half-car (2WD) decided to customise my front end last month, so CB2801 was taking a short holiday at the panel beaters. It would be there for a week, and it had to be this week, to be back in time for the Easter Jamboree. So it was No Car.

Secondly, this silly daylight savings business of moving clocks forward or backwards or upside-down or something, was a bit too confusing and so I didn't get time to get any lunch together before I left, and I couldn't talk mum into doing it for me. So it was No Food.

Finally, the Education Department, who supposedly pay me, didn't. So it was No Money.

Get the picture? No car, no food, no money.

Now if anyone ever passes comment on the Hilux drivers that you need a Suzuki to be in the Suzuki club, just laugh at them… I've proved you don't even need a car at all!

Anyway, thanks to the gracious offer of David Brooks and his son Derryn, I found myself a lift up the coast to Catherine Hill Bay. And just to push my luck, I even took my surfboard. We got to the meeting place right on time to find Darryl and Cheryl, The Twins and a friend, and Kevin, Gail and Rodney. I'm really glad that McDonalds was shut because had it been open I would have been SO hungry!

We waited for a while for all the people who said they were going to turn up but of course didn't, and then it was time to hit the road, Jack.

We arrived at Catherine Hill Bay and drove around to check the place out. Derryn thought it was great; he was jumping around excitedly in the back seat (or maybe that was just the standard Sierra suspension?). David drove really well and I think he was just kidding when he said he hadn't done much 4WDing.

Anyhow, we checked out the caves and had a surf and had a drive. (I even got to drive the twins' cars - so far so good!) Then ee stopped for lunch. OK, this is where you start to feel a bit guilty when people start offering you lunch… their lunch! Unfortunately, although I felt guilty, I also felt hungry, and hungry won.

After a further drive, I ended up driving Darryl's car, which was very nice of him to let me. Maybe I won't embarrass him by mentioning how he almost got stuck at the bottom of a quite steep hill.

I also won't bother telling everyone what a nice place it is, or about the great sea caves, or what Sally said about the nudists on the beach (suffice to say that it was worth a good "whipping"!) And I won't tell about the great ice cream at the Oak shop on the way back, or what Cheryl looks like in a cossie. (No, I just made that up!)

I won't tell you any of that, because if people were really interested in what happened on club trips, they'd go on the bloody things. Let's just say that it was an enjoyable day for all those who went.

Thanks again to everyone who lent me cars, food and money for an ice cream. There's always a spare seat in my Sierra.

Chris Betcher
March 1986

The Club with Showy Drivers

There was movement on the Parkway, for the word had passed around,
That the club with no regrets was on the way.
They were off to visit Oxford Falls - they'd been a thousand times,
So all the Zuki's gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted drivers form the woodwork of the club
Had mustered at the meeting place that morn.
They were hoping for a full days four wheel driving in the scrub,
Providing that Kim's baby wasn't born.

There was Uncle Graeme Walker driving MAM-one seven oh,
With faithful Gwynne, and Kim his pregnant beau,
And he never used the Tirfor when the hill was getting tough,
He would go wherever 'Lux and man could go.
And Mick Lord of the Overturn came down to lend a hand,
No better driver ever rolled a car.
But not a hill could stop him when the comp'ny car was his,
His four wheel driving took him very far.

And one there was, a wimp who left his 4-Runner at home,
He said it lacked the clearance for this track.
But with a word or two to Sally, and another one to Jane,
He took their car and wouldn't give it back.
It was hard and tough and rocky, just the sort to dent your sills
But Andrew handled MKB with pride.
And the twins were calm as usual when he bounced it up those hills,
"Just don't tip it over!", Sally cried.

And Steve brought his Bundera, one would doubt his power to stay,
But Graeme said "I'd like to see it go".
On the long and tiring trip it seemed to keep up quite okay,
Though the mudflaps on the back just had to go.
He was careful with his driving as he followed with the rest, though
There were times he said "I think we've gone too far".
In the moments when he teetered, balanced nicely on a crest,
I think he wished he had a normal car.

And Bruce was tail-end vehicle but he didn't seem to mind,
He drove there out of choice, and not of luck.
By staying at the end and chasing everybody's tail,
They never got to see if he got stuck.
But when they sat down on the rocks, or in a shady place,
To watch the other cars and maybe learn,
They all got up to move aside and give them lots of space,
Especially when it was Bruce's turn!

When they reached the mountain summit, they stopped to have a rest,
Then got some rocks and helped restore the track.
And up to now you'd think that Mick and Martin drove the best,
But now the Hilux wimps were turning back!
Victor's new suspension seemed to handle all the bumps
He Drov'er over things to offer proof,
There was a rock that saw a splash of oil from his sump,
And the bar treads almost lowered his high roof!

And in the LJ80 there was Ian and his friend,
And every ledge they found, their Suzy cleared.
They drove on with the others right out to the very end,
And then, without farewell, they disappeared.
And Darryl, he was driving in DS two two three two,
The way he drove was worthy of a mention.
The rocks and bumps and ruts that seemed to big for you and me,
He walked all over, thanks to his suspension.

And George drove single handed from beginning through to end,
He ploughed it through the dirt and mud and muck.
The one big rock which caught him as he came around a bend,
Was the only time all day that he got stuck.
And the sun came through the soft top, down on Chris and Donna's shoulders,
But on the hard bits, temper tantrums showed.
Chris filled all the gaps and ruts with bits of rock and boulders,
With tar and steel, he could have built a road.

So down by Oxford Falls, where the sandstone ridges rise,
And chassis scrapes are used to mark the track,
Where the temperature gauge from K-Mart was reading 55 degrees,
And they drove from 10 till 3 without a snack.
Yes, up there on the plateau where the Suzy Clubbers play,
The things they think their cars can do are tried.
The Club with Showy Drivers is a household word today,
And the Track Chat tells the story of their ride.

Chris Betcher
With Apologies To A B (Banjo) Patterson
1985