Finally got to test the monster on Sunday at midday (have a wiring bug on pre heat but not a concern in the sub-tropics with a direct injected engine anyway, will sort that out next weekend).
Right, first off, 1st gear is useless unless you want to idle around slowly and change up, engine just freely revs very easily, so you just have to go straight to second gear, with the 2H you had to get the vehicle moving so drop it into second gear, the 12ht will idle in second.
3000 revs plus is around 11-16lbs boost, cruising around 6-9, up thru the gear changes 8-14lbs, happy with that, as this fibreglass sports tub 40 is light weight, on the beach spins locked rear wheels in 1st, 2nd & 3rd gears. Now 5th gear is a problem for me, because you are happily cruising down the beach at 70 - 75kph in 4th gear you keep forgetting you now have 5th, at 1:085 reduction you drop to something like 1200-1300 revs, I will get use to it.
I have had no jerking or hopping problem from the 12ht engine as some have experienced, the dampener I placed on the throttle must be working and or the IP service & new injectors cured the problem anyway, but this is also a fully rebuilt engine so I have know way of knowing even if this engine had the problem to begin with?
Suspension, its like slalom skiing, at 70kph you can throw the steering wheel from left to right & back as if going around witches hats, running 22lbs in the front tyres and 19lb in the rears. Swing the steering wheel right, the left front corner dips, left wheel bits and instant turn right, feel back wheels then bit, throw back to the left..
Now I have had leaf suspension 40's before, but coils all round its just so much of a different 40 to drive, I mean its still a short wheel base at 93" but where you hit a 2" set of deep ruts before you would brace yourself because you knew it would chatter up thru the seats, now its absorbed in the suspension, whereas the leafs would let it travel up thru who ever was sitting in the seats.
I have another set of coils springs which I am going to test next week, they are around another 15mm in lift and just a little stiffer, the one thing about the coils are you just jack up one corner , pull the coil and pop the new one in, 5 mins.
This is after bulbar, battery, front seats
Will take finished photos next week, but after adding bulbar, bonnet, driving lights, square flood lights where the yellow circles are, 60 litres of fuel, couple gauges & wiring, plus a driver & passenger sitting in the front seats, the front suspension has dropped down around 15mm. Which when the front drops the back rises a little, so that why I am going to test the other set on springs I have on standby and lift the front up 15mm which will drop the rear around 8mm.
It was always going to be a hit miss affair with the front spring levels because there is no standard to work from, and its not matter of using 80 series 2" lift springs as the chassis is built with a inbuilt 2" lift. The 80 series springs I am using are standard height oem springs but just ones from a petrol 80 series which are in it now, the other set are from a later model 80 series diesel.
The other trick with 80 series springs is that the left hand spring is always longer than the right hand spring by around 10-15mm, which on the 80 series levelled the vehicle, as I don't have that level problem, my choice of spring heights are numerous, currently using 2 higher left petrol coils on each side, I can use 2 right low diesel coils (which are higher than the height of the petrol left coils but stiffer that I am using now) or I could use the higher 2 left diesel 80 series coils all round.
Because the coils are easy to get out its a pretty quick change over, the rear is fine with the coils being from a petrol 80 series which did not have rear 3rd seats.
I would say I am fairly happy, smoother ride, way smoother, no rusty leaf springs, plenty of power for towing, power steering similar to 80 series and very responsive (not like the old 40 series where you turn the wheel and wait for the response), disc brakes all round, good lights for a change and not have to rev the hell out of the engine to get thru 12" of dry powder soft beach sand.
Now just need to run the engine in and change the oil & filter.
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