Surf Questions...

[Karma Supra]

I thought I’d wait about before asking these questions, have a bit of a search and hopefully not ask too many obvious questions J

I have mentioned before that I am looking at getting a Gen 3 surf, with a view to using it as a modified daily driver, I have searched and learned a fair bit about these trucks, but still have a list of questions bout them… Some fairly obvious, some more technical

Here goes!

Was the Recaro interior an option on the Gen 3?

Did they have any form on inclinometer device?

I know hard bull bars are not strictly legal on modern cars, what is the cut off age on a vehicle that this legislation came in with? Will I get away with them legally on a ‘96/97 truck?

Do ARB make a front bar for the Gen 3? I can’t see one on their site, if not will the Prado one fit ok?

I see the E locker diffs are an option, are they fairly rare? I assume the middle and rear diff can be locked?

Diesel vs. Petrol, I know a thread in itself, most I see are diesel, which I have never liked before, how do they compare performance wise to the Petrol? Are they particularly noisy? (I know some diesels are smoother then others) I assume it is the more sensible option J

I will definitely be lifting the truck, probably thinking 4” (ideally all by upgrading suspension????) or so. Also looking at bigger tires and roof lights and a safari style roof rack, My only slight concern is total height, how high is it likely to be? Am I going to have problems with car parks and height restrictions? Anyone here have these problems? Local station car park is 6’3” height, I am not sure if that is average roof space or low, driving sports cars all my life I have never really looked before!

1UZ-FE, I have fitted one to a supra before, It will certainly be something I’ll consider for the Hilux, nothing about the conversion really bothers me abort from 4x4 mode, is there a readily available bell housing to keep the existing running gear? (The Tacoma used the 2uz AFAIK, and they have similar running gear)

Are the all terrain/off road tires you guys use dangerous for long motorway journeys? A friend of mine with a frontera on Kuhmo 33s seems to think so….

And finally, what is the rated towing weight? (licence permitting) Am I likely to be able to tow my 1400 kg supra on a trailer with the Surf?

Cheers for your time….

Charlie.

[Apache]

See inline

I thought I’d wait about before asking these questions, have a bit of a search and hopefully not ask too many obvious questions J

I have mentioned before that I am looking at getting a Gen 3 surf, with a view to using it as a modified daily driver, I have searched and learned a fair bit about these trucks, but still have a list of questions bout them… Some fairly obvious, some more technical

Here goes!

Was the Recaro interior an option on the Gen 3?

Did they have any form on inclinometer device?

I know hard bull bars are not strictly legal on modern cars, what is the cut off age on a vehicle that this legislation came in with? Will I get away with them legally on a ‘96/97 truck?

Do ARB make a front bar for the Gen 3? I can’t see one on their site, if not will the Prado one fit ok?

Have seen ARB type bumpers on 3rd gens. Are you talking about winch bumper?

I see the E locker diffs are an option, are they fairly rare? I assume the middle and rear diff can be locked?

Diesel vs. Petrol, I know a thread in itself, most I see are diesel, which I have never liked before, how do they compare performance wise to the Petrol? Are they particularly noisy? (I know some diesels are smoother then others) I assume it is the more sensible option J

What do you want it for? You're talking about lockers, then about petrol performance?? If it's for offroad, I personally would take a diesel every time. You have torque on your side, and you dont have an ignition system to worry about when wading. If it's for mainly road, forget about the diff lockers and ARB bumpers as they'll add complexity and weigh you down.

I will definitely be lifting the truck, probably thinking 4” (ideally all by upgrading suspension????) or so. Also looking at bigger tires and roof lights and a safari style roof rack, My only slight concern is total height, how high is it likely to be? Am I going to have problems with car parks and height restrictions? Anyone here have these problems? Local station car park is 6’3” height, I am not sure if that is average roof space or low, driving sports cars all my life I have never really looked before!

Yes you will have problems with carparks. Had to take my rooflights off to get into Mank-Chester airport the other day, and then listen to the CB aerial twanging off the signs.

1UZ-FE, I have fitted one to a supra before, It will certainly be something I’ll consider for the Hilux, nothing about the conversion really bothers me abort from 4x4 mode, is there a readily available bell housing to keep the existing running gear? (The Tacoma used the 2uz AFAIK, and they have similar running gear)

Again, why? Like I said, if you're gonna really use it offroad in a significant way, stick with the diesel. If you're a road warrior, dont bother with the racks and offroad bling cos us muddy chaps will just laugh at you

Are the all terrain/off road tires you guys use dangerous for long motorway journeys? A friend of mine with a frontera on Kuhmo 33s seems to think so….

Not if you modify your driving style to suit the vehicle. If you try to drive a truck set up for offroad like a sportscar you're gonna get into big trouble pretty quick. A Frontera on 33s? Sorry, there's just something about that that makes me giggle. You're gonna kill him when you get the Surf!

And finally, what is the rated towing weight? (licence permitting) Am I likely to be able to tow my 1400 kg supra on a trailer with the Surf?

Dunno, but there's a lot of caravanners on here. One of them will know.

Cheers for your time….

So whats it gonna be? Offroad or Bling?

Charlie.

[dirtydog]

a trailer to tow a supra will weigh no more than 1000kgs (unless you buy an old one!) so say 2400kgs all up. not sure what 3rd gens are rated to tow though.

[andrewlee31]

corking vehicle but offroad parts such as bumpers (especailly arb ones) arn't for the faint of wallet, should tow the supra with no problems.


petrol or deisel is like apache said, is this going to be a muddy or a shiney? petrol can be lpg'd derv can run on veg. personally i'd take a derv anytime for the torque.

running on muds or all terrains on the motorway, no problem but you MUST remember your slinging 2 ton around on tyres which are by there very nature, not road tyres. brake earlier and avoid silly speeds.

[truckarms]

if you got a 3rd gen petrol 3.4ltr then you can get the supercharger for it.
The 3rd gen petrols are supposed to be much better than the 2nd gen ones, thats why loads of guys are changing the 2nd gen petrol engines just because they lack power,
The 3rd gens are better, with the 2.7ltr pulling probably as much as my 2nd gen 3ltr but the ultimate is probably the 3.4ltr.
If fuel economy is what you are after and if you want to pull heavy loads then petrol probably aint the way forward.

On here there is probably a huge bias to diesel mainly as most cars here are diesel and diesels go much better under water than petrol (unless you waterproof everything) and also diesel works with chip fat

My choice is petrol but then I have a 2nd gen 3.0ltr and my dad has a 3rd gen 2.7ltr

[dirtydog]

sorry its off topic but are supra seats heated?

[Apache]

Like I said earlier, horses for courses.

I like diesel for the simplicity, economy (relative!!! These things are NOT economical!) and their imperviousness to water (also relative!)

If I was never gonna venture off road, I would probably go for a nice smooth V8 - but then I probably would have road tyres and no lifts too.

[truckarms]

yeah it is.
If money no object then I would have both.
The petrol rocked either supercharged 3.4ltr or lexus engine to get to work.
and a 3ltr 2nd gen diesel with as much lift as possible for some hugh mudpluggers

[BUSHWHACKER]

The 1uz-fe engine has more torque and better mpg than the 3.0 diesels.
The only thing that needs waterproofing is the alternator.

[Apache]

The 1uz-fe engine has better mpg than the 3.0 diesels.
The only thing that needs waterproofing is the alternator.

Better mpg in the car it was designed for maybe. We'll see how it fares when shuntin a 2 ton house brick shape through the air...

Waterproofing? We'll see when you get yours wet eh Vince?

[BUSHWHACKER]

Better mpg in the car it was designed for maybe. We'll see how it fares when shuntin a 2 ton house brick shape through the air...

Waterproofing? We'll see when you get yours wet eh Vince?

The car the engine normally powers is the same weight as the Surf, due to all the soundproofing and thicker sheetmetal.
I could always fit a droop snoot from a Vauxhall Firenza!

[Karma Supra]

Cheers guys...

So whats it gonna be? Offroad or Bling?

Its going to be a daily driver, that will also get used off road.

I'll not lie, most days involve getting up going to work going home and crashing out in an exhausted heap… so most of the time it will be used on the hardstuff, although I do live right in the middle of a forest/park and have already though of two "alternative" ways home that could make the commute a little more interesting

I run a car forum and we are looking at having our own stands at some of shows in the calendar, so that’s why I had the roof rack in mind, Load up the truck stick the soop on the back, sorted J - we also do some track days so a support vehicle with a trailer can be handy too. – I was originally looking at a double cab pickup but we decided the surf was a better option for daily use.

As for the lights and other “offroad bling”, where I live there are no street lights for quite a way, and night visibility can be rubbish trough the wooded areas, extra lights are handy, -especially for spotting wild life that jump out and can wreck a car (see bull bars) it is also not uncommon for trees to fall down and block us in some having a truck to drag debris out the way is another benefit (private roads so we have to do it our selves) (I’d love a winch too but can’t justify the expense at this stage maybe later!)

As for the Petrol, and the 1UZ I was under the impression that they yielded more torque, (and 30mpg in a ls400 which is still no featherweight) A good friend of mine is running one in his Bowler for off road racing, the lighter nose was also a factor J as was the fact that I understand petrol engines as I have experience with building and modifying them. Obviously economy is always an issue…. But I am used to running a car that gets as good as 25 mpg as bad as 12…. I have no experience with modern diesels, my only experience is in two diesel hatches, and they were really horrid, slow, rattley, it kind of put me off for life! –even though I know how much better Toyota engineering is! (this will be my 9th Toyota) I guess The only way to tell is to test drive one.. So far that is probably the route I’ll be taking.

I understand I won’t be able to drive like a nutter on motorways etc (I fail to see the point when I also have a car designed for that) what I heard was even under “normal” motorway use, prolonged trundling of 70+ the off road tires build up heat and can’t dissipate it, possibly causing a blow out, this is what I was getting at as opposed to high speed handling…. If that’s the case I’ll have to budget for a second set of tyres for having fun off the road, which I don’t really want to do!

I guess what I want is an off road monster that I can have fun with in my free time, but will be relatively mild mannered on the road when needed, It would also be nice not to have to dive for cover in the hedge every time school run mum comes steaming down the semi single track road at me in her X5/Range rover/Cayenne, or be utterly blinded by them at night as their HIDs are higher then my eyes… but that’s a different matter altogether…

Edit: Supra seats are not heated, although It may have been an option in colder climates. - I saw a car with them once.

[Apache]

The car the engine normally powers is the same weight as the Surf, due to all the soundproofing and thicker sheetmetal.
I could always fit a droop snoot from a Vauxhall Firenza!

Once the weight is moving, it's moving. Apart from rolling resistance being greater, above about 25mph, most of the energy goes into aerodynamic drag Vince. Thats where the losses will be.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Once the weight is moving, it's moving. Apart from rolling resistance being greater, above about 25mph, most of the energy goes into aerodynamic drag Vince. Thats where the losses will be.

Probably, but mine will sound so much better and it'll be shiney!

[dirtydog]

cheers for the seats heads up.

it sounds as if a standard height Surf with AT tyres (which are well mannered on the road) will suit you just fine!