Toyota Hilux Surf. AUTO, any good????

Toyota Hilux Surf. AUTO, any good????

Author
Discussion

zelleyford

Original Poster:

232 posts

220 months

Saturday 22nd March 2008
quotequote all
Il looking to but A 2.4 1993 Toyota Hilux Surf auto and im planning to use it off road and green laneing, and probably as my day to day car as well.
What I wanted to no is how good are they off road, as its very heavy and big, and I have no idea how a auto will perform when in the muddy stuff.
all advice welcome.

Thanks

uk_vette

3,336 posts

211 months

Saturday 22nd March 2008
quotequote all
They are good, but no where near as good as the 3.0 liter.
the 2.4 liter, is rather underpowered.
Infact, very underpowered.

The 3.0 liter Surfs are very good,
tough as nails
Very good off-road when kitted out with some mud terrains.

andy400

10,730 posts

238 months

Sunday 23rd March 2008
quotequote all
Agree with the above ^ to a degree, though think 2.4 will give you plenty o'power for most situations, and it doesn't sound like you're planning anything very extreme.

Also- Wouldn't bother with M/Ts, if it's to be your daily driver, as your on-road safety and comfort will be compromised. I had BFG A/Ts on my Defender, which were a superb compromise, good on-road and excellent off-road. (They look good, too - which isn't a big factor for tyre choice, but relevent nevertheless).

uk_vette

3,336 posts

211 months

Sunday 23rd March 2008
quotequote all
Agree with Andy,
Don't bother with M/T if your mostly on the road.
my son has 265 x 70 x R16 BFG.

Now he is looking for some A/T 's

He has spun it twice on round'abouts, full 180 !

He has a 1996, so it's a 3rd Gen.
So now when it is really cold of a morning, he drives to work in 4WD !

They are rather light at the rear, and the 3.0 liter spins up the rears very easy with the M/T on when on tarmac.
Which is 99% of his time.

Edited by uk_vette on Sunday 23 March 16:32

Kermit power

29,472 posts

220 months

Sunday 23rd March 2008
quotequote all
I can't comment at all on the Hilux, but my Shogun is the first thing I've taken off road with an Auto box, and I've been amazed by it.

normalbloke

7,712 posts

226 months

Monday 24th March 2008
quotequote all
uk_vette said:
Agree with Andy,
Don't bother with M/T if your mostly on the road.
my son has 265 x 70 x R16 BFG.

Now he is looking for some A/T 's

He has spun it twice on round'abouts, full 180 !

He has a 1996, so it's a 3rd Gen.
So now when it is really cold of a morning, he drives to work in 4WD !

They are rather light at the rear, and the 3.0 liter spins up the rears very easy with the M/T on when on tarmac.
Which is 99% of his time.

Edited by uk_vette on Sunday 23 March 16:32
"He has spun it twice on round'abouts, full 180 !"

Sorry to say ,that's just crap driving.

BFG Mud Terrains are very civilised on the road.If you spin the car, you're driving too fast/agressively and not allowing for the fact you're driving the best aprt of 2 tons of vehicle on tyres designed primarily for offroad purposes.

I wouldn't want to buy his wagon off him either,given that they don't have a centre diff( I stand to be corrected!),I'd imagine there have been some interesting loads placed on his drivetrain....

uk_vette

3,336 posts

211 months

Monday 24th March 2008
quotequote all
3rd gens, do have center diff.

normalbloke

7,712 posts

226 months

Monday 24th March 2008
quotequote all
A centre diff but not perm 4wd?Interesting.

What's the setup then?

Hooli

32,278 posts

207 months

Monday 24th March 2008
quotequote all
nowt wrong with MTs on road, allows for better slides hehe

autos are great offroad, especially if your doing anything technical like rocks/steps/etc no burning the clutch to creep over things.

andy400

10,730 posts

238 months

Tuesday 25th March 2008
quotequote all
normalbloke said:
BFG Mud Terrains are very civilised on the road.
I'm not sure I'd agree with 'very civilised' on the road. Usable, certainly, in the right hands, but that's about it. You only have to look at the tread to see just how much less rubber is in contact with the road compared to an A/T for example.

normalbloke

7,712 posts

226 months

Tuesday 25th March 2008
quotequote all
I agree, they are not as good on road as a quality M/T or road tyre(but that's common sense).My point was that for a M/T they are very civilised and perfectly acceptable for day to day use.Having covered over 200K miles+ on BFG M/T I haven't got any horror stories to report.And they last.

ATG

21,357 posts

279 months

Tuesday 25th March 2008
quotequote all
Reliability ... 2.4 head versus 3.0??

Kermit power

29,472 posts

220 months

Tuesday 25th March 2008
quotequote all
normalbloke said:
A centre diff but not perm 4wd?Interesting.

What's the setup then?
My Shoggie has a centre diff with selectable 4WD.....

2WD with free-wheeling front hubs

4WD high ratio with centre diff free - recommended for on-road use with snow/rain.

4WD high ratio with centre diff locked - only for use on loose surfaces.

4WD low ratio with centre diff locked.

Plus a lockable rear diff as well, definitely not for use at any time other than when spinning everything up and going nowhere! laugh

uk_vette

3,336 posts

211 months

Tuesday 25th March 2008
quotequote all
ATG said:
Reliability ... 2.4 head versus 3.0??
.
.
.
Take the 3.0 liter every time.

zelleyford

Original Poster:

232 posts

220 months

Saturday 29th March 2008
quotequote all
thanks for all of your advise i have now got a Fourtrak and im very pleased with it,
oh and its not a auto Chuffed as Chease with it

onlynik

3,982 posts

200 months

Saturday 29th March 2008
quotequote all
zelleyford said:
Il looking to but A 2.4 1993 Toyota Hilux Surf auto and im planning to use it off road and green laneing, and probably as my day to day car as well.
What I wanted to no is how good are they off road, as its very heavy and big, and I have no idea how a auto will perform when in the muddy stuff.
all advice welcome.

Thanks
I've a 2.4 and it dows just wonderfully.

Been off road many times, i've a set of MTs and Road Tyres. 4 MTs were £180

You can get more info on the surf here, always friendly guys to help out.

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/index.php