G'day from Australia. Motoz MN GLX R: Evolution of a Warrior

[motoz]

Mate I think there fantastic. A few guys are running them over here and rave about them also.

There actually a little difficult to get as a lot of mining companies are fitting them to their fleet vehicles in the rugged north west of Australia.

It seems strange as there considered a cold climate tyre though they seem to be working very well and lasting in our hot and harsh conditions.

I've done 10,000kms so far with no problems at all. There wearing a lot better and are a lot quieter than the previous MT ATZ's I had fitted.

[LaOutbackTrail]

They're gaining a positive reputation here too.

I've not seen many using the Mickey Thompson ATZ, but notice in all of the 4wd Australia mags that the MTZ version is very common in Australia. You guys use and abuse the piss out of your tires (or maybe the terrain does!) so I tend to look at and favor Australian opinions as you guys have the overlanding type travel nailed down!

Thanks

[motoz]

Oz magazines are renowned for spinning reviews and articles in favor of advertising dollars so you sometimes have to sift through the hype.

The strongest brand here would be Cooper. I've never tried them myself mostly due to the cost. The new Cooper ST MAXX in a 265 / 75 x 16 retail for almost $360 each !!!

I tend to follow reviews and recommendations from friends and forum members here in Oz.

[LaOutbackTrail]

Thats how it is here in the US. What I was referring to are the vehicles particularly in trip reports in magazines and the net, I observe what tires they're using and an overwhelming majority of the time its the Mickey Thompson MTZ or a Cooper tire! I think I've seen only one vehicle with the BF Goodrich KM2... and they were on a Pajero. I've driven and toured with trucks who sport them... I've not been impressed with the KM2 at all, both with durability and performance.

Duratracs are well rounded, I like them a lot!

Love your truck, too, by the way.

Oz magazines are renowned for spinning reviews and articles in favor of advertising dollars so you sometimes have to sift through the hype.

The strongest brand here would be Cooper. I've never tried them myself mostly due to the cost. The new Cooper ST MAXX in a 265 / 75 x 16 retail for almost $360 each !!!

I tend to follow reviews and recommendations from friends and forum members here in Oz.

[gls_triton]

I thought I recognized this silver bus!

Fancy seeing you here....

ps, the truck is looking great!!!

[motoz]

I thought I recognized this silver bus!

Fancy seeing you here....

ps, the truck is looking great!!!

Classic. I don't think there's too many Tritons over this part of the world. We just might have the run of the place... lol

[motoz]

The big slow down...

As this is the first auto 4wd I have ever own the High Country trip was a steep learning curve. The auto excells in the sand, mud, rocks though hill decents are an isssue. I got caught out a few times on long steep decents with the Tri running away due to the lack of engine breaking.

The MN also has the habit of automatically changing up a gear mid decent once the revs reach around 3000 RPM. These two traits had me white nuckled on more than one occasion. I researched the issue and found that the torque converter is responsible for the over run issue and the computer controling the shift points the other.

I learnt about a 'lock up' kit that electronically locks the torque converter allowing a solid link between the motor and transmission. After following a few threads and searching through the net I came across the Wholesale Automatics run on the reduction gears and trans uprades.



There was a run of 20 sets of 3.15 ratio gears. 10 sets to suit manual and the other 10 to suit autos. These were made by Marks Adapters.



I booked in to have them fitted as well as the lock up kit, Nomad valve body, VDO temp gauge etc.



In comparison the standard gearset is a 1.9 ratio. These are a 3.15 ratio.

Tested at 3000 RPM standard gear ratio.
1st gear = 15 kmp/h
2nd gear = 29 kmp/h
3rd gear = 41 kmp/h
4th gear = 58 kmp/h

The MN won't let you select overdrive 5th gear while in Lloc.

3000 RPM reduction ratio.

1st gear = 5kmp/h
2nd gear = 17 kmp/h
3rd gear = 25 kmp/h
4th gear = 36 kmp/h

We found the steepest hill at Wombat and crawled it down with the lock up switched on in 1st Lloc. It just tickled along full control. I was amazed at the traction !!! On the climb there was no wheel spin so the ASC / TC wasn't cutting in at all. It really has transformed the vehicle.

[off-roader]

Yup, the 3.15:1 xcase gears are great. I recently installed them into mine. You can see a lot of the install process in my post (http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...wap?highlight=)

[motoz]

Great stuff mate. Good to see you installing them yourself.

[motoz]

Further, faster for longer...

Since fitting the chip I've been loving the increase in power and torque. I've kept pretty low in the tunes folder and have found a good balance between power and economy.

The EGT's have climbed a little so freeing up the exhaust was an avenue I wanted to pursue. I looked into getting a 2 3/4" system custom made though the cost was going to be around $1500. The Scott's Rods 3" system GB came up so for the price it was a good buy.



The package came in the post neatly wrapped with a couple stickers and a hat... :lol:

There's a fair bit of difference in the dump pipe area and the cat...



The rest of the system...



Installation was pretty straight forward. Out with the old, on with the new... Or so I thought. Things were going smoothly when disaster struck !!!



While removing the factory dump pipe I managed to snap one of the studs on the back of the snail...



After a couple handfuls of coins donated to the swear jar and some reassuring advise from the Missus I decided to phone a friend and get some helpful advise.

Suffice to say a bit of miracle in a can, along with a stud remover, 4 tins of ale and a prayer we found ourselves with a great result...