2005 Nissan GU Patrol ST |
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PLATINUM PERFECTION Nathan Conn wasted no time transforming his 'Platinum Silver' Patrol from stock to rock WORDS BY BEN WICKHAM There's something about a new car. Maybe it's the sparkle of the paintwork as it catches the sunlight glinting on the teeth of the grinning salesman? Maybe it's the virginal upholstery and interior surfaces untarnished by the toll of daily life? Or maybe it's the just mildly hallucinogenic effects of the toxic fumes coming off all the plastic? Perhaps this is what Nathan Conn was thinking about when he purchased a brand-new 2005-model Nissan Patrol. But my guess is it was mostly so he could be the first bloke in Oz to go hardcore with the face-lifted model released late last year. The operations manager at his family's car-rental business, Nathan has previously owned a lightly modified GU Patrol 3L turbo-diesel with a 2in lift and a few other choice parts. But what he really wanted to do was build something a bit wilder. And what better way to start a project than with a clean slate? The car he picked out is an ST-spec model, with body-coloured flares, tasty 17in alloys, hand throttle (a feature all too rare in this day and age) and dual front airbags, but without the nonsense you get with the higher-spec models. Where his last car had the laggy ZD30D 3L four-cylinder turbo-diesel, the newie is powered by the bigger 4.2L six-cylinder turbo-diesel with its superior off-boost performance (just what you need to turn big tyres). Nathan picked up the Patrol in January and went directly to his local Brisbane off-road specialist. The big Platinum Silver Nissan now sports a 6in lift, 35in muddies, twin lockers and a host of goodies, transforming it into an all-terrain weapon. Now that all the hard work's done, Nathan will be using it to visit his favourite spots, like Fraser Island and Rainbow Beach, as well as tackle Cape York. The best bit is that Nathan now has an awesome tourer that's fresh, rattle-free, full of life and primed for many years of faithful service. INSIDE AND OUT A Warn XD9000 winch is fitted in the unlikely event the numberplate comes true. A pair of Lightforce 240 XGTs with spot covers sits atop the bar. A Nissan Genuine snorkel ensures the high-compression (22.7:1) diesel doesn't inhale any water. Up top, a TJM alloy roof-rack plays host to a sextet of Lightforce 140 Lance spotlights and an ARB Space Case, which houses Nathan's recovery gear and other bits and pieces. The rear of the vehicle is standard, save for a Hayman-Reese-style tow hitch and a Kaymar work light on a telescopic mount. It's all pretty straightforward inside. Switches for the Air Lockers have been neatly fitted inside a cubbyhole in the middle of the dash, while a GME Electrophone TX3200 UHF has been mounted to the headlining. A 6.5in Pioneer DVD player resides in the stereo's single-DIN slot, and a turbo-timer has been installed to give the turbocharger time to cool down after hard runs. Nathan also keeps a cavernous Waeco CF-110 fridge/freezer in the boot (get thirsty, do you Nath?). ENGINE AND DRIVELINE A dyno run showed a peak of 88kW at the back tyres, which (assuming a 30-percent power loss between the flywheel and rubber) equates to approximately 114kW at the flywheel. That's actually equal to the factory flywheel figure, but when you take into account that the 35in tyres are roughly 13-percent bigger in diameter than the standard rubber, then the actual engine output has gone up by the same amount, with an equivalent increase in torque. Nathan says you can feel the difference. Also under the bonnet is a second battery, rated at 710CCA, in addition to a 650CCA cranking battery. Unusually, the Patrol doesn't actually have a dual-battery management system. Nathan has just connected the batteries in parallel using massive 25mm Telstra copper cable, which he reckons works just fine. The five-speed manual gearbox remains standard, which is no surprise, as it's just about the biggest in the business. Likewise, the transfer case retains its original ratios, which means 2.02:1 low-range reduction. Nathan has, however, turfed the standard rear LSD to make room for an ARB Air Locker in the GU's massive rear diff housing. That's matched by a second Air Locker up the front. Pressure for the lockers comes in the form of a Twin Tongue compressor mounted under the driver's seat running to a 2L air tank mounted on the chassis underneath. The standard tyres have been binned in favour of big 35in BFGoodrich Mud Terrains. If they look to be a bit smaller, then it's probably because they're fitted to 17in wheels - not 15s or 16s as have traditionally been fitted to 4WDs. Speaking of which, kudos goes to Nissan for the very sexy 17x8in alloys, which are a real rarity given how bland most factory alloy wheel designs are. SUSPENSION The Return-to-Centre steering damper features an adjustable coil spring that pulls the drag link back to its straight-ahead position, counteracting the loss of self-centring you get when you fit big rubber. When running such a big lift, you need some sort of castor correction in order for the truck to steer properly. Nathan initially fitted castor-correction plates to the front axle, but he wasn't happy with how the vehicle performed. He trialled a set of drop boxes, which lower the chassis-side control-arm mounts, loaned to him and was so impressed that he had a set permanently fitted. BRIEFLY
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