Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 09:59
Without doubt there will be varying
views on the Toyota 70 Series rear track issue and how it might affect vehicle handling.
Whilst there is a suggestion that “most people” don’t find it to be a problem, you only need to Google “Toyota 70 Series Rear Track Issue” or something similar and you might equally conclude that “most people” do have a problem and in many cases using spacers to resolve it.
Now without getting into a debate on the validity of spacers, they are not approved for use on these vehicles and recognising a need, companies like MDT Engineering and Dana have provided a fully engineered and approved solution for those wanting one.
Both of these companies are leaders in design engineering and manufacturing.
Can I place an emphasis on “for those wanting one” – many correctly look at the issue through their own lens and make an assessment on outcome achieved, versus cost to achieve. I get it that it won't stack up for some, especially if they don't recognise it as being a significant issue, if a problem at all…
Personally, I will call it out as a problem, especially with specific regard to my vehicle and the touring I do in it...
It will be interesting to see if the new five-star ANCAP rated 70 Series, due for release sometime over the next 2-3 months, has the wheel track corrected. No mention has been made of it in any of the detail I have seen on the vehicle.
But on the problem itself, there has been some solid research on the topic.
One was a report commissioned by the WA Police in 2014 following a number of roll-over of its Troop Carriers on outback roads and that was pointing to the front and rear track difference as being more than a casual factor in some of these accidents.
This report was undertaken by Keith Simmons of KND Consulting and I did post a link to this quite some time ago in a
forum thread running in response to my Blog on the topic. The report has since been removed from the internet and I am endeavouring to obtain a copy for the benefit of those that would like to review it, and if successful, I will post it here.
Keith is a
well credentialed expert on vehicle rollover safety and you can view his profile on
Linked-in.
Having said that, the reality is that some will see the differing wheel track as an issue and others won’t.
Highlighting that a meaningful assessment and review of the difference might be difficult to make unless you are able to compare the handling characteristics of an affected vehicle both pre and post modification…
So back to the original poster...
"Lupe the Troopy" asked for input from those who had either the Tru-Tracker or the Dana 60 Rear upgrade modification on their vehicle and an assessment of the effectiveness of either of the modifications – I have offered a first-hand assessment from the driver’s
seat and certainly not from the comfort of an arm-chair…
Mind you, I'm sure "Lupe" will appreciate viewpoints on the whole issue, not just the solutions...
My parting comment on the topic is best summed up in a Tibetan Proverb
"Accept as truth only that you can prove for yourself, as no truth is truth to one until you can prove it by your own experiments..."
Good weekend to all...!
Cheers, Baz – The Landy
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: garrycol - Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 10:13
Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 10:13
Your flogging a dead horse Baz - even in this thread experiences seem to indicate it is not such an issue - it is only you who has the problem.
Now thats Ok - that is your experience and as I said experiences are better than comments from arm chair warriors.
Now it is up to the OP to decide whether your personal experience is more or less relevant than the personal experiences of others.
Garry
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Baz - The Landy - Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 12:33
Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 12:33
Hi Gary
I’m not sure what your agenda is on this. I don’t invite anyone, including yourself, to rely on the information I’ve provided, flogging a dead-horse as you’ve described it.
I’ve simply offered up my experience, in a
well-considered, and hopefully articulated response to the OPs specific question. And for sure, I’ll leave it to Lupe and others to decide what they do with the information; to arbitrate on whether it represents more than an arm-chair view…
Besides, there are people out there who are far better credentialed than me to express a viewpoint on the inherent danger of this offset. A good starting point is the Principals of both of these engineering firms who have seen a need, responded to Consumer and Corporate demand, and made a monetary commitment to tooling up workshops to manufacture a solution…
Adding, if they can flog a solution at three-grand a pop for a problem that doesn’t exist to hundreds of happy customers, they’re in the wrong business – they’d do
well to turn their hand at selling ice to the Eskimos’ such is their sales acumen…
As always, when entering the
forum I am respectful that others may have a differing opinion to
mine, crikey, Mrs Landy disagrees with me on something every other day, so I’m more than happy to rest at that…and wish you a good weekend!
Baz – The Landy
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - mark D18 - Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 16:33
Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 16:33
Baz
Beautifully put together again , you nailed the whole wheel base problem with the V8 cruisers perfectly .
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: pop2jocem - Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 22:31
Friday, Oct 14, 2016 at 22:31
This is just my limited experience with this issue.
Years ago we had a dealership that sold and serviced ATVs (quad bikes) and other associated vehicles. One of our customers was a geo survey mob that owned quite a few of our brand and brought them in to us to have
services and repair the destruction handed out to these machines by their field crews.
This company originally owned their own Landcruiser utes but switched to lease arrangements because they felt that they wanted to concentrate on their core business rather than also running a workshop.
When the new V8 Cruisers replaced the old sixes their crew chief came to us with one with an ATV on the back. Being into this sort of thing I crawled all over it. He chucked me the keys and invited me to take it for a hack.
Boy did I come back with an ear to ear grin. Of course I asked him how they went in the bush.
He said that while they went like the proverbial cut cat on bitumen or flat gravel they did seem to be unable to make up their minds which rear wheel wanted to follow which front wheel in the made track. He wasn't sure whether it was the front or the rear but it seemed to get up a bit of a sway from side to side, not noticable on hard ground and not dangerous, just discomforting.
Cheers
Pop
FollowupID:
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