Towing with a Mitsubishi Challenger

Yes thanks Russell, but does the Challenger have enough power for the job?

Russell.
The Challenger does not have either of those motors it comes only with the 3L petrol but is a good towing vehicle and very reliable. Eric.

Funny Japan site says 3.5l, aussie site says 3.0l, but towing rate same but power specs varied a little bit.

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/mitssite/jsp/pages/vehicles/vehicles.jsp?groupId=15

Either way hes got plenty to spare to tow his boat.

Russell

But are they any good off road?
Cya

Well,
I havn't ever towed anything off road with mine, so I can't answer that part of the question. As for off road performance, they travel exrtemely well, the only thing which I didn't really like was the IFS, but hey that seems to be on all new 4wd except patrols these days. But the IFS hasn't caused me any problems yet, and I've taken to some pretty rough places. I has a LSD standard in the front which works well, and I have fitted, Cooper ST tyres, rear ARB Air locker, and TJM XGS Heavy duty suspention - that isn't because I was worried about the vehicle, I jsut wanted the best from scratch when I brought it. I am yet to add a snorkel, bull bar - (only have nudge bar at the moment) and cargo barrier in the next few months with mayby a LR Fuel tank.

Murfa, what model challenger do you have? I didn't know any challenger came standard with an LSD in the front. My 98 has a LSD in the rear as standard.
In response to the main question, the guy I bought my challenger off towed an 18ft boat fully loaded on his once a year fishing expedition and said it handled it no problems. He had the suspension upgraded though because the standard suspension sagged noticeable with a full load and the boat in tow. I think you'll find that's the case for any new fourbie. Those without adjustable suspension anyway.
The vehicle is great on sand and would handle most moderate 4wd tracks easily. Not an extreme offroad vehicle but it's not meant to be. Nice to drive on road and a handy size for city carparks.

Cookie

Stewbag. Mine has been off road and has not missed a beat. in fact.The pajero, Patrol and cruisers drivers I have been out with drop there chins when they see how it performs against the creme de creme

Cookie,
I own a Septmeber 2002 challenger brought it brand new last year. As far as i was aware, all challengers from late 2000 - early 2002 came standard with LSD in the front. And Macca I would have to agree with your response on the capabilities of these vehicles, they are extremely under rated. There power to weight ratio is perfect, even when fully loaded. If any of you Challenger Drivers are in the Brisbane area anytime, feel free to contact me - keep up the good work and and lets sho some of these critics up.

Murfa, are you sure about the front LSD??? I checked on the Mitsubishi website and printed out the online brochure for the current model and only a rear LSD is standard.
On the 98 and early 2000 models it was an option, I have a few different reviews which say the same.
You could check by jacking both front wheels off the ground and spinning one by hand, if the other one spins in the same direction then you have an LSD, if it goes the opposite direction it’s a normal open diff.
I haven’t heard anything about a front LSD in the challenger so I am surprised? Nor any new 4WD for that matter. Most come with rear LSDs.

Cookie

The only major change since they were first released in 1998 was the switch from rear leaf spring to rear coils in 2000 as mentioned by macca. I think also in 2000 the auto was updated to the mitsubishi smart box, can’t remember their trade name but the one that adapts to your driving style. Other than that just cosmetic changes and an overall increase in equipment levels the newer the model. The challenger basically came out as a wagon version of the triton. Over the years it has been gradually refined and equipment levels increased to keep up with other mid size fourbies. The engine hasn’t changed at all since it was released. Very economical and smooth engine and it well proven. Maybe a tad underpowered by today’s standard but no slouch by any means and you will appreciate the economy compared to other petrol V6 4WD’s. I have the power and torque curves from mitsubishi if you are interested.

I was looking for a 2nd hand 4wd a few months ago and after a lot of research decided on the challenger. I started out looking for a coil spring model but I soon noticed the earlier leaf springs models where up to 5 grand cheaper for an equivalent model. I started thinking the vehicles are basically identical except for the leaf springs and is a coil spring rear end really worth that difference in price, that would buy a lot of accessories. I took a leaf spring one for a drive and really 9 out of 10 people wouldn’t know the difference. The only time you notice it is sharp bumps like speed humps etc. And I’m intending to load mine up and go travelling so I figured the leaf springs are going to better for that. I ended up getting a 98 leaf spring model privately which already had a lot of accessories, heavy duty suspension, ARB steel bull bar, 6 stacker etc for 24 grand. The cheapest equivalent coil spring model I saw was around 30 grand. One thing you will notice is the difference in price between the LSD and non-LSD models. The base model has no LSD, there was an option pack that included LSD and cruise control. Then there is the top of the range LS model that comes with all the fruit. From my research the mitsubishi LSD is worth having and has a good lifespan.

Not really any problems to look for that I know of, except the normal use and abuse things to check for. The engine and running gear has been around in the triton for years so has been pretty well sorted.

Cookie

Hey Bill,
I have the September 2002 Challenger, exactly the same as you have. i was thinking of trying the Pajero wheels and tyres on the vehicle, but just decided the keep the original size, and just put a more agressive tyre on. I ended up selecting the Cooper ST's and from rading most of the articles on this site, a large number of people will agree with me. The cooper ST'S are perfect for all round prefomance. I have used them on Frazer a 3 times, just reduced the presure to between 18-20psi depending on the sand, have found them great for road, sand, mud. they also come with an 80,000km warranty. If your in the Brisbane areas go to Fourby's at Marooka - Great prices.