Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

Mick · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:48 Post subject: Best way to use a auto off road

Just booked a off road trip at Kielder forest how good is the auto lwb off road and any good tips for using the auto box and when to use 4wd low or high, at the moment its used on mostly flat fields with a bit of mud and I always use 4wd low and L on the Auto box.

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montybigtruck · Newbie Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 2 Location: nottingham

hi ive got a monterey 3.2 auto
we took it to stainby erlier in the year and what a peice of kit
we have bfg all terrain tyres with no other mods
we didnt use low ratio as the ground conditions were firm we just selected 4wd high pointed her at a hill and bosh straight over the top
having the auto box means no need to be quick footed with the clutch to find the traction she climed some of the steeper hills without even breaking a sweat and only on around 1500 rpm
because of the size and weight of her she just did it and what and experiance it was
debs and chris

Hard1 · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 13:48 Post subject:

You will find a bit of a strong debate about this issue, but I will say that having owned 4, 4WD vehicles over the years with the 3 of them being manual and one auto, I would say that the auto gets my vote everytime. To me, the big advantage is the ability to "creep" whilst rock crawling without risk of stalling. The only downside I can think of is that you lose the ability of selecting a higher gear in order to get out of some difficult limited traction situations but if you have good grippy tyres that shouldn't be an issue necessarily, plus if you are in low range you can bang it back into high range 4WD and you will have higher gears.

All in all though, I certainly do prefer the auto.... Smile

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markymoan · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 15:02 Post subject:

Lets not have an Auto V Manual debate please its nothing but a can of worms Shocked

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Hard1 · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 15:08 Post subject:

Are you saying peoples experiences and opinions are not welcome here Marky?
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1999 Cougar with a NICE motor..

Click HERE to see under my bonnet!

markymoan · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 15:12 Post subject:

Hard1 · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 16:00 Post subject:

In low range 1st gear selected very good indeed. I think you have to use box manually in that situation not just leave it in 'D' for Do it....

OK debate over (quick before the manual guys chip in) Laughing

At the end of the day it's what you like best and what you have that counts. I can get on well with both modes - doesn't bother me at all... Very Happy

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1999 Cougar with a NICE motor..

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biggus · * Joined: 28 Apr 2007 Posts: 45

Hard1 is right - autos are great off-road for a few reasons that most of you will know/be able to work out.
I too have used both and it's an auto for me from now on.
Unless markymoan says otherwise - he obviously knows everything Wink

Sorry, mate - only kidding but why are you telling us not to have a debate on this?
We are entitled to opinions too aren't we?
A member of the forum has asked for our advice and we should give it if we have the relevent experience.

A few main point:
autos produce more torque at the driven wheels than an equivalent manual can - great for steep climbs where the grip is good
the drive is always there
you can still select gears manually but the car won't stall on you
low box 4wd with the gear selector in no1 position is brilliant for descents keep off those brakes, now)
and they're great for lazt people Laughing

markymoan · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 19:08 Post subject:

I'm all for a good debate but the thread title is "Best way to use a auto off road"
So it would be rude to have an auto v manual debate that all Very Happy

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dxmedia · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 19:25 Post subject:

If it's on a track - 4wd high, if it's off road 4wd low.

Simple reason - a road is smooth, your just after extra traction.

Off road, you don't know what's hidden in the grass, mud, under water, so slow and gentle, and let the suspension undulate over obsticals, not hammer off them.

If you take it gently, you shouldn't get stuck, and you shouldn't damage your car.

Off road > humm uphill an auto, downhill a manual Smile

now there's sitting on the fence
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