If you have money burning a hole in your pocket imagination is the only limiting factor when it comes to parts and accessories for your 4WD. Even if you are on a strict budget, however, there’s still plenty to pick and choose from, as NZ4WD Editor Ross MacKay explains.

Needs must, they say, the only issue being, when does  a ‘want’ become a ‘need,’ and a need, in turn become a ‘must-have.’

Hobbyist 4Wheelers and their (usually long suffering) partners know all about this conundrum. And while most of us guys accept a price more or less on face-value and simply factor it into the equation, partners (usually, again) have an entirely different concept of value, prompting such classic ‘on-discovery’ outbursts as ‘but the bloody thing already has a perfectly good set of wheels, why do you have to spend (insert four-figure sum here) on another?

Splitting the bill (in this case for wheels then tyres) might seem like a  good idea at the time and when you are amongst peers. But trust someone who has tried this approach only to be caught out and forced to face the wrath of the righteous. “Hell hath no (greater) fury than a partner scorned. Or perhaps that should be scammed!”

I’m here to talk you through the many and varied parts and accessories you can buy for your 4WD these days. The world really is your oyster and your local 4WD specialist will either have what you want in stock or the ability to order and have it here within a few days.

To help narrow your options down I will split our ‘Needs Must’ list into ‘workaday’ and ‘weekend’ options.

Work wear

If you drive a 4WD ‘work truck’ every day the best money you can spend is on items or systems to make your life easier.

The first place I would start would be inside, where I would invest in a set of heavy-duty seat covers (see supplier ads in this issue).

I’d then look at storage and/or security options (from full canopies to lockable load lids and/or lockable tool chests for wellside and/or cab/chassis tray-equipped utes.

Only then would I look at a bumper upgrade front and rear. And unless I was regularly crossing proper gravel and rock-based river beds I wouldn’t bother with a snorkel.

Once I had my storage options sorted I’d then sneakily weigh my ‘truck’ on  a Transfer Station weighbridge (to work out how much of my tare weight I had used up (see article in the Nov ‘17 issue of NZ4WD).

This is when I would start thinking about a suspension upgrade and checking out NZ4WD and the various importer/distributor/retailer websites to see what was available for my particular 4WD model.

A modest lift

Having experienced for myself the very real improvement in suspension action and even steering response I’d  be looking for a modest lift as well as a set of springs and dampers better calibrated to the loads I was going to carry.

You might be wondering, at this juncture, why I haven’t touched on at the very least a wheel and tyre upgrade, and some extras lighting.

Good point. Albeit one more relevant to those working in rural areas. I’d probably wait and wear out the factory-fitted tyres too. Once I had done that I would then seek the advice of my local tyre guy as to what best suited my needs.

While you are welcome to fit any suitable road-legal 4x4 tyre (A/T or M/T) my ancestors back in Scotland still cast a shadow over when, where and how I spend my hard-earned dollars, and even if they make your work ute look like it has just pre-run the Baja 1000 I think a set of extravagantly treaded Mud Tyres belong in a swamp, not on the street.

Weekend Warrior

However. If it was my Weekend Warrior that I was keen on kitting out it would be a very different story.

Having decided to keep (and by doing so having to spend big bucks repairing the rust issues caused, so I have since found out, by a substandard repair early in its life) and upgrade my own long-suffering Nissan R50 Terrano, I just happen to be in the perfect position to comment.

So here goes.

First up – this time - is a suspension upgrade complete with 20-30mm lift. That mightn’t seem much (check it out using your thumb, finger and a steel ruler) but having seen the result of just such a job done by my local tyre shop I think it is going to be just right.

Because it’s not exactly new I’m erring on a simple set of 0 offset (to get that essential guard-filling wide-track stance) steel wheels with the (depending who I can sweet talk into a demon deal) chunkiest, most aggressive 31, 32 or perhaps even 33 in. M/T tyres that 1) will fit without too much inner guard trimming, and 2) I am legally allowed to run.

To be fair, these will be for Tagalong and ‘show’ use only, because I have already stockpiled six ‘spare’ 15 in. Nissan Terrano/Pathfinder alloys off TradeMe and have a few thousand kays left of road wear on the 31 in.dia. Kumho Road Venture A/Ts I fitted up just over three years ago now.

As part of the suspension upgrade I’m also going to replace the (well shot) rear locating arm (top and bottom) bushes which are a known weak-point on the model, and chuck the (buggered) steering damper in favour of an upgraded aftermarket unit.

Bar work

Anyone who has owned a Terrano will know that the bumpers front and rear rust out and that on anything stronger than schist the factory-fitted ’rock slider’s bend like a fresh, supple strap of willow.

So, once I’ve got my suspension and wheel/tyre fitment sorted I’m going to seek out a suitably qualified welder/fabricator to rustle me up a front bar/winch mount and matching set of tubular rear bars and rock sliders.

Because when I was in the market I couldn’t bear the thought of owning a diesel (I know, but bear with me here) I sought out the 3.2 litre V6 petrol Terrano.

It’s a willing but rather wheezy power-plant so at some stage it’s going to be dynoed (to gauge its condition) and old mate Malcolm reckons he can whistle up a set of tubular headers and freer-flowing cat-delete exhaust system for it for ‘the right’ price.

That’s going to make me even more popular with my neighbours (who get quite vocal themselves every time I drag my old Skyline drifter out of the garage and start it up)  but at least it will provide an alternative to the hoarse bark of all the diesel-turbo Safaris running up and down Muriwai Beach of a weekend!

So, very different look and feel when it comes to speccing up a recreational vehicle with aesthetics the key driver.

To that end I’ve also got a bloke lined up to rustle me up a cool stainless steel snorkel, and because one day I will get around to my own ‘Big Trip around the South Island I will need a roof rack and – if Joel and Beth from Feldon Shelter have their way, a roof top tent.

 All I have to do now is get wife Delia on board……………..

To read every story in the NZ4WD Annual go to Zinio.com (Dec 08) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.