2016 Vitara 1.4 S Adventure

6946 Views 54 Replies 9 Participants Last post by martin1977, 2 mo ago

martin1977

Discussion Starter · 8 mo ago

Afternoon all, quick introduction to myself and my new (to me) 2016 Vitara S

Having owned many different cars and been a member of many MANY forums, best way to kick off is with an ownership thread!!

Evo 8’s 2003 Evo VIII mint... £14,500

Megane 225’s Martin1977 's 'CUP' Adventure

I’d actually previously owned a 2007 Grand Vitara a few years back. An ace little thing that only let go after a spark plug ‘tip’ came off and went through the cylinder! Thanks BOSCH super 4….
One ruined engine later and my £300 purchase / 24K love affair was brought to an abrupt halt… black arm band day indeed….The car had performed BRILLIANTLY.. Going through deep mud / deeper snow / kid school runs without issue. It was indeed a FINE car.

Previous to this Vitara though, I’d owned a Kuga 2.5T in manual, not many of them going around.. The 275BHP was GREAT.. overtaking no problem, Macan baiting.. a pleasure….the rate of unleaded consumption… much less of a pleasure returning on average 26mpg.. that and the £600+ car tax pain made it a fun but wallet emptying 4years…
Kuga 2.5T 2.5T KUGA Adventure

ANYWAYS……. Today brings a new chapter and this little beauty in a charming ‘Essex White’ colour….. nice to drive, frugal… more modern.. it’s a good compromise..

As with all things, it needs some careful adjustment…..

After Exactly 96x minutes of ownership, First up is a software update to enable CAR PLAY.. I’ll also get an updated NAV micro SD from Le Bay…. CarPlay is all fine and well.. sometimes Im out in the wilds (fishing and snowboarding) with no phone signal so it’ll be worth the £20 for when its needed

Motor vehicle Automotive design Personal luxury car Electronic device Display device

Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive tire Automotive design Car

the info given on the forum by @Ticking_Fox was brilliant to fix.

Next Up, the car is fitted with 4x new tyres… Now. there are tyres and TYRES.. (these are the former).. they’re made of rubber and are worth every one of His Majesty’s £20 Pounds they probably cost to buy… guaranteed to find a ditch every time….
So, they’re going. They’ll be replaced by these Nokian Winter beauties… I’ll get them fitted tomorrow. New (summer) wheels will be fitted in the spring.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Tread Synthetic rubber

After that, the following is planned:

Dashcam hard wired
LED Number plate lights / Side lights / Interior bulbs
Mudflaps installed
Roof rack fitted
Spare wheel purchased
Swanky key ring purchased

All in the days to come! Thanks for having me along.

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fordem

· #9 · 7 mo ago

I don't think you'll need spigot rings, but if you do, you'll also need new lug bolts - check the seat on the rims, is it tapered or flat? If it's tapered the rim is lug centric and does not need spigot rings, if it's flat, the rim is hub centric and you'll need the rings and the shanked lug bolts to match.

Beats me as to why Suzuki switched from lug nuts on the previous generations of Vitaras & Grand Vitaras to lug bolts on this one.

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fordem

· #14 · 7 mo ago

Personally I would be hesitant to lift a fourth generation Vitara - the front suspension is very similar to that of the third gens in that the lower control arm uses a vertically oriented rubber bushing. This design is very common in front wheel drive sedans & cross overs (I first came across it in a late 90's Toyota Corolla and have seen it on many other models) and attempting to lift the vehicle or to maximize suspension travel usually results in premature failure of the bush.

I haven't had my fourth gen long enough (and have no intention of lifting it) to know what the life expectancy of the bush is, but I've already replaced the control arms on my third gen a few times, and that isn't lifted either.

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fordem

· #21 · 7 mo ago

LYgraybeard said:
cons:
sportsmanship is lost on paved road,
directionality is lost with tires that are too soft (pictured)

This is one time a picture isn't worth a thousand words - what tires are you running?

In my experience, with a properly matched spring/shock combination, the loss of "sportsmanship & directionality" is directly related to tire choice rather than the increase in ride height - admittedly this experience was not with a Vitara LY.

I should mention that I will not buy lift springs from a manufacturer that does not offer shocks/struts to go with them - I also need to know how the lift is obtained, if it's a higher spring rate or a longer spring, higher spring rates needs shocks/struts with different damping to properly control them. It's very easy for a spring manufacturer to say, it's only a 30mm lift, you'll be fine with stock shocks/struts, experience has taught me otherwise.

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fordem

· #31 · 7 mo ago

I've never used Carplay, but I suspect it's Apple's equivalent to Android Auto - I have a preference to do the route manipulation (searches, etc.) on my phone before moving off and Google Maps & Android Auto does not permit this, I can bypass that restriction by disconnecting the cable and reconnecting it - I've also had one instance in a rental car which had wireless Android Auto, where the in dash navscreen failed, preventing me from setting a new destination because I couldn't disconnect the phone.

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