What winter tyres are best for a Navara NP300?

[HertsWood]

The problem with the automatic 4wd o the Navarra is that when it goes wrong, it’s very expensive. A friends’ 2016 Navarra locked into 4wd and he was unable to get it back into 2wd, resulting it being recovered on back of an AA lorry!

At least a defender is a mechanical permanent 4wd system, and if it breaks, you can still lock the centre diff and drive it.

[HertsWood]

My defender 130 tipper has a JE Motors stage 2 engine tune, rear air suspension....

[josharb87]

11 minutes ago, Joe Newton said:

 The system on my old b2500 is ridiculous. In 4h both diffs are locked so you can't keep in in 4 for road driving.

 

Its has Remote Free Wheeling, where you can shift between 2 and 4 on the fly, but the front diff is still locked even though it's not driven. 

 

Means you can't drive in RFW on roads where there's patches of snow and clear tarmac. You'd have to stop to engage 4, and stop to disengage RFW on the clear stretches. 

 

Either i don't get what you're saying or you don't understand free-wheeling hubs!

 

I very much doubt you have a front lockable diff. but you're right in saying you can't keep it in 4 for road driving - no central Diff means the front and rear propshafts must turn at the same speed, unlike a landrover.

 

The idea of free-wheeling front hubs aree so that when in high range, 2 wheel drive (rear wheel drive) the vehicle isn't still turning the front axle and prop, helping save on fuel and wear and tear. 

if you are going in and out of 4wd, just leave the hubs engaged, just change between H2 and H4 as and when needed.

 

(Moving the lever to H4 connects the front prop to the non-diffed central transfer box, jump out and turn the hubs in to connect the hubs to the half-shafts) 

[Joe Newton]

3 hours ago, josharb87 said:

 

Either i don't get what you're saying or you don't understand free-wheeling hubs!

 

I very much doubt you have a front lockable diff. but you're right in saying you can't keep it in 4 for road driving - no central Diff means the front and rear propshafts must turn at the same speed, unlike a landrover.

 

The idea of free-wheeling front hubs aree so that when in high range, 2 wheel drive (rear wheel drive) the vehicle isn't still turning the front axle and prop, helping save on fuel and wear and tear. 

if you are going in and out of 4wd, just leave the hubs engaged, just change between H2 and H4 as and when needed.

 

(Moving the lever to H4 connects the front prop to the non-diffed central transfer box, jump out and turn the hubs in to connect the hubs to the half-shafts) 

 

[Joe Newton]

Even in 2h with RFW engaged the front wheels are locked, so can't turn independently of each other, meaning driving on hard surfaces and turning causes damage.

[josharb87]

1 hour ago, Joe Newton said:

Even in 2h with RFW engaged the front wheels are locked, so can't turn independently of each other, meaning driving on hard surfaces and turning causes damage.

 

Its still got a front diff which isn’t locking and the front wheels can still turn at different speeds even in 4H. The RFW is locking the hubs remotely -each wheel has a hub basically  connecting it to the half shaft (on my old hilux you had to get out and twist them in or out) so my previous post is still correct just omit this paragraph as it’s irrelevant with RFW

“If you are going in and out of 4wd, just leave the hubs engaged, just change between H2 and H4 as and when needed”

 

the driving on hard surface in 4H damage occurs as the front and rear prop shafts can’t turn at different speeds when cornering as there’s no center differential differentiating between the different speeds of the front and rear axles

 

but yeah, I see how it’s a pain. The older system would have been simpler on your snow/tarmac/snow example

[monkeybusiness]

With that B2500 you only have to stop to switch between 2wd and 4hi if you’ve disconnected the RFW since you were last in 4wd. As long as the hubs are still locked you can shift into 4wd when on the move (I think up to 60 mph). The only issue leaving the RFW connected (ie the light on the dash is on) would be a negligible increase in fuel consumption, as the turning wheels are subsequently spinning their respective half shafts, the front diff and the front prop shaft. You could drive like that all of the time and not cause any damage to the transmission, and the advantage is that you can pop it into 4wd without stopping. 

[monkeybusiness]

6 hours ago, HertsWood said:

The problem with the automatic 4wd o the Navarra is that when it goes wrong, it’s very expensive. A friends’ 2016 Navarra locked into 4wd and he was unable to get it back into 2wd, resulting it being recovered on back of an AA lorry!

At least a defender is a mechanical permanent 4wd system, and if it breaks, you can still lock the centre diff and drive it.

That Navara will be under warranty until 2021, so it shouldn’t cost your friend anything. 

[nepia]

6 hours ago, HertsWood said:

 A friends’ 2016 Navarra locked into 4wd and he was unable to get it back into 2wd, resulting it being recovered on back of an AA lorry!

 

That sounds like the perennial Navara problem that STILL hasn't been fixed; I had it on both 57 and 11 plate vehicles, both well within warranty; was a half hour job to insert a replacement switch through the top of the transmission tunnel I believe.

[HertsWood]

Another reason why I like the mechanical permanent 4wd system of a LR defender