New VX owner, where do I start!

[SGT.BATGUANO]

It's pretty capable stock. Here are some additional options.

The s/c kit has been critiqued by many members who have commented that it gives the accelleration the factory forgot.

Tone tried a set of custom made Bob Land headers and noted little, if any improvement, attesting to a good factory design of exhaust.

You might try contacting SWORDY for some custom tie rod sleeves and ends as this is a weak link when offroading isuzu's. He's laid up for the time being, but might make you a set upon his recovery.

Stinkyfab makes some nice, heavy rear lower control arms in 2 different configurations.

There are various stock and member fabbed skid plates available. The main areas of concern are oil pan and transfer case. The space saver spare has been reported to give the TOD system some difficulty, so you may want to use a top rack with a full size spare tire or carry a can or 2 of fix a flat.

[Chef]

Ahh doctor guano, now that is some potently useful input!

What skid plate design would you reccomend, I like to play in the rocks, not hardcore, but don't want to take any chances.

I'd just like to be able to smirk when my friends with toyota's, chev pickups, grand cherokeeos and others ask me if my little VX can keep up with them on the trails. After dropping this thing in a couple nasty mudholes and idleing out as well as seeing pictures of them in moab in stock trim with some pretty good axle articulation, I assumed the VX is as good as any other out there, within reason of course. (Wouldn't brag to an H1 driver)

So tie-rods and rear lower control arms, any other major weak links anyone can think of?

[mbeach]

So tie-rods and rear lower control arms, any other major weak links anyone can think of?

Some have voiced concern over the VX's tendency to stall out in deep water, due to the location of the alternator. Others, like myself, have never experienced it.
I have, however, experienced intermittent TOD operation after a water crossing, attributed to water penetrating the seals on the various TOD-related sensors. I've pulled these sensors/connectors apart and packed them full of dielectric grease. No troubles since.

[Chef]

Where are most of these sensors located? Would alldata pull up a picture do you think or should I just get it in the air and pack all visible connectors? I was in some pretty deep water over the weekend and it seemed to run a bit off afterward so I was wondering if these don't like the moisture.

[mbeach]

I'm having trouble pulling up photos of exactly what I was talking about, but all I did was crawl under the truck and lube every connector that I could get my hands on. Paying special attention to the ones in the vicinity of the front and rear axles as well as the transfer case.

[transio]

I think you should look into getting forged internals made up for our engine !!!

That would totally rock!

[Heraclid]

To anyone starting out with a VX who is curious about its capabilities, I would refer you to two things...

Here...

http://www.fourwheeler.com/roadtests/5034/index.html

and this site's galleries. Spend a little time looking at what some of us are doing in these things.

The only thing wrong with the article is what they say about the rear door. There's even a photo in it of the guy using the handle, yet they say there isn't one. LOL!

And, it only placed second because
A.) They don't know a handle when it's in the palm of their hands
B.) They can't use their mirrors
C.) They didn't like the interior so much (but rave about the Recaros)

You will note that otherwise (meaning where actual performance is concerned) it owned the competition! :-) It shouldn't have lost due to aesthetics because that's not what the test is supposed to be about.

Let's recap shall we? VehiCross earned the following distinctions...

Best acceleration of the group
Best mpg of the group
Best braking in the group (in their 55-0 test, 111 ft.!!!)
Best ramp articulation EVER tested for an IFS-equipped truck
Best turning radius of the group
Won mechanical category, edging out Tahoe
Won highway category "easily"
Won trail performance category "by a good margin"

What more is there to say? The VX got robbed. I mean please... they heap praise on the Tahoe for having tow hooks? Like we don't?

This quote really gets me...

At Four Wheeler, as you may suspect, we focus on the off-road capabilities of a sport/ute's personality. However, even though 30 percent of our scoring is done off-pavement, the remaining 70 percent is done on-pavement. To win our award, a sport/utility has to do everything well.

Oh really? By their own words, the VX won for trail performance "by a good margin" AND highway manners "easily". Clearly it did "everything well" better than anything else tested. So what exactly happened here? Hmmm?