Hi everyone,
This is my first real post, I have been reading this forum for some time now and you guys certainly have a wealth of knowledge .

I've had a TJ Verada AWD since new, 74,000kms on the clock, in perfect shape and I'm giving to my oldest Grandson as a surprise present when he turns 18 in November.
I've been looking at a replacement car for me and have driven different makes and models, all OK, but none seem to have the same combination of security, handling and power as the Verada, so I narrowed my search.

I live in the Newcastle area and earlier this month I found and bought one down the Central Coast, a TW, LS AWD with 30,000kms and almost 3 years of Factory warranty, I guess I paid top price, $18500, but its such a nice vehicle and as I couldn't find a suitable VRX, its what I wanted.

I have a couple of Questions if you could help please.

(1) Both cars handle beautifully, but the steering on the Verada seems lighter, is this normal?

(2) Both cars are stock standard, "no mods", is the suspension on both identical? and if I got a local dealer to modify the LS to VRX suspension what would be the approxite cost and would I see a vast improvement?

Thank you in anticipation,
Al.

(1) Both cars handle beautifully, but the steering on the Verada seems lighter, is this normal
This is because the TL-TW Magnas purposely had heavier steering to increase the amount of feedback the wheel gave you. I believe this was a complaint of the earlier 3rd gens, and their answer to the problem as such.


(2) Both cars are stock standard, "no mods", is the suspension on both identical? and if I got a local dealer to modify the LS to VRX suspension what would be the approxite cost and would I see a vast improvement?
I wouldn't be bothering to get VRX suspension fitted to it, its not that much better. You'd be better off getting some King SP Springs and nicer shocks, KYB's or Boges perhaps. That makes for a really smooth ride while reducing roll, so the car will also handle much better.

Edit: Oh and the suspension between the two is likely to be slightly different. I'm not too sure exactly what setup came in the TW magna's stock, but usually the Verada had a softer suspension setup for extra comfort and exporting to the American market.

I think that you will find that the TW has a larger diameter rear anti-roll bar, as well as the revised steering pump change that took some of the lightness out of the steering.
In my opinion the original TJ AWD series suspension was too soft and the steering was over-assisted.

I fitted a Whiteline adjustable rear anti-roll bar and immediately found that it sharpened the handling up quite nicely. This adjusts to one level more than the TW bar.

It also depends what tyres are fitted.
I would guess that your Verada had Turanzas fitted. A slightly more grippy tyre will make a slight difference to the steering feel.
My Sports AWD originally had GII fitted. Very noisy!!

If you are after a much firmer and more precise steering I would do the following :-
Change to 17" rims and suitable quality tyres.
17x8 rims do fit nicely with 235/45/17 tyres. You can also get Dunlop MAXX's in the correct load rating, however the rolling diameter is slightly different.
Have front camber bolts fitted and get set to 1° negative.

Before the rear bar and tyere changes you could feel that there was a delay before the car started to change direction after turning the steering wheel. 2 reasons is that the front of the car would immediately lean towards the outside tyre because the rear anti-roll bar was not stiff enough. The fact that Mitsubishi changed the rear bar size on the TW series says it all! The second reason is that the front tyre sidewalls were flexing noticeably. Increasing tyre pressure helps, but changing to a lower profile tyre makes a quantum difference.

Have the Whiteline front track control arm caster bushes fitted.
As we are talking about AWD's I don't think that you need bother with going to the anti-lift version as these are really intended for the FWD variants.

I finally did these about 2 months ago after the anti-roll bars front and rear, front camber pins and the bigger wheels and tyres, springs and Konis.

Agree the comments about shock absorbers.
I would find someone who has KYB's fitted to an AWD to find out how much firmer they are, otherwise it is considerably more expensive to go to Koni's.
One big issue with the Koni front shock absorbers is that your existing parts have to be cut up so that they can be inserted.

Before this I felt the steering was way too light, at motorway speeds the car needed continual correction, now just tracks much straighter.

The other thing top consider is stiffer springs.
Currently I have Kings Lows all round. In my opinion these are too low for some of the awful roads in Sydney. I am about to change to Kings SP's these apparently have the same spring rate as Lows but do not lower the car as much.

Hope that this helps.
Gerry

Hi and welcome,hope you enjoy your new drive.I think your grandson should address you as Grand Pooh Pa from then on with a present like that,too good.

i'd give him the TL ... the verada is much nicer car in my opinion (seats, climate controls, etc).
at 18, give him the 'simpler' car :P

i'd give him the TL ... the verada is much nicer car in my opinion (seats, climate controls, etc).
at 18, give him the 'simpler' car :P


All TLs and TW's had verada features like climate controll and electric seats as standard.

the TW would be a better long termer IMO - looks fresher and is aging well considering other makers cars.

The TW AWD will have a diff power steering pump on it to give it the different steering feel - think i remember reading on here that its actually the TJ Ralliart Power Steering Pump they used.

lucky grandson to be getting a Rada for a present too!

AWD = fun :D

Hi everyone,
This is my first real post, I have been reading this forum for some time now and you guys certainly have a wealth of knowledge .

I've had a TJ Verada AWD since new, 74,000kms on the clock, in perfect shape and I'm giving to my oldest Grandson as a surprise present when he turns 18 in November.
I've been looking at a replacement car for me and have driven different makes and models, all OK, but none seem to have the same combination of security, handling and power as the Verada, so I narrowed my search.

I live in the Newcastle area and earlier this month I found and bought one down the Central Coast, a TW, LS AWD with 30,000kms and almost 3 years of Factory warranty, I guess I paid top price, $18500, but its such a nice vehicle and as I couldn't find a suitable VRX, its what I wanted.

I have a couple of Questions if you could help please.

(1) Both cars handle beautifully, but the steering on the Verada seems lighter, is this normal?

(2) Both cars are stock standard, "no mods", is the suspension on both identical? and if I got a local dealer to modify the LS to VRX suspension what would be the approxite cost and would I see a vast improvement?

Thank you in anticipation,
Al.

I thought with the Tj's the only AWD was a standard one and the sports?

But yeah a TL/TW so much newer then the TJ eqivs and more features as well

I thought with the Tj's the only AWD was a standard one and the sports?

But yeah a TL/TW so much newer then the TJ eqivs and more features as well
There was a KJII 3.5 AWD (http://www.carsales.com.au/car-research/details.aspx?__Ns=pCar_YearMade_Int32|1||pCar_Make _String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&__Nne=20&seot=20&silo=1005&Cr=0&__N=4294964597%204294964081%204294900711%20281&__sid=11B5795912BE&Make=MITSUBISHI&R=cs20021204.09%3a48%3a09&trecs=1).

Thanks guys, you have all been most helpfull, Rhys and Gerry, you put in a lot of time with your technical details, most appreciated.

The grandson is a good kid, they live in Melbourne and he attends Melbourne High and his grades are good, I wanted him to have a good safe car, cos if he drives like his Dad and I did at 18 he'll need it.....Grin!

The TW came with good rubber, the Verada needed new tyres so I swapped and put 4 new B F Goodrich sports TA's on the TW, they seem quite sticky, I chose them as Choice Magazine has given them big wraps in their last couple of tyre test surveys.

At first I did think of giving him the TW, but it grew on me, in fact I prefer the seats to the Verada, they are more wrap around with good support, electric, and have a good height adjustment that the Verada lacks.

Thanks again team.
Sincerely,
Al

mate ur grandson is gonna love the 'rada, make sure you get him on here when he gets it, we'll give him some ideas lol

mate ur grandson is gonna love the 'rada, make sure you get him on here when he gets it, we'll give him some ideas lol

LOL, I'm sure he will have plenty of ideas, without any help.
Cheers
Al