Just curious of any of you want to go on a 4x4 trip to Pismo Beach AKA Oceana Dunes SVRA/OHV Area (State Vehicle Recreation Area/Off Highway Vehicle). The dates are the weekend of May 5 & 6.

Currently there are ~11 4x4's coming...
5 Gen I montero's,
3 Gen II's montero's
1 Montero Sport
1 Toyota 4 Runner
1 Isuzu Rodeo.

If you are interested, please send me your contact details and I'll be sure to include you in the planning and also send you the details of where we'll be meeting up.

FWIW, most will be travelling there Friday Night and will be there by Saturday Morning where we're probably gonna have a potluck breakfast/brunch so we can all meet each other. It's up to you if you want to camp overnight or not. I believe most are camping overnight.

For those concerned about vehicle preparedness and trail difficulty, Oceana Dunes is a very vehicle friendly area. No under body protection or rock bumpers will be necessary unlike the many Sierra Nevada 4x4 trails.

What is recommended is running lower air pressure in your tires (15psi for regular street tires) but we can discuss those details further. Just let me know.

 

Thanks for the invite but I will not be making it. I will however, Im going on a 4x4 trek with the Cayenne group in San Diego this weekend. Ill post pics. Im sure the Mitsu will shine compared to porsche 4x4s. Its supposed to be begininner to intermediate so I will not be seeing Cayenne Turbos rock crawling.

 

LOL, I can almost guarantee you won't see a Cayenne rock crawling regardless of skill level. From everything I've seen, most IFS & IRS systems are not the best on the rocks unless they're built with extra articulation. I doubt Cayenne's have the articulation to maintain the necessary traction.

 

I know you almost busted a gut. I could imagine that your buddies would laugh at the porsche wine and cheese crowd! The monty may be out of place, but it is a Gen 3 so I should blend right in!!! I just hope we dont run into any 4wd clubs - may be a bit embarrasing!!!

 

Well we went to valley of the moon. Awesome - still amazed what the Monty could do in stock setup. We hit trails rated 3-4 and it was no problem. The Cayenne guys said that they have done 7 rated trails with no body damage. Im sure the monty could handle it as well with the proper driver! If you guys are ever in SD county, lets hook up Ive gotten the 4x4 bug now. The features of the monty were on par with the most well equipped 4x4s on the trip. Tiptronic mode, independent brake spin control, downhill assist. It was fun seeing the truck control wheel spin on some hairy ascents!

As far as the rock crawling, the 07 cayennes have a mode to disengage the sway bars to further increase the body articulation. When the sways are engaged, the truck will handle 0.6g lateral on the street without body roll. Aside from the looks, the cayenne are pretty kick ***! (It also goes into locked differential mode with push of button, raises with air suspension and can deflate/inflate the tires from the drivers wheel like the hummer). Of course, I could buy 3 monty Gen III for the price of Cayenne turbo!

Darn - I forgot the camera. Others had cameras, maybe I will get some shots of the Monty from them. It was way more muscular looking than most of the other vehicles (Toyota FJ, Jeeps, Land Rover Discovery, Cayennes, etc).

 

The 94-96SR Montero's came with air actuated locking rear differentials (push button) from the factory. It's also an option for nearly all Gen II Montero's.

The push button Anti-Sway Bar disconnects sound pretty sweet. I do know a guy in Australia who's selling them for certain model Montero's. If you're interested, I can put you in contact with him.

Central air presssure controls are also pretty sweet & I don't know of anyone offering that for a Mitsu but then again 3x the cost is insane!!