'11 Suzuki SX4 AWD

[WagoneerSX4]

After going over and over again plans for a rear bumper with a swing out tire carrier I finally caved and opted for the easier route of just getting a cheap roof basket for the mean time. I'd still like to do this in the future but for right now there's more important parts of this project I need to spend money and it just didn't make sense for so little gain. So I found this one which seems like it was designed around my roof racks. It's aluminum (21lbs on the nose) and not over heavy duty. All that's going to be up there is my spare tire, a jerry can, and a hi-lift. Not a bad piece for 60% off plus a $10 off coupon. Couldn't even buy the materials to build it yourself with what I paid for it.




Almost finished my emergency stuff organization under my false floor. Two husky tool bags and a maglite holder keeps everything nice and neat and gives me space to carry ALL the emergency gear I'm ever going to need (and some ridiculous stuff I probably won't ever need). Still need to install my fire extinguisher holder.




Next up are quick disconnects for the front sway bar, and then early spring I'm putting on some RRO super slider rock rails whenever the snow melts. That will be it for modifications before our cross-canada trip this summer. Still waiting on final word from work before we know for sure it's a go. My trailer needs some love before that too. It's getting new wheels/tires, new axle/springs, and some rear stabalizer jacks.

 

[ihatemybike]

After going over and over again plans for a rear bumper with a swing out tire carrier I finally caved and opted for the easier route of just getting a cheap roof basket for the mean time. So I found this one which seems like it was designed around my roof racks. It's aluminum (21lbs on the nose) and not over heavy duty. Not a bad piece for 60% off plus a $10 off coupon. Couldn't even buy the materials to build it yourself with what I paid for it.

And just where/how did you get this deal?

 

[GetOutThere]

Love these things. Great looking little beasties.

How did you guys solve the recovery point issue?

 

[WagoneerSX4]

And just where/how did you get this deal?

My local princess auto. I still had a coupon code from a returned wrong item a long time ago. Worked out perfectly.

 

[WagoneerSX4]

Love these things. Great looking little beasties.

How did you guys solve the recovery point issue?

Technically I haven't. Still using my hitch as my main recovery point and the OEM points underneath the car in the front (huge pain to get to and sometimes impossible depending on how you're stuck). That still needs to be addressed.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

So I just spent the last 3 hours reading the thread and even pulled up a few 2011 and 2012 models in the local classifieds, two of which were 6 speed trans. We have been looking at AWD cars to replace our 2005 Mazda 3 in the next year, biggest hurdle I see with the SX4 is how well they may hold up in a crash. Anyone have any safety data to look at?

 

[Thirty-Nine]

So I just spent the last 3 hours reading the thread and even pulled up a few 2011 and 2012 models in the local classifieds, two of which were 6 speed trans. We have been looking at AWD cars to replace our 2005 Mazda 3 in the next year, biggest hurdle I see with the SX4 is how well they may hold up in a crash. Anyone have any safety data to look at?

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/suzuki/sx4

 

[WagoneerSX4]

So I just spent the last 3 hours reading the thread and even pulled up a few 2011 and 2012 models in the local classifieds, two of which were 6 speed trans. We have been looking at AWD cars to replace our 2005 Mazda 3 in the next year, biggest hurdle I see with the SX4 is how well they may hold up in a crash. Anyone have any safety data to look at?

Structurally they're tanks. They have double A-pillars which makes for a kind of annoying sight-line but are very good in roll-overs and front impacts (ie. deer and taller vehicles).

The only downfall I can see is the physical size of the vehicle, smaller the vehicle the smaller the crumple zones, and the fact that the seats are nothing special in terms of being supportive or any sort of whiplash protection. There have been many people on clubSX4 and the old SX4club who have posted photos of hitting large deer and each of them walked away without a scratch.

 

[SnowedIn]

A few people over here have refaced and rebadged their SX4 to look like a Sedici.

I wondered about this, as I saw what was apparently a Sedici in a Home Depot parking lot a couple of months ago.


I really need to get some good roof rack pics up - I put on a Frontrunner Slimline II tray. (In fact, I owe them some pics too... life has been unpleasantly busy for a few months). The size you need for something like the SX4 costs a good bit less than their racks for a normal SUV. It's light, quiet, and stronger than you'd ever need. It's also lower profile than a normal basket type rack.

You can fit surprisingly large things in this car by folding the passenger side front/back seats forward, but I like being able to strap wood, metal stock, etc. to the roof. I have a set of Maxtrax pin mounts I can put up there as well.

Gas mileage with the larger Grabbers and the roof rack is sitting around 26-27 mpg with a mix of highway, city, and rural roads.


Parts availability -

If you're in the US and can't find something, you can still order parts from places like Amazon.UK. I've had stuff show up in a very reasonable time frame and the shipping wasn't too obnoxious. Rock Auto can get you Sedici parts if they don't have the SX4 part listed, but they're going to ship from the EU and shipping will be an arm and a leg.

Cross reference part lookups on places like Autopartoo and Niparts can help you figure out part numbers when trying to interchange SX4 and Sedici parts. It's also not uncommon to find a domestic vehicle using the same part, and to be able to drive down to your local parts place and pick it up cheap.

 

[KLT88YJ]

Just read through your entire post, gotta say I love the little car! My wife had a Patriot, hat thing was phenomenal in the snow and dirt! I was comely unaware that the aftermarket supported the SX4 that much. I like it most because it's different. I did see some postings of your SX4 over on tventuring.

Keep on posting!


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[WagoneerSX4]

Just read through your entire post, gotta say I love the little car! My wife had a Patriot, hat thing was phenomenal in the snow and dirt! I was comely unaware that the aftermarket supported the SX4 that much. I like it most because it's different. I did see some postings of your SX4 over on tventuring.

Keep on posting!

Unfortunately the aftermarket is very small. But fortunately, the small community of enthusiasts are pretty dedicated so within the community we test out a lot of different parts and sees what fits and what doesn't. A lot of the available parts for the car are cross-shopped from parts available for other vehicles. It is nice that places like rocky road outfitters and primitive racing still regularly stock parts for it though.

I'm currently preparing for a cross-canada trip out west this spring. So the car will get the regular prep maintenance like an oil change, all driveline fluids changed, etc. I also have a set of drilled and slotted brake rotors, ceramic pads, stainless steel braided brake lines, and high-temp brake fluid that I'm finally going to install whenever the weather gets warm. You can never have too much brakes when driving through the mountains with a trailer!

Speaking of which, my trailer build is finally rounding the final stages of being complete. I'll post up some pics of my completed setup when the time comes. I'll also start a trip journal here that I'll include a link to in this thread.

 

[KLT88YJ]

Awesome!! Looking forward to those pictures then! Are you planning on taking your trailer with you to?


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[WagoneerSX4]

Awesome!! Looking forward to those pictures then! Are you planning on taking your trailer with you to?

Yes, trailer is coming with me. I've done a lot of upgrades to it in prep for the trip. I'm planning on using it as a base camp, then switching the bike rack over to the car and taking little day trips with it to different trails in the area that we're in.

 

[KLT88YJ]

Pictures please, since the upgrades!! I love the little homemade trailers! Tventuring had sucked me in, lol!!

Here's my little homemade trailer.

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[Dake21]

Nice SX4 you have there.