WHAT’S NEW?
MEDIA information issued by Nissan in March
this year stated the Series II rear suspension
changes centred on new front and rear dampers;
although, the initial ‘teaser’ about the Series II
issued late in October mentioned the rear coils
had been changed as well. We asked Nissan for
clarification, but didn’t receive a reply on that, nor
on whether there were any other changes such
as upgraded bushes for the five-link system.
SPRUNG!
THE Navara’s rear suspension
employs a live axle, as per the ute norm, but
has coil rather than leaf springs, a feature that
distinguishes it from its immediate competition.
Without leafs to locate the axle (i.e. stop it moving fore-
and-aft or side-to-side), the Navara uses four trailing arms
for longitudinal location and a Panhard rod for lateral location.
The two trailing arms on either side of the axle sit above one
another in a parallel arrangement rather than the top pair being
angled in to assist the Panhard rod in laterally
locating the axle. The lower longitudinal arms
are made from pressed and welded steel,
while the upper arms are 25mm-diameter
steel rods. What appears to be single-
rate coils are located inboard of the
bump rubbers, while a beefy-
looking swaybar is mounted
behind the axle.http://www.4X4australia.com.au 373