Miles' IO - Requires Assistance & Opinions
Hi all,
Let me give a quick introduction to myself, I live in Dubai (i know no1 else on this forum does, but im sure if i was to order parts etc, with help, I could make my Pajero impressive as hell, a force not to be wreckoned with)
I love my car, its my ideal car, but at the moment it isnt cutting it performance wise - many people have told me to up and buy a "better car" - which is obviously hard to top my IO. I dont want to buy another car, I would prefer to keep my IO and do mods to it to simply make it better and more powerful, and can survive the stuff i tend to do with it.
THE CAR:
So I baught a Pajero IO - 2004 model - 5 door - i bought it having done 100k KM's, its now on 155k and I was wondering how much Pajero's could run, i know some cars can last up to like 300k KMs.
It is an Automatic, but with Manual 4 wheel drive.
The only things I have done to it at the moment, are put on a terrible light bar at the front, upgrade the speakers, and put in a better radio :p
I dont really know much about cars - at all - hahaha, but i love my lil beast.
i go off roading in the desert, and all these people driving Nissan Patrols, Jeep Wranglers, and Toyota FJ Cruisers, then they see my car, and they are all impressed with what i can do and how i drive it.
I have attached pictures in this article, because basically, I would like help in making it better. I wouldnt know how to do the work myself, maybe some of my friends can as they are a little bit more, intunned with cars than I am, alternatively, I can get a professional to insert parts for me.
I basically have no idea
I basically have no idea where to start, what to do, and where to go from here - haha.
So if you guys can help, it would be truely appreciated, if not, no problem.
- I also dont really trust mechanices here in Dubai, they will try and scam you every way they can, and will also do half a job, like the work is never as good as it should/ could be, so I would prefer to order parts myself (off recomendations :p ) - and then take the parts to a trusted mechanic -
Hope you guys can help <3
welcome
Welcome to the forum,
Your first thread was, if I understood correctly, to increase the power. There isn't much on the forum about this, Extractors and free flow exhaust does help but, to me, isn't a massive improvement, A turbo conversion might be what you want but this haven't been done on this forum (one have done it but we do not hear enough of him !!)
I have driven in sand with my io and some of my modification have improved this a lot. A must have would be an easy lift at first (around 50mm) and bigger tyres. The problem is that the bigger tyre will chew a bit on your power which is a bit against what you requested...and may explain why no one answered !
Happy io
General questions :)
Welcome to the forum,
Your first thread was, if I understood correctly, to increase the power. There isn't much on the forum about this, Extractors and free flow exhaust does help but, to me, isn't a massive improvement, A turbo conversion might be what you want but this haven't been done on this forum (one have done it but we do not hear enough of him !!)
I have driven in sand with my io and some of my modification have improved this a lot. A must have would be an easy lift at first (around 50mm) and bigger tyres. The problem is that the bigger tyre will chew a bit on your power which is a bit against what you requested...and may explain why no one answered !
Happy io
Hi Claude,
Thanks for getting back to me!
Yes increase of power will be required - would it be easy to purchase and instal a more powerful engine? - If this is as simple as that, I am more than happy to do so, and can leave that till a bit later to be honest :) - Or would you suggest sorting out the speed and then doing the lifts etc??
I have had a look for lift kits for the IO, and it seems the most comon place to get these are in Australia? I guess I could just get one shipped over, but they are quite expensive :s
Can you refer some good brand names for appliances to use? - I really really like the Black IO picture I posted earlier, and will base all my mods around this to be honest as it covers a lot of what I want to do.
Would it be worth taking it to a car proffessional and asking what was done to is, and asking if he can do the same??
Also what are your thoughts on the bumper? - custom made or can you purchase them somewhere??
Looking forward to your input!
more power
My understanding is that you can modify the engine but I haven't seen it done here. A few have mentioned engine swap but nothing have seen the day light....(not that I remember anyway)
The io engine is also fitted to the Lancer, and many Lancer forum have plenty of engine upgrade done. I might be wrong but I think that the majority of us have not gone that way as we use or io for 4x4, most of the engine modification will give you more power but less torque which is not what a 4x4 want. Some other mod can be done to gain some torque, like a modified camshaft but again I don't know if this have been done by io owner (at least in the forum) or the level of gain.
Cost and reliability is also to be considered.
I think that the both cars you found are from Brazil, and the io is a lot more common that it is in Australia (I only assuming here !) Because of that, modification are a lot more available than here (Australia)
I don't think that the io in Dubay are in big number and this will add to the challenge to make it look like the black io (in your post above). These 2 io probably belong to "mad" mechanics (in the best possible way that is ) that have custom done the mod them self.
What I am trying to say is that if you cannot find someone to help you in Dubay, set up your io like the black one could be very costly, very challenging and quickly become a real pain. I mean, how hard is it for you to find parts now ?
This said, you could try something halfway, a 50 mm lift and some bigger tyres won't look like those 2 beasts but won't break your bank account and should still make you smile...and will be a great start to improve the io...my little one is very hard to stop in the sand :)
Or bugger Claude io and give it your best shot to built an amazing 4x4 and it could be fun too....as I often say, I have been wrong many time...ask my wife...:)
Happy io
more power
www.rpw.com.au sell:
stage 2 camshafts
big injector kits
ecu upgrades
bigger throttlebodies
turbo kits
all for the 4G94 MPI
(if you have a GDI engine then i would just try and get an entire front-cut from a jap-spec 1.8L GDI turbo - rare beast.)
Decision time!
So I've been thinking a lot about the mods I want to do to the car, the costs, the difficulties of aquiring parts - and as much fun as it sounds, I think it would simply be more challenging than benefitial to me.
The milage of the car is quite high, it continuesly needs repairing, and these jobs dont come cheap, which is even more infuriating.
I am giving a lot of thought to simply selling it, and purchasing a new Pajero 3 door.
I know that goes against this website, but I simply think that car has everything pretty much done for me - its more powerful, its new, and a lot more solid and stable than my current car, parts are a lot easier to come by and wouldnt require importing them from other countries, and parts are a lot cheaper for them.
A lot of my friends know this is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, but I am sure I will make the right decision.
Will keep the form updated with my decision
Syndicate
Now I have a look online and
Now I have a look online and see pictures of Pajero IOs that have been upgraded and look incredible, and I believe they would be able to handle the desert and fast driving and speedbumps better than my car.
The thoughts I had, I would need a lift kit (New suspension etc) - but by how much, I dont know.
A new Front & Back Bumper, as the current ones are huge!!
Bigger tires - as obviously the car would just look silly without them after being lifted.
A step up on each side could be nice, could also be necessary when lifted, not sure, requiring advice on this.
Car will probably be painted once work is completed, I have a feeling if it is all black, I may just get it done in black too, would listen to opinions on Matte Black too.
Below I see pictures of cars that have had work done to them, and it seems simliar to what i want done, but require advice to such things as:
- what parts do I need to buy & good brands to use?
- Where can I buy them or are some of the items custom made? - Thinking for the front and back bumper atm
- How much would it roughly cost??
- Do i need to get a better engine??
** See cool Pajero IO's Below **
Living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, & I truely love my IO!