The Navara might age fast and not be reliable but boy, it sure zooms!

Despite its other shortcomings, the Navara is comfortable and roomy. If you import one, tropicalistion doesn’t really help; what you need is aftermarket modifications. Photo | FILE

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Hello Baraza,
I have been thinking about acquiring a Navara for quite a while and I am just about to settle for one, but I need a few details on it.

1) Is there a difference between ex-Japan and ex-UK Navaras apart from the naming (LE, SE vs Outlaw and Aventura). If so, which would be better?

2) Having heard horror stories about reliability issues, is there anything I can do to “tropicalise” and mitigate damage (I heard that the ’07 models are particularly problematic)?

3) Is the 2.5dci engine really that underpowered or do I have to look for the 3.0 V6?
Mike.

Hello Mike,
1. I am not really sure. The SE and LE versions are just spec levels, with the LE being the high-spec version and the SE being the poverty model. I guess Outlaw and Aventura are the names the English use to distinguish them.

2. Yes, reliability is questionable with some Navaras. ECU failures are common and a company driver also says the brakes require careful handling, otherwise the vehicle might betray you when you need it to protect you most. There is also the question of rapid deterioration with age, like milk in warm weather.

Tropicalisation in this case might not really help; what really you want is aftermarket modifications, especially with the brakes.

However, I still have a secret hankering for one after testing the automatic LE three years ago. Such is the comfort, the handling, the roominess, the refinement... In these aspects, the Navara rules, trouncing even the establishment (Hilux), which nowadays is a pale shadow of its former self. Oh, and then there is the...

3. Power! I do not think the Navara is underpowered, at all. The 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine is good for 170hp or so, which sounds puny on paper, but my mind harks back to three years ago when I drove one flat out in Olepolos against an old Ford Ranger and well... the Ranger lost. Badly.

The Navara is very fast, even in automatic form (which is the one I recommend, by the way) and it generally outclassed the hapless Ranger (a 2.5-litre turbodiesel with a manual transmission). Shortly afterwards, Ford introduced the T6, which for some reason, I have not yet tested, but which I have a feeling is a road beast.

Is there really a Navara 3.0 V6? I know of a 4.0 petrol V6 (South African market), which has so much power and torque that I do not think there is anything outside of the US that matches its abilities. If there is a 3.0 diesel V6 then that is the Navara I want... sorry, the Navara you want.

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Greetings Baraza,
Any time I peruse your column, I am struck by one thing — the presentation. Man, you are excellent on that. Where did you learn this? You might miss the nail’s head on a topic, but what stands out is the structuring of the prescription. Splendid!

I have seen cases where people have blasted you, accusing you of misdiagnosis, but you still keep your cool. Well, we do not know everything in our professions, or do we? A doctor friend of mine says he often turns to Google to increase his knowledge. And Jesus was not loved by everyone, so you cannot be.

To my question: What exactly happens in the process of an engine overruning? From my observation, manual transmission vehicles seem to be the ones prone to this. It mostly starts off with a wrong gear downshift, e.g. from 5 to 3. A sequence of events follows, which ends with the pistons hitting the cylinder head and a catastrophe happens.

What causes the parts to meet even though they are designed with clearance(s)? Snapping or stretching of con rods? My instinct suggests that con rods are extremely strong, but the ball is in your court.

Finally, say something about securing automotive innovations with patents, if you are enlightened on the matter. I have visited Kenya Industrial Property Institute’s (KIPI) site and gone through their guidelines.

I am still unsatisfied with one of their clauses; there are so many places where automotive products can be produced/reproduced, yet KIPI advises that you patent in every country where you deem your product risks being reproduced/copied without your consent.

If you were to do this, you would end up patenting the world over and waste lots of precious resources! How do companies like VW, Toyota, HP, and Samsung tackle this headache? Of course I know they are big boys, but they surely started from somewhere.
Laurence

Hello Laurence,
Much gratitude for the compliments and yes, nobody can know everything about something, not even themselves. Trying to be loved by everybody is a sure-fire way to attain a miserable existence because you will NEVER make everybody happy.

So, moving on from the one-line Social Studies discussion on to matters motoring: I think you meant “over-revving”, because “overrun” is used in a slightly different context.

A common phrase used when describing engines with high timing is “crackling on the overrun”, which is the sort of small arms gunfire-type of noise one hears from the exhaust pipe on a trailing throttle (engine revs slowly dropping when the throttle is closed), a sound just like the one made by antilag. Over-revving, on the other hand, is winding up the engine beyond the red line and bouncing off the limiter, if so equipped.

Your question, I guess, stems from an engine without a rev ceiling, a fuel cut-off point once maximum revs are achieved. Yes, it is possible (and fairly common) to over-rev a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission, but automatic transmission cars can also be over-revved. Just drop the selector lever to 2 one day when moving at 120 km/h and see what happens...

Not all engines will get wrecked by over-revving, though. Interference engines are the ones that suffer the worst damage. The excessive spin of the various shafts will lead to a timing belt failure and this is where the disaster you speak of occurs: The valves and the pistons start moving out of sync.

At one point, the valves will be heading downwards while the piston is headed upwards, leading to congress somewhere in the combustion chamber (for overhead combustion chambers).

Interference engines are the ones where the bottom point of valve travel infringes on the TDC (top dead centre), the uppermost point of piston travel. In this case they will clash, with a spectacular hellish outcome not unlike a giant rock monster chewing hard on mining equipment and steel pylons (I think I have been watching too much children’s television lately).

For non-interference engines, valve travel does not overlap with TDC, so this scenario is unlikely to happen. This does not mean damage will not happen; rotational inertia is nasty: Bearings will fail, belts and pulleys will fly all over the place, and several jointed components might choose this moment to divorce.

Your engine might still shatter into its individual constituent parts anyway. Con rods are strong, but what happens when titanium meets aluminium? The most likely engine to over-rev is a high-performance engine, such as a highly modified street racer.

Titanium valves and aluminium rods and pistons are common aftermarket performance parts. When the titanium valve meets the aluminium rod (covered with an aluminium crown) at speeds of almost 200ft per second, one of them will have to give way. Take a guess which will cave in. Yes, you are right: Aluminium. The valves may also break.

On patents: There is such a thing as the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, a WTO outfit that has led to the globalisation of patent offices.

Yes, before this you had to patent your stuff everywhere, step by step, just to be safe, otherwise your patent was only valid in whichever country you filed your application.

Recently, we have offices like the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Eurasian Patent Organisation (EPO), among others, to simplify matters. One key treaty is the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty, which covers 187 countries.

It is not as simple as it sounds; it is not that filing a patent application in Kenya automatically bans a Frenchman (or Chinese, to be more realistic) from copying your brainchild.

There is a long, tiring, and typically bureaucratic procedure to be followed, the end result being that you will be granted your patent in the state in which you filed, after which you have to follow up in the other countries.

To avoid getting 186 different visas and air tickets, this is where things like the EPC and EPO come in: They house regional patent offices, which cover several countries.

Filing in your own country only establishes a filing date in all contracted states (members of the International Patent Cooperation Union) after which you start travelling at your discretion enforcing (rather than filing anew) your patent country by country, or region by region. Eventually, you will be issued with several patents, which cover all the countries.

If KIPI says you should get 186 different visas and air tickets, then I would suggest that you pay a visit to your bank manager/local loan shark or travel agent and apply for frequent flier miles, because you will be doing a lot of travelling.

That kind of response makes me think we might not be members of the unions and conventions I have mentioned. Alternatively, get a job with a company that deals with whatever field your patent falls under (Toyota, Samsung, Elida Ponds, whatever) and file the patent under a corporate name.

Do not worry, this does not cede your ownership rights in favour of Elida Ponds; patents have to be filed under an individual’s name even when “owned” by corporates.

The patent is filed under an individual’s name and his employment contract attached to it, so depending on what you agree with Elida Ponds, the patent is still yours.

At least a corporate entity has the petty cash kitty and manpower (interns) to send people all over the world filing patents, while you sit back and wait for your patent to be wilfully ignored by the Chinese and fake versions of whatever you created to flood the market at throwaway prices.

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Hi Baraza,

I truly love and appreciate your work! I am a great fan of Toyotas and Mazdas. I feel I badly need a car. My monthly income is Sh16,000. Would you kindly advise, Sir?Josey.

Josey,
I would advise you not to buy anything that is not a basic human need with that kind of income. Do the maths: Subtract food, water, and rent from that figure. Clothes too, once in a while, and shoes.

Internet fees (you sent me an email, didn’t you?) mobile phone airtime, and the occasional fare: Even if you walk to work, you WILL have to move by PSV once in a while.

There are only so many instances in which you can bum a lift from kind strangers. Maybe you have a girlfriend (some are more expensive to run than cars, what with Vera Sidika’s hair nowadays costing the same as a “carefully maintained, one-owner, early ’90s Mercedes Benz 190E”, or a “clean, 2003 Mitsubishi Galant VR-G”?).

If you mean that Sh16,000 is your disposable income, you still have to save for six to seven months before you can buy something that moves. In that price range (~100k), what you get is best described as “needs work”, and this work costs more money.

Sh16,000 might buy you two shock absorbers only, before you wait another month to buy something else, then wait yet another month before you can pay some mechanics to work on your car. Things do not look promising.

I once spotted a Volkswagen Beetle on sale for Sh25,000, though. I went back to buy it the next day, only to find that it had already been taken, so... sorry.

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Hello Baraza,
I am 23 and want to get a car but I am undecided between a Classic Mini Cooper and a Starlet. Please advise on performance, availability of spare parts, and fuel consumption. The car is just for personal use.
Sylvester

Buy the Starlet. I had one, The Jaw has one, my friend “The Pacman*” has one, and we all vouch for it. It wins in all three instances (unless the Mini in question has less than 1000cc and is driven in third gear at 30 km/h all the time).

The fuel economy will depend on how you drive and what condition the car is in. I once used 19 litres of fuel to cover 463km in the Starlet (EP82, 1300cc) when it was running properly.

Then I developed ECU problems and spark plug failures later and burnt 12 litres of fuel covering a mere 81km, so you can see what I mean. Once the ECU was sorted, I went back to the happy, sippy setting.

I do not know about the Mini; it is not thirsty, but remember it has a carb-fed, buzzy, revvy little engine and you will most likely be driving it foot down everywhere owing to: 1) its peppy nature and 2) I might come up behind you in a fast-moving Mazda Demio and I will hoot and flash my lights and tailgate you if I find you dawdling along in third gear at 30 km/h, which might force you to rev it hard to get away from my anti-social driving habits.

Buy the Starlet. I had one, The Jaw has one, my other friend “The Lobster*” has one and we all vouch for it. It will prove less of a headache and is more “car” than the Mini.