ZNO Zuk Report

Stuck in the snow this winter?  Me too.  There is a solution though.  It just takes money.  Lots and lots of money!

All you need is a set of Mattracks to throw under your suzuki samurai or sidekick.  Not exactly cheap unless you like to spend 20 grand but it’s cool anyways.  Check them out at www.mattracks.com

Not to say Zuks aren’t excellent in the snow without snowmobile tracks on each corner. There is a long debate over what tires work the best in snow but I think it comes down the the amount of snow you are trying to drive through.  If there is less than a foot it’s good to have a tall skinny tire so they can dig down to the mud underneith the snow. On the other hand if your running on a few feet of powder, it may be better to swap those out for big balloon tires to give you that extra floatation.  Your call…

If you have an opinion on which setup is best, please leave a comment!

No Zuks can not float. But that doesn’t mean they can’t dominate in the water!

I figured before I get into some of the more recent news in the Suzuki world, I should hit on some fun history highlights.

 

1988 - Suzuki Samurai “easily rolls over in turns.” This was the statement made by Consumer Reports magazine after the short course avoidance maneuvering test done by the Consumer Union.  It is something we all are pretty familiar with, because apparently it stuck.  When you talk to a non Suzuki enthusiast, it surprising how often you hear their opinions on how tippy Suzuki’s are, even when they have never driven one.  As expected this bold statement wound CR in court for 8 years.  Suzuki sued for $60 million based on damages to their reputation and the reputation of their current (1996) models. By 2004 they managed to come to some sort of mutual consentement, but CR has been backtracking their statements about Samurai’s ever since.

 

April 21, 2007 - Breaking the previous Guinness World Record for highest altitude attained by a four-wheeled vehicle,  Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales drove their modified Suzuki Samurai up to a grand total of 21,942 ft.  Their obstacle of choice, the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile.  This was the same volcano climbed by the previous record holder who made it to 21,804 ft in a Jeep, of all things.  Apparently Jeshcke, proud of his jeep and ‘knowing’ no other vehicle could ever attain such greatness, left behind a small sign that read “Jeep Parking Only”.  I’m sure Bravo hardly noticed as he ‘drove over it’ with his massive tires.

 

- Froad’r

This is the first official post of the ZNO ZUK REPORT. I want to take this time to introduce myself and give a bit of an overview of what this blog will be all about.

My name, as my blog readers will know me as, is Froadr.  I am the founder and owner of ZUK-N-OVATIONS.  I currently live in Idaho, but was a resident of Southern California for most of my life. I love wheel’n and pretty much all off roading and have a particular passion for Suzuki’s.

The ZNO ZUK REPORT is something I have wanted to start for a long time and with the launching of my own website, I finally have the chance. The purpose of this blog is to keep up on all the latest news regarding Suzuki’s, 4wheeling, and anything I deem relevant. Though it will probably get off to a bit of a bumpy start, I hope you find it interesting enough to subscribe to.

Oh and feel free to leave comments. Opinions are always good, even if they are bad… unless when they’re too bad. But then I’ll just delete them

- Froadr