Club Touareg Forum banner

Touareg in the Mojave

8K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  lgotye 
#1 ·
Did the Mojave Road in southern California with a group of friends the past weekend (was my T3 Touareg and a mildly lifted Jeep XJ). It's a relatively easy ~130mi route, without any really technical sections.

The Touareg handled it great! Never had issues with traction, even in the sand and muddy lake bed conditions. It was a blast flying through open dirt roads and sandy washes. The only real issues (as many have reported) was clearance. Would really love to figure out a way to raise it.

Seems like the only option seems to be spacers, but I'm curious if anyone has ever considered a custom coilover setup? Is it not actually possible or just cost prohibitive? I'm not really familiar with that world, but would love to find something that helped get it off the ground...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R5OhuFDjlKk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CMmgzRkJPl0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#2 ·
The most obvious answer (and easiest) answer for more clearance is to acquire an older Touareg with air suspension...turn a knob and up it goes!
 
#8 ·
Yeah, they look nice! A slight lift would be fitting. And what size are the Conti Terrain Contacts? I'm about to put a set of those on my 18" rims (tomorrow actually). I was totally on the fence about whether or not to get some 17" rims but opted not to. How do you like the tires? This is the first time I've seen that combination on a T3. It looks like those tires fill out the wheel well a lot more than than my mine do and they look wider as well. I'm guessing a wider tire may have been possible with the spacers?
 
#9 ·
lgotye



Nice! They're actually a pretty conservative fitment 245/65R17. Would like to go bigger on the next set for MAX height... The tires have been great for what I need. They have great road manners, and are super quiet. They've done well in the snow, and are decent offroad. Definitely not the same traction in deeper mud or sand as a real mud terrain tire. Also a bit of a bummer that they don't have the snowflake for chain control that KO2s have. That said I haven't really had traction issues anywhere I've brought the car, and they're quieter on the highway then the kumhos I run on my golf...
 
#12 ·
They’re just universal Rally Armor mud flaps (don’t come with hardware or anything). Since the OEM ones don’t fit the R-Line trim/body kit, it seemed like the simplest option.

I attached them with some body panel screws and few pieces of flat steel from the hardware store. Sadly haven’t been able to find a good way to attach the fronts yet, but hoping to when I get a chance...
 
#14 ·
I was inspired by this build, they did under carriage flaps and front and rear. Seems to just be rivited on. Agree on hitting on steep angles, mine definitely do at times, but as long as they are flexible/semi-flexible it's no big deal (along with a solid mount point).

Also love the lift on this Cayenne, but seems like it's a air suspension leveling arm mod - so would have to figure out a different strategy ?
 

Attachments

#15 ·
I’m not an off road SUV person so bear with me! I have a ‘12 LUX TDI that’s bone stock. do you think there’s any obstacles on the Mojave Road that would be insurmountable? Also, seems like your Treg is loaded to the gills! How long does it take?
 
#16 ·
I would say a stock Touareg wouldn't have any big issues with most of the trail, if you're ok with scraping your muffler and side skirts in a few paces. Mine is currently stock ride height with some slightly larger all-terrain tires. That said, the creek crossing would definitely be a no-go and the short decent down Watson Wash is probably a bit too much for most (though there's a youtube of a T3 driving up it :unsure:).

The only big concern on stock all season tires would be traction in the sandier sports or if there's any weather. Soda dry lake bed in particular can get super muddy, and you wouldn't want to get stuck out there.
 
#19 ·
For what it's worth my lower lip definitely gets used as a plow quite a bit :)

I think it's only really that lower section that's different from the other T3s. I'm planning on removing it and adding some kind of lower bumper+skid plate in the future (similar to what other folks are doing on Cayenne's).
 
#23 ·
Very cool. I have a silver T3 (newish to me, stock) and also interested in a bit of a lift. Look forward to seeing how the Russian spacers look. I'm thinking I'll eventually do a retrofit https://www.clubtouareg.com/threads/canadian-t3-air-suspension-retrofit.285295/ and I'm hoping someone will come up with a "dumb" aftermarket option that's completely manual.

Great pics. I used to live in Vegas and Orange County so miss the Mojave. When we'd go out there 7 years ago we'd often take my wife's Accord to go camping. Sometimes I'd burn up dirt roads in my E46 when we'd go shooting guns. Hahaha. But yes, clearance is nice. And air suspension makes things more comfortable. If I did it all over again I'd definitely have a Touareg or buy a beater truck. The desert is fun.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Had some holiday free time and got to install the lift spacers I got from Alex Gee. Car looks great now! Hardest part was figuring out how to compress the springs without a proper compressor...

I was also able to find an 8mm skid plate as well. Only needed some mild trimming to avoid smashing into the exhaust. And added some rear flood lighting for making camp setup and the odd night project easier to see.

Headed down to Death Valley with a few folks after New Years, and looking forward to trying out the new and improved setup!

234583
234589
234586
234584
234585
234588
 
#26 ·
Looks fantastic!! I was wondering how the tire quality changed when you put the suspension spacers on. Also how do you like the BFG tires, how’s the road noise compared to what you had previously? And lastly, where’d ya get the skid plate? [emoji44]

Thanks!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
I am in northern California, central valley area.
We did old dale road in Joshua tree earlier this year.
Here are some pictures of different trips in California, Utah, Arizona.
View attachment 234592 View attachment 234595 View attachment 234596 View attachment 234597 View attachment 234598 View attachment 234599
Nice! That's a sweet looking t3.
Love Joshua Tree. We did Berdoo Canyon and a few of the roads around there last year and had a lot of fun.
 
#29 ·
How much did it cost to ship that monster skid plate from Europe?!

Sahara4x4 has some skid plates for T1 Touaregs. I’ve lost pretty much all my underbody dust shields. I could pay a couple hundred for plastic cladding, or I could spend somewhat more and get steel. It looks like the only offer 2.5mm steel or 5mm aluminum, though. I doubt I’ll be supporting the weight of the Touareg on a jack with it. ;-)
 
#30 ·
Shipping was a couple hundred US, so not the most cost friendly option. But happy with the heftyness :)

I did reach out to the makers of the sheriff plates though and they put me in contact with Christopher "the skid plate guy" (I think you can find his contact info on Facebook). They might be another option for sourcing them to the US.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top