This is the Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin, a 4x4 produced by Mitsubishi to cover the small SUVs market.
The car is owned by a friend of mine, Dionysis, who named it TAZ, after the famous Looney Tunes character, who likes to ... mix mud. Below, you can find information about this 4x4 model and links to some off-road trips we did with it. Dionysis is responsible for all the contents of this page and the links provided within it. Dionysis can be reach at dionysisbekatoros@yahoo.com.
Technical Specifications
Chassis-body : Unibody construction, five doors Engine : Mitsubishi 2.0 lt, 4-cylinder with EFI, 129 bhp at 5,000 rpm, 19.0 kgm at 3,500 rpm Transmission : 5 speed manual (3.967:1, 2.136:1, 1.360:1, 1.00:1, 0.822:1, Rev. 3.578:1) Transfer Case : part-time transfer case, with low ratio (1.548:1) and central lockable differential Suspension Front : Independent, McPherson struts, antisway-bar Suspension Rear : Solid axle, with coil springs, 4 links, Panhard rod, anti-sway bar Angles : approach: 33, departure: 38, ramp: 22 degrees Front Axle diff : open diff, 4.636:1 ratio Rear Axle diff : Torsen Limited Slip diff, 4.636:1 ratio Steering System : Rack & pinion, power-assisted Curb weight : 1390 kg Brakes : Disk brakes front and rear, rear drums for mechanical handbrake, ABS Dimensions : length 4035mm, width 1700mm, height 1600mm Ground Clearance : 20 cm
Pros and ConsThe car is a nice, little rig with enough space for 4 adults. It is build with the well-known quality of all Mitsubishis and it is quite capable off road. Its main limitations are:
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Its main attributes are:
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Modifications
So far, the car has received a few modifications. Since it is not imported in USA, there is not a great variety of parts to add to it, so whatever you want to do, you have to either make it yourself, or depend on the manufacturer. The following mods were performed:
Tires
The tires were changed as soon as the car was delivered. Unfortunatelly, the size used on the car (215/65R16) is a bit odd, and it was impossible to find a decent off-road (i.e. Mud Terrains) tire for it. As a result, the tires were changed to BF Goodrich All Terrains (KO design) in 215/70R16, which added about one centimeter of ground clearence to the little guy.
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As you can see at the last picture on the right, the right rear tire is spinning hopelessly, while Taz is trying to climb a small obstacle. This truck is equipped with a Torsen rear differential, which I would expect to engage, in such situations. However, it looks as if this device requires quite a lot of wheel spin before it activates, or there is something wrong with the particular car.
Skid plates
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The flimsy undercarriage protection of Mitsubishi, was changed immediately after the car was bought, with a more sturdy one, made out of 5 mm aluminum plate. The new plate extends almost all the way to the middle of the car, covering the transfer case, which is left totally unprotected by the manufacturer. The skid plate had proved its worthiness during the recent off-road excursion to St. Thomas, where the mud was enough to burry the whole car. Also, during the recent snow storm which hit Athens, it was a real reassurence. Except from the front skid plate, two more plates were made to cover the unprotected areas of the gas tank. The skid plates were installed by 4x4 X-treme.
Suspension lift
Well, just to prove that even with the most difficult vehicle, improvements can be made, I finally managed to add some lift to my TAZ. One day, I visited a shop, near my office, to ask for prices for new shock absorbers. That shop is the shop of Mr. Elias Athanasiou a Bilstein distributor and a Bilstein Authorized Service Center (Bilstein Fahrer Service), who specializes in preparing racing car suspensions. I was talking with Mr. Athanasiou, and mentioned how much I wanted to add some lift to the car, and how difficult it was, due to the suspension of the Pinin. The guy looked at me and said that it could be done! Well, a few hours later, and TAZ was sitting 3 cm higher than before.
How was it done? Well, Mr. Athanasiou, the owner of the shop removed the base plates of the front Mc Pherson struts, and re-welded them 3 cm higher. Shock absorbers of suitable length were then installed in the struts, et voila! Three more centimeters. At the rear, two 3 cm plates were installed above the coil springs, and the appropriate Bilsteins were found and fitted.
Net result is that now TAZ, not only sits taller than before, but it has also acquired a much better road holding. Oh yes, there is now enough room to add some slightly larger tires, or to use snow chains, but for the time being, I am going to stick with what I've got.
Winch
Taz has recently being equipped with a Warn winch. Pictures will be added soon.
ARB Air Locker
I wasn't very happy with the way the Torsen diff was performing in the rear axle, so as soon as I learned that ARB has a locker for the Pinin, I had one ordered and installed. Pictures to follow soon.
Photo Samples
Close the window in which the picture was shown, to return here.
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- Off-road adventure at Parnis.
Taz is typically wheeling together with some friends, i.e. other 4x4s of friends. Below you can find some links to those pages:
Here is some information I found and which I'd like to share with you. The documents are in MS-Word format, and of unknown origin, so if someone has the intellectual property rights to them, please let me know at dionysisbekatoros@yahoo.com. To save these documents on your disk, right-click on the link you want.
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Off-road adventures
- Off-road adventure at Valia Kalda.
- Off-road adventure at Moto-Cross field at Pendeli.
Links to TAZ friends
John's Musso The big guy in the family, a huge truck compared to the Pinin.
John's Cherokee John's new love affair, a 1984 Jeep Cherokee with 6" of lift!
Other friends Some more Mussos, a CJ with an attitude and a Land Rover.
4x4-related reading
