discomikey

as opposed to the infuriating 50MPH avg speed "roadworks" that have been in force for the last few years 50MPH on a good day too!!

it seems to me they need to majorly revise the driving test shenannigans. it can't be that hard to give poeple a lesson on how to drive on a motorway for starters!!! basic stuff like changing a tyre would help too the theory test seems to be more luck than judgement too!

Steve........ I never put 2+2 together until just now. I was in the car (red 90) behind you as you rolled on that stage! we got out to check you were ok and still never clicked!! It may have been my fault as i was yelling at my driver to chase you down.. sorry Sorry that you never got to finish the event, and if i had realised that Si was going i would have asked about the bandsaw! Show's i need to come on here a bit more often eh!

the hazard perception is at best (or at least as i remember it in '09) crude, the video quality is that bad you spend your time working out whether that dot on the screen is a cyclist, or a fencepost.... he will get there in the end, and its worth it for his independence and freedom to drive. Unfortunately it seems everyone is against young drivers with insurance premiums the way they are etc etc. you can't be an old driver without being a new driver though!

With a stage 2 map, 520nm torque out of a 2.2 puma has made me consider it for the series, but getting the MT85 and Lt230 to fit in an 88 would prove troublesome. The electronics is the "easy" part. The downside is very disconnected driving experience IMHO, and the cost of a stage 2 map

Interesting to read, and supports my theorey, do you ever tow heavy trailers, i.e. make it really work for long periods of time?

As my previous post states, initially i agreed with your logic, however my EGT gauge disproves this. Sat on the motorway with a load on changing down increased EGT!!! I can only theorise about whats happening but as I said above, i reckon the turbo is too small to supply the required volumes of air at higher revs. one of the reasons a TDi is known for being gutsy at the lower end but anything over 3500rpm is useless for power

The 6 speed it a great gearbox for towing with, when 5th is that little too high for a long steep hill pull, 5th is perfect, otherwise you would be revving loads in 4th. The lower first gear is also better for a fully loaded trailer!

My understanding is that a hybrid turbo consists of a different set of either compressor or turbine wheels, set up to alter the maximum flow and spool up characteristics from the standard "ok for everything not perfect for anything" turbo. There are a few different ones out there so research is a must!

Am I right in thinking your motor is in fairly standard tune? And you don't tend to work it too hard too often? Remember mine is pretty much as turned up as can reliably be done and I have to get it to really work to raise the EGT's to over 650c.

Interestingly (and contrary to my initial understanding) dropping down a gear and working it less on higher revs actually increases EGT's as opposed to keeping in 5th and labouring the engine more. I believe that this is due to the turbo being able to keep a sufficient air supply at pressure in order to keep the engine cool (as a diesel is opposite to a petrol, I.e. running rich means hot as opposed to a petrol running hotter when lean) I did wander whether installing a larger or variable vane turbo in conjunction with a decent charge air cooling system would actually keep it cooler than a normal turbo

I have just come back from a race in south Wales, I towed a cattle box full of spares and tools down at the top end of 60 all the way. On uphill pulls (it was windy too) I was sometimes reaching temperatures of 850c plus. I tried to keep temperature under 700 as a minimum without dropping away from the convoy. This was quite frustrating as the engine has loads more pull, it just gets hit EGT's. I have ordered a larger intercooler now. I have run the same tune for around 5 years now and only recently fitted an EGT gauge when I found that I get a flame from my exhaust on a hard pull. Before I had the gauge it never bothered me and I never had problems. I looked into temperatures and there doesn't seem to be any definitive maximum temperature, however the number 750 is thrown around a lot.

a large benefit is the size of the CV that you can fit in the knuckle on a TD5 axle compared to the size of CV you can get in a standard defender axle. Another benefit being the wheelbearing type much less prone to failure, although they are more expensive to change. and the brakes are much simpler to service

The tomcat we are building has got 48" (yes 4ft) long lower link arms! The longer the better!

I fully agree, every time I get chance to drive a 2.25p series I jump at it. It's so nostalgic and almost makes me want to put one back in my series 3. But for modern day to day workhorse use they just aren't a particularly viable engine.

I would go down the route of disco arms personally. What do you mean how do you do the back? Any part in particular you are unsure of? Just make sure your arms do not clash with the front outrigger on full bump it might need scolloping to cope but don't remove the outrigger as its the only substantial thing between your feet and the front wheel in the event of a crash!

*10,000 miles a year on average, almost 20,000 miles last year. I think I am making use of the Gained driveability and economy! ?

At work we have a variety of different "blades" mostly home concocted with various pieces of bright bar welded on for different bend radiuses. Very useful!

Looking great,need to spend the time to read through properly though

What do you want to know?

It's not that hard of a job to be honest. It's simpler than some people make out! I would go along the lines of using the disco radius arms and if possible fitting the watts linkage too, if not stick an a-frame ball joint mount on the rd5 axle. I've done a couple now, most recently on a tomcat for ultra4, however we are putting a 4-link setup on the rear rather than conventional setup

The use of soundproofing will happily put a series on par with. 300tdi county spec defender for noise. Not bad at all. For me it was the fuel saving more than anytjing , the 32+mpg on day to day driving compared to 18 or less from the 2.25 petrol, and the oil consumption was massive too. The reliability and cold morning starting etc is also a bonus as is the ability to up the gearing and as a result happily travel from one end of the country to another. Yeah you cAn just buy a defender to so that in the first place, but I like the look of a series better. And the character.

bit more affordable and not that far off either: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1981-LAND-ROVER-109-STAGE-1-V8/181905804655?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D02682560da074756a46df2c41eff767b%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D161861873702

Sorry, typo, A4 grade is the one that is equivalent to 8.8. its in my ImechE book at work i can double check for you tomorrow although I'm sure that any generic internet search engine would provide a comparison of the 2

A2 grade stainless is equal to 8.8 mild steel bolts. Can't see why you would need a higher grade than that?