Chicken Drumstick

Thanks for the vid link. Re: Smarts, I think that was true of earlier models. I've also had a Smart Roadster. But the current 453 gen doesn't suffer leaks that I'm aware of. At least nothing on the forums about it when I was on them and mine lived out 24/7.

I had a ForTwo new in 2017, did 52,000 miles in it. Not a single issue. Can't fault the quality from a personal point of view. Wouldn't half the price of a G-Wagen still mean about £70k? I can't see them pitching at this price point, at least not for the base starting price. I would assume their target market is the well specced pickups and things like the Commercial Land Cruiser. Which would be £35-50k depending on exact spec.

I can see there is a lot of love for the BFG AT's. If the op plans to off road, then I'd agree. They won't be a bad tyre choice at all, but if you are correct in saying 90% on road (and the assumption that the 10% off road is only mild off roading). Then there are more road biased tyres than the BFG AT that might work better for the 90% of the time and still be suitable enough for the 10%.

These are a good road biased tyre with enough ability off road should you want to venture up a lane or in a field. I too would recommend for this application. The BFG AT's arguably look better (more aggressive). But would make more sense if you off road more. The MTR was a standard fitment by Land Rover. Probably not a bad tyre and they run ok on the road. But they are noisy (make a humming noise). And my experience of them, they are rubbish in the mud. And not very good in the snow either. For places like Oz or even parts of the USA where you have hard baked mud, sand, gravel and dry rocks. I think they would work better than they do in the UK. I'm not familiar with the terrain in Italy however.

200Tdi is faster if you drive that way. But a good 2.5TD performs well enough and will cruise at 65-70mph no probs. Stock for stock the difference isn't really as big as made out. The difference comes in the fact the Tdi can be tweaked easily, which makes it feel a lot more punchy. The 2.5TD might not be favoured, but they are a lot more refined and smoother than the Tdi's. Which is really noticeable at all times and esp at cruising speeds. We have 3 Ninety's with these in on the farm. Think they have done about 700,000 miles between them. All still going strong and no major issues in that time.

Yes it can get pricey for controllers and the like. Although you could use the same on a V8 auto too. Or you could as you suggest, just buy the entire lot out of a Disco (D2 in this case) and use the factory setup. It really depends what the op is wanting from the setup. Personally I can appreciate autos. But I'm yet to drive an automatic car that wouldn't be improved with a manual gearbox. But if going auto you may well want to maximise the control and shifting patterns. Something you can't always do on factory setups. Although 'modern' sports cars tend to offer this out of the box to a certain extent. Controllers would be to allow you to lock it in say 2nd or 3rd and floor it without it kicking down. Or firming up the shift speed under certain conditions or via a button selection. Or making it smoother and locking the converter up at lower speeds, etc.

I'd guess it is just the non electronic ZF 4 speed as per RRC. With the Tdi you don't have any sensors to be able to program the gearbox. So it is very sold school and largely unresponsive. The Td5 can make use of the electronic control variants of the ZF. Which allow you to program different shift points, reactions or even semi- full manual control via a lever or even paddles if you wanted. Guess it depends what you are wanting from the setup really. But yes, I'd advise speaking to Dave Ashcroft on this. But I'm sure he'll point you down the Td5 route over the Tdi.

The auto works in the Disco 2 with the TD5. But mpg and performance suffer. A juiced up Td5 and a tweaked auto box might work. There are some aftermarket controllers to give you manual control and the like. However is mpg isn’t going to be a blocker. A 4.6 RV8 will be a nicer drive IMO.

The other year I went on a tour of Prodrives facility. What amazed me were the number of cars they looked after. These were rare cars (sometimes race cars). Clearly bought as investments. They weren't driven or used or anything like that. Just maintained and stored. So that the owner could sell them on and probably make money down the line. I suspect these new Defenders probably fall into that category.

The ATB's are great. If you fit one at the front you'll feel it through the steering a little on road, just as you would with a fwd hot hatch that has a limited slip diff. Your choice if you go both axles or just one. If one axle, most would fit just one to the rear, but some would fit to the front for other reasons. Neither is really wrong. But they'll help out in wet, snow or icy conditions and you'll not need to do a thing, just keep driving. the only time they don't work so well is if you have wheels waving in the air, but in these situations a dab of left foot braking is all you are likely to need and they will work fine. And if you have ATB's in both axles, one wheel in the air won't matter anyway. Easiest thing on a 90 is to fit a Disco axle on the back to get the 24 spline axles and rear disc brakes. At the front you can buy extra bits from Ashcroft to fit the ATB and shafts, but again might be cheaper to buy a latter axle and retro fit. Just check on if you have wide/narrow front radius arms. Upgrading the half shafts is recommended with the ATBs, but not essential. You could always wait until you break a standard one and upgrade then. However, I'd say it is about a complete package, the right tyres for the job (bit like wearing the right footwear for yourself, you wouldn't walk out in the deep mud in some trainers or slippers) will make a huge difference too. And also some simple suspension changes can help out hugely. You don't need to go radical on the suspension, but a bit more flex and droop can make a huge difference to how often you get, or rather don't get cross axled. Something as simple as standard rate longer springs and some longer shocks. Here are two open diff vehicles. Both with slight suspension mods. But note the difference in how they handle the terrain (same driver). A 100% standard 90 would get stopped a lot easier and in fact did so on the trail day when people were running the course.

I think people tend to complain about Detroit lockers more so in the front than the back. But I've not run them, so don't really know for sure. But from what I've read, it is normally lighter shortwheel base vehicles that they seem to be more unpleasant in. I know a 101 isn't super long wheel base, but they have a bit of heft about them. And I suspect probably aren't driven on road in the same way a 90 can be in the corners. Glad that setup works for you though. And some cool pics.

I like the idea of Detroits. Never actually run them though. From what I’ve heard they tend to favour heavier longer wheelbase vehicles unless it is primarily an off road vehicle. As they are more of an automated unlocker rather than locking. Not read the entire thread. So might have been mentioned. But I’d go for some Ashcroft ATB’s or just one in the rear. Requires no user intervention. Works all the time, even on the road. Super value for money.

As others have said, that tyre is probably pretty old now. The KM2 was introduced quite a long time back now. And that too is discontinued now. You might find some part used ones. Or maybe match it up with some remoulds of similar tread. The only real issue here is, the physical size might be slightly different and the compounds won't be exactly the same. but it would be doable. https://www.fedimatyres.com/en/4x4/4x4/fmud https://www.insaturbo.com/copia-de-k2-mt-1 That said, if it was me, I'd either just keep as a spare. Or flog it on ebay and simply buy a new complete set.

The KM2 came about due to lower drive by noise regs that came into place. Although I think overall they tended to out perform the original off road. The KM3 I haven't run, but have seen them in action and they are very impressive off road. About as good as I've seen from a 'new' (rather than remould) tread.

I think oiling the springs only really works on traditional leaf packs, as the leaves are touching each other and generate friction. On a parabolic leaf spring they only at the ends and in the middle. But don't move against each other. The coils on a coil spring also shouldn't normally be touching unless the spring is compressed or coil-bound.

I think it depends on where you are in the country to some extent. We've only had one bit of snow this winter and the roads cleared within about 2 hrs. No snow at all last winter. I've found that in 'fresh' snow MT's often work very very well. It is the hard compacted snow or frozen ice packed snow that the tend to not work very well on. Although are still arguably superior to summer tyres still. The location bit comes into play, that we only ever have fresh snow to drive on in this part of the UK and other more southern regions. It never lasts long enough to truly become icy or compacted. So the MT is actually not a bad choice IMO. I would agree on compacted snow and ice, an AT will normally work better. Mostly due to the siping an AT has. But I've found in fresh snow that mild AT's often don't work as well as MTs. Especially in 4" sort of depth or more. And if you go off road/laning in fresh snow, MT's have always worked a lot better for me. Not every MT mind. Narrow ones work well and you do get some MT's with some degree of siping in too. This was a few winters back, last time we had meaningful snow in the area. I'm in the green 88 running 7.00 x 16 aggressive remould MT's without sipes in. Note the Jap 4x4 in front of me. He was on a regular All Terrain pattern and in 4wd. But note as 21min 10 sec how much trouble he has pulling away on the fresh snow. Then compare to how easily my 88 pulled away on MT's without spinning a wheel. The grip levels were great, nicely balanced in braking, cornering and moving off. It felt fully in control at all times. We drove for an hour or so before heading off for some off roading then some laning to complete the day before heading to the pub (how we miss days like that at the moment!) The camera car is my brothers 90 on some 7.50 x 16 MT's, I forget which pattern. Remould of some sort maybe diamonds, no sipes. And the white 90 pickup you see coming down the hill is my Uncle. Also on MT's (235/85's).

Peat and even ice a bit more rare here in the Beds/Bucks area. But I agree. Shame we can't get sipes cut in tyres like those in the USA can. I suspect it would massively improve some MTs.

The Toyos are ok, as a road bias vehicle that occasionally off roads. But they perform more akin to an All Terrain in the mud. The KM2 is much superior off road and almost as good on IMO. The KM3 looks very impressive for serious off road use, one of the more aggressive non-remould tyres out there. Probably 2nd only to the GEOLANDAR X-M/T G005. Although I've not seen these in action yet, my Uncle has some and they look very aggressive in person in 7.50 x 16's. The General X3 I'd also rank several rungs higher than the Toyo off road too. But not as good as the KM3. Depending on your use however, there are some pretty good remould tyres these days too.

Thanks. Doing a bit of reading I think many are done under 'MSVA' rather than IVA. It also seems some are also done via a Partial Type Approval, which needs to be at the manufacture or importer level. Needs more research methinks.

Thanks. Quite like the look of this one: https://www.blitzworld.co.uk/Adult-Buggies/DX10-renegade-300cc-automatic-buggy They do offer a road legal version, which at this physical size I think would be quite appealing, as a lot more use could be made of it. But their road legal one is over £3000 more. I've emailed the company, but they honestly didn't seem all that friendly or interested in selling. All I'd like to know is what the extra £3k really gets you, as the non road legal one is £6k with a claim it can be made road legal, but no info on what needs to be done. In reality, they are probably a tad too pricey. Was hoping for something more cheap and cheerful. The also offer this one, which is nearer what I had in mind price wise. https://www.blitzworld.co.uk/Adult-Buggies/Ripster-200cc-Adult-kids-Buggy One of their pages also says about it potentially being road legal. But they again seemed uninterested in wanting to provide info. Maybe they are just going through a tough time at present. Will maybe phone up and try and have a better chat once we are into better weather. This one looks to have potential, although the sellers were very clear it isn't capable of being made road legal. But it would probably do most of what I was thinking of. Although none are really quite like the Honda Odyssey. https://www.stormbuggies.com/products/hammerhead-tm-gts150-buggy-with-usa-specs-blue

Yeah I'm not sure where prices are with things like this. It was more the size vs a full car. Even in a smaller space, a smaller vehicle will feel like you have more room. I guess a quad would be the most obvious alternative, but I think a caged buggy would be a lot more safe for the occupant.

It's a fair question. Family has over 300 acres (farm).

Thought it would be interesting to gauge interest in the two main flavours of the new Defender. The 90 is meant to be available anytime soon, although I've not personally seen one yet. In times past the 90 was a much more restricted vehicle compared to the 110 in terms of seating. But now this is not the case. You get the same seating with both. Just a smaller boot and 2 less doors. The new 90 is also longer than a Discovery 1, so is by no means a small vehicle, inside or out. Do you have a preference on which you'd opt for or prefer?

Not Land Rover related. But thought some on here might have some knowledge on such things. In the UK are there some fun (cheap) buggies to be had? Was thinking along the lines of something akin to the Honda Odyssey fl350 The Honda has been out of production for a long long time. And I've not seen any for sale. Can you buy anything comparable today?

Tuners in the USA are not really relevant to this topic. The 350SBC was in production until the 2000's and is still available as a crate engine from GM. The chances of it being pre '72 block in the UK is most unlikely given the build and age of vehicle. And therefore so are SAE Gross figures. A shame the op doesn't seem to be replying, as it would be interesting to hear what they are running in more detail. Most tuners are more likely to use a chassis dyno, as much tuning is done to an engine already in vehicles, which wouldn't be a gross figure anyway. And any UK/European engine builders using an engine dyno will likely be doing exactly the same as those in the USA in terms of what is or isn't bolted to an engine when they test it. So it is all pretty equal odds really. BTW - 350bhp (Imperial) = 354.85PS (metric) A small enough difference not to really matter in the grand scheme of things. But does actually have the "European" figure looking more bloated and larger. Therefore backing up that 350 "American Horse Power" would indeed be > 350 "European Horse Power"