Chicken Drumstick

Sidewall rigidity will depend on the make/model of tyre more than the size. And the compound. A 285/75 will have a longer and wider footprint aired down than a 7.50

It’s sadly the wrong weekend. The ALRC National is always the Whitsun bank holiday in May. https://www.alrc.co.uk/NationalRallies/2018/2018index.html

I can’t see 7.50’s being a good sand tyre size. Airing down a wider tyre will also give a longer footprint exactly the same as a narrow tyre does. And there should be no additional risk of the tyre coming off the rim. Arguably tall narrow tyres will have more tyre roll so probably more likely to come off the bead. A simple Google for “sand tires” shows fat wide tyres often with paddles. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sand+tires&rlz=1CDGOYI_enGB590GB590&hl=en-GB&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBiOroipfbAhXLCsAKHVeBA1kQ_AUIEigC&biw=414&bih=660 on soft deep sand you don’t want to be digging in you want a degree of floatation.

Fat wider tyres will work better on sand. AT’s or milder MT’s

I suspect this is a grey area and isn’t currently defined in law or established in case law. However I suspect it will be single light unit. Rather than Counting individual LED emitters. Although if that in turn would make a single Vehcile light bar unacceptable or not remains to be seen. H4 bulbs have two filliments and aren’t counted as 2 lights. And with LEDs some of them are made up of more than dye. So counting them individually simply wouldn’t be practical.

All these points being mentioned. My personal recommendation would still be the Jeep Cherokee. The 4.0 litre not the 2.5 or diesel. The 4.0 litre has a centre diff the others don’t. And can still run 2wd as well. I’d go for a facelift one (indicators at the front and grill look slightly different). I forget the exact year. They are galvanised from the factory. A 2” budget boost lift will be needed. Easy to fit and about £100. Then either some wider offset rims or spacers and 31.10.50R15 tyres.

Doing 73mph on the motorway is also illegal.

There are several things or questions going on here. Firstly not all LED’s are equal. I don’t know what headlights you have. But suspect they probably have a very white or blue light to them. Which may be why you aren’t getting on with them. There is a huge array of different types of LED that produce different tints with different CRI’s (colour rendition index). But sadly most used in the automotive world and especially aftermarket are dreadful. The same is true with the light bars. So you need to research and know what to look for. Although it’ll still be a bit of a gamble. There are some really good YouTube vids that show comparisons of how they look/work. Well worth checking out a few. Also be mindful of how much flood to throw light you want. Some are very bright but only light up a short distance. In in terms of lights. There are 3 main options. 1. halogen. Offer high CRI and usually a warm to more orange tint as per most normal car headlights. They also consume the highest amp draw and will produce lots of heat and the lowest lumen output. But are simple and easy to setup and work and usually cheap to buy. 2. HID. These consume less power and produce less heat. And if you pick the right Kelvin rating (4300k) offer a really nice natural tint and good CRI. They do require external ballasts and when activated from cold will have a few seconds delay before they are up to full power. But they generally offer the highest lumen outputs. They can be expensive to buy but you can retro HID bulbs cheaply to many halogen housings. 3. LED. Generally consume the lowest amp draw and the least heat output. Although all heat is behind the LED not in front as per the others. Pricey vary massively. Poor tint and CRI are the main current issues and a wide variance in lumen outputs. Some way lower than halogen and some rivalling HID. Lots of choice from single LED lamps to multi LED lamps and light bars. Expensive ones may not perform better than cheap ones. But overall durability may be questionable longer terms for some of the budget end. Personally I do not like roof mounted lights. The glare off the bonnet is totally unacceptable and potentially dangerous as it makes it hard to see out clearly. If the lights are mounted far enough back such as on a roll hoop on a pick up, the. The roof may create a big enough shadow to avoid this issue. Roof mounted lights are also vulnerable to trees and branches. Some info for LED retro fits: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/50238

There are a few HD bumper options. Have a look on eBay and some of the sellers. Prices aren’t dissimilar for the same type of bunper for a D1/2. Both front and rear available and I think some sill bars. Not sure the bumpers I’ve seen are winch ones. But could probably be adapted easily. There are a choice of rims. No need for lift kits with the air suspension. Although Arnott Gen III’s offer extended travel. Only thing I’ve not really seen are steering guards or snorkels. But they might be available too.

No HDC on a p38a. And sadly no ACE either. But no ACE on a D3 which seems another backwards step. Pre 1999 p38s have 2 wheel traction control (rear). However it’s unclesr if this was on all models when I’ve Googled. I’m sure someone knows but it’s certaibly suggested it was optional on lower end models or not available. 99+ which should also have the Thor V8’s should have 4 wheel TCS. I suspect similar to the system fitted to the D2 and Td5 Defenders. And IMO works very well and is worth holding out for if you plan to off road. All p38’s should have air suspension. They ride a little hard in off road mode unless you have Gen 3 Arnott air bags. But these are horrendously expensive. The air suspension has an extended off road mode of the Vehcile becomes beached. The automatic gearbox can also lock in gear for off road use. Ie get it to start and stay in low 2nd rather than use 1st and 2nd. Which can be handy in some situations and should aid engine breaking. The 4.6 is auto only. And usually well specced. The 4.0 goes quite well but big variation in options and standard equipment. They also aren’t any better on fuel than a 4.6 but do still go quite well. Best reason for going for a 4.0 litre is you could get them with a manual gearbox. Which should make them more fun, probably faster or as fast as an auto 4.6 and in this instance potential for better cruising mpg too. Diesels are a lot slower in stock trim. Although you can chip them. I suspect a modded manual diesel is actually rather nice and enjoyable. While offering significantly improved mpg over a V8. The auto diesel will always be the slowest of the model line up and imo the least desirable.

Not sure what sort of RRC you’ll get these days for this money. Guess a D1 should be on the list too considering they are 90% RRC. D2 is cool and ACE is well ace! But apart from that do they really offer anything over a p38? This is my p38. I don’t really Lane it as I have other vehciles for that. And somehow it would still seem a shame to scratch it up on a lane. Despite costing less than most 90’s. However I think my recommendation would actually be a Jeep Cherokee XJ. The 4.0 litre six is actually even sweeter to drive than an RV8. The XJ is also comfy and well equipped and highly capable off road (needs a 2” lift which is cheap and easy). They are also not as wide as a Range Rover so better for laning and off roading in general and despite having two rows of seats and a big boot. They are only marginally longer than a Defender 90. This was my one. I really shouldn’t have sold it.

What service bits on a p38 are more expensive?

You may want to consider relocating the belt. You want it to pull the occupant ‘back’ into the seat, not ‘down’. Your arrangement would effectively try and crush the occupant and probably brake a collar bone.

Yes. But the upper mount would have been mounted on the cab anyway. So removing the roof meant undoing them regardless.

Do they? I have 3 sets of spaces run for 15+ years on various different vehciles for 1000’s and 1000’s of miles. Never had a single one undo on its own.

On my brothers 90 it had a factory rear roll hoop. It actually fitted under the full Tilt canvas. But is located so that a truck cab could also be fitted. I just relocated the upper belt mount to the hoop when the cab was off. Suspect a similar hoop would fit a Series no problem.

Thanks. Actually had that page from Red90 book marked. I thought the spring rate was higher on the springs I’m running. But it isn’t actually that high. I’ve got RR HD (red/white) all round at the mo. Which according to Red90 they are 170lbs sq in vs 175/225 front/rear for a stock D90. Don’t suppose anyone knows where I can get the axle/corner weights done round here? Milton Keynes area. Sure there must be somewhere.

I’m looking to change the springs on my trials vehicle. The current springs are a little on the stiff side and I want to soften it up a bit. My question is, should I still be running stiffer springs on the rear? The vehicle is a pickup, doesn’t tow and is unlikely to carry heavy objects over distance in the back. There is an 18 gallon fuel tank in the bed. Just behind the cab mounted between the seat boxes. But is only 12” tall. Engine is a 200Tdi but mounted in a non stock Defender location being quite far forward towards the rad. Would I be better off running equal weigh springs all round rather than heavier ones on the rear?

Different offset rims do exactly the same. Unless taken to an extreme it really isn’t likely to be an issue tbh. And obviously running them offers other benefits. Wheelnuts on the spacers should stand no more chance of undoing than any other wheelnut.

Thanks for the replies. Liking the idea from Simon. Hadn’t thought of going that route. Btw this is the compressor I was wanting to run.

These are 33.11.50 Simex Jungle Trekkers. On 15x10 rims. They are quite big for their rated size however. I think they say in small print on them that they are 290/90 equivalent.

Yeah 250hp through a Series box probably isn’t advisable. A Salisbury rear axle might be worthwhile to consider also. Thus far I have no complaints with my Rocky Mountain springs. I did quite a bit of reading before buying. And I think it’s one of those products that many like to claim are rubbish. But usually from people who have never actually bought them. P38 steering is relatively easy and replaces all of the original Series steering. My build thread is in my sig. Lots of pics in there.

I agree it’s more than just the springs. Shocks make a differences too. The Bilstiens are likely brilliant. Although I went with some Rough Country shocks as they worked out a lot more financially viable for me at the time. And were available immediately while the Bilstiens would have been coming from America. Mine rides pretty well tbh. Leans a bit in the corners, more than a coiler does. But on some rough lanes last year I could travel at better speed than the 3 D90’s that we’re with me. The suspension seems to come to live with a bit of speed over rough terrain.

I admit I quite like the look of the off roady Disco 5 SVX. But the price of it, it is not an "off" roader. And too unattainable (for me at least). Jeep prices might be expensive in the UK compared to the US. But you can still walk into a dealer and buy a used couple of year old one for a price starting with a 2. As for coil springs, I agree. Not sure why they have never caught on for utility vehicles. Although some of the leaf sprung setups (leaf rear only) actually ride perfectly acceptably despite this. The Defender wasn't all that ground breaking though, the only thing really unique apart from coil suspension was having a centre diff. But Rover only did this on the RR instead of making the axles better and stronger, split the load and the stock axles could cope. And many US makers have offered centre diffs over the years, usually as a cost option. Which has resulted in low uptake and often dropped from the line up. Hence mostly you only see 2wd/4wd setups rather than centre diffs. Today's vehicles are quite different. And I'm not sure you can still get the same result just utilising their current drive-train bits. Probably unpopular on here, but I actually like the DC100 concept vehicle. Visually I loved the styling. But it lacked a couple of key things. The biggest, it and the all of the current line up, just aren't "rugged". Too much plastic and too much bodywork. Complex Terrain Response, independent suspension and air springs are all cool and allow a more road biased system to work better off road. But they are all costly and complex and still don't work as well off road as a good live axle setup with appropriate suspension and traction aids. If they really want to do a parts bin special. Then I'd much rather see the old Rover axles (or better yet if LR asked Dana to use their D44's instead). with an optional rear locker and a simplified Terrain system, as basically on or off but include HDC. Air suspension, I could take or leave. Maybe have as an option for top spec models, but with live axles it's only real purpose is ride height adjustment for on road use and self leveling capabilities. Disco4 ladder chassis or new hydroformed chassis. And a more modern single piece body tub with configurable sections. Current engine selection would be fine, as would the transfer box from D4. And they could offer the ZF manual or auto box options.

Have driven loads thanks. Including in an RR, 101, 88’s. As said, we will have to agree to disagree.