Chicken Drumstick

D2's are always 4wd, however the centre diff is an open diff (as are the axle diffs). This means it will essentially become 1wd drive on slippery surfaces. D2's are fitted with electronic traction control. This brakes a spinning wheel, which in turn will cause the opposite wheel to rotate providing traction. With an open centre diff, the TCS can work overtime however. TCS also needs some wheel speed to work and you need to keep on the gas pedal a little bit (don't rev the nuts off it, more a constant power, but don't back off). Most D2's still have a lockable centre diff all you need is the lever kit to allow you to lock it. This will make a huge difference in these conditions (this kit will make the D2's driveline work like a Defender or D1's does). However you need to check, as some years of D2 you can't fit the kit too. As for the actual problem, it could be the TCS isn't working in high range, although that seems odd as I don't think the TCS knows what transfer range you are using. Of course it might be the TCS just didn't work as well in high range due increased speed the wheels are driven at. Or maybe the TCS wasn't working at all in either range and just the lower wheel speed of low range was making it appear to drive better. Do you have any warning lights on? Could you feel/hear the TCS? It should make a sort of clicking/pulsing sound and you might feel it on the brake pedal. Remember in snowy conditions, good tyres for the conditions will transform a vehicle - any vehicle. If you aren't running some winter snow tyres, you might want to consider them. This is the kit I mentioned: http://www.roversnorth.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=RNA199&type=0&eq=&key=it Although seems very pricey. I suspect if you hit ebay (specifically ebay.co.uk) you could pick up these parts used and shipped to you for only a fraction of the cost.

I think E marked would only matter when gaining type approval for a vehicle. If you ever look at a Euro/UK spec Corvette C5 or 4th Generation Camaro, you'll see they have different bumpers, lights, mirrors and E marked glass. Because they are proper fully type approved models for the European market. But it's perfectly legal to grey import a car from the USA and put it through an SVA/IVA and you won't need E-marked bits on the car.

Thanks, I might give them a shout if nothing else pans out. Only really after pricing an availability of some specific sizes/patterns at the mo.

Your title got truncated.. But more info would just be obvious and sensible. Lots of people here who are very clever and willing to help. But you need to help yourself a little too.

Yeah but a 10.50 is still a lot wider than a 7.50.

Not disputing what you are saying. But if it's true, this page on the Interco site would seem very odd. Look at all the European countries covered by a distributor: http://www.intercotire.com/wheretobuy.php

These http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?prodname=7x16-Black-Challenger-5x165.1-ET-25-(Land-Rover)&id=31432 Will give you loads of steering lock. Look at the table I posted, the offset is ET-25, this means they stick out a long way from the body. And thus easy to get full lock, even with wider tyres. Although technically a 285 would want a 7.5j rim and these are only 7j.

Yeah sorry, forgot about load rating. Just as an FYI 255/85R16 = 33.07" 285/75R16 = 32.83" So side on, they should fill the arch slightly better. And only look narrower (which they are), head on. 255/85's will also be fine on a 6.5 - 8j rim. While 285/75's want a 7.5 - 9j rim. Which means you could run a Wolfe rim, although the offset on these doesn't stick them out very far, so might not "fill" the arches unless you run 1" wheel spacers too. A few choices here: http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/index_packages.php?ManID=32&catname=Steel-Wheels&id=309 And some info I compiled:

I guess it comes down to cost and what you want. Personally I not so keen on alloys on this type of vehicle, they never seem to look as good as steel wheels. Also they are more easily damaged off road. So my pick would be steels. However the choice is somewhat limited to 8 spokes (which I like), modulars, D spoke and Landy original and copies. And the Mach 5's and copies. You might find some obscure ones such as Wolfrace or something, although most like that were 15" for the US market. Does offset matter? And do you want/need full steering lock? If so this will have some limitation on what to get. You might also want to consider some 255/85R16's over the 285's. Not as wide, but means you can run a narrower rim and get more steering lock. And are marginally taller than 285's.

Thanks, but no, not really this sort of thing at all. Those agri tyres are much much taller. All I want is a 35.12.50 size in height, but narrower.

Yep they are very cool. But very hard to find. TyresDirect (UK importer??) said they haven't seen any for two years due to a lack of available carcasses. Although this might just be for the UK market, as Fedima still list them on their main site.

Well several reasons. 1. It wouldn't actually make it any narrower, which is kind of the point. 2. It's illegal in the UK to run 'cut' tyres on the road.

I'm not sure they aren't legal in the UK. There seem to be Interco distributors all across Europe, just none in the UK for some reason. And lets face it, if you imported a used car from America fitted with Interco tires, would it really be illegal to use them?

Well sadly I proved that wrong at the weekend. My narrow 7.50's got everywhere anyone else did and my vehicle became the tow/recovery vehicle for the people I was with. Which ended up with me recovery all 3 of them and the only time I got stuck was while recoverying a Disco and using my vehicle as an anchor I got pulled into a hole. But that's kind of my point, in a tongue in cheek kind of way. Just because the very "special" tracks from Insa Turbo look aggressive and everyone and his dog is running them, doesn't mean they are the best for all terrain types and conditions.

Nope not here. XCL's.

Yep I was just using some round numbers.190/125-16 is indeed 34.7", which most other tyre makers would call a 35. A 190/130-16 is 35.45". I hear what you say, just such a shame. I really like the 7.50 width: But would like it another 2-3" taller.

But is that because you can't buy anything narrower? The tyres I'm proposing would be taller than a 34, just narrower to cut in better and not float so much. Wide tyres have a place too (I have 33.11.50 Simex's). Just not always.

For sometime I've been trying to find the tyre size/type I want. But it seems such tyres are not available. However, I wonder if we could drum up enough interest would it be possible to find someone to make a limited run? I don't know the feasibility of this with current regulations and such, although if a suitable carcass could be found, maybe a remould would be more likely. But I suspect the size might be the issue. ---SimonR - are tyres a thing of interest to you maybe? I know you are a bit of a genius at building stuff. However failing that, I'm going to post this anyway!!! My current musings. Tall and thin. Why, because they work really well on a lot of British muddy terrain. Tread pattern something like this: Sizes: 7.50.35 16 (not a 235 width!!!) 7.50.35 18 e.g. 190/125 16 190/115 18 Road legal and speed rated. I'm not certain how the large sidewall on the 16" would be to drive on, which is why an 18" might be a better option. Although lack of narrow Landy 18" rims would prove an additional problem. However the right ply rating I would think would make this ok. A proper 32" tall 7.50 16 should works out as approx 190/105 16

Guess it depends on use. But chains just wouldn't work for me. I don't want to be rolling about in the mud trying to fit them because I've got stuck. And I'm not sure if they'd work in the mud either. My Landy see's a lot more than 5 or 6 days off roading too. Most times I drive it, it will go off road to a greater or lesser degree.

Does anyone know of any Interco Tires suppliers in the UK. I have a memory of Devon4x4 stocking them at one point, but can't see them listed there now. Thanks.

Went to a pay & play site this weekend, and something that struck me was, almost every vehicle there. And by this I mean there were 50 or 60 vehicles, and they were all running Simex Extreme Trekker copies. The only people that weren't, were myself and the 3 other people I went with. It makes you wonder, if the 4x4 community a bit sheep like sometimes? Not saying these are bad tyres, far from it, the Simex's are brilliant, although most people seem to have no idea who or what Simex are and are convinced this is an Insa turbo tread pattern... That said, as good as these tyres are off road, they are all lousy on road. And there are other good off road tyre treads too. And while the Extreme Trekker works well on many terrains, sometimes despite it's looks, it may not be the best. I was rolling about on a narrow set of proper 7.50 sized diamonds, and in all honesty on this site these seemed much the better tyre to have for this terrain. But diamonds are old hat and 7.50's too small for the main flock these days...... BAA BAA

I don't think you've said what spec your D2 is? Does it have air suspension or ACE already, or is it a base model with just coils? Something to consider, high speed on road performance is different to slow off road ability. You'll have to sacrifice one or the other, or heavily compromise on both. And money.... doing anything will cost money and a fair bit of it. And while I do agree with many of the points made in this thread, I can't say I agree with them all. There is nothing wrong with wanting a road going rally type vehicle. And compromising to a lesser spec often costs about the same and then missing the mark and doesn't deliver what you actually want. If it was mean, I'd make the decision between on road and off road. Off road I'd want to lift it and chuck some 33-35" knobbly tyres on it and make it flex more. On road, I'd probably look at dropping it 2" and stiffening the whole thing up. Weight is sadly one thing you can't ignore with a D2, they are heavy. If you really want better performance, then loosing some of this will help. But depends how far you want to go. The Td5, while a good motor is long, tall and heavy. None of which sell it as a performance engine. Plenty of RR's have been raced and rallied in the past, the D2 isn't so different, so would be just as capable. But the truth is, even with fairly vast sums of money, a modern hatch is still likely to be quicker than a road modded Disco.

Emergency stopping yes, but you should deploy plenty of engine braking in snow, just as you would off road on mud. AWD will allow more engine braking before traction being lost. So general "slowing" the AWD car on winters should probably be the better.

Good vid. Really wish they'd expanded it and re-run all the tests again with the 4wd car on the winter tyres though.

For the record, most 4x4 tyres, be it AT's or MT's are normally rated as "M&S" stamped on the side, meaning Mud & Snow. This does not mean they are a winter tyre, but does mean they are rated as all season, including snow. Proper winter tyres are superb for the conditions they are designed to be used in. Softer compound and importantly "sipes" give them unrivalled traction on ice and compacted snow. The compound also works better than normal summer tyres below approx 7 degrees C, although it's not a straight drop off in performance of the summer tyres. The downside is if the temps are not lower than 7 degrees C, then winter tyres can get torn up quickly on tarmac, especially if you corner hard. However your intended use and actual conditions will also make a large contribution to what works. In deep fresh snow, a more aggressive MT might well prove the most affective tyre. Or on deep frosted snow. And especially if you are driving over snow covered mud and grass. Driving style is also a major factor too. Remember a 4x4 like a Defender can offer 4 wheel engine braking (with centre diff lock). And you have low range. FWD cars, no matter what tyres they run do not offer these things.