Turbocharger

I'm keeping an eye on this one too

Don't forget the front springs have an engine to hold up, and the shocks have that same engine to decrease the natural frequency of the system, probably below the frequency that you'll excite the system at offroad. You'll need different systems at each end of the car - in fact, the angle of the shocks probably considers that exact point. Anyone know the corner weights for a standard LR?

I did a lot of laning in the area up until five years ago or so, so my knowledge (and maps) are out of date but I've got a general idea of the area (don't quote me on that) so I'm happy to lead a group.

If you move the shocks to sit more vertical, you'll get additional damping but lose travel. If you know the angle of the shock at the moment and the angle you want to move it to, several people on here can do the counting on their fingers to work out the % difference in damping. Wacky idea #16 - if you want to improve the 'bump' damping but not affect your flexy performance, how about an extra single central shock mounted vertically above the diff?

Since the OT attention recently I really can't discuss the Cheltenham steam-fair I went to with a mate yesterday, where I saw a pair of steam traction engines winch-ploughing over quarter of a mile (and the inch-perfect scale models of the same arrangement), or talk about the home-made jet engine we were playing with afterwards. While that comment's tongue-in-cheek and I really do understand the need to keep threads from descending into "LRO of old", I think the decline in posts is because we don't share topics of a common interest because they're not necessarily about LandRovers. I don't want to reopen the OT can of worms, but I think we now have fewer, high quality posts.

Excellent - sounds like we have a good number of participants. What do we (collectively) want to do for food each night? I guess the options are: book & eat individually make a group restaurant booking (or two or three smaller groups) invade a country pub restaurant with a group booking I'm eating at the hotel Takeaway's my favourite food anyway I don't like you all and I'm making my own arrangements I'm conscious that not everyone likes the same food, so we could make bookings at a chinese, indian and italian place for the right number of people each, or invade a pub so there's a wider menu for everyone. My bro used to work in a pub 3 miles from Ashbourne, and they'd take us all (with a discount?) if we could find enough drivers. Due to work I won't be oop north until late on Friday, I don't know how many will be in the same boat so we may want a meal plan for Saturday night and a lower-key gathering in a town centre pub in Friday night?

Right. [rolls sleeves up] The gearing will offset the additional load to the engine, in the same way that you change down for hills so that the torque of the engine is equal (or greater, in V8 land) to the extra load. However, the power dissipation is still capped by the engine's output, so you go (and accelerate) slower. The same is true with extra inertia (weight or rotational mass) - your gearing is lower but you still go slower if you've got to spin up four flywheels first. I hadn't thought about brakes but I remember them getting worse when I put 750s on my standard Series. Getting back towards the topic, if a truck was built as a racecar is then every part has to justify its weight through performance. I suspect the clearance and unbreakability would win through for portals and Rover items are lighter but don't have either of the above. If a Jap axle has the same clearance (give or take) of a Rover axle on the same 35s but doesn't break, is that worth the extra(?) weight - if there is any? Anyway, what're you doing posting at 2am - just got back from the petrol station?

This is a Landcruiser thread so we won't get into the portal vs non-portal debate, but even offsetting weight with low ground pressure isn't enough for high performance, you still have to accelerate it (and bigger tyres with more rotational inertia make this worse, not better...) I'm not sure which side of this particular fence I sit, but I like to discuss both sides here.

Just use a +12v from the white caravan plug on your LR. Or else use the foglight pin on the normal 7-pin trailer plug and switch the foglight on at the dash when you want power. But seriously now, I'd wire both back to the battery through an Anderson connector somewhere around the back of the vehicle, ideally indoors so it doesn't fill with carp. I wouldn't trust it to earth successfully through the towball, especially if it's greased like it should be Bear in mind that the positive run will be unfused, so P-clip it securely every 6 inches or less.

To further this interesting debate, nobody's mentioned weight yet. Portals are HEAVY (even though it's weight in the right place) and we've all seen Suz*kis skip over stuff that a LR dives into nose-first and sticks. As several people above mentioned, the bolt-on and staged upgrading of LR axles suits me because I don't trust my metal-gluing and the ones I've got suit my cashflow better...

We'll be the quiet group in the corner of the town... Seriously, I'll have a chat with Chris and we'll work out where he and I will be at a specific time on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and probably let you all know where we're having dinner in the evenings. If anyone else happened to turn up to join us, that wouldn't be organised and nobody would stress if they didn't make it.

Cheers Al - there's a danger I won't be around in early Nov (depending on work) but if you could drop me a PM nearer the time I'd be very grateful - otherwise I'll await JU's arrival in early December. There's no hurry for this at all so time's not of the essence. Thanks for the offer though, and everyone else's - I really appreciate the help.

Don't forget about enforcement too - it's very well to have policies, visions, risk assessments, training registers, stakeholder maps, communication plans, contingency arrangements, first aid training etc etc etc but if you don't enforce it on the day it's worth squat - in law and on the ground in broken bones etc. You need to have all your officials (and members, and public visitors ideally) bought in to the idea of "no accidents", so the whole club supports the idea and there's firm, fair advice and a clear constant message whenever someone steps out of line. I work in a very safety-conscious industry and I do a lot of this stuff. If you want any advice on setting up your risk assessments etc I'm happy to help by PM where I can.

Fridge - 12th/13th December would be great if you don't mind - I'll swap you for a cup of tea. If you bale/cancel/decide to get married instead, WW and Si form plan #2 I'll chuck Jules the appropriate payment and everone's a winner. I love this forum - thanks guys.

Mmm, Quality Hotel. That sounds... nice. I'm really looking forward to this actually, better get my new turbo installed. Drop me a PM if you want to camp and I'll make the necessary arrangements with my mother. Previous guests have found her friendly if approached slowly, with both hands in clear view and ideally bearing chocolate, alcohol or cash.

From what Jules said it's a bare block so shouldn't be too heavy - I've only ever played with iron engines (proper diesel y'see) so I don't really know. I'd expect you could lift it into a Mondeo although it might not be too pleasant if the inside of your car's very nice. Anybody know if it'd fit?

I stopped at a campsite near Torquay last week and there was a chap with a B(?) reg Tdi Ninety with a winch, who was talking about the large number of lanes in the area. He said he didn't use this site, but does anyone know him? It's a shame I couldn't afford any risk to break the car, it sounds like quite a good day out.

If it's the camera southbound on the A23 by the park, well within the 30mph limit, then you can sleep (slightly) easier. It flashed me about three years ago when I lived in Brighton but I was sure I was doing less than 30mph. I went back, parked next to it and watched it. It flashed quite a few cars spaced out over half an hour, and then finally flashed an empty piece of road - I decided it was just on a timer. That said, this info's quite out of date now so you could still have points on the way. /OT

Ta JU - there's no hurry (from my end anyway): if you're heading anywhere within 40 miles of here I'd be grateful - if it's within a mile of here there's at least a cup of tea in it for you

I want to move a bare V8 engine block from Jules' back garden in Southamptonshire to my garage in Bristol. Maybe a Shires winch challenger can drag it to an event somewhere in the SW for me to collect?

I took the LR, a tent and my lovely girlfriend down to Cornwall for two weeks' camping. Less than a week in, we're home because of the weather. Yes, we're soft but we're also poor and there seemed little point enduring a night in a tent so we could wake up and spend the day hiding from the rain again. Before the weather turned, here's how we were doing: My rear-door table creation - the rope needs work. Steam locomotive Goliath at the Paignton steam railway Would you trust a doctor who turned up in this? A strip of stick-back LEDs above the rear door - another experiment for this trip and I'm more than impressed with the illumination. George basking in the light and the shelter of the tarp velcro'd to the hardtop. The LR made it to the Lizard... ... and Land's End... ... where there is a display including a IIA front end. Roof ornament #1: a 1100 tonne satellite dish at Goonhilly See the full-size image - one of his lesser-known works. Roofrack ornament #2: St Michael's Mount (weight unknown). Only the best transport for the residents of the Mount. They also have an amphibious truck which looks awesome. Those are 30" rims. and some kind of funky bevel drive arrangement. The holiday will continue as day trips where weather allows, while we take benefit of a roof and walls. For those who are taking notes, you might guess correctly that I refitted the standard turbo rather than head off with a half-proven setup lined up for a breakdown before Taunton.

Mine lives in the back, bolted to the rollcage - I use the trolleyjack at home but the Jackall is the one I carry if I have to keep just one with me. They are unstable and dangerous but effective when treated with respect. Way back when I was too poor for a new starter motor, I always parked on a hill. When I came to bump-start the car, someone had parked about 6ft in front of my Ninety and the Jackall was ideal to cast the front of the car out into the road(!) so I could get a clear run dwn the hill. I couldn't have done that with a bottle jack... If you do carry one in the car, make sure it's bolted down behind you. In a crash you might think it's your life flashing before your eyes - it'll actually be everything you've left loose in the back.

I got a proper mushroom from Matt Savage - they're on his website at £23.01 including VAT, and he's a top chap. Against... Fray Bentos tin + cooking time - eating value + fabrication time + paint ... I think that's reasonable value (although he doesn't include a pie).

(I don't think the Belgians are French, if we're being just a little bit picky...)

Lara - you rock, thank you