SteveT247

Generally speaking it's as other have said, muds will be noisier, not handle quite as well, and wear faster. To a large extent though it's going to depend on what M/T you go for and how shagged your current tyres are as to how big the difference you will notice. The more extreme muds such as Special Tracks and the like, don't have the best reputation as road tyres and the difference between them and A/T's on the road would be very noticeable. On the other hand, less aggressive muds such as the KM2 are reputedly very good on the road and many people who run them say that they behave more like an A/T on the road (I've not used them myself so can't comment first hand). Likewise, if your current tyres are well past their best you may not notice much difference. I recently swapped BFG A/T's (with 2 out of the 4 knackered) to Insa Turbo Dakars (the old BFG M/T pattern). The Insa's are noisier, but grip and breaking actually seem better, probably due in part to the Insa's being a softer compound and probably in part the BFG's being near the limit tread wise. Can't say I've noticed any difference in fuel consumption at all. Wear seems minimal with the Insa's at the moment but it's probably fair to say that they won't last as long as the A/T's they replaced. HTH

Sound advice and thats what I would do. Manifolds that have previously warped then been skimmed seem immune to further warping. Steve.

Fantastic pictures.

Me too western, thanks again. Steve

Well I went to a local Mini specialist this morning and picked up a switch (same switch) and it works a treat. I've also stripped down the Britpart one and replaced the broken part in the original and that also works too, so now I have a spare. I couldn't see any difference at first between the original and the Britpart one until I read a post on another forum and then noticed the plunger is a slightly different dimension and obviously not cutting the power when the wipers are off. Thanks again for all the help/advice, it was driving me nuts. Steve

Thanks mate, I've saved that site to my favourites. Steve

I'll order one tomorrow and report back. Thanks again guys for the help/advice. Steve

jbs- Yeah it is a Britpart. I usually avoid these like the plague but as the main dealer stated the genuine bit was only for post "02" vehicles, I didn't want to waste £20+ to find it didn't work/fit, hence buying the £5 Britpart item. I did think maybe the new switch was duff so I tried a 2nd one with the same result. It's Britpart so 2 duff switches is a possibility (probability) I guess lol. Western- Thanks for that. I was considering cracking it open to look but as it's the only one that works (at least I still have wipers that turn on/off) I was a bit loath to do it. I may just bite the bullet and try a genuine one. Cackshifter- The switch just slides on to the side of the motor with a clip so nothing was removed from the motor itself and it works fine when the old switch is put back on (apart from actually parking in the correct position that is).

My wiper park switch packed up a few weeks ago on my 1999 Td5 Defender. My local main dealer and independent both say that they are only showing replacement switches for post 2002 vehicles (part # 520160). I took a chance and bought a non genuine one as I wasn't sure it would work and it was cheaper (less of a loss if it didn't work). With the replacement switch in place, the wipers won't turn off and start as soon as the dash lights come on, irrespective of what position the wiper stalk is in. I've tried another one of these replacement switches just to rule out the first one being faulty but the same result. Putting the old switch back in place everything is fine (except for the parking). I did wonder if pre 02 Td5's had an earlier (Tdi) park switch but a search on here and on Google seems to show that they are the same part # for both Tdi & post 02 Defenders. My question is, are there any differences between pre and post 02 switches and if not, any ideas why they're not working as they should? Steve

I swapped to Insa Turbo Dakar's from (well worn) BFG A/T's and have been running them for 3 months now. I'm very pleased with them, both on tarmac and in mud & snow. There is more tyre hum when cruising (as you would expect from a mud tyre) but I don't find it intrusive. While I don't hang about on the road, I'm aware that they're a mud tyre and take it a bit easier in bends and have had no concerns with them.

Just added a new vid of the Defender.

Thats a great replica of your 1:1 90 Pete. Thanks Mo, glad you like it.

Thanks Pete.

Seems so, hopefully this will work.

Thats some nice axle travel your truck has Pete. Here's a short vid. of mine, with the sound track of the 80's Landrover advert.

Great looking trucks. Hope you don't mind me adding a few pics of mine. Built it around a year ago.