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I would suggest a suitable venue is a stronger attraction than location. The centre of the country demographically is Coventry/Warwick - around 2.5 hrs drive for 80% of the UK population. South Derbyshire isn't too shabby and from an events point of view appeases most folk - hence why I seem to have run about 80% of my events from Derby/Notts/Staffs area. The idea of a camping, with cars alongside, pub within walking distance and fire pits seems a good shout. I'd be up for a Sat night - arrive during Sat day and tootle off after breakfast.

I’ve got a Ninety with a D1 serp 3.9 V8 with R380 with tall 5th and 1.2 T box. The 1.2 is fine, but I will be swapping it for a 1.4 when I get the chance. It pulls fine but feels slightly ‘off cam’ below 80 in 5th on the Mway.

Steve Motts closed Barebox last year.

I had a 90 V8 factory job. The gearbox is a great cabin heater - if you don't like it insulate the cab rather than cool the oil.

Don't you fancy spanking a grand to eat someone else's dust in a tour group? ;-) I was there this summer and had a big trip in 2008. If you google The Old Salt Road (from Tende). Glacier Sommeiler. Col du Parpaillon it should get you going. I have some memory map routes if you drop me a pm with your email, or guess I coudl convert to GPX if that helps?

Friend has an N reg 300tdi 90. He's in Russian on his way to Vladivostock en route to Oz. Known as Griff. I got a text this morning he asked me to post "Electrical gremlins have struck! Keep blowing fuse3, gauges and indicators.Had an auto guy look and things seem ok, he cant diagnose it. Could you drop a post on lr44 for common points that may wear through causing shorts? No net here as usual! We may have to drive the last 3000k with no indicators, gauges or brake pads." Any useful practical help from experienced fixers appreciated - armchair speculation not required thank you. Many thanks for reading...

I use a RAM mount. I used to have a Samsung Q1 using the same 1" ball mount short extension and suction mount which has been stuck to the screen for the past 4 years with no probs. I just had to buy the iPad cradle and reused the mounting kit. I also use the same mount for my iPhone in the other car, with a different cradle obviously! When I need a replacement for the iPad I'm sure that RAM will be able to supply the cradle for the next greatest bestest thing. Just checking, but is your iPad 2 a 3G model?

I've just put a set of all terrain tyres onto my D3. Although I'm not in the same vehicle as you, perhaps if I explain my thinking it may help yours? The stock tyres are 255/55 R19s (see pic). For green laning I wanted a deeper profile of rubber, to mould around rocks and allow emergency airing down. My secondary requirement was for a winter tyre - i.e. one which is siped, works well under 7 degrees centigrade and is rated with the snowflake symbol. Third requirement was price - about £700 fitted. I've been driving Defenders for a few years and have indulged in an expensive tyre habit; running BFG Muds, MFG ATs, and General Grabber TRs. In winter the ATs were vastly superior in the cold, wet and light snow than MTs. Only in deep snow off road did the MTs work any better, noting that they were unsuitable in most other winter conditions. For green laning I reckon I can do 95% of UK lanes on ATs with no modification to driving style. The other benefit of ATs is approx 7% better fuel economy (comparing same size BFGs on my V8 Defender auto) and lower tyre noise. I don't do pay and play. So I looked for an AT style at sensible cost. The latest AT from GG is available in the 19" and 18", but not 17" yet. I don't know how it performs but GG rate it the same off road and superior on road to the AT2. 4x 19" would have used the entire budget of £700. I decided to buy a set of 5x 17" rims for off road and winter use. These are incredibly cheap on ebay as many D3 owners want to upgrade to bigger rims. I got 4x 17" from a LR dealer (Harwoods Tonbridge) on ebay for £100. I also picked up a lone rim for £20 on ebay. These rims will also fit a Discovery 2. So the choice was BFG ATs or GG AT2s. BFGs are longer lasting and have a superior tyre wall and load rating compared with the GG AT2s. The AT2s are a more suitable size for the D3, are adequately speed rated (BFGs aren't) and £40 less expensive each. Both are Snowflake symbol'd. A couple of weeks ago I tootled off to Micheldever tyres and had 5x 265/65 R17 General Grabber AT2s onto my D3. Total cost was £580 for the 5, fitted and balanced etc. Including the rims I hit the £700 budget exactly. The winter ATs will stay on until March when the mean temperatures rise. Then will be swapped for the road biased Pirelli Scorpions for on road use until November next year. Then swapped for laning as required, not that I do much in the summer anyway.

+1 Never had anything addressed to Widget before!! Sat here like a numpty wearing it in. It's good quality gear, thx.

Cracking spot - hilly and would be a massive challenge when wet. On the downside it's not a very large site, and full of bugs which want to eat you alive We was car 6.

^^ +1 what Nick says...

Ordering thread is here... http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=58383&st=0 with details of P&P and how to pay etc.

Ok - put me down for: 1x Rugby shirt XL 1x Polo shirt XL Many thanks

I feel like a right chump - totally missed this thread. Hey ho.

If Land Rover don't reduce their average CO2 output they'll go out of business in the next model cycle, not from consumer pressure, but from EU fines. So far the strategy has been to rationalise the normally aspirated engine range and introduce stop/start on FL2. The next big step is vehicle downsizing/weight loss and the V6 supercharged Hybrid, small and large diesel Hybrid projects and an efficient smaller model strategy offering super low Co2, which means going 2wd. Toyota RAV4, VW Tiguan and Ford Kuga all have 2wd variants which sell strongly in the company car sector and reduce CO2 to get them all into the sub 160g bands, which dodges the initial VED showroom tax and allow lease companies and corporates to write off more of the cost off the balance sheet.

Received wisdom would be to fit an ARB in the back and a Trutrac in the front. It's well documented elsewhere I'm sure, but the rear wheels generally do more tractive work, and you can't steer with a locked ARB on the front. For snow, vehicle traction is not a problem, but available grip is. I'd stick a Trutrac in the back and invest in the biggest floatiest set of tyres you can get.

You can of course, but if you have a mo would be interested to understand how you arrived at that idea?

I fitted a Torque biasing rear diff into two of my previous Land Rovers, a Ninety and a Defender 90. On the whole, and whilst obviously not having the capability of a full locker, I found them to be transparent on the road, but you can feel them working their stuff on the loose stuff. The technique is to let it find the traction, keep a steady throttle and let the tyres find the grip. In extremis a quick tap on the brakes kicks it into action when one wheel is very lighty loaded or off the ground. A limitation of an automatic diff side slope behaviour. A mate had a Detroit fitted to the back of his Ninety and it would always tend to slew round on soft grassy side slopes. Mine wouldn't do that in the same conditions. Despite what noggy says - the design is reliable, robust and very kind to half shafts and transmission because it reduces shock loads. The diff core is also a better design that the Rover type. I'd recommend one as an appropriate and useful upgrade.

It's the Chinese equivalent of GLASS I think. Oh the ilony.

An emotive but ultimately toothless piece. The ourdoorsy groups got their wishes with NERC by lobbying Jim Knight good and hard. It's tough that the legislation is now set in stone. I'd quite like to ban a few things 4x4 related in the countryside myself; the offensive and oxymoronic combination of an oily Hi-Vis jacket, camouflage trousers and rigger boots would be first on my list , followed by any 4x4 sporting a humorous stylee (not) sticker - e.g. You can go fast, I can go anywhere . I won't get my way either. I'm off to start a group, public meeting in the Plough tonight, 7pm. Might even write an impassioned article or two...

[comedy swedish accent on] Ball or aerosols? No, I want it for my Land Rover armpits.[/comedy swedish accent off]

Richard - I think a book you would relish is the Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide written by Tom Sheppard. It's been discussed herehttp://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=16107 I've scanned a picture from Land Rovers little guide - Winching in Safety. The picture shows a ground anchor pin(?) across the tyre and the winch cable and hook passed through the wheel hub hole. The only time I did this I used a wheel brace across the wheel to hook the cable off, err, a bit less than ideal. But probably safer than the device of death (farm jack).

Think it refers to side tank 90s which only have the one.

You hear of overlanders who come back and report that if they were to go again they wouldn't take half the kit they took. You say time isn't an issue; on that basis I'd take a good spade and dig a hole, sink the spare wheel and tyre and recover off that. I did it years ago in my S3 in a peat bog, laning alone. I buried the spare, tirfored from it and got covered head to toe in muck. Great exercise and a war story to remember...but very effective.

In lieu of a grown up coming along who really knows what they're talking about... RE Percentage - FL1 uses a viscous coupling to send power the rear wheels when traction is lost at the front. I've never quite understood the numbers of front/rear split in conjunction with TCS, as they seem entirely academic and are so variable so I won't attempt to FL2 uses a multiplate clutch (haldex coupling) to do the same thing, which is electronically controlled depending on the level of slip detected at the front wheels. IIR the blurb correctly only 20 degrees of front wheel slip (18th of a turn)is required to trigger the haldex unit. I would describe both FL1 and 2 as front wheel drive with an automatic, on-demand 4wd system with no driver input required. Neither is permanent per se, but its none the worse off for it.