JonR

Hello, Those of you running Wolf wheels with either 265.75 or 255.85 tyres, I'd like to know how much your lock stop bolts protrude by. The plan is to adjust mine to give me some idea of the sort of steering lock I'm likely to get and if I can live with it before spending any money on new rubber. Thanks. Jon.

Siggy, The following is an extract from the Bio-Power website: "...In Germany, Italy, Poland, USA, Australia and many other countries around the world, there is no charge of Duty on the use of non-fossil fuels for any purpose including transport. This is because the taxation in the European Union only applies to 'Mineral' hydrocarbon fuels, and not to organic hydrocarbon fuels. It is clear that Britain is a very long way behind our European partners in providing the legal framework to encourage and foster a viable bio-fuel industry. We hear plenty of 'Green Speak' from politicians, but little 'Green Do' from the British government. In recognition of the need to address the issues of Global Warming and Climate Change, Britain is also signatory to the Non-Fossil Fuels treaty. We have made an undertaking described in the 'Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation' (NFFO) to reduce the use of fossil fuels and encourage the introduction of renewable energy. Britain has since attempted to reduce the rate of change to the absolute minimum. This is very much an example of fiddling whilst Rome burns, except in the case of Global Warming it is the future of the whole planet that is so seriously at risk. The government claims that the NFFO applies only to fuels used in the generation of electricity and does not relate to fuels used for transport purposes, yet this amounts to a very significant part of the carbon emission into the atmosphere. It is our view that the obligation must apply to the use of transport fuels if the purpose of the undertaking is to be achieved at all. In our view the scope must be broadened to cover the use of all fossil fuels in any situation, including high energy industries like cement manufacture, and transport fuels. We also argue that the proposed extent of change from fossil to renewable fuels is far from adequate to save the fate of the planet..." I think in the light of this and our governments commitment to the Kyoto treaty they would find it very hard to justify any further increases in duty on bio fuels, particularly in the face of effective lobbying. It would also help a great deal if the opposition and who ever eventually leads them could be encouraged to make a greater commitment to addressing the issue. In addition, if we lessened our dependency on the use of oil there would be less of a reason for conflict in the middle east. I also think those who object to 4x4's in general would find it very much harder if the 4x4 movement championed the cause of bio-fuels, in particular the use of veggie oil. So whilst your idea is sound and with the best intentions, in principle it's not going to work because folk will still need to use their vehicles. By switching to fuels such as those that are produced from used vegetable fat, for example, people can still use their cars whilst sticking two fingers up at the oil companies. Because the government is committed to reduce car dependency in order to cut CO2 emmissions (and congestion, which is a seperate issue), fuel prices will need to be kept high, especially if the government want to meet their targets, so it is very likely that fuel will need to go over £1 a litre and remain there. Bio-Powers V100 fuel is between 75pence and 80pence a litre and if some of the good folk who are producing this fuel could get funding to build bigger plants I would imagine the cost per litre would come down further. It seems that there are several other benefits in using vegetable oil, making it worthy of further investigation, which I intend to do and will gladly let everyone here know the outcome. And just in case anyone is wondering I am in no way connected with Bio-power, I just find their ethos attractive in addition to the prospect of running the landy and not having to give any more of my money to an oil company for the privilege. Jon.

No Siggy, you don't have to lump it. There is another way and as far as our future on this planet goes, the only way. http://www.bio-power.co.uk/ I intend to try this fuel but if anyone has already perhaps they could let us know how they got on. Jon.

Thanks Ralph, I'll give them a call. Jon.

Thanks for your input. I'm sure 265's couldn't make the turning circle any worse than the S3 LWB I used to own so I should be able to cope. Just been looking at the BFG tyre spec chart on SOR website. Seems to me there is a niche for a new tyre size that fills a gap between the 265 and 255, something with a diameter of 826mm and a tread width of 198mm. Jon.

I need a steering damper to replace the seized Black Diamond one I have at the moment. Decided to replace it with an OME, so is there anywhere that offers them for a good price or does the OME distributor have a cartel operating? Jon.

Has anyone used Bio Power V100 fuel in a Tdi and if so was any modification to the fuel system required. http://www.bio-power.co.uk/products.htm Jon.

Right, so this narrows the choice down to 235 or 255. If the 255 isn't as wide as a 265 but has a greater diameter, would it reduce the steering lock by a similar amount? Then of course there is the additional affect on the gearing as well. I can feel a compromise coming on. Jon.

How about resurrecting 'Overlander', then for the full effect advertise it in Exchange and Mart. Jon.

Not a good idea then, with wolf rims on a 110. Jon.

I was at my local dealership yesterday and noticed an N reg 90 that had pre KM 265 MT's fitted. All four tyres were cracking around the circumference where the tread meets the side wall and on one tyre, where there had been a slight contact with something like a kerb, a small amount of delamination had occurred. The rubber looked old and perished, like an old crossply at the back of a dusty garage, but without the cobwebs. Incidently, could someone tell me why Landrover never offered the 265 size as an option on the 110? A question appeared in this months LRO about the suitability of 265's for 110's and whoever provided the answer said that 235's would be better but offered (not supprisingly) no explanations as to why. Its just that my tyres will need replacing shortly and I'm now going through the agony of deciding which size to fit and had, until this, decided on 265's. Life was much simpler when I was a lad. If you had a LWB you fitted 7.50's and the only descision to make was what tread pattern to go for. Jon.