Defender

Mine are fine with the beads in and I'm running beadlock rims as well, just get a slight wobble about 40-45 as Mr Humphreys says.

You could also try Whitbread Off Road, you can either but a flat pack off the website or get Malcolm to fit it. IMHO it's not worth buying the flat pack for how much they charge to fit a cage. I have no association etc I'm just a happy customer who received excellent service and would recommend them to anyone. Pete

I'd be interested of some before and after pics One thing I will say is I have a set of creepys and I'm really really pleased with them! They aren't too bad on the road and if you air them down they seem to be pretty awesome off road.

That sounds exactly like what I need...any idea where I can get one from? I currently have one of these but have no idea if it removes oil: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...ipment-air-hose and it doesn't say on the website. Unfortunately on the Denso unit there is no plug to put a grease nipple in or non that I can see anyway and without knowing where to drill a hole for a grease nipple it would be risky to write off a perfectly good pump with a mistake.

Hi Diff, Excellent post and after reading it I decided to have a go myself! Only problem I have is my engine is a 300tdi and the only air con pump I can find that seems to fit is made by Denso, this obvioulsy differs from the Sanden by quite a bit and doesn't seem to have anywhere to put grease in to lubricate it. The only thing I can think to do is add an in line oiler to lubricate the pump while it's running but how do I extract the oil on the other side before it reaches the tyres? I have been giving it a squirt of WD40 for the time being but have been told this will not last for very long!!!!! Any help as to the best course of action would be much appreciated. Thanks, Pete

Unfortunately if they want it they will take it, the only thing you can do is slow them down enough so maybe they get caught in the act. Another option to think about is a cat 3 mechanical immobiliser like a Meck Lock, this disables the clutch by way of a valve and although it can be bypassed it takes time and tools not readily at hand to the opportunist theif. As soon as the theif tries to drive the vehicle and depresses the clutch, the pedal stays on the floor and even if they pull it back up the clutch is still disengaged. Combine this with a hand brake lock and or a pedal lock and it will really slow them down. Meck Locks are available from Mudstuff (No association etc)

Hi, Interesting reading this is making, apologies for changing the subject slightly but I'm interested in the law side of this and how I can find some more info on it? Would an insurance company make a decision on whether it would cause more damage and then increase your premium? Would the police have the final say in what is safe and what is not and would you have to take it somewhere to have it checked (Similar to an SVA test (Think thats the right thing!)) I'm only asking because some military Land Rovers have the spare wheel mounted on the front bumper like a battering ram!?!?!? One of these bumpers recently came up on Ebay and I was wondering how the law would view this which stopped me bidding in the end. I like the look of the high lift on the front although mine is mounted on a North Off Road wheel carrier, I also have a problem that I now have a soft top from Exmoor trim and the brackets are in the way of the hood. I can't see any way round it at the moment other than to reside myself to the fact that if I leave it on the brackets are going to rub the hood and I'm going to have to replace the hood probably sooner than if the brackets weren't there!!! Don't suppose someone has come across this problem before and found a solution? Haven't got an exact pic of what I mean so I've robbed one of the internet, any help would be much appreciated:

Hi Ben, Thanks for the reply. Don't suppose you have a web address or contact details do you? I have to confess I didn't really want to go too far but if that's the only option open then I'll have to consider that, have you been & whats it like? Thanks, Pete

Hi Everyone, I'm visiting Thame in April & I was wondering if there are any pay & play sites nearby that are open on a Saturday so me & a mate can kill some time. Thanks, Pete

Hi Dougstar, As I think someone already mentioned the manufacturers do different grades of joints & I think it is to do with the seals on the cups more than anything. My advice would be to spend as much as you can on GKN & get the one's with the metal seals, if you want some advice & someone who can supply the correct one's Gwyn Lewis is an excellent person to talk to! (I have no association with or make any money out of that statement etc) Website here. P.S. Any piccies for me yet (No rush just thought I'd ask while I was here)? Pete

I think the one key for all came with the TD5 Defender but it's not a cheap option I'm afraid

What a good idea.....I think they look really good & as soon as funds allow I'm definately going to try a set so thanks for posting the links! Pete

I don't know how much BB's are but I have just bought some Dynabeads which are ceramic (More info at www.innovativebalancing.com) at about £5 a corner from Scrapiron. I will be running double beadlock rims & creepy crawler tyres but unfortunately I'm not fitting them till next weekend so can't comment until then if they do the job though I will post the results. Pete

Hello, New to this microcat thing & although I've got it working ok the bits I need to look up keep telling me to refer to the superwindow as no illustration is available. When I open the superwindow & select the item I want it still doesn't display a parts diagram!!!!! I'm sure I'm doing something wrong caus I don't know how to use the software but if someone could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated before I tear all of my hair out going round in circles Also is there any quick way to return to the previous screen when you click on the wrong thing? I found the previous image menu but it would be handy to go back a page rather than to the last image. Thanks in advance. Pete

IMHO whitbread off road is a better place to get a cage from. I have a full internal military spec roll cage the same as the LEX rally team & just cause I wanted somewhere to mount some spotlights I also have a removable part external cage. They will even make the cage to your design if you want, I had removable diagonals in the load area so that if I need to carry something big or want to put some seats in the back I can do & then swap it back for competitions. The service was excellent & Malcolm knows allot about what can & can't be done. Have a look on their website: www.whitbread-offroad.co.uk

A 3.75" back spacing should be ok for that size of tyre. Depends what your intending to do with your tyres but something to think about if using single bead locks & airing down your tyres is a 7" steel disco rim has a very deep inside lip which means you've got to push the inside bead of the tyre about 4" before it drops into the wheel well. This makes them ideal for making single bead locks as it gives some protection to the inside bead & makes the rim 8" wide when the bead lock is welded to the outside. You will still need to use wheel spacers to get the correct offset but the rims are available very cheaply second hand on a well known auction site. Obvioulsy not quite as good as double bead locks but as we can't all afford to import them from stazworks this is a very viable option worth considering.

Other places to try are: Macsport Innovation 4x4 I've just ordered 5 x 35 12.50 16 Creepy Crawlers from Silverline, turned up next day & worked out at £140 each delivered. First impressions are very good, lots of tread & deeper than I thought it looked in the photo's I've seen although the rubber does seem quite soft so I'm not sure how long they will last if you do lots of road miles I'm only guessing at this at the moment as it's going to be a few weeks before they are fitted & ready to use in anger. Pete

Just out of interest it seems a few people have imported wheels from Stazworks, surely by the time you've added your options of rock rings etc, paid shipping & import duty they work out mega expensive?!?!?!??! Can anybody comment on pricing as I work out a bog standard 16" rim to be about £140 without shipping or any import tax Did we get any more news on prices for the rims that started this thread?

Thanks Escape, thats just the kind of info I was after!!! The pictures are excellent thank you Pete

Has anyone had experience of running 37" tyres on a Defender ? (Photo's would also be nice if anyone has any?). I'm just wondering what sort of modifications are needed is a 2" lift enough or do you need a 4"? Do arches need to be trimmed or the body modified? Does larger tyres cause problems with the transmission or can a standard Land Rover drive train cope with the larger tyres? Is there anything else I need to know about running big tyres? My vehicle is my everyday transport as well as my part time challenge truck so it needs to be reliable & if that means sticking with 35" or smaller tyres then that's what I'll do. Thanks in advance. Pete

What's wrong with the one's from Straight Forward Supplies? I've just ordered a set of 16x10 & they are being made to order & are due to be with me before the 20th of Jan. Seems very fair to me & at a reasonable price. Tim is very very helpful & a genuinely nice chap but it's best to contact him via email rather than phone.

I might be wrong but I think it might be Allisport, the website has been down for months so I couldn't check for definate but they may be worth a call. From what I remember they are very expensive but I'm assuming as you want to fit another they are worth it?

Thanks for your help everyone much appreciated. Just out of interest how long does it take for the twin pump Tmax to inflate a big tyre like 35" or 37"???? Pete

Hi all, I'm looking at options to inflate tyres from 4 psi to 30 psi without taking 25 minutes to do 4, on the lowest budget possible. Tmax double piston compressor seems good but has anyone used it & is it worth the money? Other option I thought of was buying a cheap compressor & an inverter but this is going to be bulky to carry around on off roading trips. I was also wondering if anyone had any experience of using CO2 for inflating large tyres? They seem to use it quite a bit in the states but I've been told that CO2 is sensative to hot or cold which can drastically reduce or increase the pressure. Downside is I'm not sure how many tyres I could inflate with a refill & that could be expensive so I'm just after info on this really. Any other options on a budget that are worth looking at???? Thanks, Pete

I think Britpart already incorporate this dead stop when you release the switch so the technology is already there but they seem to be the only people using it as far as I know. I think as an aftermarket idea for all the winches that are out there it's well worth doing. I know I for one would like to be safe when using my winch & I'm sure there are other people who would. In fact if you do go ahead please PM me as I may be interested in reselling the product or becoming a dealer. Thanks, Pete