Disco 200tdi prep for off-road.

timc20xe said:

wouldnt hurt geting a steerig gaurd aswell

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whys that then?

steering guards do very little for protection when articulated and can act like a plough if you ever need to be recovered backwards.

axle guards would probably be better or hd steering arms.

tbh though MHM is right. you dont need all that **** to begin with. Have been laning for the last few years and never owned more than a couple of strops, decent tyres and a diff guard or 2.

The main rule for laning is - NEVER GO ALONE

bobbler said:

not standard size, think nathan got a set for around 150-200 last time. you dont have to have bfg/general tyres just tyres with a decent tread pattern.

cheaper tyres (remoulds) will probably wear faster but then you can get 2-3 sets for the price of the more expensive brands and if/when you split a tyre out playing it doesnt hurt your wallet as much replacing it

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Any suggestions? I've looked a fair bit but never found anything reasonable.

Use mine for 40 miles motorway a day so need a fairly road worthy set!

Oh and I know it's bad, but I never go laning with anyone else.. don't have anyone

theres loads of peeps around Surrey NE Hants - just keep an eye out on the green laning section.

The thing is I don't like people so would probably be on my own.

Set of tyres, winch and ground anchors for me then.

gregc said:

The thing is I don't like people so would probably be on my own.

Set of tyres, winch and ground anchors for me then.

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thats great - until yu meet the Pikeys! they set up to follow you into a lane then block the other end. when yu stop, they, erm, "borrow" your landy . Or, of course, get stuck!

The Mad Hat Man said:

gregc said:

The thing is I don't like people so would probably be on my own.

Set of tyres, winch and ground anchors for me then.

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thats great - until yu meet the Pikeys! they set up to follow you into a lane then block the other end. when yu stop, they, erm, "borrow" your landy . Or, of course, get stuck!

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Shotgun as well then

The Mad Hat Man said:

theres loads of peeps around Surrey NE Hants - just keep an eye out on the green laning section.

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Will have to do that. Thing is I tend to go out a few times a week, mainly on way home from work spontaneously.

I've got friends who I can phone to come and tow me or whatever if I get really stuck.

The Mad Hat Man said:

thats great - until yu meet the Pikeys! they set up to follow you into a lane then block the other end. when yu stop, they, erm, "borrow" your landy . Or, of course, get stuck!

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Jesus. Never heard of that happening. Bit worrying!

Thought it was all the getting stuck why everyone says don't go alone..

Best make some friends before I get started then.
Be about a month or so before I'm ready for my first expedition.

gregc said:

I've got my 200tdi that I'm using for the commute (now I've acquired some reasonably priced fuel) but I want to take it for a bit of green laning on the weekends cos the wife won't let me mod the Chelsea tractor 300tdi.
What is the minimum I need to get myself off road. I call it green laning but I want a bit of a challenge without getting stuck. It will be mainly used on Salisbury Plain.

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Sod getting all terrains get some proper mud tyres, you'll only regret it otherwise.

I'd say go as big as you can. 235/85r16's will fit STD rims fine but you'll need to trim the arches and might need some flares to keep it legal.

Also get a good rope and some good recovery points front and rear, maybe jate rings.

Don't bother with diff guards unless you're going to be crawling over loads of rocks. Tank guard is a good idea, but probably not needed unless you are rock crawling.

Don't bother with a suspension lift until you know what you want and why.

Tougher front bumper might be an idea too.

the more gear you carry/have fitted then the more you can take on, simple as that.

i am confident to go laning alone in mine because it is very well prepsared BUT of course there is always the unforseen breakage that can happen anytime and then there's trouble - so its still not a good idea. does add to the excitement sometimes, just make sure you have food, water and sleeping equipment, mobile phone charger and cb.

but the general advice is to go with a mate or two, go standard and see what happens.

any mods that you fit will help you in one way or another, simples.

265/75/16 bfg AT or MT are a great all round tyre choice, will need 40mm lift (blocks do the job) and camel cut. that should help for most lanes.

worth bearing in mind that not all lanes are suitable for a standard car, ive been laning in mid wales and been glad ive had air lockers!

and a fone and the number for LZ rescue

Greenlanes are roads, if they are so bad you cant pass them with basic off road driving knowledge, a reasonable set of tyres and a mate incase of unforseen problems.. Dont drive them, it only ends with bobble hat brigade kicking up a fuss! If you want huge mud tyres and winches go do a pay and play.

There are some deep and dark greenlanes which are very difficult to navigate, however there is a right of way there. If you have a suitably prepared vehicle that can drive the lanes with minimum effort and low revs/speed there is no reason to suggest you should not be there.

Trying to get a standard car up a difficult lane using just power and brute force gives is every reason to kick up a fuss, and frankly that car should not be on that lane.

A vehicle with plenty of articulation and axle lockers can drive a diabolical lane with next to zero ground damage (no wheelspin)

I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that difficult lanes should not be driven. It is just that few vehicles are capable of driving them carefully and without substantial damage.

Pay and play is boring because all the terrain is driveable.

Some of my most fond memories of laning were sections that have taken hours to get a group of cars through because we had to rig winches to stop the cars sliding off a non existent edge to a lane in Wales, or where we have had to work as a team to get cars around a hairpin mountain pass that was so badly water eroded the inside was a 4 foot deep trench and the outside banked upwards. We lane responsibly, you wouldnt think 6 land rovers had just passed through.

You can't get that sort of thing on a pay n play.

Accelerator pedals are for pay and play, winches and lockers are very handy for lanes.

Cheers

To be honest if gregc says it be mostly on the plain he'd use the car then all you need is what i said, only got stuck once that was with road tyres and i learnt. Now i'v driven it all alone and with others, even pulled a stuck 90 with more mods then me.

If your think of going out there sometime soon buddy send us a message, i'm in the Tidworth area of the plain anyway.

Disco_Street said:

To be honest if gregc says it be mostly on the plain he'd use the car then all you need is what i said, only got stuck once that was with road tyres and i learnt. Now i'v driven it all alone and with others, even pulled a stuck 90 with more mods then me.

If your think of going out there sometime soon buddy send us a message, i'm in the Tidworth area of the plain anyway.

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I'll get the beast on the road (got a steering and front axle issue at the moment). Then I'll give you a shout. Like I say it will probably be in about a months time.

gregc said:

The thing is I don't like people so would probably be on my own.

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If you plan to lane alone then it's quite a different thing. Experience would be an ideal thing to have and vehicle prep would depend largely on where you will be and how far away from civilisation.

To that extent, winches, comprehensive tools, spares, waffle boards, CB radio, cooking and sleeping equipment could all be required.

bobbler said:

whys that then?

steering guards do very little for protection when articulated and can act like a plough if you ever need to be recovered backwards.

axle guards would probably be better or hd steering arms.

tbh though MHM is right. you dont need all that **** to begin with. Have been laning for the last few years and never owned more than a couple of strops, decent tyres and a diff guard or 2.

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Actually I find steering guards very worthwhile. They create a semi sledge under the vehicle so help it to slide over obstacles that you'd maybe get hung up on otherwise. I've also bent a steering arm before having a guard fitted and the guard itself has a dent in it now, so it evidently worked and protected the vehicle.

Diff guards on the other hand - never seen a use for them. Theoretically I can see them maybe being of use on a rocks, but pretty pointless if it's mud.

Tarantula said:

Aren't a decent set of tyres like £400+ though? I struggle to budget one at £100+

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Depends what you mean by decent though.

I'd probably look at some remoulds, Insa Turbo Sahara's or Amazon's. (Fedima make some too).

Very good off road, but surprisingly civil on road.

Prices do seem to have gone up recently though, so you're looking at around £80/tyre, so plus fitting and balancing, yes best part of £400.

gregc
I'll get the beast on the road (got a steering and front axle issue at the moment). Then I'll give you a shout. Like I say it will probably be in about a months time.

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Yeah dude no worries, take your time.

300bhp/ton said:

Actually I find steering guards very worthwhile. They create a semi sledge under the vehicle so help it to slide over obstacles that you'd maybe get hung up on otherwise. I've also bent a steering arm before having a guard fitted and the guard itself has a dent in it now, so it evidently worked and protected the vehicle.

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Dont look like too much protection to me but each to their own.

300bhp/ton said:

Diff guards on the other hand - never seen a use for them. Theoretically I can see them maybe being of use on a rocks, but pretty pointless if it's mud.

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Steering guards are also useless in mud so dont really see your point they may act as a sledge but when your up to your axles nothing is going to help and if you have to be pulled out backwards they have a tendency to dig in.

Diff guards are only really there to stop you smashing your diff cover against rocks etc. the good thing about them is they dont take up space or get caught on anything and theyre cheap (about £15 each iirc). Bad thing is you need to remove them after playing or they will fill with crap and rot your diff pan.

Like I say horses for courses. everyone has there own opinion otherwise things would be pretty boring really