Another pointless thread

Just to keep to the time honoured tradition of this fine literary thread, I have poured myself an extra large Glenlivet after solid two hours glossing of the spare bedroom, for medicinal purposes you understand.

Yup, keeping an eye out for the Rondinax 60. Tricky part is making sure all the bits are there, as obviously they're useless without the film guide. Also rethinking the "buy it from a dealer" as I see a fair number on ebay from dealers at lower prices with guarantee of some sort. Spotted an ETRSi for £220 which will be mine if they still have it after payday.

Alternative venues have been secured, cheaper too! We managed to get permission from the Forestry Commission to use their land for training events ages ago which is unlikely to be withdrawn providing we behave ourselves!

Off road driving should be fun and enjoyed to the full. I've only done it on bikes, and then rarely, but the experience gained can be invaluable on the road when things getinteresting.

Glad to hear an alternative venue's opened up for your group.

The '60 can be daunting to use at first, but rewarding when you've mastered it, a bit like going down a muddy slope and not touching the brakes.

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IMGP0320 by Tozza27, on Flickr[/img]

Hello Auntie TT - it`s no fun being a Cyril when it`s blowin` a gale and pouring with rain !!!!!

Luckily my friend Tony and his wife keep me going ( with my brothers )with loadsa nuts !!

Cyril

That is really cute

He's got a lot of colour - more than I've seen on any of ours up here . Most of our squirrels appear to be genuine greys with red faces .

@ Cyril - now you be nice to Tony and Mrs Tony - they have LOTS and LOTS of nuts for you - but only if you are a good boy

Auntie TT

Weirdly that's the easy part for me. I'm quite happy going straight up or down slopes, it's the 40 degree leany bits that worry me.

I do think the standard driving licence should include some off-tarmac experience, just because it does a lot to teach people how to drive on snow and ice. The same techniques work on most loose or slippery surfaces. Just be very gentle with your right foot, assume the brakes won't work and drive accordingly.

and then turn the electronics off and see what happens....

first exercise on the ice: brake from 40km/h please and don't hit the "thing". Get as close as you can. How many do it well, first time? Generally only the locals Then we start on the higher speeds and lane changes and other stuff.

Bret

I'd be fine apart from the "Get as close as you can" part. My ice and snow driving is based on keeping well clear of everything else!

ah, when you're "alone" on the ice, it's a great place to start and try and spin the car and see what ESP really can't do......

So many people saying "I'm looking forward to this!" it's great

My K5 turned up today, along with the 80-400, a 28/3.5 and some other bits, like "tool porn", as my colleague put it - the axminster catalogue

Bret

Oh, I've done that before now. I found that it's essentially impossible to get a Discovery drifting on snow or ice if you use the normal tricks (never even think of trying the handbrake, you will wreck the rear diff or halfshafts as it works on the rear propshaft). Just drive normally but assume that you need a lot of space to stop and it will do the rest.

I don't have ESP, turn traction control off where fitted and find ABS annoying. While wonderful on wet roads it's a lethal nuisance on snow or ice as it effectively disables the brakes!

My mate at work reacons his top of the range, brand new, Freelander is the bees knees.

It has a programme for ice, snow, sand, mud...

...but not road!!!

..and we daren't get into it with him 'cause we might dirty the carpet!!!!

My little Punto, on the other hand is filthy and goes where she's pointed without and dodgy gimmicks.

Nope, no ABS on mine but I have driven other vehicles with it in snow and it's a pain!

I've managed to avoid windup so far although the centre difflock occasionally doesn't want to disengage. I find that dipping the clutch usually works, if it really comes to it you can reverse to make it pop out but that's not really suitable if you have three vehicles behind you on a narrow trail.

Hmm. I'm wondering now, as the subarus manage it without too much issue. Is there a speed limit attached to the diff locks? You should be able (with a scandinavian flick, a.k.a driving the wrong way before entering the corner) to get the back end to come around quite nicely....

ABS works really nicely on ice with studs, but less so with contact tyres. Mine gets triggered at the moment probably 2 times per trip, I try to anticipate but it doesn't always work.

Bret

No sneering about Freelanders please - I LOVE mine - she's gorgeous

Mind you getting the carpets out of the front seats - particularly the driver's - is NOT easy - well anchored.






Now tell me - we have sun and some blueish sky - ' nice to go out and play' type weather .

SO WHY do I have to stay in 'cos the guy is coming [ I hope] to fix my outside security lights ? AAAAAAARGH

Nothing wrong with a Freelander, a chap I know had two in succession and got both of them out in the mud. Yours will really surprise you on snow and ice if you ask for BF Goodrich All Terrain tyres next time you need new ones (get a set of four as it won't do the 4wd system any good otherwise).

Despite the name they're very quiet and extremely predictable on tarmac in all conditions as well as being handy on everything else apart from thick gloopy mud. I really wouldn't see the point in buying normal road tyres for a 4x4 as it's just setting you up for a lot of embarrassment when you can't cope with a muddy parking area at an open air event or a bit of snow.

The Discovery centre diff isn't like the Subaru ones. My brother has a Legacy B4 which apparently has viscous couplings for centre and rear diffs, the Discovery has plain old open mechanical diffs with a locking mechanism for the centre one (when you pull the lever it moves a collar to lock the two sides together).