Off roading, what do i need to do?

Madferrit:

First of all let me applaud your decision. I am very much for using the G for what it was designed for BUT using it in a way that it does not damage your pride and joy. This is even more so if we're talking about a 463 series, which can be continued to be used as a "normal" car during the week and as a mud plugger at the weekends.

Bearing this in mind I would try to keep the car totally original, but there is a minimum that we need to look into, and that is the tyres. It's no good to have the best 4x4xfar (something that Land Rovers owners pride of but that it's no more than a load of rubbish in their case) when it then gets let down by unappropiate tyres.

First question is what "Standard" tyres does your car have at the moment (make, model and measurements). If the rim was standard, it's the 6x16 alloys. If it's got road tyres, I would at least change them to a more mixed pattern. Unfortunately, we live in a country where mud is king and if you're likely to use your G off-road you'd probably need mud tyres (in principle).

Problem is that you then want to use your G during the week, in city traffic, on the motorway, on wet tarmac, etc, mud tyres become a liability: they are noisy, they wear quick and some of them have no grip whatsoever on wet tarmac. So you need something more of a compromise.

My 1991 463 series 300 GD is fitted with a set of BFGoodrich Track Edge 235/85 R 16 mounted on the same rims mentioned above. It's got surprisingly good grip on most types of wet terrain and still is a very impresive tyre on the road. It's a tall tyre but quite narrow, so it gives you enhanced ground clearance (for off-road) without reducing motorway speed (as opposed to wider alternatives). Problem is that I suspect that they don't make them anymore.

A good alternative is to go for a set of BFGoodrich All-terrains, which is a mixed tyre, as opossed to its more off-road-biased brother, the BFG Mud terrain, which is a fantastic off-road tyre but limited on the road.

Like I said, keep your car as standard as possible but fit a new set of tyres and you're very welcome to join us next time!