Off Road Driving

[carbonman]

Hey
Im completely new to the off road thing...
I have a 2.4td surf ssr-g which was imported '93
Im guessing although the tires say 4x4 (They are quality fulda ;-) ) they are not really idea for off road use... more road tires I guess....
Can I get away with these tires on some off road tracks etc...? Is it mostly gonna depend on the weather, i/e worse if its real wet and sludgy..
I live in the south west and hit dartmoor over the Crimbo period where I had some great fun on tank tracks up on a army training section of dartmoor. I did not manage a bit of grass off roading tho.. I tried to go up a fairly steep grassy / peaty slope and just span the wheels in 4x4 mode, low ratio etc..etc... but I put that down to the tires... agree?
Also, how deep can I dip the surf in river? What should i be worried about when going through river crossings etc...I have had the bottom waxoyled which I was told should sort out it rusting..?
If anyone on here is from the south west, let me know...
As I say I'm a complete novice so any thoughts on the above in whatever manner would be much appreciated...

[pops]

Hey
Im completely new to the off road thing...
I have a 2.4td surf ssr-g which was imported '93
Im guessing although the tires say 4x4 (They are quality fulda ;-) ) they are not really idea for off road use... more road tires I guess....
Can I get away with these tires on some off road tracks etc...? Is it mostly gonna depend on the weather, i/e worse if its real wet and sludgy..
I live in the south west and hit dartmoor over the Crimbo period where I had some great fun on tank tracks up on a army training section of dartmoor. I did not manage a bit of grass off roading tho.. I tried to go up a fairly steep grassy / peaty slope and just span the wheels in 4x4 mode, low ratio etc..etc... but I put that down to the tires... agree?
Also, how deep can I dip the surf in river? What should i be worried about when going through river crossings etc...I have had the bottom waxoyled which I was told should sort out it rusting..?
If anyone on here is from the south west, let me know...
As I say I'm a complete novice so any thoughts on the above in whatever manner would be much appreciated...

have a look at the Norfolk vid. m8 that will show you how deep some go.

[Linda]

Hello and welcome to the mad house!!

If you're only going to have the occasional drive on a few tracks then you'd probably be ok with the road tyres as long as you avoid really muddy stuff. A few people went round Devils Pit with road tyres and managed ok.

However, if you want to do a fair bit off road, and maybe come to a few meets then you need to be thinking about a more off road biased tyre... All Terrains (A/T's) are a 50/50 (off/on) tyre (I run BFGoodrich A/T's on my car and have had no problems even in quite extreme conditions...) BFG's are a good on road tyres too with little noticeable increased noise or deterioration in handling, but they are the more expensive end of the A/T market (mine were bout £80 each). Can't comment on other makes as I have no personal experience of them.

If you get hooked on the off road stuff and want to do a lot then you might want to get Mud Terrains (M/T's). Koi fitted these recently and was very impressed with them...

I'm sure you'll get lots more advice off others on here too, and try a search on Tyres for previous posts.

As for how deep can you go in a river.... check out my avatar picture....

[Guest]

Hey
Im completely new to the off road thing...
I have a 2.4td surf ssr-g which was imported '93
Im guessing although the tires say 4x4 (They are quality fulda ;-) ) they are not really idea for off road use... more road tires I guess....
Can I get away with these tires on some off road tracks etc...? Is it mostly gonna depend on the weather, i/e worse if its real wet and sludgy..
I live in the south west and hit dartmoor over the Crimbo period where I had some great fun on tank tracks up on a army training section of dartmoor. I did not manage a bit of grass off roading tho.. I tried to go up a fairly steep grassy / peaty slope and just span the wheels in 4x4 mode, low ratio etc..etc... but I put that down to the tires... agree?
Also, how deep can I dip the surf in river? What should i be worried about when going through river crossings etc...I have had the bottom waxoyled which I was told should sort out it rusting..?
If anyone on here is from the south west, let me know...
As I say I'm a complete novice so any thoughts on the above in whatever manner would be much appreciated...

OK you don't say what type of Fulda they are, are they marked A/T or M/T or maybe M&S. If you have a look on the web you might find the tyres listed and their capabilities however generally if they don't look very chunky then the chances are they are road biased. I use Road Bias ones on my Surf and it's OK but struggles a bit on really wet grass and in the mud.

The Surf can go pretty deep in Water because it is diesel. Baiscally up to the top of the Bumper is pretty much OK however don't go too fast as a bow wave could end up pushing water into the intake which comes out next to the nearside headlamp. If you want to go much deeper then a quick mod is to take the plastic elbow on the aircleaner (input side) and disconnect it from the intake tube as it goes forward along the inner wing. Turn this towards the back of the engine bay and you will get a bit of extra depth. Alternative is to get a Safari Snorkel for the Surf.

Only other thing if you are going to go wading frequently is to extend the diff & transfer case breathers to a reasonable height.


There are a couple of people from the South West here, have a look at the member list.

Cheers

[Simbad]

Hi Carbonman,

I offroad regular and road tyres don't do too well if the terrain is more than wet and steep, you need something more aggresive. I find that the BFG MT tyres are the best for most applications if you also need to drive on the road, then Simex Trekkers if you can afford them. One of our members has Simex fitted and he is the only one who can stop while coming down very wet muddy slopes. Here is a picture of him stationary while decending at Bures slopes

As for wading in water, I've been above the wheels but I wouldn't go any higher without a snorkel.

Do you ever go to Slindon?

[carbonman]

tires

Thanks for the input so far, you really do have a huge wealth of knowledge here.
As far as the tyres are concerned they are 265/70 15's it says 4X4h and also says TRAMP m+s
Don't know if that means anything to you guys...
Generally, if i'm gonna try to get up a steepish slope should I be hitting it hard and fast or slow...??

[mazzerman]

Off road driving

Just keeping in the off road mode, my question is how far can the back end of the surf go under water?
On my surf the exhaust is angled downward and quite low so when backing my jetski down into the sea, it will be submerged, is this a problem or is there a mod that can be done to alter the angle of the tailpipe?
Cheers

[Guest]

Thanks for the input so far, you really do have a huge wealth of knowledge here.
As far as the tyres are concerned they are 265/70 15's it says 4X4h and also says TRAMP m+s
Don't know if that means anything to you guys...
Generally, if i'm gonna try to get up a steepish slope should I be hitting it hard and fast or slow...??

Bronco 4x4 list the Tramp H as follows:

Fulda Tramp H

HR Speed rated, primarily intended for hig speed motorway performance, also suitable for the occasional off-road use in less demanding conditions.

Cheers

[bensonsnuts]

Thanks for the input so far, you really do have a huge wealth of knowledge here.
As far as the tyres are concerned they are 265/70 15's it says 4X4h and also says TRAMP m+s
Don't know if that means anything to you guys...
Generally, if i'm gonna try to get up a steepish slope should I be hitting it hard and fast or slow...??

If you only have one set of wheels get a decent set of A/T inc the spare & you;re sorted.
As for speed ,not knowing exactly what you are aiming (the car) at.
Try for about 2nd in low box this should get you up & down most anywhere. You are trying to find a balance between momentum & traction,these are the 2 things keeping you moving.
Too slow ,ie no momentum & obviously you aint going anywhere
Too fast ,you lose traction(grip) & you still aint going anywhere
Once you become a bit more confident you can afford to play about a bit.
Just watch out for approach & departure angles as the surf is lwb & the front & rear overhang may ground out.
LWB also struggles on crests etc ,this just means you need to try & keep as many wheels on the deck as possible without grounding the middle of the car.

[bensonsnuts]

Just keeping in the off road mode, my question is how far can the back end of the surf go under water?
On my surf the exhaust is angled downward and quite low so when backing my jetski down into the sea, it will be submerged, is this a problem or is there a mod that can be done to alter the angle of the tailpipe?
Cheers

Shouldn,t be a problem submerging the end of the exhaust as this is an outlet & as long as you keep the motor running this keeps water out.
These guys are talking about air intake for the engine ,behind the headlight which would suck water into the engine (bad).
Just make sure you're well rustproofed as imports have none as standard,
I,m sure you know seawater is highly corrosive.
Several people on here tow pwc with their surfs - no problem
How deep do you need to go ?

[carbonman]

If you only have one set of wheels get a decent set of A/T inc the spare & you;re sorted.
As for speed ,not knowing exactly what you are aiming (the car) at.
Try for about 2nd in low box this should get you up & down most anywhere. You are trying to find a balance between momentum & traction,these are the 2 things keeping you moving.
Too slow ,ie no momentum & obviously you aint going anywhere
Too fast ,you lose traction(grip) & you still aint going anywhere
Once you become a bit more confident you can afford to play about a bit.
Just watch out for approach & departure angles as the surf is lwb & the front & rear overhang may ground out.
LWB also struggles on crests etc ,this just means you need to try & keep as many wheels on the deck as possible without grounding the middle of the car.

As it happens I have a spare set of wheels, so once I get some wedge I might well get that set kitted out with off road tires...
I didn't think about the auto part of the gearbox when i tried to climb that slope... just left it in auto, but put the 2nd stick into low and put 4x4 on... but what you are saying makes sense...
Will have to find somewhere to go play now ;-)
Anyone know anywhere good in Devon?

[Linda]

Just keeping in the off road mode, my question is how far can the back end of the surf go under water?
On my surf the exhaust is angled downward and quite low so when backing my jetski down into the sea, it will be submerged, is this a problem or is there a mod that can be done to alter the angle of the tailpipe?
Cheers

Does this answer your question???

[carbonman]

Traction

How did you manage to get traction to get out of that!!!

Thats mad!!

[Linda]

How did you manage to get traction to get out of that!!!

Thats mad!!

LOL - never said I was sane.......

Actually, we didn't quite make it. Got half way up the bank and then had to give up and reverse back into the river... but I've only got A/T's on...maybe with M/T's it would have bin another story

Tony did it later in his truck though.... no problem...

[pops]

LOL - never said I was sane.......

Actually, we didn't quite make it. Got half way up the bank and then had to give up and reverse back into the river... but I've only got A/T's on...maybe with M/T's it would have bin another story

Tony did it later in his truck though.... no problem...

FUNNY PLACE TO PUT YOUR BANK!!!!!!
mines in the high street.