Dodgy handling!

[davef2901]

Ladies & gents, I had a moment this tea-time which provoked the comment of"all right you made your point, you can have some new tyres" Went round roundabout in p***** rain quite cautiously(dogs in back) and back tried to overtake front. Caught it no trouble but, are Surfs really that bad handling (last car- Rangy) or are the Bridgestones just shagged? TBH they look well past their best, actually starting to perish so god knows how old they are. Mainly road driving, but some light greenlaning, any suggestions apart from Grabber A/T (can't afford them), and I'm on skinny 215/80sr15(standard size according to the car plate). Ta's muchly

[bullet513]

sounds to me like poor tyres, does it drive in a straight line etc? ok in the dry?

[Wolfracer]

Are you sure its a 2.4?!
Mine was a lot more tail happy with standard tyres. now ive got 33" muds the additional width and taller gearing mean you really have to want to get the tail out to get it to go. normal driving is fine.

[Sancho]

Check your rear shocks. Mine had a bout of trying to spin around and the shocks were completely gone.

[davef2901]

Yes it's ok in a straight line in the dry,tracks ok round bends, but feels like it's going to let go and squeals like a girl if I try. Shocks only bounce once, but they are soft originals ,so I'd say they are well past their best

[Balllsy]

I don't mean to be offensive but if you can't afford decent tyres then you might want to consider a vehicle thats cheaper to run. Your life and lives of others depends on your rubber.

[BUSHWHACKER]

It's the width and age of the tyres thats making the handling bad. Standard width Surf tyres are 265.
Skinny tyres were fitted to very early Surfs but you say yours is a '92 so it should have the wider tyres and wheel arch extensions.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Your life and lives of others depends on your rubber.

:Slobodan mode on: Hur, hur, Durex. hur hur..... :Slobodan mode off:

[shokenore]

If you do have to economise on tyres then at least get a budget new tyre as opposed to a remould .
There are plenty of cheaper new tyre brands to choose from

[slobodan]

Maybe a Toyota handling kit.

It will obviously look better colour coded.

[dieselboy]

It doesn't still have the same tyres from Japan, on does it?

[Chris W]

I've got Toyo Open Country A/Ts on my Surf and they're very good tyres. Price wasn't bad either from what I recall.

[davef2901]

I don't mean to be offensive but if you can't afford decent tyres then you might want to consider a vehicle thats cheaper to run. Your life and lives of others depends on your rubber.

Well actually, you are offensive! No offence meant. The car is fitted with Bridgestones, the current tyre for F1, I assume then they must be decent tyres. My bike is fitted with Michelin, my wife's MG is fitted with Continental, is that a clear enough point? The other point is that the car is worth about £1200 tops, is it worth spending £550 on "decent" tyres? Now if a Land Rover newcomer had asked this question,I would give chapter and verse, but as I know f*** all about Surfs, I was asking, politely, if more experienced owners had the same experiences as me, before I start pouring money into a money pit. Rant over.
Shock absorbers-are Toyota's originals worth the extra for a useful switch in a fight(hard)? Or does anyone have suggestions? Thank you

[shokenore]

Well actually, you are offensive! No offence meant. The car is fitted with Bridgestones, the current tyre for F1, I assume then they must be decent tyres. My bike is fitted with Michelin, my wife's MG is fitted with Continental, is that a clear enough point? The other point is that the car is worth about £1200 tops, is it worth spending £550 on "decent" tyres? Now if a Land Rover newcomer had asked this question,I would give chapter and verse, but as I know f*** all about Surfs, I was asking, politely, if more experienced owners had the same experiences as me, before I start pouring money into a money pit. Rant over.
Shock absorbers-are Toyota's originals worth the extra for a useful switch in a fight(hard)? Or does anyone have suggestions? Thank you

The point you make about the current F1 choice is irrelevant unless of course they are going to introduce an off road section.

The value of the car is also irrelevant your tyres have to be legal .

I have no idea why you have mentioned Land Rover.With such a vague initial post you have received a few suggestions that are worth following up.


Any vehicle approaching 20 years old is going to need some money spent on it,how much and on what is your choice but I would not come on here having a rant when people are only giving you advice .

Perhaps the main problem is your speed into the roundabout ,however looking at the pics your rear end looks a bit low perhaps your rear springs are in need of changing.




IMHO
I would start with tyre pressures.
Tyre age/condition.
Anti roll bar rear especially the brackets.
Rear springs search for "saggy arse".

Happy surfing.

[TonyN]

Well actually, you are offensive! No offence meant. The car is fitted with Bridgestones, the current tyre for F1, I assume then they must be decent tyres. My bike is fitted with Michelin, my wife's MG is fitted with Continental, is that a clear enough point? The other point is that the car is worth about £1200 tops, is it worth spending £550 on "decent" tyres? Now if a Land Rover newcomer had asked this question,I would give chapter and verse, but as I know f*** all about Surfs, I was asking, politely, if more experienced owners had the same experiences as me, before I start pouring money into a money pit. Rant over.
Shock absorbers-are Toyota's originals worth the extra for a useful switch in a fight(hard)? Or does anyone have suggestions? Thank you

Ballsy was a little offensive, we're used to it, but you are making it easy. Safety first, tyres are important, and not to be skimped on. and are going to cost real money.

Tyres are tyres, whether on a Land Rover or a Surf, it all works the same. Get the best you can afford. The price of the car is pretty pointless, you want to use it, you need tyres.

Grabbers arn't expensive, they are the mid/lower price band of 'good' tyres.

If its on the original Jap tyres then all is easily explained, they are usually shocking in the wet on UK roads, and a very hard compound, no matter what brand they are, its usually best to change them anyway.

As someone else said, remember how old the truck is, worn shocks and springs really shouldn't be a surprise.

Maybe you ran over a diesel spill on that actual corner, a stock Surf with decent tyres and springs should be pretty nice handling, especially so if you're used to Land Rovers!! But its also a 2 ton truck on a ladder chassis and live rear axle, so will alway unload the inside wheel when cornering.