Women Drivers...

[Lazy-Ferret]

The Wife and I had a Dirty Weekend away in the caravan. :naughty:naughty

It was arranged by SE4x4R at an army training ground, so rope, strops, chains, shackles, mud, water and trees were the order of the weekend, along with some wench... er winch training.

Suz really got into it, and wanted to drive as well, so I let her have a go, then spent the next 4 hours pleading for my car back... We found this track with a tank trap, and she decided to have a go...

Nice shiny car when I drive it...
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/Lazy-Ferret/SE4x4R/Mereworth/DSCF4007_zpstjrkhxej.jpg

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/Lazy-Ferret/SE4x4R/Mereworth/DSCF4005_zpsh7letcoi.jpg

Car after Suz has finished with it... We were doing some Night Navigation, so I have already cleaned the lights off here..

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/Lazy-Ferret/SE4x4R/Mereworth/20150913_114646_zpsm3fofee0.jpg

When we left the site on Sunday, as we came down a hill with the caravan on the back, a lorry stopped to turn right in a little road. I started to brake, but they were definitely not up to scratch, and I am glad I was not pushing it, and had plenty of time to stop, as the brakes were terrible. Took it a lot easier for the rest of the journey home.

I went to checked them over when I got home, but the hollows in the wheels where the wheel nuts are located were full of mud. So before I could do anything, I set to work Jet washing the worst of the mud off the car. I decided to use the trolley jack to lift the car up as high as I could, so I could jet under it a lot easier, and as I was doing the rear n/s wheel area, I had heart failure, as at first glance, it looked like a very muddy lump of my suspension had snapped, and was pushed back into the new springs I had just fitted. As I sprayed it with the jet wash the mud started to come off, then the paint... only it was not paint, it was bark.. I then discovered I had a 5 foot long, 2" diameter, tree branch stuffed up under the car.

The rear drums had a greasy mess of mud and water in them, and the front rotors had most of the cooling vents blocked, and the callipers were just big blob of mud.

I then had to clean up the driveway, as I did not fancy crawling around in all the mud now laying there, and by the end, got a 5 gallon bucket of mud...

I am so glad I have a Japanese car, the mud was all up on the sills at the bottom of the doors, but not a drop inside the car, where as many of the Landrovers had their mats out, drying them off over night, where the water had got in to them past the seals.

It was great weekend, and seeing Suz confidence increase every time we went down or up a seemingly impossible track was great, if a little scary as now nothing is safe... :doh:bow

[don simon]

Excellent stuff.
What lift have you got on the car? I like the look on standard wheels.

[Lazy-Ferret]

Excellent stuff.
What lift have you got on the car? I like the look on standard wheels.

Cheers... It has a 2" body lift, and 2" longer springs and shocks on the back, with standard length shocks on the front, but the torsion bars wound up so I can just get the end of my 17mm ratchet spanner between the arm and bump stop. That's the flat thickness of the spanner, using it like a feeler gauge.:augie

I do want bigger wheels one day, but don't want to beat three barrels out of the car to make things fit. Trying to work out what tyres size and wheel offset will do that, is proving hard work, as everyone has such different ideas on here. I think I will stick with the AT's on the standard wheels for day to day driving, and towing, but get a second set of wheels, with some muds, which I will put on for fun stuff, and it's those I would like to go up a couple of inches in size on if possible.

[Lazy-Ferret]

Here is a video of Suz going through the water, It's the second time she did it... This time, because she stalled it the first time, she gets a bit Trigger happy on the power...:lol

http://vid316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/Lazy-Ferret/SE4x4R/Mereworth/Suz%20Water_zpsmuxrckxb.mp4

Not so mush a Bow wave, more a Bow Tsunami...:doh

[firebobby]

Sounds like she had fun :)

[don simon]

Cheers for the lift info, Clive. Any profile pics of the car? I think it looks fine with standard.
Good vid too with a healthy respect for fear.

[Lazy-Ferret]

Cheers for the lift info, Clive. Any profile pics of the car? I think it looks fine with standard.
Good vid too with a healthy respect for fear.

Best I have at the moment is the following, I only re-did all the suspension last Tuesday, and need to take a few when I get a chance.

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/Lazy-Ferret/SE4x4R/Mereworth/20150913_143816_zps3wimc6vs.jpg

This is pretty much the same height, but I had shorter Shocks, and spring spacers in, so while it ended up about the same, it did not have the travel, to give it any articulation.
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm322/Lazy-Ferret/Terrano/Lift/20141015_165609_zpsa20lys4i.jpg

[don simon]

That looks bloody good, Clive. I've been weighing up the benefits of a 2" lift but without increasing the tyre size.
That's something else added to the list. :)

[Terrano Steve]

Looks like you had a week end of filth ;), I quite like the Bf Goodrich tyres I had a set on the last truck they have good road manners as well as being quite good off road.