Here's a few pics of the wheels from this weekend just passed. Can't say where it is because I wasn't supposed to be there, but it was sure fun doing some dune hopping...!!

Vids to come...









They performed extremely well on sand at 24PSI... 20PSI was slightly too low, felt like I would peel the rubber of the rim..!!

Enjoy..!

great pics Andrew - look forward to the vids  http://www.jkavonline.co.uk - 15% discount to rrsport.co.uk members (Discount Code: rrsport)

SONOS - MK SOUND - TANNOY - MONITOR AUDIO - JAMO - TIVOLI - SUNFIRE

Cool, thanks Andrew. Looking forward to finally getting this project wrapped! The wheels are the crux... Unavailable in the US, but importable (at great expense) from Australia. The LTZ tires have good availability and are definitely the way to go, they rock!

I had a set of them (285/50-20) test fit yesterday. They look smokin on the 20" wheels... however... when mounted on the front, the inner sidewall had barely a hair of clearance around the factory spindle. I am uncomfortable with the proximity, but then again, it's not like that topmost part of the tire will ever really flex. Hmmm...

As Kaine said  RRS TDV6 Gone but still around

SL55 AMG
760Li Alpina
BMW 535D M Sport
BMW 320D Coupe M Sport
Shaguar Hard Type (know you all miss her but she's gone)
And A Van For Rex!

Oh and i love the girlzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Hey Drevs,

The saga continues...

I just thought, since you are talking to Sean at Forbys, maybe you can have some luck getting the exact offsets & measurements that the wheel wholesaler had when Sean bought mine for me. Email him, as I have asked him a number of times but I ask him for a lot of information & favours, so he might just look at my emails & trash them. If you get that informaiton, you can then shop the specs around wheel shops, specify the load & speed rating for the wheels as well, and someone MUST MUST MUST have wheels with the same specs. I actually BET you will find better looking ones than mine...

How much did Sean quote you to have 4 sent over to the US if you don't mind me asking?

Don't give up!! It's worth the hassle, especially for tire profile / distance from wheel to tire when you are climbing rocks, you WILL scratch the hell out of your 20"s, even if you have gained some profile on the 20" tire.. Especially when you consider reversing my mistake and not getting the Nitto Dune Grapplers from the start with 285/65/18 specs!! Imagine that on the SC with 18"s!!

Cheers & no problems for the help, hope you get somewhere soon...

Sean quoted $250 per wheel and $1850AU delivered for four. Can't say I'm excited about spending $800 for shipping.

Yeah, the final outcome should be ideal, that's for sure. I'll keep ya posted on how it's coming along!

Is that $1850AU all up for 4 wheels?

I pay him $1850 AU and then four wheels show up at my door here in the USA. That's my understanding...

Think you can beat that??

Hahah.. I must have looked like a fool asking that question

I actually don't think that's too bad in the end, considering that if you go with the 20" option you would spend way more on rubber than on 18" rubber, and also you would definately bang up your 20" rims when you are off road...

Like I said though, if you could be bothered with all the messing around looking for alternative wheels you can source over in the US with the same offset specs etc. you might find something a bit cheaper, but it might not be worth your time doing so... (depending on your profession ) The speed/load ratings are a bit of an issue though, which is probably why going with something someone has found to work (and have the right load ratings etc.) is probably a better solution... In the end, I'm going to powder coat mine matte black or matte orange or something, so I can feel like I have "cooler wheels" because I bought the only rims that could fit not caring what they look like... When you don't have a choice in buying "special looking" wheels in our situation, you have to make them look "special" yourself..!!

Anyway, that's my thoughts... Glad you're on your way now...

Remember I told you I made up my blocks the wrong dimensions and the wrong material?? Well, in the next couple of weeks I will get them made up again out of cast, and I will draw the dimensions for you to have these made.. It'll be easier for you to just go to a machinest and give him a drawing..

Stay tuned..

OH - by the way, the vids finally got aprooved by YouTube, I was waiting for a while..

DONUTS IN THE SAND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejihygwpw-Y

DISINTEGRATING A MUD PUDDLE - Watch the puff of steam at the end
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=055oEMtI9iM

Nice vids! Your wheel bearings must love you.

It's true that the 20's would get pretty wrecked going offroad... But actually the 18 and 20 inch tires are the same price ($170 each).

I'm in the same boat as you - don't really care that much what the wheel looks like. Just want something that fits. I'm also going to powdercoat them black for that utilitarian look.

Yeah, it would be about $1500.US delivered... I suppose it's not THAT bad, but I still have a pyscological problem paying $700 in shipping. Time vs. money.... the age old debate.

Definitely shoot over the specs for your new damping blocks. I might just have some bar stock laying around that I can machine out to fit.

Andrew, did you do the doughnuts with the DSC on or off? A Carbon Footprint is the mark a lump of coal makes when it's dropped on the ground.

Tata TDv8 HSE - Stornoway/ebony and straight grain walnut with towpack, Tasmods and an HST grille. Coming soon LEDs in the headlights
Staying - Epsom Green Defender 90 for playing off road

The DSC MUST be off for that kind of stuff, in fact I drive with it off 100% of the time on the sand because whenever you get any slippage on the sand the car thinks you are sliding & cuts power & tries to give you back "control"... strange...

By the way, the "Sand Mode" is useless, you have way more control in normal highway mode, I think the sand mode is just for women who don't know to take off slowly on the sand... If anyone knows what the sand mode actually does to the car (specifics not just what the manual tells you), I would love to know..

Ciao!

NEW PICS BY THE WAY







 RR-Sport SC - Sunroof,Towbar,PTI,Tint,Elect Rust Mgt


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Quote:

Sand Mode:

This Program optimises the vehicle for driving on sand. The Program is optimised specifically for deep and soft sand, which is often also very fine, and which is typically found in deserts. This Program was almost entirely developed outside the UK and work was carried out on three different continents. Desert and sand dune areas in the USA, South Africa and the Middle East (Dubai) were used.
Sand provides quite reasonable levels of grip but any wheel spin causes a vehicle to sink into it, and therefore all systems aim for a cautious take off. Otherwise, driving on sand causes a high resistance and a lot of power is required to make progress. The engine and gearbox need to combine to maximise the power whilst for example the DSC (dynamic stability control) system must try and avoid any power reduction requests.
The main issue with the Sand Program concerned the dilemma of avoiding engine torque reductions when driving in the sand, versus the requirement for the DSC calibration to still give an acceptable vehicle handling when the Sand Program is used inappropriately on the road, or on a high grip surface. It proved that mere calibration differences in the DSC algorithm were not sufficient to achieve the desired reduction in engine intervention. Specific DSC logic had to be developed to achieve this.
Other issues were caused by characteristic sand corrugations which caused a very typical wheel bounce. This initially confused the DSC system.
A further issue concerned the requirement for the vehicle to meet stringent emissions legislation, in all high range T.R. Programs. This meant that some compromises had to be made in, for example, the transmission calibration.

Performance Alloys here in the UK sell Advanti rims tho I can't find the Proton model
http://www.performancealloys.com/index.asp

Alicatt wrote:

Performance Alloys here in the UK sell Advanti rims tho I can't find the Proton model
http://www.performancealloys.com/index.asp