Ok, here's the new thread for discussion of what would work and what wouldn't to make the ultimate L322 tourer.
SWMBO now has a taste for doing this more and more, and want the car to be more capable of the sort of stuff we were doing, and more.
The Rangie really shone on the outback tracks we were on - even on the 20's and road tyres, but I was always paranoid about doing a tyre as there were some really rocky and corrugated sections that had to be tip toed over.
So, up for discussion is what sort of mods you would do to make it a more capable tourer?
The electrics are all sorted with a Traxide dual battery kit already fitted. And along with the solar panel I had, kept the fridge and lights working even on extended stays at one site - very happy with the performance of all this. I also have a UHF fitted and is situated in an ideal spot that works well.
Used Memory Maps on my Ipad to log all the tracks we were on, and to use as a moving map - works fine, but not as good as Oziexplorer which a couple of others were running - hoping Ozi get the Ipad version finished soon.
Tyres and rims I have mentioned on another thread but feel free to comment here.
Raised air intake - this is almost a must going forward I think, as the factory air filter hasn't faired too well even on this fairly short excursion. Thoughts so far on this is to fully fabricate one myself as no one seems to be looking at making one commercially. Standing around looking under the bonnet with others from the forum the other night, there were some good suggestions thrown about as to what could work. The biggest thing is finding somewhere for an entirely new air cleaner and housing as there doesn't seem to be any real way of sealing around the existing filter. There is some room on the drivers side behind the headlamp that a vertical style housing may fit in. There is enough room to run a pipe into the engine from there. Thoughts are that maybe an air cleaner housing from a 200 TDi may fit. I have advertised for one in the wanted section if anyone has one...
Bull Bar - we all know the issues we have here, so the only options are to not run one, put the factory one on (ain't gunna happen!) or fit a modified D3 bar and live with the legalities this may bring.
Suspension lift - anyone seen or put some spacers above the airbags on all corners??? Just throwing it out there, I think it would be an easy way to get another inch or two of clearance when needed. I think someone here made mention that they had done this, but can't find any details on it. Not sure at what point the drive shafts and bushes would start to complain when lifting it...
So, any other thoughts, comments or whatever else would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers - Gav
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