I have been busy modifying my FL2 since arriving in WA. For details take a look at trngia.wordpress.com

trngia wrote:

I have been busy modifying my FL2 since arriving in WA. For details take a look at trngia.wordpress.com

Looks fantastic mate! Jel!! When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car

Great blog! Congrats on the mods. Looks like you really get to use the car in Aus  2012 DISCOVERY 4 GS AUTO ORKNEY GREY
2012 FREELANDER 2 SD4 GS AUTO BALTIC BLUE - GONE
2011 FREELANDER 2 TD4 GS MANUAL BALI BLUE - GONE

Thanks for the comments. In terms of the roo bar it is from equippe automotive and the local dealer is midland towbars (towbar joe). They will order it in from the east coast and can also supply the lights as well. I went for a pair of lightforce HID.

Nice work mate. It's a bit of a stretch to call it a roo bar though. Hitting a roo at any sort of speed would demolish it and the front of the car too. I only say that in case you have a false sense of security with it. Those type of bars are called nudge bars because they can only take a nudge. What I would like is a decent winch bar but gee they weigh a lot plus a winch is very heavy even with the plasma cable. I fear the car would be tilting nose down with one connected. I reckon a snorkel would be good too. I have a lightweight Oasis 5.2 for my roof tent. It only weighs 17kg and I can lift it on and off myself when I need it. Most roof tents are 50kg+ so are a drama to get on and off. I do like the Maggiolina ones as they are more aerodynamic and keep dryer than the standard folding canvas style that you see everywhere over here. The only problem with both our tents is no shelter to eat or get changed. I'm getting a side awning for that. Easy to set up and roll away and sits on the bars under the tent. You would have to put it on the other side, but the entrance to my tent is at the rear.
The best value mod I have done is go for slightly bigger 245/65/17 A/T tyres. I put Maxxis AT700's on this time and so far are happy with them. They are around $50 a tyre cheaper than the Coopers or Yokohama. The bigger size gives a slight lift and bigger footprint for traction. It hasn't rubbed anywhere yet and I did the Border Track in SA a few weeks ago. Other guys on here have gone even bigger but I didn't want to upset the gearing and risk rubbing on the suspension at full lock. Also, the size I put on is still legal so ok for insurance.
It's good to see another one out on the tracks. The more that get off the tar, the more likely someone will make accessories for them. Cheers.

trngia wrote:

Thanks for the comments. In terms of the roo bar it is from equippe automotive and the local dealer is midland towbars (towbar joe). They will order it in from the east coast and can also supply the lights as well. I went for a pair of lightforce HID.

Yes, your right, it's a nudge bar ... and yes I know the difference but good point as i don't want to mislead people so will update the blog... Like you I would have loved a bar designed fot the FL2 form someone like ARB with a winch fitting etc. but I suspect this will never happen and would also have it's own challenges as you point out .

Gotta agree with Mikezz on the tires, absolutely the best thing you can do to make it more capable off road is to go with bigger tires.

I have mounted 245/70R17 Copper S/T's on mine and the car has vastly improved off road, also significant improvement in ground clearance (About 25mm) very useful on some rocky tracks. I have had no tire scraping issues at all even on more extreme tracks.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Your actual fuel consumption probably hasn't changed. The larger tyres just make your speedo read low. Therefore when your speedo says you hav gone 100 kms you probably have really gone 105 kms. Check it on a freeway with the 5km checking area. Because the speedo reads low it makes the car computer think you are using more fuel to go the same distance.