Hey guys,

I just moved to Peru for a year (maybe longer) and bringing my Clubbie with me. It should be here in a month or so. I was hoping to get some advice on a good Off-Road setup. Obviously the car is somewhat limited to the FWD but I'm sure I can improve the comfort and drivability of the car with another setup.

I'm currently on R112 17"s with OEM tire sizes.

Right now its the tail-end of the summer and I've been to the beaches an hour or so from Lima. So many beautiful places. Many of the beach villages are developed but a good amount have dirt roads that get you to these villages. The dirt roads are not great with a lot of jagged spots.

Can anyone recommend me a good setup for some rough terrain? I'd like to add taller rubber (for comfort and clearance) and more traction but I don't really know what will work on this car. Should I be looking at winter tires for tread? I have a set of brand Blizzak LM-60s in 205/45/17 that I can install on a spare set of 17" R112s but I don't think its going to be enough rubber. I was thinking of getting some 16" rims and some tall rubber. I don't want to be thinking about maybe bending a wheel or slipping while going uphill.

I'd really appreciate any help anyone can offer in terms of rim size, tire size, grip, etc.

 

skid plates for protection. 15/16 inch steel wheels with traction tires and you may be able to do spring spacers front and rear for maybe a inch of lift?

I would consider plasti dip to protect the paint while your there as well

 

coopercrap.com has a 2" lift kit for your car

http://coopercrap.com/r5655-lift-kit/

i would ask coopercrap what wheels fit and how big an od of tire will fit

then some 15 or 16 inch wheels with 60 or 65 or even 70 aspect ratio tires

i would look for AT tyle on/off road truck tires, the yokohama geolander has the widest selection of smaller sizes

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

winter tires will not last long if the temp is above 40F or so

scott

 

Thanks for the accessory reccomendations esfreerider. I am definitely trying to get a skid plate for the bottom. There are a lot of speed bumps in general in Lima and its only a matter of time before I hit something down there. The vinyl wrapping is relatively inexpensive (compared to US) so I am considering wrapping the entire car for protection. I have been thinking about doing a slight left since I could really use the extra clearance.
Thank you Scott for all that info . That's a huge help. The link to the CC stuff is great and they even have a Hot Chocolate Clubbie in the pics. I am bookmarking it right now. I remember only having slight clearance problems with my JCW Aero front on some aggressive driveways (in NY) so this would be a big difference. I do see a fair amount of MINIs in Lima and they aren't usually banged up or anything but this front bumper is definitely a bit lower. I am going to pass by the MINI dealer and ask if they have had any problems.

Most of the time I will be in the city, and occasionally I will go to some rough terrain but nothing ridiculous so I'm wondering if maybe I am simply better off getting my girlfriend a SUV and use that as primary travel vehicle. I really wanted to be selfish and get myself a E46 M3 just to have some extra thrill in my life. Its going to be a good amount of time while I'm here and I won't have any of my babies from back home. I think I am going to have to sell my 996TT and E39M5 because they are just going to sit for so long. But anyway I may have to suck it up and get an SUV rather than getting that M. They are priced a little higher than back home but the majority of their depreciation had already been taken so I thought it would be a great buy.

Those Geolanders look pretty nice. Great speed rating, nice pricing. Thank you for the recommendation. I have a set of stock 15" Clubman Style 100 wheels but they are just so GODAWFULLY ugly. Crossroad coming.

 

How much off roading have you done in the past?
For loose dirt and mostly flat unpaved roads you can use the MINI and Summer or All Season tires. But for ruts and deep dips you are better off with an All wheel drive car/SUV/or jeep.

You may have to drive slowly when driving off road, or risk damage to your suspension, wheels, or tires.

Winter tires won't be good as they wear too fast in any temperature above 40 degrees and don't have good traction in the wet/rain.

If the 15" OEM wheels fit your clubman you can choose a tire size like 205/55-16 which is a little taller than stock for more clearance.

If you want to use the OEM 17" wheels then in 215/45-17 (slightly taller than stock tires) there is-


BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2 Ultra High Performance Summer tire
$154 each, 300 treadwear, aggressive tread pattern
$121 each in 205/55-16
see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....KDW2&tab=Specs

 

I mounted 215/60/16 on my stock height S Club. I used Accelera IceX studless winter. Its a very close fit, but NO rubbing at all, even at full deflection. I did this for a little more ground clearance (+1.2 in) and speedometer correction. In your case a simple 2" strut lift will give you total 3" with very little work. My suggestion would be to use a rally type tire that will tolerate mud, rocks, and gravel, like Nokian?