The Points Event  held at Ou Trekpad in 2010 was the first time I had entered the Defender . Apart from the blind driving section (that is another story for another day ) The Defender   went well ,except for a dismal turning circle. Suddenly I had more respect for 110 drivers , who I have seen battling in the past. Still , it did feel as if  the old Battle Wagon was even clumsier than other 110 's .

 So what to do about  it ? I do my best thinking when I am asleep ( makes you think , doesn't it ) , and a  few days after the event I awoke at 2 am one morning with a serious "Eureka ! " moment,( No , not what you might imagine ) : The answer to my Defender turning circle conundrum.

I bought the Defender a few years back with a set of  nondescript  tyres and wheels. First change was a set of ProWhite enamel  rims and a set of mild 235/85 R16  ST's.

What I forgot to do after fitting the new tyres and rims was to adjust the steering "bump stops ".

Next day after my mid night revelation  , I climbed under the Defender , screwed the bump stops totally in ( they were almost at max extension ). , and took the Battle Wagon for a test drive . No tyre fouling of the front radius arms . Zilch. And the Battle Wagon now turns on a Tickey (A Tickey  is like a R1 coin , only smaller and it was worth a hell of a lot more , for those who won't remember...)

What I had originally forgotten is that the ProWhite rims have a lot more negative offset (i.e. the rims move the tyres outwards and away from the radius arms , compared to other rims ).

The 235/85 tyres also  have more sideways  clearance than do 265/75  's .

Another good reason to participate in the  points events - it is the one time you can compare performance under controlled conditions. And identify changes and adjustments that make your Landy go better.