I am from Greece and I recently purchased a used Touareg 3.2 V6 of 2003 with air suspension.
My previous car was a Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin (the small Pajero, never sold in the US if i am not wrong) and i was going off-road with friends and local clubs.
My Touareg has zero modifications and the tires are 100% for asphalt. With the winter approaching i will soon need some mud terrains. So i am now coming to the questions:
1) Searching in the forum i've seen people mounting 245/70/17 (nominal 30,5 inches) without problem and people mounting 265/70/17 (nominal 31,6) with the possibility of some rubbing. I am thinking of going for the 245's to avoid any possibility of rubbing. I am also worried for the effect the large tires will have in the acceleration of the car etc. What do you think?
2) I am thinking the following mud terrains: BF KM2, Cooper discoverer STT, Maxxis MT-762 Bighorn. Any opinion on these tires? Any other recommendation?
3) Is it ok if i drive the car full time in off-road mode (suspension lifted)? Will this cause any problem to the car? It will self lower when cruising in high speed or not? I am worried that the car will look "funny" in normal height and large tires (especially the 265/70/17's).
4) I've seen people here saying that they lock the suspension in full height to go over an obstacle. Is this correct? Is this ok for the car and especially the suspension? I am worried that this may cause some serious problems if you get a big force in a wheel when "hitting" the obstacle. What do you think?
5) Any other suggestions for improving off-road ability? I guess that suspension modification is out of question, right?
My previous car was a Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin (the small Pajero, never sold in the US if i am not wrong) and i was going off-road with friends and local clubs.
My Touareg has zero modifications and the tires are 100% for asphalt. With the winter approaching i will soon need some mud terrains. So i am now coming to the questions:
1) Searching in the forum i've seen people mounting 245/70/17 (nominal 30,5 inches) without problem and people mounting 265/70/17 (nominal 31,6) with the possibility of some rubbing. I am thinking of going for the 245's to avoid any possibility of rubbing. I am also worried for the effect the large tires will have in the acceleration of the car etc. What do you think?
2) I am thinking the following mud terrains: BF KM2, Cooper discoverer STT, Maxxis MT-762 Bighorn. Any opinion on these tires? Any other recommendation?
3) Is it ok if i drive the car full time in off-road mode (suspension lifted)? Will this cause any problem to the car? It will self lower when cruising in high speed or not? I am worried that the car will look "funny" in normal height and large tires (especially the 265/70/17's).
4) I've seen people here saying that they lock the suspension in full height to go over an obstacle. Is this correct? Is this ok for the car and especially the suspension? I am worried that this may cause some serious problems if you get a big force in a wheel when "hitting" the obstacle. What do you think?
5) Any other suggestions for improving off-road ability? I guess that suspension modification is out of question, right?