Pointers please towards a gentle intro to green laning and off roading.

Again, thanks. 11/60 your points actually have my view down to a tee. I will spend 99% of my time on road, and some on land where I shoot. My mods will reflect that, and I appreciate it is already a very capable unit which is why I bought it above others. The tyres will be changed as they don't have a lot of life left in them, and while the choice is wide and opinion varied, I rather fancy the Kumho KL71's as a good all rounder, (that will also look good). Roof mounted lights and a couple at the back would be useful too. I thought my list was fairly basic and doable without going silly.
At this time, I do not see myself doing anything that would push the limits of a standard Jimny, except maybe to add an extra couple of inches of ground clearance if I find I would benefit from it. My idea of green laning is more unmetalled roads rough tracks, than river beds and swamps!
Something I am curious about... I see quite a few Jimnys with Snorkels fitted, which do look really cool, but what are the water thresholds for the car? How deep can it be before it gets into the cabin or compromises the standard air intake - I'm thinking more of localised flooding which we get a lot of (allowing for sensible speed etc etc)
Thanks again.
Martin

A mate of mine had a full blown comp truck but it got too easy. He sold it and bought an old SJ and now has more fun.

What the hell have you done to your jimny? Not being rude but if you keep up with Evo's they are crap drivers.
Good luck to you if you fancy trying to keep up with me in my Civic.

fowleronline wrote: except maybe to add an extra couple of inches of ground clearance if I find I would benefit from it.

Something I am curious about... I see quite a few Jimnys with Snorkels fitted, which do look really cool, but what are the water thresholds for the car? How deep can it be before it gets into the cabin or compromises the standard air intake

Adding inches is to get larger tyres on so increases ground clearance under the diffs.. Just raising it wont give any more ground clearance..
As for water, its about how you go through it, or how the vehicle coming the other way does..
Driving through water creates a bow wave, turning a foot deep into something driven fast enough to easily get into the air intake... The snorkel eliminates that possibility..
Ive gone through water that was nearly level with the bonnet, got out the other side and not a drop got into the cabin, but something i dont really want to do again as the grit gets into everything and destroys it..

You were right - no mods required, a very capable car as standard... still needs new tyres though!

Well, as mentioned I tried a green lane a few days ago and really enjoyed it.
Only about a mile, ending at the coast, but as night fell, I came back in darkness.
Best of it was, having gone to the back of beyond, knowing the lane existed, and travelling along it... I got to the end and found a TD5, a 4x4 pickup and a Vitara!!! The lad with the Vitara had just got it and was giving it a try out.
The path to the beach had become a vertical drop so summoning up all our courage, we bravely.... turned round and went back.

Anyway... I I just went on the council website to have a look for more of these BOATs (I had never heard the term before) and found that there were there available on line. They also made liberal use of red and green to distinguish one from the other.
Do they not realise that 7% of the male population is red/green colour blind???
I am going to need an interpreter.

Best advise I would say is always go out with someone, someone who can pull you out if needed and visa versa.

Larger tyres are good to bring the diff's up off the floor.

Mine was amazingly capable as standard, on good road tyres and arguable more fun.

Maybe start with some good recovery points, as boring as it sounds spending on them, most people leave these until last and when they're stuck it's made very hard to help them out then.

Good points Tom, thanks. I had a plan B, - the lane was on the edge of a farm owned by a friend so he did have big toys if necessary.
Although I don't really plan off doing much off, I will be in and around fields so it's always a possibility. What do you suggest as tow points - my wife suggests my neck would be a good place to start!!
I like the standard steels, and will upgrade them with colour coded fresh paint one day. What tyres would you suggest - I will be 99% on road?
Cheers
Martin

General grabber AT would get my vote