Freelander 1 classifying the freelander

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Yeh, you either love or hate all the electronic gadgetry put on cars - especially LR.

TBH, I'm happy with the level of electronics on my L Series! Its enough to give a reliable economic engine, but not so much that it goes the other way to make them less reliable. Did you see the thread going through over the last couple of days where the guy slammed on the anchors in his F2 to avoid a dog and it basically trashed a whole host of electronic components on the car!

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-2-crash-mode.305733/
I don't see how modern cars are going to be maintainable by home mechanics once they start to go wrong.

had a read of that , something different

agree it seems the purchase of some form of diagnostic computer will be required as cars progress

think my freelander has enough electronics , would hate to try and trace a fault in something like the new range rover

but do think we've improved considerably compared to the old british leyland cars

maybe the self driving cars can also tell u how to fix them as well , lol
 
The D3 has the same axle articulation as the D1. It's something like 12 or 14 inches at each wheel. Plus you can raise the whole car up 50 mm from its standard hight by moving one lever. If the suspension feels the body has touched the ground, the ECU automatically raises it another 25mm. If the body is still touching the ground the suspension goes up another 25mm.
The only down side to the D3 is the amount of electronics involved.
 
The D3 has the same axle articulation as the D1. It's something like 12 or 14 inches at each wheel. Plus you can raise the whole car up 50 mm from its standard hight by moving one lever. If the suspension feels the body has touched the ground, the ECU automatically raises it another 25mm. If the body is still touching the ground the suspension goes up another 25mm.
The only down side to the D3 is the amount of electronics involved.

think by having the air suspension facility it increases the status of the disco, by being virtually unstoppable

imagine the disco 4 has around the same amount of electrics , know i wouldn't like to trace an electrical fault, lol

would adore to have a disco 4 if i had the money , also to maintain it as well , then book a tour to drive through europe , maybe one day before i'm too old

as long as i could take my dogs , :D:D
 
think by having the air suspension facility it increases the status of the disco, by being virtually unstoppable

imagine the disco 4 has around the same amount of electrics , know i wouldn't like to trace an electrical fault, lol

would adore to have a disco 4 if i had the money , also to maintain it as well , then book a tour to drive through europe , maybe one day before i'm too old

as long as i could take my dogs , :D:D

To be honest Gary. There are diagnosic tools for the D3 that make the Hawkeye look like a toy. This makes diagnostics on the D3 easy. ;)
 
To be honest Gary. There are diagnosic tools for the D3 that make the Hawkeye look like a toy. This makes diagnostics on the D3 easy. ;)

oh i bet , my middle brother is a mechanic and picked him up once from work and he showed me the massive diagnostics machines , on a wheeled stand , that i believe costs well over 10k , but know u don't have to spend that kind of money now for home diagnostics

does seems to be something u have to purchase now with modern cars

know it's a different subject but the same with boilers and how they've advanced , in having to buy more tools as boilers advanced
 
This I don't understand, independent suspension is surely less likely to cause a wheel to lift off the ground. I would suggest that it is rather suspension travel and suppleness that the factors at work here
tbh, it's a complex question and an even more complex answer... o_O And I'll be honest and say I can't answer all of it. But I have been trying to figure it out.

And yes indeed flex and travel play a part in it. But I believe it's more down to the mechanics of how these actions work.

For example with a live axle (Defender). As one wheel drops, it forces the opposite one to raise. This results in the body staying fairly level.

With independent suspension the wheels are not linked. But more importantly, when a wheel moves up, it usually moves the entire vehicle up as well. It's rare to see independent suspension with a wheel stuffed up in the arch. So when one wheel drops, the opposite one is more likely to lean the body over towards the dropping wheel.

It's really hard to explain in text. But just watch some YouTube videos of different types of vehicles and you'll see, anything with all independent suspension tends to have the body moving about a lot more and will be lifting wheels off the ground more so.

In this picture, note the front left corner of the vehicle is in a hole and whole body has lent over. Now while the picture doesn't show it, but I'm sure if you measured the wheel arch gap, it'd be the same for 3 of the wheels. With the rear right the only one drooping.

Freelander%20over%20obstacle.jpg


A live axle vehicle would behave completely differently.
 
tbh, it's a complex question and an even more complex answer... o_O And I'll be honest and say I can't answer all of it. But I have been trying to figure it out.

And yes indeed flex and travel play a part in it. But I believe it's more down to the mechanics of how these actions work.

For example with a live axle (Defender). As one wheel drops, it forces the opposite one to raise. This results in the body staying fairly level.

With independent suspension the wheels are not linked. But more importantly, when a wheel moves up, it usually moves the entire vehicle up as well. It's rare to see independent suspension with a wheel stuffed up in the arch. So when one wheel drops, the opposite one is more likely to lean the body over towards the dropping wheel.

It's really hard to explain in text. But just watch some YouTube videos of different types of vehicles and you'll see, anything with all independent suspension tends to have the body moving about a lot more and will be lifting wheels off the ground more so.

In this picture, note the front left corner of the vehicle is in a hole and whole body has lent over. Now while the picture doesn't show it, but I'm sure if you measured the wheel arch gap, it'd be the same for 3 of the wheels. With the rear right the only one drooping.

Freelander%20over%20obstacle.jpg


A live axle vehicle would behave completely differently.

The air sprung D3/4 and RR don't work in the same way as the coil sprung FL1/2 (pictured)
The air springs are cross linked. This makes the independent suspension act like a solid axle. Basically as the wheel on one axle goes into compression, the opposite wheel on that axle goes into extention. So in a cross axle situation, all wheels will remain on the floor. This gives the EAS a huge advantage over independent coil springs.
 
Yes the cross linked setup on those vehicles does make them different and extends their ability. However, I don't think it solves the fundamental issue that independent suspension will try and resist compression. It works well at speed, but for slow off road work, it'll raise the body up on the side trying to be compressed.

Again, just watch some YouTube vids of D3's and RRS' off roading. You'll see they still lift wheels often.

That said, it is conceivable, that with suitable ECU control, the vehicle could detect when a shock needs compressing and actually make it decompress, while inflating the opposite wheel. I don't believe this is currently possible, but certainly not beyond the realm of what could be achieved. For example, on a side slope, you could have the high side full decompressed, while the low side over inflated. Allowing the vehicle body to sit almost level. But then this would work with a live axle too.
 
The cross linked D3/4 RR EAS works best at normal ride hight. While at off road hight, the suspension can't drop is low as is necessary for all wheels to remain on the ground. It's good, but not as good as a live axle.
However on the road it's miles better for having independent suspension. So some ability has to be compromised somewhere.
 
The cross linked D3/4 RR EAS works best at normal ride hight. While at off road hight, the suspension can't drop is low as is necessary for all wheels to remain on the ground. It's good, but not as good as a live axle.
However on the road it's miles better for having independent suspension. So some ability has to be compromised somewhere.
And that is the key really - what do you want the vehicle for ?
I dont personally think many - well, hardly any - freelander owners buy the vehicle a mainly off road use vehicle. In the same light, not many owners of any of the breed actually buy them for primarily off road use. Most are simply Chelsea tractors. Having a vehicle with excellent on road manners, comfort and performance along with excellent off road ability and performance is not really feasible or affordable.
If you want an off roader buy an UMM :D
They are simply a hoot to drive. Some of the military versions are in public hands now and they are simply awesome.
Slap my hand -:rolleyes: - it's a landy forum..
 
And that is the key really - what do you want the vehicle for ?
I dont personally think many - well, hardly any - freelander owners buy the vehicle a mainly off road use vehicle. In the same light, not many owners of any of the breed actually buy them for primarily off road use. Most are simply Chelsea tractors. Having a vehicle with excellent on road manners, comfort and performance along with excellent off road ability and performance is not really feasible or affordable.
If you want an off roader buy an UMM :D
They are simply a hoot to drive. Some of the military versions are in public hands now and they are simply awesome.
Slap my hand -:rolleyes: - it's a landy forum..
I don't think hardly any owners of any vehicle take them to the full limits of their capabilities Joe. Given their price tag, most Landies will start life as Fendalton Tractors, Remuera Tractors or even Chelsea Tractors - but even these people still want to know their cars have capabilities they can use a bit of at the weekend - so long as it doesn't scratch them.

I often wished LR would build a Jimny type/size car that was more affordable to the masses. Maybe after seeing the 2CV video and finding out some info on that - they should go even more lightweight than Jimny :)
 
tbh, it's a complex question and an even more complex answer... o_O And I'll be honest and say I can't answer all of it. But I have been trying to figure it out.

And yes indeed flex and travel play a part in it. But I believe it's more down to the mechanics of how these actions work.

For example with a live axle (Defender). As one wheel drops, it forces the opposite one to raise. This results in the body staying fairly level.

With independent suspension the wheels are not linked. But more importantly, when a wheel moves up, it usually moves the entire vehicle up as well. It's rare to see independent suspension with a wheel stuffed up in the arch. So when one wheel drops, the opposite one is more likely to lean the body over towards the dropping wheel.

It's really hard to explain in text. But just watch some YouTube videos of different types of vehicles and you'll see, anything with all independent suspension tends to have the body moving about a lot more and will be lifting wheels off the ground more so.

In this picture, note the front left corner of the vehicle is in a hole and whole body has lent over. Now while the picture doesn't show it, but I'm sure if you measured the wheel arch gap, it'd be the same for 3 of the wheels. With the rear right the only one drooping.

Freelander%20over%20obstacle.jpg


A live axle vehicle would behave completely differently.

Again, that is a function of suspension travel, you don't see the problem arising with the 4 wheel drive 2cvs, why? Because they have plenty of suspension travel
 
The cross linked D3/4 RR EAS works best at normal ride hight. While at off road hight, the suspension can't drop is low as is necessary for all wheels to remain on the ground. It's good, but not as good as a live axle.
However on the road it's miles better for having independent suspension. So some ability has to be compromised somewhere.
Miles better. Nope, a p38a Range Rover or D2 are both very good on the road. And plenty of live axel (rear) cars that handle fine on the road too.
 
Again, that is a function of suspension travel, you don't see the problem arising with the 4 wheel drive 2cvs, why? Because they have plenty of suspension travel
I'm sure you would and do. But they are hardly used for rock crawling..... and the like. If independent suspension is so capable, how come it just isn't used for things like rock crawling and serious off road use (outside of speed events?)
 
I don't think hardly any owners of any vehicle take them to the full limits of their capabilities Joe. Given their price tag, most Landies will start life as Fendalton Tractors, Remuera Tractors or even Chelsea Tractors - but even these people still want to know their cars have capabilities they can use a bit of at the weekend - so long as it doesn't scratch them.

I often wished LR would build a Jimny type/size car that was more affordable to the masses. Maybe after seeing the 2CV video and finding out some info on that - they should go even more lightweight than Jimny :)
Hi GG, I agree whole heartedly :cool: a Jimny size landy would be awesome - A willys size even. - I simply adore the willys jeep - there are many for sale here in mint condition but around 15 -20,000 euros !.
I have driven almost new jimnys (on holidays years ago - we used to hire them for a fortnight) and they were simply excellent and great fun.
I looked at one here before we got the freelander and took it for a test drive -sadly it was not at all what I remembered. They do not seem to 'wear' well at all. A super following though.
There was an Indian version of a jeep that looked promising but turned out to be a bag of dog's dollop by all accounts. :(
If LR did one - as you say - smaller or even similar in size to the Jimny with mod cons in the way of traction control etc - and a reduction drive.. it would be awesome. They could even put a bl00dy VCU on it for me as since the Bell unit my freelander is a completely different vehicle. Night and day. Feels excellent to drive, no hint of wheel slip as before and feels completely free on the drive train. A true pleasure to drive now.
I found a willys on OLX but would life wouldnt be worth living if the Doris saw another addition to the fleeet.....
https://www.olx.pt/anuncio/jeep-willys-1959-IDzGKCJ.html#a43700a64c

I AM tempted though - it would be a nice toy...... I wonder what I could convince her she needs ?........... :oops::rolleyes:
 
If you allow a lot of travel on independent suspension, the CVs will surely not last very long at all.
My thoughts exactly. Too many parts to go wrong or get damaged on an independent setup. with modern control systems they could do anything suspension wise. I think the added complexity and expense to make an IS system reliable would really be the only real reason that live axles are still about.;)
 
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