Freelander 1 advice

300bhp/ton said:

Maybe read up on engine tuning. Anyone saying a remap can’t give power clearly knows nothing. But it is more complex than just a map. Also depends what your end goals are and what sort of budget you have.

Only you can say if it is worth doing or not.

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300bhp/ton said:

Maybe read up on engine tuning. Anyone saying a remap can’t give power clearly knows nothing. But it is more complex than just a map. Also depends what your end goals are and what sort of budget you have.

Only you can say if it is worth doing or not.

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Freddie17 said:

They can be remapped - but you say it drinks like a trooper already. More power will need more fuel, not less?
I’d be wary about trying to eek more performance from something that is 20 years old.

That said, a good service and check-over may find some issues that do improve it.

I’m not sure if a Ron-box can be fitted to the petrol - someone will be along soon that knows.

Welcome to the forum!

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Freddie17 said:

They are already very capable vehicles indeed, with good off-road performance.
There are a number of mods that a lot of people do - I personally wouldn’t be trying to force the engine to over-perform. To me, part of the ‘fun’ of the Freelander (especially the 1), is using it at a different pace, slowing down and enjoying life.

I’ve taken mine on plenty of green lanes, and it spends a lot of time on a large farm estate. I don’t do anything ‘extreme’, but it has kept up on days out in the mud with defenders. You just need to know the limits.

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jamesneilson268 said:

Thankyou for the advice. My first stop is a major service and go from there

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jamesneilson268 said:

Guys I’m looking for advice. I have a land rover Freelander 1 05 plate. It’s the 1.8 petrol version. Despite it drinks like a trooper I’m thinking of doing a complete upgrade of it mods etc.

I’ve been told a remap won’t give it more power or help performance which puts me off.

Is it worth me doing this a project and can the engine be improved at all

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GrumpyGel said:

Would you like advice on tyres next, or will it be repowering with a V8 Lexus or summat?

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jamesneilson268 said:

I do want to upgrade tyres but engine and mechanics first

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GrumpyGel said:

TBH, I think you're just dreaming.

Probably the only engine in an F1 that can be upgraded in any meaningful way is the L Series diesel - although I don't know about the V6. With the K Series, you can tinker, and people like @htr have done things to improve the engine for themselves - but they are not drastic improvements in power and take time and effort. There are more powerful variants of the K Series and they have been installed in Freelander - but they are not for the faint hearted, they involve engine swaps and a lot of effort and commitment - its not just a case of paying a bloke a few quid to do a remap. You have to be careful as well as the power delivery of those engines may simply not be suited to Freelander, with its size and function, and result in something that is not as good as the starting point. You also have to take into consideration what the engine is bolted to - ie the PG1 gearbox. When the PG1 is used in more torquey diesels or more powerful petrol units (eg T Series) its is upgraded and stronger - but you will have a standard K Series variant that Rover/Land Rover deem not capable of handling extra power.

If you then turn your attention to the running gear, you're options are just as limited. You can't bolt on 32" muds - the wheel arches are not big enough for a kick off, and even if they would fit, there is no low range box so the car would have terrible performance on and off road. About the biggest lift you can do is 2" - this doesn't enable big tyres, pulls the rear suspension out of alignment and will seriously impact the life of costly drive shafts. Once again @htr can be your inspiration, he fitted uprated springs, they gave a small raise in height and a ride he is more comfortable with.

So, you saying "doing a complete upgrade of it mods etc" - what is it that you want to achieve? Is it really achievable or just dreaming?

You also say "it drinks like a trooper" - what are you getting, what are you comparing against and what sort of driving has given you this conclusion? A Freelander is not a small, highly fuel efficient, vehicle. It should be better than a full fat off-roader of the same era, but won't be as good as a small hatchback.

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jamesneilson268 said:

This is the reason I came in here. I wanted a project to bring an old car up to modern standards not as an every day car but as a project. Most of the advice I’m getting is that although I could visually make it look stunning mechanical and performance I can’t do much. I get the impression this won’t be worth it

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GrumpyGel said:

There are lots of ways to "personalise" Freelanders - lots of mods in that respect if that is the sort of project you want.

If you want a project to make significant performance changes - then you will have to put a lot of leg work in, it won't be tinkering.

That's my take on it.

They're great vehicles in what they they are. They are rewarding in maintaining, personalising, improving (to one's perspective). Parts are cheap and readily available. They are reliable, and for what they are, pretty economic. There's also a good mix of mechanicals to electrics in a F1 - compared to older and newer cars. There's lots of good reasons to run a Freelander - including lots of people around to give advice - and opinions!

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GrumpyGel said:

TBH, I think you're just dreaming.

Probably the only engine in an F1 that can be upgraded in any meaningful way is the L Series diesel

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300bhp/ton said:

The 1.8 K-Series is perfectly tunable. Later versions had 135hp and of course the VVC variants with either 143 or 158hp. Lotus and Caterham also offered non VVC 190hp versions too.

More power will generally be at higher revs. But tuning will also generally improve low end performance too, just to a lesser extent. A 190hp Freelander would go well, esp for road driving and if you like to put your foot down and drive a bit hard. Off road, unless racing you probably wouldn’t notice much. But still improvements to be had. Although off road use it is more gearing than power they lack.

There is also the turbo version of the 1.8 with 150hp and a fat mid range torque curve. I believe fully built turbo motors are capable of 450hp.

Of course modding like this can be pricey and may require other upgrades. And may not suit the goals of the vehicle.

But if you want a bit more pep the petrol engine will respond the same as any other. So simple bolt on breathing mods such as intake, exhaust, manifold can make a noticeable difference to how it runs and drives.

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jamesneilson268 said:

Guys I’m looking for advice. I have a land rover Freelander 1 05 plate. It’s the 1.8 petrol version. Despite it drinks like a trooper I’m thinking of doing a complete upgrade of it mods etc.

I’ve been told a remap won’t give it more power or help performance which puts me off.

Is it worth me doing this a project and can the engine be improved at all

Click to expand...