Freelander 1 Freelanders are rubbish off roaders

300bhp/ton · May 10, 2018

gstuart said:
hi

Ref full travel, is that where u turn the DSC off so that the suspension will act the same as a live beam axle plse, so indeed tries to keep it level as possible

thks

The air suspension is quite clever. The cross linking means when one wheel is pushed up it tries to push the opposite wheel down. Just as a live axle does.

However as you point out, they do still end up with wheels in the air quite a lot. I’m not 100% sure why, but when viewing them off road they don’t seem to allow suspension compression the same as a live axle does. Which means even though they have plenty of suspension droop, the distance is greater meaning more wheels off the ground. Independent suspension also doesn’t seem to shift the weight of the Vehcile the same as a live axle one.

gstuart · May 10, 2018

Nodge68 said:
To be honest Gary, I never touched the DSC at all. I did find the in Mud & Ruts mode, or standard mode with the suspension at off road hight, that the a rear wheel would be in the air when going over axle twisters as the above pictures show.

many thks, indeed have the DSC button on the dashboard and didn’t realise at first what it was for, also all very new to me

gstuart · May 10, 2018

300bhp/ton said:
The air suspension is quite clever. The cross linking means when one wheel is pushed up it tries to push the opposite wheel down. Just as a live axle does.

However as you point out, they do still end up with wheels in the air quite a lot. I’m not 100% sure why, but when viewing them off road they don’t seem to allow suspension compression the same as a live axle does. Which means even though they have plenty of suspension droop, the distance is greater meaning more wheels off the ground. Independent suspension also doesn’t seem to shift the weight of the Vehcile the same as a live axle one.

Many thks, have the DSC button on the dashboard and indeed ur not wrong in how clever the system is

regarding the cross axle articulation have seen with live beam axles where some have extended the springs to allow in some case a great allowance of travel , plus always find out if they’ve done the conversion correctly and don’t leave the spring by the wayside, lol

will be interesting when i’m finally able to get it greenlaning and can then have a play with different systems , inc how they react according to which setting the terrain response system is set to and with the DSC off

never seen this video before but thought it was interesting in how the DSC works for tarmac driving , as u say all clever stuff

Nodge68 · May 10, 2018

300bhp/ton said:
Which means even though they have plenty of suspension droop, the distance is greater meaning more wheels off the ground. Independent suspension also doesn’t seem to shift the weight of the Vehcile the same as a live axle one.

That's what I found with my D3. The EAS tended to keep the wheels on the ground at or near there normal ride hight. This effectively lifted the wheel which reached the limit of its droop. If the wheel on the other end of axle went into full compression, then the wheel lifting would be reduced significantly. I always found this situation rather alarming, considering how much weight is shifting about between wheels on the D3.

In this respect, the Freelander is much the same, but has less weight and better break over performance too.

ColinNI · May 10, 2018

I've always wondered why someone hasn't done an air suspension conversion for a Freelander yet.

You could have the benefits of the comfort that a Freelander offers, then the comfort of air again, it would help with Towing from a balance point of view (caravans and so on) and with a little trimming could also be ideal for raising up for off road, as 40/50mm lift is the most people do.

There are longer shock options available so that side of things is already solved.

I'd say if there was a way to have it everyday at "sport" height and then "tow height" and then "off road" height it would be ideal.

I know space for a tank and compressor is limited but none the less I feel a nice hse with that setup and sensible at tyres would make for the perfect Freelander daily.

hd3 · May 10, 2018

I've always wondered why someone hasn't done an air suspension conversion for a Freelander yet.

available from the usa ..
http://www.x2industries.com/land-ro...ander-complete-air-suspension-kit-p-5556.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GrumpyGel · May 10, 2018

ColinNI said:
I've always wondered why someone hasn't done an air suspension conversion for a Freelander yet.

You could have the benefits of the comfort that a Freelander offers, then the comfort of air again, it would help with Towing from a balance point of view (caravans and so on) and with a little trimming could also be ideal for raising up for off road, as 40/50mm lift is the most people do.

There are longer shock options available so that side of things is already solved.

I'd say if there was a way to have it everyday at "sport" height and then "tow height" and then "off road" height it would be ideal.

I know space for a tank and compressor is limited but none the less I feel a nice hse with that setup and sensible at tyres would make for the perfect Freelander daily.

As @hd3 says, they are available and very cheap - not.

You can't get the travel you describe though (over 50mm) - the steering probably wouldn't work and definitely you'd have to lose the chassis

Would be a major major task I recon. That's before you consider the back axle and you'd probably have to change all the geometry on that.

Nodge68 · May 10, 2018

ColinNI said:
I've always wondered why someone hasn't done an air suspension conversion for a Freelander yet

I looked at it briefly a while ago and decided it wasn't practical. The front steering arm cutouts are the main problem. These would only allow for about 6" of travel on the front before the arms hit the metalwork.

The rear suspension can accommodate more articulation, but not as much as a live axle LR. It would be an interesting conversation if one had the money and little in the way of common sense.

Hippo · May 11, 2018

ColinNI said:
I've always wondered why someone hasn't done an air suspension conversion for a Freelander yet.

You could have the benefits of the comfort that a Freelander offers, then the comfort of air again, it would help with Towing from a balance point of view (caravans and so on) and with a little trimming could also be ideal for raising up for off road, as 40/50mm lift is the most people do.

There are longer shock options available so that side of things is already solved.

I'd say if there was a way to have it everyday at "sport" height and then "tow height" and then "off road" height it would be ideal.

I know space for a tank and compressor is limited but none the less I feel a nice hse with that setup and sensible at tyres would make for the perfect Freelander daily.

Fitting air suspension to a Freelander would be a bad idea. Reliabilty would drop through the floor due to using parts from a disco.

Nodge68 · May 11, 2018

Hippo said:
Fitting air suspension to a Freelander would be a bad idea. Reliabilty would drop through the floor due to using parts from a disco.

Aftermarket kits are available so no Discovery items would be needed. There's no reason so assume an aftermarket kit would be unreliable, although it would need more maintaining than the springs it replaced.

Hippo · May 11, 2018

Nodge68 said:
Aftermarket kits are available so no Discovery items would be needed. There's no reason so assume an aftermarket kit would be unreliable, although it would need more maintaining than the springs it replaced.

If there's no disco parts involved then it would probably work.

ColinNI · May 11, 2018

I'd be think it's not about a 5 inch slam, just to give you the flex from sport height to lifted etc.

GrumpyGel · May 11, 2018

ColinNI said:
I'd be think it's not about a 5 inch slam, just to give you the flex from sport height to lifted etc.

I've wondered at times whether it would be possible to have adjustable height - not necessarily air - mechanical would be good.

It would presumably be some form of gizmo that fits between top of strut and the chassis just like a standard lift. That being the case, its going to have a height even when its compressed, so it would lift the car from standard - but putting Sport struts on might then take it back to standard height (assuming the compressed size is about the difference between Std and Sport). You could then 'expand' it to give a (say) 40mm lift ad-hoc.

Would presumably give better wear to parts (CVs) than a lift with a firmer on-road ride than standard, but not as 'sporty' as the Sport because of the higher COG, and presumably would not have the standard suspension travel offroad using Sport struts/springs but would give improved clearance.

My driving is almost completely on-road - but I do like to be in a position to take it off the beaten track a few times a year - which is why I like the idea of adjustable.

ColinNI · May 13, 2018

GrumpyGel said:
I've wondered at times whether it would be possible to have adjustable height - not necessarily air - mechanical would be good.

It would presumably be some form of gizmo that fits between top of strut and the chassis just like a standard lift. That being the case, its going to have a height even when its compressed, so it would lift the car from standard - but putting Sport struts on might then take it back to standard height (assuming the compressed size is about the difference between Std and Sport). You could then 'expand' it to give a (say) 40mm lift ad-hoc.

Would presumably give better wear to parts (CVs) than a lift with a firmer on-road ride than standard, but not as 'sporty' as the Sport because of the higher COG, and presumably would not have the standard suspension travel offroad using Sport struts/springs but would give improved clearance.

My driving is almost completely on-road - but I do like to be in a position to take it off the beaten track a few times a year - which is why I like the idea of adjustable.

Agreed. Something like this would be excellent.

Freelander 1 Freelanders are rubbish off roaders

300bhp/ton

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gstuart

D3 Grandad

gstuart

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Nodge68

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ColinNI

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hd3

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GrumpyGel

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Nodge68

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Hippo

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Nodge68

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ColinNI

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ColinNI

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