Freelander 1 Fun in a Freelander

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TSR2

TSR2

Active Member
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146
Location
Edinburgh
This Christmas was the first time I was able to get out in my Freelander and actually make use of its features.

Armed with OS maps, Northumberland County Council online mapping and a bit of common sense I went out and about around Hadrians Wall and Slaley Foret.

Whilst I didn’t push the car’s limits, I was by myself and didn’t want to have to repair it as it’s my daily drive. There was enough grass snagged on the exhaust to convince me to switch to a Muddy Mods exhaust and get a sump guard, exhaust guard.

Regardless, I had a lot of fun and it struck me on the way back that possibly we should have a thread where we celebrate the Hippo, separate from the various repair/problem posts!

Whilst it’s likely this thread will die, I’m going to share some of my pictures and adventures - you’re all welcome to add to it as well.

I’m starting with a couple of the route between Slaley Forest and Blanchland. Certainly not a massive technical challenge, but I want to take my car around the beautiful places in the country and not specifically look for deep puddles, although that did happen.
 

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TSR2 said:
This Christmas was the first time I was able to get out in my Freelander and actually make use of its features.

Armed with OS maps, Northumberland County Council online mapping and a bit of common sense I went out and about around Hadrians Wall and Slaley Foret.

Whilst I didn’t push the car’s limits, I was by myself and didn’t want to have to repair it as it’s my daily drive. There was enough grass snagged on the exhaust to convince me to switch to a Muddy Mods exhaust and get a sump guard, exhaust guard.

Regardless, I had a lot of fun and it struck me on the way back that possibly we should have a thread where we celebrate the Hippo, separate from the various repair/problem posts!

Whilst it’s likely this thread will die, I’m going to share some of my pictures and adventures - you’re all welcome to add to it as well.

I’m starting with a couple of the route between Slaley Forest and Blanchland. Certainly not a massive technical challenge, but I want to take my car around the beautiful places in the country and not specifically look for deep puddles, although that did happen.
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No, this thread won't die. The Freelander should be celebrated as a serious offroader. I took mine (2.5V6) off tarmac for the first time this week as well. Just a little south east of Northumberland in the Ruahines Forest in New Zealand. Although short on mud and snow, she performed admirably well on the steep shale tracks. Keep the pics and the stories coming guys!
 
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I was out playing in mine today too. I've not been anywhere extreme or challenging either but it was rather hilly. Gave me a chance to play with the HDC. Ended up around Trough of Bowland. I need to fit under body plates before I try anything else. This was taken after the hilly part.
 
NewFreeLandy said:
View attachment 166214 I was out playing in mine today too. I've not been anywhere extreme or challenging either but it was rather hilly. Gave me a chance to play with the HDC. Ended up around Trough of Bowland. I need to fit under body plates before I try anything else. This was taken after the hilly part.
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Love the Trough of Bowland area. When I lived in the UK that was a favourite road trip. Lived in West Yorkshire, so it was just over the hill.
 
It's just about 40 minutes away from me. Was up and around Beacon Fell the other week. Again not very demanding but nice and hilly.
 
This was where I began to appreciate how good the HDC is.

As I said in a different thread, it takes a bit of nerve to take your foot away from the brake and trust the car to do the work for you.

I spent most of this descent trying to straddle the ruts (which I did), as I was grounding out slightly in the ruts so to be able to delegate braking to the car was handy.

It did make me think, however just how robust is the HDC and is there anything other than flushing the brake fluid that I can do to keep the system tip top.
 

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HDC forms part of the ABS/ TC system on the FL1 - it's mostly electronic. Maintaining the braking system to peak efficiency is clearly important - so checking the operation of all four brakes and brake fluid is very important. Beyond that, it is all about sensors - and the ECU monitors the function of these. If there's a problem, you'll get the appearance of the infamous "Three Amigos" ;) There are no service parts other than the braking system. :)
 
+1 on peak efficiency. Its not just about having the ability to brake the vehicle to the HDC speed, but also for how long it can do it. The HDC has a 'thermal cut out' - I'm not sure exactly on the term used but it is related to 'thermal'. As there are no heat sensors in the brakes the ECU presumably calculates this on the number of times and for how long the brakes are applied - the more efficiently they are working the less they will be needed and the longer they will work for.

I was chatting to a bloke who was using HDC on his D2 to come down a sand dune in Aus. All was fine till the HDC decided it had overheated the brakes well before the bottom of the dune so turned itself off and the car just plummeted to the bottom! Quite scary by all accounts.
 
GrumpyGel said:
+1 on peak efficiency. Its not just about having the ability to brake the vehicle to the HDC speed, but also for how long it can do it. The HDC has a 'thermal cut out' - I'm not sure exactly on the term used but it is related to 'thermal'. As there are no heat sensors in the brakes the ECU presumably calculates this on the number of times and for how long the brakes are applied - the more efficiently they are working the less they will be needed and the longer they will work for.

I was chatting to a bloke who was using HDC on his D2 to come down a sand dune in Aus. All was fine till the HDC decided it had overheated the brakes well before the bottom of the dune so turned itself off and the car just plummeted to the bottom! Quite scary by all accounts.
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The manual for the FL1 suggests you get a warning on the dash in the form of a flashing HDC symbol with an exclamation mark if the brakes are at risk of overheating, so maybe he had a warning but was too engaged in steering his descent to notice?!
 
rob_bell said:
Yikes!!! :eek:
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I didn't ask him if he was in low-range or what ever - but I definitely learnt the scary way that you need to give your brakes all the assistance you can even when you might not think it needs it. I was out for a local weekend drive from Port Levy to Pigeon Bay just outside Chch in my D1 with 6 on board, it is a 'gravel back road' but didn't seem to dramatic - quite twisty in places with a climb then decent of no more than 400m - but coming down into Pigeon Bay my brakes overheated and went completely. Luckily it happened just as the road leveled and back onto tarmac and we coasted rather than plummeted.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Pig...68479a3d0!2m2!1d172.8190896!2d-43.6492118!3e0
 
TSR2 said:
The manual for the FL1 suggests you get a warning on the dash in the form of a flashing HDC symbol with an exclamation mark if the brakes are at risk of overheating, so maybe he had a warning but was too engaged in steering his descent to notice?!
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Yeh, I suppose there's no reason to be looking at the dash - which is why it blinks maybe, to try and draw your attention to it.
 
I guess that is part of the reason why 2001+ model year FL1s got vented front discs and larger rear drums?

Does the D1 need larger brakes/ better brake cooling?
 
GrumpyGel said:
Maybe, Freelander is a lot lighter than Discovery, but no low-range.
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Light weight helps a lot in almost every vehicle performance parameter - a reason why I dislike so many modern cars: why all the added equipment and weight?
Good point about the lack of low-range - the reason why HDC came into being in the first place. The lack of very low gears is less of a problem on a lighter vehicle, but if one puts on larger diameter tyres to get more ground clearance, your first gear isn't as low as it was with standard tyres...

GrumpyGel said:
Mine did that day - or a better/more experienced driver!
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Looking at D1 rotors - they're the size of bottle tops - so hardly your fault! Higher rated pads are probably good idea?
 
rob_bell said:
Light weight helps a lot in almost every vehicle performance parameter - a reason why I dislike so many modern cars: why all the added equipment and weight?
Good point about the lack of low-range - the reason why HDC came into being in the first place. The lack of very low gears is less of a problem on a lighter vehicle, but if one puts on larger diameter tyres to get more ground clearance, your first gear isn't as low as it was with standard tyres...
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Yes, I do wonder if some of the 'safety features' enforced in modern cars do actually aid safety or contribute to needing them! In the same way emission reduction measures actually have the reverse effect - for example EGR valves, with all the best wishes in the world are not maintained properly meaning lots more fuel is actually burn than is needed.

The larger tyres are definitely a hindrance in many ways. Not only does it reduce the braking effect of the engine, but at the other end of the scale reduces torque. So unless you absolutely need the clearance, they are a negative addition to the vehicle.
rob_bell said:
Looking at D1 rotors - they're the size of bottle tops - so hardly your fault! Higher rated pads are probably good idea?
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I have to say that on UK and European motorways I found the brakes on my Discovery really dangerous. The braking distance at motorway speeds is scarily long. I should think they are not to different to those on a RRC and I had a mate here who would lose his brakes on his towing his boat over to 'the Coast'. That though does have a decent/ascent most horriblous through the Otira Gorge. This is the Freelander steaming (or rather crawling) up it...



I have that climb to make again next month, with 5 on board rather than just 2 - not looking forward to it!
 
If the disco had gone down the hill int low range it would have reduced the effort needed by hdc as the engine braking would have been greater.
 
On the subject of sensible modifications to be a bit better off road, I'm not too keen on a lift kit mainly because it seems to require cutting stuff and a loss of on-road handling. However, I'm going to fit a slim-line exhaust which should give me an extra 30mm or so, and then I was considering getting a sump guard and exhaust guard.

I am also interested to know if it's worth considering something to offer protection to the VCU, but again maybe I'm running away with myself.
 
I replaced the plastic insert on the under engine cover with alloy sheet. Its 2mm, but in retrospect, should have gone for 5mm. But that said, it still does the job, although it needed quite a lot of re-shaping following the last trip over Salisbury Plain!

The VCU has quite a few scratches on it. I guess some kind of protection would protect it and more importantly the bearings. The latter, I am sure, are not designed to carry the vehicle's weight while still permitting rotation! I've seen a DIY guard on here some while back. Quite crude angle-iron job, but I am sure it did the job!

I don't seem to hit the rear box on mine but a slim-line exhaust probably a good idea. However, the lowest point on the car is that front sump guard.

BTW, a 40mm lift shouldn't require any cutting to fit (so I'm told) and doesn't cause on-road handling issues (@Alibro - you found the 50mm lift to be quite acceptable as I recall?)
 
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