Low geared auto?

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scottybatch

New Member
Posts
14
Location
Herefordshire
Hi, I've got a Defender double cab with on/off road spec, trouble is it's fitted with a low Ratio auto box, which is great for off road but not great on road:(. The question is, is there a way of making my landy more road friendly without fitting another box? Would Putting bigger tyres on help?
 
Bigger tyres would solve the ratio problem but only if they were something like 35 and then you would also need a lift. This will decrease cornering speed so you will then need spacers. See where this is going? there are a lot of things to do but non as simple as swapping the box. Personally I'd love a box low enough to put 40 inch tyres on but then again mine is just a toy.
 
scottybatch said:
Hi, I've got a Defender double cab with on/off road spec, trouble is it's fitted with a low Ratio auto box, which is great for off road but not great on road:(. The question is, is there a way of making my landy more road friendly without fitting another box? Would Putting bigger tyres on help?
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monday morning so trying to make sense of this, are you in low ratio (little stick in gearbox area pushed forward)? If so pull the lever back (towards you) for high range.

If it is in high range and still slow like most dependers (max comfortable speed around 60-70mph) then you could replace the transfer box with one from a disco or you could go the bigger tyre route which with the lift, new tyres etc would cost a hell of a lot more.
 
khaos said:
Bigger tyres would solve the ratio problem but only if they were something like 35 and then you would also need a lift. This will decrease cornering speed so you will then need spacers. See where this is going? there are a lot of things to do but non as simple as swapping the box. Personally I'd love a box low enough to put 40 inch tyres on but then again mine is just a toy.
Click to expand...

It's already got a 2'' lift:), I've got a set of 30mm spacers and some wider wheel arches, so I may be going down the bigger tyre road. Forgot to mention that it's a 3.9 v8, so it's 6-10 mpg at the moment:(:eek:
 
Last edited:
low ratio auto boxes dont really exist , its got to be transfer box , in low or your auto box is not changing up !
 
mmmm not sure what your doing wrong ere..but my rr 4.2v8 has an auto box and hi/low
even in low box theres more than 6-10mph..

and even if your auto wasnt changing up when my mates kickdown cable went he could only get it into 2nd gear that was still good for over 60mph
 
tacr2man said:
low ratio auto boxes dont really exist , its got to be transfer box , in low or your auto box is not changing up ![/QUOTE

Are all disco autos 3 forward gears? I forgot to mention that the engine and box are from a Disco. I took a mate out in it and he said it was a low ratio box for off roading. I'm pretty new to defenders so it made sense. All I know is in top gear the revs seem high and the fuel gauge moves down PDQ.
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wiltshire landyman said:
mmmm not sure what your doing wrong ere..but my rr 4.2v8 has an auto box and hi/low
even in low box theres more than 6-10mph..

and even if your auto wasnt changing up when my mates kickdown cable went he could only get it into 2nd gear that was still good for over 60mph
Click to expand...

There is also a problem with the air intake, so the consumption should improve when I get that sorted.:eek:
 
scottybatch said:
tacr2man said:
low ratio auto boxes dont really exist , its got to be transfer box , in low or your auto box is not changing up ![/QUOTE

Are all disco autos 3 forward gears? I forgot to mention that the engine and box are from a Disco. I took a mate out in it and he said it was a low ratio box for off roading. I'm pretty new to defenders so it made sense. All I know is in top gear the revs seem high and the fuel gauge moves down PDQ.
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no 4 gears
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low range does not always need to be used for laning/off roading, its usually used where conditions require it.

You should have 4 gears on a disco auto but you will only see three on the console as D is your final drive and the gears will change automatically the other 3 will limit the top gear selection but it will always start in first. The only way to make it faster is bigger tyres but then you really should not be doing those kind of speeds off road imo as it will only cause damage and i would have thought you would be able to use high range for higher speeds/smoother surfaces.
 
wiltshire landyman said:
so have you mis written yr quote as you said 6-10mph did you mean 6-10mpg?

my 4.2v8 does around 10mpg..
you dont go down the v8 route expecting economy..
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Cheers, I've changed it to MPG now. My last car was a RRC 4.2 v8 which I owned for 7 years, so I do know about filling 'em up:) I just wanted some advice on the auto box. Perhaps every thing is as it should be, but just feel new to me. It hasn't got a rev counter, which doesn't help.
 
I can't for the life of me work this out :confused:

You must be in low ratio. If you can't hit 70 with that set up then there's something wrong. My 200tdi with defender transfer box will do 90 no problem.
 
Sorry for the confusion fellas, my landy does 6-10 MPG not MPH. It pulls along at 60 mph quite nicely:). I think I took too much notice of my mate saying it was a low ratio box:eek: Took it out last night in the snow and it went though all of the gears smoothly in both high and low ratio.:) Thanks for your help.
 
scottybatch said:
Sorry for the confusion fellas, my landy does 6-10 MPG not MPH. It pulls along at 60 mph quite nicely:). I think I took too much notice of my mate saying it was a low ratio box:eek: Took it out last night in the snow and it went though all of the gears smoothly in both high and low ratio.:) Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

Well maybe he just meant that the box is quite low ratio. They are very low ratio compared to normal cars which is why the top speed is so low. It helps when towing and off road. It also allows you to go more slowly without slipping the clutch (although yours is auto). As far as I know, all of the gearboxes are the same ratio.
 
i reckon going from a rangie to a defender with no rev counter it just sounds low geared at 60 or whatever cos defenders are a basic tin box with no sound proofing
... or the low ratio comment may mean the previous owner thought its got a defender transfer box which is a lower ratio to a disco one
 
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