L

landymon

Member
Thought of a Defender 90 to use it as Motorway cruiser in disguise, with no towing involved.

Briefly looked through Google and seems the options are to use a LT230 1.2 Transfer box and 3.54:1 Diffs along with 16" wheels.
Is this a reasonable assessment for approx 2500 rpm at 70mph.

Next would be an engine best suited with the above but not being a lame duck for accelerating with reasonable MPG.
 
Last edited:
You will no doubt have seen this answer too “wrong vehicle!”. Serious question - have you ever driven a Defender on a motorway? If not, they’re really not the right vehicle for ‘cruising’ along comfortably, if yes, than a Disco transfer box with slightly larger tires is the way to go.
 
If you can, borrow one and spend a few hours on the motorway in the cold and rain. Once in a while is fine but if you are thinking of it as a daily thing, think, and I don’t believe I am saying this, Freelander. That is if you don’t need it to tow anything more than the skin off a rice pud. :)

M
 
Last edited:
My 110 has a 300tdi a 1.2:1 transfer box and 750x16 tyres, it will cruise at 70mph on the motorway, but I'm not sure it does much for its fuel consumption.
It will do 80+ but Land Rovers aren't really designed for that, in practice I tend to keep it around 60mph, you can still have shouted conversations at this speed.
 
I guess the first question should be, what engine?
200/300 forget it, yes they can do it just.
Td5 yes, but its still got the utter ****e heater set up.
But 70 is really going to cane your mpg big time.

A 1.2 nissan micra will also do it but faster/safer/more comfortable and getting on for twice the mpg, plus of course needing very little tlc.

Guy at work does 45miles each way on his commute and runs a fiesta 1.2 or maybe its a 1.3 diesel? whole journey is pretty much motorway and reckons he gets 50 plus mpg.
 
lynall said:
I guess the first question should be, what engine?
200/300 forget it, yes they can do it just.
Td5 yes, but its still got the utter ****e heater set up.
But 70 is really going to cane your mpg big time.

A 1.2 nissan micra will also do it but faster/safer/more comfortable and getting on for twice the mpg, plus of course needing very little tlc.

Guy at work does 45miles each way on his commute and runs a fiesta 1.2 or maybe its a 1.3 diesel? whole journey is pretty much motorway and reckons he gets 50 plus mpg.
Click to expand...
Daughters 1.5 Diesel Micra is currently doing 59MPG!, Goes like stink to as its very light.
I just feel a defender will never compete with some of the good motorway cars out there, its like trying to find a micra to tow 2 ton, different vehicles for different purposes.
When I had my first Disco I had a small car for the commute as it saved me a fortune in fuel
 
wireman said:
This might help you work out what you want/need.

https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/calc/ratio_calc.html

I have a Td5 90 with 235/85/16 tyres and a disco transfer box and I can sit all day at 65, I've never owned a car so I am well used to using a series on a motorway so this 90 is refined by comparison.
Click to expand...

They are the same tyres that I run, and I'm seriously considering the transfer box swap, how do you find it? Nice to use in everyday use? Does it quieten the cab down noticeably? What sort of average mpg do you get now? Sorry for all the questions it's been on my mind along time now, with my remap I'm in top gear at 20mph which is a bit silly really, anything over 45 mph and it sounds like it's revving more than it should! Cheers dude
 
wireman said:
This might help you work out what you want/need.

https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/calc/ratio_calc.html

I have a Td5 90 with 235/85/16 tyres and a disco transfer box and I can sit all day at 65, I've never owned a car so I am well used to using a series on a motorway so this 90 is refined by comparison.
Click to expand...

I have a 200tdi in mine, ignore @lynall saying to forget one of those, that are fine, and much easier to work on than the later models. Also ignore any one telling to buy a rusty discovery, they will just be trying to off load their one so they can get a defender instead :D

Mine is a 200tdi, 1.2 transfer box, 265/75/16 bfg AT's and I get 50mph at 2000rpm and 75mph at 3000rpm, but similar to @wireman I tend to stick around 65-70. I do about 25k a year on mine (including towing) and it is fine on the motorway. I have some sound proofing on the bulkhead and seatbox, and a full headlining, but other than that is is a standard hardtop. I did 1000 miles of solid motorway driving in 20 hours earlier this year on the way down to morocco, and got out at the end of the day feeling fine. MPG is the problem, at 65ish I can get 27mpg (I run heavy with addons and have a roof rack) but if I am doing a run at 75-80 that will drop down to 23/24mpg.

I am in same boat as @wireman however, I bought the 110 when I was 18 and have it is all I have drive meaningfully for the last 10 year other than the series so I am very much used to its speed, comfort, and mpg levels. Due to this when I have toyed with additional vehicles (jag s-type, work Hilux) although they will go faster and possibly be more comfortable (a debatable point as I am so used to the 110 I adjust every other car seat to be as near to the 110 driving position as possible) for me this did not out weigh the down sides, such as sitting on the floor with no visibility of what was going on around you, and being full of electrical gimmicks I did not want and just went wrong!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Matt2000
Disco 1 Overgeared & Underpowered 200Tdi Options
Replies
0
Views
1K
Matt2000
Matt2000
mikerajjers
LT230 gear ratios
Replies
7
Views
3K
mikerajjers
mikerajjers
andyschleckscheshirecat
Disco 3 (LR3) 2006 Clutch/ DMF replacement ( Manual )
Replies
2
Views
2K
andyschleckscheshirecat
andyschleckscheshirecat
FlyingPete
19J and Series gearing
Replies
9
Views
1K
rob1miles
R
MungoPark
Discovery Box in a TD5 Defender, my experience
2 3
Replies
53
Views
10K
MungoPark
MungoPark