disco3.co.uk - 'snowy' getting instruction in his Land Rover Discovery 3 on the 'Elephant's footprints' at 4x4 solutions Eastwell Manor course, Ashford. Kent
the instructor was correct when the left wheel was up high the right wheel was pushed down by the cross linked suspension and when the right wheel was pushed down and still in the air the traction control stopped the right wheel from turning and put all the power to the ;eft wheel to keep the vehicle moving forward
AAH! The much vaunted traction control! There is however nothing in that axle twister which I could not accomplish equally as easily in my own 1988 90. Yes, it has a lifted and extended suspension and so on but it is the skill and the knowledge of the driver who makes the setup, however complicated, however simple, actually perform.
Wasn't traction control, cause that does not work when Terrain Response is selected. The rear diff was locked so yes it will still rotate in the air. Plus the air suspension lowers any wheel where spin is detected to gain traction also. It is called Super extended mode. Don't bother to tackle me over my statement, I drive a D3 in Africa on 4x4 tracks. This instructa must read the 1 inch thick manual for the Disco rather.
that guy does not know about suspension,it has a independent suspension,so the other wheel was not pushing the other one down,only older solid axle rovers do that.they need to get people that know what their talking about
if you listened to what he was saying you're wrong. The cross link valves in the air suspension open when they detect high enough angles which then equalizes the pressure across the front axle and then across the rear axle. Which then pushes the wheel downwards in fact a lot harder than a live axle would which only had dead weight holding it down.
No Russel, each wheel's height is set by a gradient sensor/arm link which tells the ECU where the wheel is, and air is distributed. And please, the day you show me an axle on a Discovery 3 / 4, is the day the world starts spinning the other way!
ysman007 you're only partially right. The self levelling is however disabled with the rock crawl program enabled and air moves from the compressed strut across to the extended one physically pushing it further down in order to maximise grip. It's a characteristic specific to the D3/4's
Sorry but I have done off-roading for over 10 years and all these instructors talk rubbish!They would not stand a chance in deep mud or in a real off road situation . "Those who can't do teach" the wise words of Jack Black
what experience have you had with the discovery 3/4 then? Because they actually do fantastically well in real offroad situations. being such a heavy car definitely hinders it in deep mud but the reality is unless you're driving a 10 inch lifted 40 inch tyres type of vehicle you will get bogged in mud thats deep enough.
I don' t think he was referring to the vehicle, but perhaps the instructor. Yes the D3 is an awesome 4x4, but indeed not intended for deep water crossings or some mud pits.