about these lil guys that bear the land rover badge.. whats the deal with them? they built like a disco 2? ford escape? anything? i like the looks of them but i've never seen one lifted with big knobby tires heh.. show me some pics!
i'd personally like to know a bit more..
- Thread starter MikeD
- Start date
try no low range, junk and worthless in my opinion, I would buy a jeep (yea i said it) over a freelander.
my dad's got a disco and my mom has a FL. While it seems like many of the people that have the FL's love them - I don't. They are more practical for daily driving (less gas and smaller size) but don't have the same "truck" feel as the discovery - they are more of a cross over vehicle. In my opinion there is no comparision off-road between the two on the trails in my area. I've also got a little chevy tracker and that beats the FL most of the time - the only advantage the FL has is in cross axle situations. The disco is much easier for me to do maintenance on as well, though the FL is a little cheaper at the dealer if i remember right.
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syoung
Guest
Asking a question here about a Freelander is like asking the Brits how they feel about the Germans... old feelings run deep.
Anyway- I bought one of the first Freelanders around and modded the hell out of it. Lifted, big MT's, sliders etc. It was better at mud than my D1 by far and several times has scrambled through things that stopped all the other larger Rovers. On the road, the Freelander is a great driver too... On tight trails, it's even better than my DII.
They'll never be a good 'big rock' machine, but can embarrass many of the bigger Rovers offroad. There's no better Rover for driving in snow- period.
They don't share any parts with any other mini-ute, so ignore the ignorant 'escape' and 'kia' comments. There's no way a competent driver in a Freelander would be left behind by ANY other mini-ute...
Anyway- I bought one of the first Freelanders around and modded the hell out of it. Lifted, big MT's, sliders etc. It was better at mud than my D1 by far and several times has scrambled through things that stopped all the other larger Rovers. On the road, the Freelander is a great driver too... On tight trails, it's even better than my DII.
They'll never be a good 'big rock' machine, but can embarrass many of the bigger Rovers offroad. There's no better Rover for driving in snow- period.
They don't share any parts with any other mini-ute, so ignore the ignorant 'escape' and 'kia' comments. There's no way a competent driver in a Freelander would be left behind by ANY other mini-ute...
Saw a stock Freelander drive some of the more (not the most) difficult trails at Uwharrie. The little guy did just fine.
syoung said:
Why would a FL be better than a DII in snow ? I'm not challenging you here Steve, just honestly curious because I've heard this before.
The things that help in snow & ice, in my experience, are:
1. Weight
2. Wheel base
3. front, all, or 4-wheel drive
4. tires
5. clearance (for deep snow)
6. a way to drag the engine to decelerate (other than the brakes): for example: I would rather have a manual than an auto, all things equal.
DII advantages in these areas:
1. More weight
2. More weight in relation to wheel base (weight to wheel base ratio)
3. 4 wheel drive
4. you can put appropriate snow tires on either, so a wash
5. DII has more clearance, stock, and can be modified for much more
6. DII has low range
Tell me what I'm missing. I recently read a similar statement in an LR magazine, and also a similar statement regarding FL advantages in slick mud/wet grass. But I don't understand it.
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syoung
Guest
I can only speak about comparing my particular FL to my particular 04 DII- but both the Freelander and the Disco have the same Destination MT's on them so it's a pretty good comparison.
The FL traction control works very well- but then again so does the Disco.
The light weight of the FL tends to make it easy to go over snow berms from plows, where the Disco plow into them and loses speed.
The ABS on the Freelander is a bajillion times more effective than the Disco's ABS. The weight of the Disco combined with the touchy and generally horrible ABS makes for a huge butt pucker when trying to stop.
The FL doesn't have low hanging diffs to drag through the snow and slow it down- the underside of mine has 11" of height and nothing hanging down from bumper to bumper. The disco drags it's axles through the snow and 'plows' which causes it to slow down and sometimes the drag would cause it to break traction.
Overall I noticed the Disco had a harder time getting going, harder time stopping and turning the lighter Freelander was often easily done just by a tap of the throttle while giving the hand brake a quick jerk. Turns on a dime in snow if you do that.
I'd take a Subaru or a FL for driving on-road in snow over anything else. The Disco would be a good bit down the list. I think my favourite episode was when I was driving for the hospitals here a few years ago in 19" of fresh snow and came across a military H1- stuck. I rolled down the window and offered the guy a ride- He politely declined and said he had to stay with the truck, then asked where the Land Rover dealer is and if I thought they'd be open during the storm.
The FL traction control works very well- but then again so does the Disco.
The light weight of the FL tends to make it easy to go over snow berms from plows, where the Disco plow into them and loses speed.
The ABS on the Freelander is a bajillion times more effective than the Disco's ABS. The weight of the Disco combined with the touchy and generally horrible ABS makes for a huge butt pucker when trying to stop.
The FL doesn't have low hanging diffs to drag through the snow and slow it down- the underside of mine has 11" of height and nothing hanging down from bumper to bumper. The disco drags it's axles through the snow and 'plows' which causes it to slow down and sometimes the drag would cause it to break traction.
Overall I noticed the Disco had a harder time getting going, harder time stopping and turning the lighter Freelander was often easily done just by a tap of the throttle while giving the hand brake a quick jerk. Turns on a dime in snow if you do that.
I'd take a Subaru or a FL for driving on-road in snow over anything else. The Disco would be a good bit down the list. I think my favourite episode was when I was driving for the hospitals here a few years ago in 19" of fresh snow and came across a military H1- stuck. I rolled down the window and offered the guy a ride- He politely declined and said he had to stay with the truck, then asked where the Land Rover dealer is and if I thought they'd be open during the storm.
..um.. my comment about the kia escape thing was ignorant.. but thats why i was asking questions..
and i concur about the ABS p38s and D2's.. it sucks in the snow.. i lived in vermont for the winter with my truck and i ripped that ABS fuse out as soon as i found it.. after that the truck was fine..
i want to see pictures of this jacked up big tired free lander.. i'm curious
and i concur about the ABS p38s and D2's.. it sucks in the snow.. i lived in vermont for the winter with my truck and i ripped that ABS fuse out as soon as i found it.. after that the truck was fine..
i want to see pictures of this jacked up big tired free lander.. i'm curious
syoung said:I think my favourite episode was when I was driving for the hospitals here a few years ago in 19" of fresh snow and came across a military H1- stuck. I rolled down the window and offered the guy a ride- He politely declined and said he had to stay with the truck, then asked where the Land Rover dealer is and if I thought they'd be open during the storm.
This is classic. Can you imagine pics of a FL towing out an H1? DWeb hall of fame !
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syoung
Guest
I *really* wanted to do it- but he said he'd get in trouble. Apparently if you get stuck and have someone other than the Army pull it out and it gets damaged- it's article 15 time.
I think all he needed to do was lower the pressure in the CTIS.
I think all he needed to do was lower the pressure in the CTIS.
syoung said:
Yeah, I guess we are a minority, Steve....
Anyway, the Freelander is what it is, but I like it. We just got back from a road trip; NJ - Las Vegas - LA - Yosemite - Lake Tahoe - NJ, with 3 adults plus luggage. There was no doubt in my mind which vehicle to take on that trip, the Freelander of course. For road trips, it is no contest. Better ride, better mileage, and more room than what it appears to have. I was also very impressed when it managed to stop in 10-15 yards at a panic stop from 65mph at one point during the trip. No way my Disco can do that. The Disco will still be first choice for Moab, though....
Whats the biggest tire you can fit on a stock FL? Also whats the highest lift available, two inches? And whats the biggest tire you can get on it with the biggest lift? My sister is thinking about a FL but it sits to low stock.
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syoung
Guest
Stock- you can fit a 225-70-16 easily and some people run 225-75-16 although some brands can rub a bit. With the DAP lift (2") you can't really go bigger than 225-75 because of the stock wheel offset and the strut spring perches. Run some Ford Ranger wheels and you can do 31"
Between the Ironman lift springs (we import a few now and then) and the DAP lift, the DAP lift offers better offroad prowess but the springs are maybe a tad "safer" for the people worried about modding.
Axel- Once you experience a panic stop in a Freelander, it's hard to believe how well they stop, eh? Freelanders really are great at a lot of things, but I agree- for MOAB, I'd take my Disco. For a run to the store in 2 feet of snow, I'd take the Freelander.
Between the Ironman lift springs (we import a few now and then) and the DAP lift, the DAP lift offers better offroad prowess but the springs are maybe a tad "safer" for the people worried about modding.
Axel- Once you experience a panic stop in a Freelander, it's hard to believe how well they stop, eh? Freelanders really are great at a lot of things, but I agree- for MOAB, I'd take my Disco. For a run to the store in 2 feet of snow, I'd take the Freelander.
syoung said:Stock- you can fit a 225-70-16 easily and some people run 225-75-16 although some brands can rub a bit. With the DAP lift (2") you can't really go bigger than 225-75 because of the stock wheel offset and the strut spring perches. Run some Ford Ranger wheels and you can do 31"
Ford Ranger wheels, I did not know you could do that. A two inch lift and 31's sound good to me.
Is the DAP two inch lift the tallest thing available?
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syoung
Guest
Yup- DAP lift is the highest you can safely go. The angles on the CV's get a little crazy if you try to go higher. With some aftermarket axles and custom CV's you could go higher- but for a big price.
The problem with sticking a huge tyre under there is that you lose a LOT of performance.
The problem with sticking a huge tyre under there is that you lose a LOT of performance.
syoung said:
Yes, I was amazed at how quickly it stopped. Explains why it goes through brakepads as fast as it does, but that's a small price to pay for that kind of stopping power. The ABS actually worked as advertised too, there wasn't much tire squeal.
And for those curious, this happened on Rt 46 in the middle of nowhere in California, when some guy decided to make a left turn in front of us. Of course he was the one who had the green light , I only saw the blinking yellow in front of the regular traffic signals - odd configuration, but I should have paid more attention........
Scared the crap out of the other guy, though