LR3 bashers...

K

Kyle

Guest
"Is it me, or are there people out there (look down the list of "last posted by" names on this forum) who have nothing to do with their time other than berate the LR3??? I have a disco that I love, but I am also open minded enough to see that the LR3 is a very nice car. "

That pretty much says it all.."Its a very nice car"... However , its only a "Nice Car" in the rhealm of Land Rover. If I wanted a "Nice Car" there is better out there to be had...

Also , you ask how many have driven it , blah blah blah. I ask , how many of those that HAVE driven it have driven it where its step parents have been ? Actually , how much off road experience do you have in a Land Rover product ?

I absolutely LOVE when this "Cant afford it" thing comes up.. Is that like a way of throwing a blanket over everyone that doesnt like it (For valid reasons) and calling them poor and there fore they dont get it ?

I am glad Steve mentioned the freeloader cause this thing goes right in the same class with it... Its a people mover............. Ford should start to rebadge the enw stuff and call it "Road Rover".........
 
R

Rocky

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2004
2,180
7
Red Sox Nation
Love it when Kyle gets going.

I predict that Ford will stop the Freelander name in the US at least and steal it for their next generation escape.

I really really really like the Lr3. I could if I wanted to spend the money. But with kids their buddies and sports there is no way I am spending 50 big ones on something they are going to trash.
 
D

Dan Ratcliffe

Guest
Okay, I'll play.

My Off-road experience
1974-2005
Hawaiian Islands - M151A1/A2
Sardinia, Italy - M151A1
North and South Carolina - M151A1, M35, M561, Izusu Trooper
Okinawa, Japan - M151A1, M35, M998
Oman - Defender 110, M998
North and South Carolina, Virginia, Numerous off-road events in a 1960 Series II and 1997 Discovery
Border to Border 9,000 miles in a 1960 Series II.
I have some where in the neighborhood of 4,000 hours of off road driving. (250 days x 16hr = 4,000) A conservative estimate.
I spend 15-30 hours each month off road in Range Rovers, LR3's and Freelanders, and 10 to 15 hours in a 1960 Series II off road each month. Of course these are stock vehicles I am driving, I am sure that makes the experience a lesser one than is required to have an opinion that may have actual value.

Based upon my limited experience, and in my humble opinion, these cars are absolutely Land Rovers. Each of them different, each with capabilites and limitations, but clearly Land Rovers.
 
K

Kyle

Guest
Definately not.... I think in stock form they are lesser of course but I pretty much expect the opinions to be "They do really well for a stock vehicle" howver that doesnt really tell the whole story.
What a vehicle is "Capable" of is relative I suppose. reguardless of the hype , the LR3 and its IFS is crap by design. Why do you think the Bumper is so freaking huge on the front of it ? Its to cover all that bullshit hanging down off of it.. Ultimately what cracks me up about LR going over to IFS on everythign is that they used to hang the little poster in every show room bashing IFS.... People complain about CV joints , its always CV joints. CV joint this . upgrade that... And thats for two... So lets talk about 8 of them that are already running on an angle...
 
D

Dan Ratcliffe

Guest
Haven't heard anyone bashing live axles. Cross-link does a lot to aleviate the short comings of mechanical IFS, while maintaining, actually significantly improving on road performance.

As most of us know, it is the relatively high unsprung weight that comes with solid axles that causes much of the on road handling issues. Losing some of that weight and returning much of the live axle chacteristics through cross link helps maintain much of the off-road capabilites. There is a lot of discussion about the crosslink technology and whether it is worth the cost; like all things, we have to wait and see how the discussion goes.

As for posters, marketing is marketing, and Land Rover certainly doesn't abuse that any more than any one else.
 
K

Kyle

Guest
Glad you brought up "Cross linking" . What system is that on exactly ? That wouldnt be between the AIR BAGS would it ? :) So now we are up to 4 air bags and 8 CV joints...
 
C

cyoc62

Well-known member
Apr 8, 2005
944
0
56
Somewhere near Atlanta
I CAN'T afford a new LR3!! And I don't think any vehicle is worth that kind of money. Well maybe Ferarri, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Bentley, that G3 thing, I think. Performance IS definitely subjective. I've met Dan, and you don't want to follow him in his Series "on road", talk about burning up the brakes ;) Follow him off road, and that Series is impressive. Performance of a different kind. I was the owner of a 98 stock Disco and I'd put that up against my 95 "upgraded" Disco anyday. If you want true off road performance, go with a gently used military Hummer. You want on road performance, buy a sedan! I love it when people get all bent out of shape over opinions. Hey! My 95 Disco SUCKS! Someone tell me how to get some performance back, please.
 
D

Dan Ratcliffe

Guest
It is a part of the Electronic Air Suspension. Basically it transfers air between the air springs. The goal is to mimic the articulation you get with live axles. This helps to keep the center of the vehicle from lowering itself, such as when a tire is on an obstacle (a common issue with most IFS's) and maintaining much of the ground you would expect to see with a live axle. It can also help to level the vehicle, and reduce some of the body lean.

It really is amazing to watch, but like all vehicles. Clearances need to be looked after.
 
S

syoung

Guest
I just got back from a weekend of wheelin- two Defenders (110 and 90), an LR3, a D1, two 04 DII's and a gaggle of Freelanders. The 110 made everything look easy... but other than that the only time the LR3 had trouble was directly related to the friggin LAME goodyears they put on it at the factory. The only trouble the Freelanders had were the ones who weren't lifted and running sliders were denting those paper thin sills. There were times the Freelanders rocked right through things that the bigger Rovers had a hard time with- As has been said earlier- each vehicle has strengths and weaknesses.
The LR3 may never become the choice for the 'hard core' wheeler, but it definately can 'do stuff' better than the vast majority of competitor vehicles.
 
K

Kyle

Guest
I knew what it was Dan :) I was pointing out the fact that it was related to the AIR BAGS... Steve , if the freebies were going through and the LRs were going through with no sliders then you werent doing anything signifigant.... My Ford truck can drive down a dirt road just fine..
 
S

syoung

Guest
So it has to have bigass rocks to be 'significant' ?? Long climbs on wet leaves next to a big dropoff has more pucker factor to me than just dragging a slider over a rock.
The rocks we ran across were sometimes large, but the little Freelanders just went between them- I wish my sliders were done, but I didn't take any damage.
The LR3 isn't going to be a big rock crawler, nor will a Freelander- but in mucky stuff they do as well as and sometimes (if not often) better than Discos... especially early Discos without lockers, traction control etc.
 
K

Kyle

Guest
Its not only a big rock that can sill damage . Large breakovers... Most the the good climbs have you bang a slider when you break over... the list goes on and on... The old rovers were CAPABLE of doing this . Yes you would have to giove them a little help sometimes but in the end they were able to do whatever you wanted them to. The LR 3 the new rangie and the Freeloader will never be as adapt to the changes it takes to enable them to handle "Come what may". Sure ,I am certain at some point people will start doing kits for dropping this and raising that and moving this and cutting that off.. But again , they are not and will never be what their step parents were and are.... Therefore they are not as "Capable"
 
S

syoung

Guest
In general my Disco(s) can take on larger rocks than my Freelander- the sills on the Disco are higher. The Freelander can straddle a larger rock than my Disco can- Freelander diff is 12" off the ground, the Disco pumpkin is lower.

Kyle- you're right about the newer ones needing some 'mod' to do what the older ones can. But then again the Disco has crappy plastic sills! They NEED sliders too. ;)
 
K

Kyle

Guest
Sure , mod away.... How about, lowering its clearance by two inches when you have to mount under the Rocker panels instead of replacing them ?

How bout this , I feel my white truck is about as far as it can go sanely. Its not at the end of the line for sure but its a driver and can still be driven anywhere fairly comfortable. Its been done with faily inexpensive mods. Get everything you can on the freelander and follow me..... Or the LR 3 , I dont care which....
 
S

syoung

Guest
I agree with you about 90%... but the 'follow me' thing has a logic flaw in it. There are times when you wouldn't be able to follow me in some conditions, just as in other conditions I wouldn't be able to follow you. As consumers/hobbyists/whatever, people need to determine what they need and get the appropriate vehicle. There hasn't been one made so far that can do EVERYTHING perfectly.

I love my 04DII... absolutely love it, but sometimes it's more fun to run the Freelander like a rallye machine through high speed 4 wheel drifts off pavement. The Disco couldn't do that. It's also better in snow than the DII- They *all* have their place.

I've got some pics of the LR3 cross-axled and I was really amazed that it could articulate as well as it did. The front doesn't seem to flex well, but the rear appeared to have more range than my DII.
 
K

Kyle

Guest
Yeah , I am sure it works real niiiiiiiiiiiice , that is , until the bags start breaking.... And in trail situation there are more places that freelander wont go then there are places that Disco wont.... But I will leave the offer open as the mods come out for both... I however will not tow the broken bitch out after going through this like a million times.. :)
 
G

g4hawaii

Guest
RoverDude said:
285/60/18 All Terrain from Nitto. I have a customer running these. I'll post pictures later.
Click to expand...


I looked into these tires, they look pretty good from the website. I wish there were a M/T available, but these look good. Do you know if the tires rub at all? I would love to see those pic's
 
S

syoung

Guest
the guys with the 19" HSE's are sunk though... anyone know 100% for sure if the 17" BMW wheels fit?
 
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