LR3 Off-Road Terrain Response Settings

Casey Pontes

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2019
54
7
Utah
Greetings,

I spent an hour today experimenting with the LR3’s off-road terrain response settings on a cross-axle articulation hill climb. I was wanting to establish which settings are most effective at engaging the tires which have traction in order to move the vehicle forward, as well as at what rpm and for how long I needed to spin my tires before the TR worked its magic.

One thing I immediately realized was that there is a sweet spot for rpms and wheel spin time. The TR does not kick in automatically at too low or too high of rpms. Also, the TR appears to apply power to the grounded tires in spurts (the vehicle applies power to the grounded tire little-by-little) until finally making headway with forward motion. I also noticed that two-foot driving appears to reset the TR.

My experiences today left me wondering what other peoples’ experiences are with the TR in their LR3s. For cross axle articulation instances, which TR setting do you all believe works best, and at what rpm do you spin your tires? How long does it take you before the vehicle begins moving at the mentioned rpm and TR setting?

I was impressed by the TR. When it engaged enough to move the vehicle forward, it produced a comparable result to a locker, although it took much longer than a locker’s flip-of-a-switch. The vehicle is heavy, and I was facing uphill, so quite a lot of power was being transferred to move the vehicle forward. Because of this, I kept my rpms relatively low to avoid damaging a drivetrain component. I successfully ascended the hill in most of the TR settings.

The LR3 is new-ish to me (been building it up over the last year), so I haven’t had a good chance to test its true capabilities until today… its easy to 4wheel vehicles and never really “test” them.

Note: I was in low range / 2nd gear during my testing, and had DSC off.

Thanks,
Casey
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
LR4, so it's pretty similar. I've found mud and ruts to be the best setting for almost all off-road situations, except for actual slow speed crawling where rock crawl is better. a steady foot is best, but if you aren't making any headway a little more throttle lets the computer know you want to keep going and it'll figure it out. It's quick, but seems slow only because I think I'm really waiting for it to work since used to having auto lockers or selectable and no traction control (or just straight up open axles).

I've been in a couple cross-axle'd situations in 5-6" of fresh snow over soft sand and had to really let the motor eat. I've found that there is a point where the truck's control systems eventually just give up and say, "ok I'll lock everything up and let you have all the power you want" which is really nice, but it takes a little while for you to get there. 5-6 seconds of throttle application maybe? which is a long time when you're not moving.
 
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Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
561
Seattle
Some Terrain Response settings are not intuitive. For example, when driving my LR3 at the Land Rover Experience Center in NC, the instructors' guidance was to set Terrain Response to grass + snow although we were in muddy ruts. Not what I would have chosen, but it worked. Turning DSC off changes how the vehicle behaves, so experiment with that, as well. Rock crawl gives great low speed control, but the way it changes throttle response makes it impractical for a range of other conditions. I also didn't find the sand mode to be particularly effective when driving on Oregon's dunes, but I also didn't air down and had 1,000 pounds of gear in the vehicle. You can also customize Terrain Response programs with the Gap iiD tool, but I haven't yet found a need to explore that.

Here's where the LR driving instructors told me to use grass + snow:

IMG_9979.JPG
 
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Casey Pontes

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2019
54
7
Utah
Tugela, care to expand more upon your experience with TR at the LR Experience Center? They recommended grass/snow for muddy, rutted terrain… any other non-intuitive recommendations or advice given for throttle/brake modulation? I’m really wanting to explore the TR in depth out in the field and am gathering as much info as possible. If I come across some really solid insights while testing, I might do a write-up for other users.

Speaking of write ups, is there already one online that goes in-depth about the TR for out-in-the-field scenarios? Also curious about eventually using the IID to dial the TR in. Again, any write-ups?

Thanks for your guys’ input! I live and work at an OHV area, so I have immediate access to testing grounds… : ). Taking the D1 this afternoon to work on my two-foot TrueTrac engagement on hill-climbs…
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
561
Seattle
Tugela, care to expand more upon your experience with TR at the LR Experience Center? They recommended grass/snow for muddy, rutted terrain… any other non-intuitive recommendations or advice given for throttle/brake modulation?

I attended an Owners' Day event at Biltmore where you get to drive your personal vehicle on the trails (as opposed to using one of the Center's fleet vehicles, which is usually how they operate). I ended up in a group of 13 vehicles, all but two of which were independent suspension Land Rovers with Terrain Response. Of those modern vehicles, I think mine was the only one that wasn't in showroom configuration. Much of the day involved the instructors coaching the (mostly) inexperienced drivers through thick, soupy mud. I had my recovery gear with me and got to tow a 1995 RRC out of the mire a couple times (its differentials kept dragging in the mud). All the modern vehicles handled the conditions, including the LR4 with no transfer case. The instructors kept it simple and focused on technique that was appropriate to the skill level of the group: go easy on the throttle, don't give too much steering input, let the technology do its thing. The only surprising lesson that day was the TR setting. We didn't have one in our group, but an instructor told me he's had owners in Evoques out on the trail and they manage alright.

I had only owned my LR3 for a few months at this point and was simultaneously impressed and disappointed by its performance. Impressed because it eased through challenging conditions without much driver input, disappointed because it eased through challenging conditions without much driver input. My D1 would have struggled like that RRC did, but I probably would have had more fun. Still, both have their place in the stable and I have to plans to part with either any time soon.

EDIT: I also spent some time in the new Defender. Talk about making it easy...

D110-puddle-Copy-536x410.jpg
 
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Casey Pontes

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2019
54
7
Utah
Thank you!
I attended an Owners' Day event at Biltmore where you get to drive your personal vehicle on the trails (as opposed to using one of the Center's fleet vehicles, which is usually how they operate). I ended up in a group of 13 vehicles, all but two of which were independent suspension Land Rovers with Terrain Response. Of those modern vehicles, I think mine was the only one that wasn't in showroom configuration. Much of the day involved the instructors coaching the (mostly) inexperienced drivers through thick, soupy mud. I had my recovery gear with me and got to tow a 1995 RRC out of the mire a couple times (its differentials kept dragging in the mud). All the modern vehicles handled the conditions, including the LR4 with no transfer case. The instructors kept it simple and focused on technique that was appropriate to the skill level of the group: go easy on the throttle, don't give too much steering input, let the technology do its thing. The only surprising lesson that day was the TR setting. We didn't have one in our group, but an instructor told me he's had owners in Evoques out on the trail and they manage alright.

I had only owned my LR3 for a few months at this point and was simultaneously impressed and disappointed by its performance. Impressed because it eased through challenging conditions without much driver input, disappointed because it eased through challenging conditions without much driver input. My D1 would have struggled like that RRC did, but I probably would have had more fun. Still, both have their place in the stable and I have to plans to part with either any time soon.
Like you, I have both a D1 and LR3. Can’t imagine getting rid of either. Had an RRC, but didnt fit in it. Im upwards of 6ft, so my head was always smashing up against the headliner!

Thanks for your responses!
 

Errant

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2004
767
20
Southern California
2K RPM seems to be the sweet spot for the TR. There's been a bit of a learning curve with the LR4 compared to the D1, but I'm getting the hang of it. Trusting the tech to do its thing has been the hardest part.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Trust the tech. I got in a pissing match with my father in law about a steep hill on the farm he grew up on. He kept pointing at an old shitbox Dodge pickup truck and telling me that the LR3 would never make it up the hill, you need something like that. I told him that the LR3 has about 10 computers onboard who's jobs it is to make sure that truck gets up that hill. It was my wifes truck and she forbid me to drive up the hill and also forbid me to keep arguing with her father. But that LR3 would have gone up that hill for sure.
 

Casey Pontes

Well-known member
Mar 24, 2019
54
7
Utah
The IID tool cannot be used to adjust the outputs of the terrain response system, as per a GAP engineer:

“LR does not allow such changes thus we cannot grant access. It simply does not exist.”

Just fyi for anyone interested…
 
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