raised air intake? What's the point?

[JSQ]

You are only partially on target there. My car has all the normal systems, they just aren't integrated. The Terrain Control does not in itself provide traction. It just integrates all the systems to reduce the need for driver input.

And so it loses the essential out-of-the-box beauty of the LR3: that it is idiot proof.
Turn a dial and away you go.

My LR3 has all the underlying components, including HDC, SRS, DSC, ABS, Traction Control, and a CDL.

So you have no rear locker?
You're kidding me right? Please tell me you just forgot to list it among the HDC, SRS, DSC, ABS, Traction Control and CDL. You bought an LR3 to offroad and didn't get the locker? That would make your truck the eunuch of all LR3s. Impotent and worthless.

What i do not have is the twirling dial to engage or disengage those functions automagically. They are still there, it just requires a more comprehensive understanding of what they do so that I can employ them to maximum benefit, more or less manually.

More or less manually eh? So you use your jedi-skill to bring all the factors into play and get down the trail? Well guess what? That could be said of just about any vehicle. Any truck will do if you will do. That's like saying, if I air down the tires, put it in low, lock the diffs, throttle modulate, pick a good line and left-foot brake it's because I have "a more comprehensive understanding" of how to drive the truck. That's not a feature of the vehicle, it's my own skill and the same would be true no matter what I was driving. What makes the vehicle special is when it does that shit for you you so you can't fuck it up.

I agree the articulation of the air suspension is awesome, but I love bombing down a Baja style road (like Old Dale Road in Joshua Tree) at 70 mph and not worrying about ground clearance. The stock LR3 won't go over 30 mph in off road mode. I also like the fact that should I get the funds to do so, I can swap out my suspension for a true long travel system set up, without trying to figure out how to give the ECU a lobotomy.

Seriously?
The more you type the more you show your ignorance. The LR3 will not do over 30 in high ride height setting because with the EAS topped out it lacks smooth up travel which is more critical for high speed hits than clearance. Keep the LR3 in normal ride height and drive as fast as your skills can keep up with. Since you like "Baja style" roads, you ever look at a Trophy Truck? Guess what? It's all sagged out. Why? Because a balance of up AND down travel is what counts at high speed offroad. Not clearance.

If you ever want to see an LR3 turned into a hard core off road rig, you would need to start with one like mine.

That's just it.
You're deluding yourself.
The LR3 will never be "a hard core off road rig".
Especially not yours. Everything about it's design is a limitation for "hard core". The list is near endless and it's not just the electronics you're so proud not to have. It's the CV's and independent suspension. It's the huge body work. It's the total lack of real aftermarket.
What the LR3 CAN be is the stealth mobile stocker that will get out there and kick ass in total daily-driver off-the-lot guise. It looks like a chump-mobile and then it hands other trucks their ass. But once you try to make it look "badass" with a sweet sweet roof rack and some lights, well then you just bought property in Poseur City, USA. Because now you're trying to look offroad-tuff, but your truck will never be able to walk the walk with the rest of the big kids. You might as well bolt a shovel to the middle of your hood.

 

[Leslie]

Master Woods,

To put it politely, you need to listen to Jack here. He speaks the truth.

 

[bgsntth]

Not to get into your folks back and forth, but did have one question/observation regarding the water crossings.

As it seems really necessary on this board: my offroading experience is limited to purely getting where I need to go on a coastal ranch with steep itty-bitty roads (Carmel/Big Sur) and Central American surf exploration; which was more survival, and getting ourselves out of bad situations we place ourselves in during our search for waves. On the latter, the cardinal rule was never to create a bow wake during river crossings. As this inevitably raised the water level. Does the location of the air intake on the LR3 make this rule not applicable? I have a 2006 V8 LR3, for the record.

 

[PacificGroveRover]

And so it loses the essential out-of-the-box beauty of the LR3: that it is idiot proof.
Turn a dial and away you go.



So you have no rear locker?
You're kidding me right? Please tell me you just forgot to list it among the HDC, SRS, DSC, ABS, Traction Control and CDL. You bought an LR3 to offroad and didn't get the locker? That would make your truck the eunuch of all LR3s. Impotent and worthless.



More or less manually eh? So you use your jedi-skill to bring all the factors into play and get down the trail? Well guess what? That could be said of just about any vehicle. Any truck will do if you will do. That's like saying, if I air down the tires, put it in low, lock the diffs, throttle modulate, pick a good line and left-foot brake it's because I have "a more comprehensive understanding" of how to drive the truck. That's not a feature of the vehicle, it's my own skill and the same would be true no matter what I was driving. What makes the vehicle special is when it does that shit for you you so you can't fuck it up.



Seriously?
The more you type the more you show your ignorance. The LR3 will not do over 30 in high ride height setting because with the EAS topped out it lacks smooth up travel which is more critical for high speed hits than clearance. Keep the LR3 in normal ride height and drive as fast as your skills can keep up with. Since you like "Baja style" roads, you ever look at a Trophy Truck? Guess what? It's all sagged out. Why? Because a balance of up AND down travel is what counts at high speed offroad. Not clearance.



That's just it.
You're deluding yourself.
The LR3 will never be "a hard core off road rig".
Especially not yours. Everything about it's design is a limitation for "hard core". The list is near endless and it's not just the electronics you're so proud not to have. It's the CV's and independent suspension. It's the huge body work. It's the total lack of real aftermarket.
What the LR3 CAN be is the stealth mobile stocker that will get out there and kick ass in total daily-driver off-the-lot guise. It looks like a chump-mobile and then it hands other trucks their ass. But once you try to make it look "badass" with a sweet sweet roof rack and some lights, well then you just bought property in Poseur City, USA. Because now you're trying to look offroad-tuff, but your truck will never be able to walk the walk with the rest of the big kids. You might as well bolt a shovel to the middle of your hood.

Hey NWoods,

This guy and Leslie are two "knuckle draggers" who do not understand how to read. Wow, make a truck look "Bad Ass" and "Poseur City"....enough said! Obviously, both these punks might be somewhat removed from high school by there chronlogical age, but their brains are still wired like 15 year olds. It's not worth your time to talk to these "BIG KIDS" who can walk the walk!

 

[JSQ]

Hey NWoods,

This guy and Leslie are two "knuckle draggers" who do not understand how to read. Wow, make a truck look "Bad Ass" and "Poseur City"....enough said! Obviously, both these punks might be somewhat removed from high school by there chronlogical age, but their brains are still wired like 15 year olds. It's not worth your time to talk to these "BIG KIDS" who can walk the walk!

Really?

"knuckle draggers" eh?
Care to elucidate for the rest of us the history of elevation and refinement that has finely tuned you brain to the peak of evolution? No doubt you are an accomplished academic and professional with recreational offroad experience as a bonus.

Hopefully our not-quite-erect, cro-magnon-brained selves will be able to understand you complex modern thought.

 

[Leslie]

Jack,

Please, do not allow yourself to wither away any more of your time on such, else I fear you shan't make your tee-time.

:rofl:

On the latter, the cardinal rule was never to create a bow wake during river crossings. As this inevitably raised the water level. Does the location of the air intake on the LR3 make this rule not applicable? I have a 2006 V8 LR3, for the record.

Quite the contrary, a sustained bow wake, while increasing the water depth in front of the wake, means that the vehicle is maintaining, at least some remnant of, an air pocket within the engine bay. You would be correct, though, in not wanting to overrun your bow wake, which would rapidly incapacitate a rover by hydrolocking the engine once water ingestion occurs.

 

[JSQ]

Jack,

Please, do not allow yourself to wither away any more of your time on such, else I fear you shan't make your tee-time.

:rofl:

OK, OK.

But I just want to know,
if you and I are "knuckle draggers", what exactly is PacificGroveRover going to do when he encounters the rest of the dweb community?

 

[Leslie]

But I just want to know, if you and I are "knuckle draggers", what exactly is PacificGroveRover going to do when he encounters the rest of the dweb community?

Quite a preponderance, which does vex me so.... :victory:



Seriously, tho', I fully concur... he needs some time with Dan, Agro, Kyle, etc. etc...


Wonder if he knows John? That encounter would be a delight to see online....

Tsk tsk.... too bad that Mr. Lee doesn't frequent here as often anymore....

 

[gil stevens]

the V6 is ridiculous. the 1 mpg certainly isnt worth the 70 lbs/ft of torque you give up. while i dig the advantage of a *base* vehicle, my 5 speed 97 SD still gets the job done, there is nothing basic about even the "base" LR3. its still riddled with stuff that can fail. and again while i can appreciate the "whiteness" of that LR3, anytime you paint door handles and mirrors it screams maaco.

 

[PacificGroveRover]

Really?

"knuckle draggers" eh?
Care to elucidate for the rest of us the history of elevation and refinement that has finely tuned you brain to the peak of evolution? No doubt you are an accomplished academic and professional with recreational offroad experience as a bonus.

Hopefully our not-quite-erect, cro-magnon-brained selves will be able to understand you complex modern thought.

I can assure that you are the MASTER...the BIG KID when it comes to OFF-ROADING EXPERIENCE relative to ME. I have being reading the LR3 & Disco II boards, for about 2 years, and I must SAY that Mr. Woods is one of the most articulate individuals on these boards, when trying to comunicate a point. Now that is where I am the MASTER not you. You are just being rude and a dick to him. He has a huge passion for his vehicle and he is of proud it, like you Mr. Woods and I are rover heads, yes coming at it from different view points, but in the end all ROVER HEADS.

 

[JSQ]

I can assure that you are the MASTER...the BIG KID when it comes to OFF-ROADING EXPERIENCE relative to ME. I have being reading the LR3 & Disco II boards, for about 2 years, and I must SAY that Mr. Woods is one of the most articulate individuals on these boards, when trying to comunicate a point. Now that is where I am the MASTER not you. You are just being rude and a dick to him. He has a huge passion for his vehicle and he is of proud it, like you Mr. Woods and I are rover heads, yes coming at it from different view points, but in the end all ROVER HEADS.

Listen you post-editing chump, Nathan Woods is so "articulate" and has such "a huge passion for his vehicle" that he doesn't know the first fucking thing about it. He doesn't know anything about offroading and he doesn't even know anything about his own vehicle. He doesn't even know what makes a gasoline motor different from a diesel. That's what a big "ROVER HEAD" he is.

Articulate huh?

I guess I never dwelt on that distinction.

Base model is very simply mechanically..

Yes, quite the cunning linguist, he is.

 

[GregH]

LOL

I'm going to put a snorkle on the S4 and kick both Leslie and Jack's ass.

 

[Leslie]

I'm going to put a snorkle on the S4 and kick both Leslie and Jack's ass.

Oh dear, what ever will I do?!

 

[nosivad_bor]

damn look at this. nice call on the hood shovel jack.

old dale road is a flat sandy road, I would take any car on that road without much worry. nothing baja about it.

http://www.desertusa.com/video_pages/dale-rd_movie.html

 

[Leslie]

Rob, are you lost?

 

[GregH]

I think this will do nicely on the Audi:

http://www.uboataces.com/snorkel.shtml

 

[sean]

those two knuckle draggers know more about rovers than you ever will. they are trying to help but your too dumb to understand
with out a rear locker it's pretty much worthless offroad, and with out the dial the traction control will suck in loose sand and sandy/muddy hills the without being able to turn off traction control it will kill your momentum.
don't beleive me ask disco nomad he did more to his lr3 than you ever will only to deside it was a piece of junk for offroading and bought a d2.

 

[nwoods]

Now wait a minute. Quote me all you like, but keep it in context. I stated that I know more about my vehicle, how to drive it, and what it's capabilities are, than YOU do.

My vehicle is not a diesel, I have never owned a diesel, I make no claims to have any knowledge of diesels. Quite the contrary, which I'm sure I've made clear.

I enjoy your posts, and quite enjoy this dialog, but misquoting is akin to lying, and I suspect that you are above that.

Now, please do go on about how my Land Rover is less a Land Rover than your Land Rover, because that seems to be what comforts you most on these long cold nights in the dark of winter. Please keep clutching to the decaying hopes that your Land Rover is the most superior Land Rover the world has ever seen. That person you used to argue with when you first joined this forum probably said the same thing about your new fangled Land Rover, and how it was an embarrassment to the breed, yada yada yade.

Good God do I get sick of hearing such drivel from inflexible, untrainable, biased, bigoted, prejudiced, close-minded, dogmatic, and incomprehensibly narrow-minded fools. I don't care if you invented the worlds first 4wd system and have personally designed, forged, and fabricated your very own Truggie and circumnavigated the globe with it using nothing more than baling wire and a hi-lift. What, in all your high and mighty experience and wisdom as self declared pontif of all that is just and good about Land Rovers gives you any right to cast judgment on me and my truck and what I do with it or what I think of it?

At what point did I ask for your opinion? Just because you deem it necessary to thrust your ignorance in my direction am I bound and compelled to abide by it?

Shall I furl my sleeves and genuflect at your obvious greatness and superiority, simply because you drive a vehicle with (one assumes) solid axles?

I think not.

I rather enjoy my Modern Land Rover. I enjoy the comfort and quiet of my ride. The freedom from a myriad of annoying squeaks and rattles. The freedom of not having to continuously stare at the temperature gauge with a sense of dread and impending doom, the freedom from being incapacitated by the 3 Amigos, the freedom of wondering which seals are leaking at any given moment. I draw great pleasure of racing past "proper Rovers" with their 3.9L, or 4.0L engines. I revel in the air conditioned comfort of my fully supportive seats, without worrying about burning my leg on the firewall, transmission tunnel, or battery housings. I take great comfort in plunging into a river or stream and knowing that my ECU won't get fried because the entire vessels leaks like a sieve. I enjoy the fact that my wife or even my mother can drive my vehicle comfortably and not intimidated by it. I appreciate that it has airbags seemingly everywhere and protects my family and children with poise and grace. I enjoy driving clients to meetings or luncheons, without feeling embarrassed at the kludgy, dirty, worn, cracked, cramped, squeaky, shakey, bouncy, jouncy, rattling, leaking antiquity.

And most of all, I enjoy wheeling my LR3 with my friends, my fellow Rover owners, in their beloved P38's, Classics, Sports, Defenders, Disco I's and Disco II's. I enjoy their comraderie and friendship, their acceptance and celebration of another Rover owner who truly uses his machine. It is often quoted, but always true; Bad roads bring good people, and good roads bring bad people. Isn't it ironic that I should meet YOU on the digital superhighway?

 

[sean]

have i got a website for you. try LRO.com the 16 year olds will be happy to agree with you and tell you what a bad ass truck yours is (no matter how fucked up you make it) and how they are going to do that to there mom's as soon as soccer practice is over.

don't even start how superior your lr3 is my series will still be on the road long after that piece of junk is rusting away in the junkyard

 

[nwoods]

and with out the dial the traction control will suck in loose sand and sandy/muddy hills the without being able to turn off traction control it will kill your momentum.

Excellent example of my point in my recent post. You aren't familiar enough with the abilities of the truck, nor the systems and controls of the truck to speak knowledgeably. If you must participate in a discusson about a vehicle of which you are unfamilar, perhaps you should state your opininos in the form of a question. Let's roll play, shall we?

Hi, my name is Sean, I have heard that the Terrian Control knob enables the LR3 to drive on sand. Can an LR3 without TC manage adequately?

Well hello Sean, indeed, a non-TC equipped LR3 does just fine on the sand. DSC, or Dynamic Stability Control is "detuned" in "Sand Mode" with the TC system, but one can easily bypass the system by depressing the DSC button on the dash, thus allowing the proper amount of wheel spin when desired and not at all effecting the throttle or gearing in any negative fashion. I personally have not had much experience in sand with 4x4 vehicles, though I spent time in my youth playing at Sleeping Bear Sand dunes and Silver Lake Sand dunes in Michigan with sand rails, quads, and motorcycles.

I found that my past sand experience did not inherently improve my ability to drive a large heavy SUV in the sand, though I had a good understanding of momentum and cresting. I spent 3 full days at Pismo Beach in SoCal learning how to employ the LR3 on the sand, and soon found that Lo range 3rd gear with my tires aired down to 15 psi gave me nearly unlimited freedom in the sand. At that time, I did not have a coil lift, and my slightly oversized tires rubbed the wheels wheels, preventing me from really charging hard up some of the steeper hills with "speed bumps" at the toe of the slopes, but if there were smooth approaches, my LR3 had no problems. Now that I am lifted 2.5" with stiffer coils, I think my truck would do quite well in the sand, and hope to find out this summer.

There was another LR3 there that weekend, with a V8 and air suspension, and the same Nitto tires. For whatever reason, I seemed to have an easier go of it than he did, but I tend to drive fairly aggressively and that could be all the difference in sand.


Photos here: http://blog.nextstepdesigns.com/?cat=15