By Bruce Byrd on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 02:36 pm: Edit

I am planning to buy a rig for offroad as well as a daily driver into town and my dumb question is if the Disco can be built to be as trail worthy as a D90 can be. It seems for the price difference one could buy and build a very trick Disco I and have the same (or less) cash outlay as for a stone stock D90. The Disco also has much better creature comforts for hiway use as well. Am I missing something here? what are the pros and cons of each rig? ('97 D90 vs '98 Disco) Thanks for your input and help!
Bruce

By John on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 02:38 pm: Edit

You said it all, go with your own instincts...

By Roverine on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 04:13 pm: Edit

Here is my opinion ....





... Any questions?
Seriously, go to photo gallery if you haven't already, and check it out - lots of them

Kim

By John on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 04:16 pm: Edit

Lol, that was pretty crafty Kim...

By Roverine on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 04:22 pm: Edit

Oh gosh, forgot about the Discoweb 2001 Moab video ... check it out, and check out some of the other video clips here too. Great stuff!

Kim

By Bruce Byrd on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 04:54 pm: Edit

I get the picture..................!!!

By chrisvonc on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 05:42 pm: Edit

It's boils down to personal preferance. I own both a Disco and a 90 which are both modified fairly closely. On the trails, neither has an "overall" advantage over the other and both have their downsides in differant situations. However, off the trails, the discos are the way to go hands down.

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Saturday, November 03, 2001 - 06:06 pm: Edit

At the MAR I was about to go out running on some trails Jeff had shotgun, and then a couple of guys w/ 90s asked if they could hop in and ride along.... "Sure!", so off we go.

We get to the stream crossing, but then hang the hard left to go UP the climb... as we started to level out up at the top, one of the guys in the back said to the other... "This thing's an off-roading Barcalounger!" to which the other replied "It's doing everything a 90 can do, but it's so comfy!"


The D90 has an advantage because of its bobtail compared to the Disco's back-end. But, you adjust your driving style. Otherwise, they're very similar... the extra 10" that the Disco has in the wheelbase really helps it shine in other situations. Add the extra weight of the Disco to the extra wheelbase length that smooths out the ride on the highway, the comfy interior, etc. etc., and you've got a really nice vehicle for driving, and still a kick-a$$ vehicle off-road.

Plus, a '98 Disco will cost less than most of the Defenders out there.... the Defender market is still overpriced, but it's dropping... soon, a lot of people are going to be taking it on the chin from the depreciation.

I use my Disco as a daily driver, and love it. Heated seats on a chilly morning, more comfortable than a Jeep Cherokee, but still the best thing off-road around... and it's mostly stock still... very much of a dual-personality vehicle.

Don't get me wrong, I like Defenders... I've even got the predecessor of a 90 (an 88" SIII), and it's capable off-road, too... but there's no way that I would want to drive it day-in and day-out on a commute.

Good luck deciding.....


-L

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:37 am: Edit

be careful, Roverine, after the watching the video and seeing Brian Jackson in that stock TJ hanging with ease, I almost cried. This guy may end up in a Jeep.

Tom

By Brian Jackson (Nerover) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 12:09 pm: Edit

hehe Tom,

TJ is awesome...for three weeks. Until it's all broken. The entire vehicle is about as strong as a Detroit-locked 10-spline Rover axel with spline twist. I was pinching the seats beneath me hoping not to break the rental if you know what I mean).

Don't want anybody getting the wrong idea! :-)
Brian

By Kyle on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 12:44 pm: Edit

Brian , you are seeing something here that I have been fighting for some time. People see the "here and now" , not the "there and then". Thats a big reason all the slinking is so damn popular. It looks "Cool" right now .
Its ironic that Tom here loves the slinking and also makes that statement about the Jeeps.
Dont think for a moment that the little Jeep there cant make a good show on the trail . They can also make you and your rover look bad pretty quick. But just a sure as the sunrise and sunset every day , that little bastard is gonna break.
I pulled one out yesterday that was mortally wounded (Busted straps on rear yoke). To some people that is acceptable because when it is running they can be a star for 15 minutes (Sorta like being up on a ramp) There are trucks built to impress and there are trucks built to "Get it done" You bought a truck with a reputation of getting it done. Why degrade it to impress ?
As far as the D-90 vs Disco deal. I would say that depends on where you wanna go. If the trails you run are close and you cant see yourself running long trips with allot of gear the defender will probably suit you better. If you dont want to be restricted by short range and all the other things that make a defender a poor long distance performer then get the Disco. However , there is a 110

Kyle

By Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 01:03 pm: Edit

A D1 will never have the approach or departure angles of a D90 and the sides bulge a little so you're a little more prone to sheet metal damage. Once you're past those issues, the D1 is an awesome truck.

I think the wheelbase of the D1 and Classic is perfect off road. Sometimes the short wheelbase of the D90 is better when trails get tight, but most often the extra bit of length on the D1 really comes in handy.

IHMO, you could get a D1, outfit it very well, buy a 88" Series truck (to get your SWB fix) and still come out with money in your pocket versus a D90...

YMMV.

Jeff

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 02:07 pm: Edit

Kyle - I don't think my slinky setup is any more weak than yours. Replaced all the components with beefier RT ones in the process. People say Rancho's break, but woodheads do, too. My stock woodheads were absolutely useless at 45k. Hopefully the Ranchos last longer, if they last the same, we'll call it even.

No, if I starting things like pinning the radius arms and such, you'd have a point.

Tom

By Kyle on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 02:23 pm: Edit

Tom , you have no idea what I am talking about. You will see down the road. The geometry changes and the situations caused by the slinking will wear on the truck much faster. Sure , your RT upper shock mount might be there for a long time. Your lower however is going to rip the stock lower mount at some point and have to be welded back on. There is one instance for you. I dont put much stock in shocks. If I were doing some desert racing I might , if I were driving a sports car , I might. But I am not.

Kyle

By Mike D1 on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 04:07 pm: Edit

Bruce,

I parked my truck on the street and a stock D90 parked behind me while I was gone. I got a nice side by side look at both. With my 3" RT lift and 245/75 tires I had more clearance then the Stock D90 with it's 265/75s. I now have 235/85s and lots more clearance then a 90. Add my lockers and I can go where no stock 90 can. You can make a Disco very off road ready with a little work.

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:10 pm: Edit

Kyle, we'll see. I'll be on this list for as long as I own my rover. Currently at 75K. At what mileage will my slinky fall apart? Name it and we'll put a wager on it for fun.

Now, we just have to come up w/the terms, some jerry cans or a winch cable or something might be fun.

Tom

By Kyle on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:20 pm: Edit

WEll I am way ahead of you at 135K . Some day , some poor bastard is going to be trying to find some stock parts to put your Disco back together again... Degradation depends greatly on use.

Kyle

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:23 pm: Edit

OK, is 135K the time then? Not truck against truck, just my parts against whatever mileage you say. At over 300 miles a week, I'm putting on the miles.

By the way, if I have my way, the only poor bastard with my truck will be my kid after I die -- and I saved all the stock parts.

Tom

By Kyle on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:26 pm: Edit

Well , you certainly wont rip off a mount on the highway. If you rarely take it off road its hard to say I guess. I suppose we should compare it to another truck of simmilar mileage that has been used about the same but unslinked.

Kyle

By RVR OVR (Tom) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:29 pm: Edit

yeah, i don't off road nearly as much as some guys, but try to get out 12 or more times a year. but again, i don't wanna compare my truck against somebody elses to see who wins. name the miles you think it will break at, and i'll see if it breaks. simple.

tom

By Kyle on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 10:40 pm: Edit

Thats impossible for me to do unless you were running side by side with me. The ones that do break. Its that simple..... It is a comparison of trucks there is no avoiding it...

Kyle

By p m on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 10:57 am: Edit

D1 vs D90?

i'm about 6' tall, and bang my knees against the bottom of dashboard in the D90. It may be acceptable if i were to travel, say, 200 miles to the trail. but if it's 1500 miles one way...

btw, somehow the rangie classic ain't as generous in knee room as the D1.

peter

By PerroneFord on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 11:19 am: Edit

p.m.

The Rangie Classics have that damn stupid HUGE seatbox that forces your head to scrape the headliner and forces your knees up into the lower dashboard piece under the steering wheel. I'd love to see if there was a way to cut that seat box down about 3-5" to get some more room.

The headroom in the disco is second to none.

-P

By chrisvonc on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 11:21 am: Edit

You do know those seats move back right? I'm 6' and my knees are fine and I think I can even put the seat back another click. :-)

Chris

By p m on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 11:36 am: Edit

CvC,

my seat is all the way back, so i have to lean forward to hold that steering wheel. Meanwhile, my legs form about 130 degree angle at the knee (not the most comfortable position), and i am still banging my knees on the steering wheel.

clicks? we have no steenkin clicks on our range rover seats :^)

peter