[troverman]

Lets say for example I have my 95 Range Rover 4.0 with viscous coupling unit acting as the same thing as a center diff lock, just automatic lock / unlock. It also has rear traction control. So the Discovery II (Pre 2003) has no in car ability to lock the center differential as the RR can do with the VCU, but has traction control to control power between the axles. So the question is this: Does the Disco II's traction control system have the ability to brake individual spinning wheels on any of the four wheels, thus technically giving it the ability to keep moving if only one wheel has traction? The Range Rover theoretically could be stopped if only one wheel has traction but it is a wheel on the front with the least resistance.

For all you Disco II owners, how does the Series II do in like snowy and icy conditions? Does the ETC intervene frequently? Being used to two Range Rovers, I know that 99% of the time when on snow and ice they feel like you're driving on dry roads except you can see other cars and even other 4x4's off the road. I know both have permanent 4x4 but the Range can lock up the axles automatically without the driver really feeling anything.

 

[02disco2]

Not sure (technically) how the system works in it's entirety, but I do have some real world trials done and have been quite impressed with the findings.

I have driven both D2's with and without the CDL. It's a great feature to have and it seamed to help quite a bit while pulling my boat (4500lb minus cargo and trailer) ou of the sand and mud at my lake home. No, there isn't a decent landing to use. I have used mainly my 02 without and it does struggle a bit. I noticed that my front wheels spun significantly more than my rears, but this is biased because (1) I was in the mud and sand, (2) I was pulling out and over an incline, and (3) I had the weight of my boat connected to my hitch. I cuold feel the power modulate from right to left but it also seemed that it drove a lot of power to the rear.

In the ice and snow the one thing that really bothers me about all models of the Disco is the under steering. It is awful, horrible infact. If you get motoring through the snow and ice, the vehicle likes to track straight. I quick nudge of the e Brake and the back will come around nicely. However, it is a real pain to do it correctly otherwise it will whip a 180 very easliy and quite quickly. Not sure if it is the design of the vehicle or if my Goodyear HP's are really that horrible. The latter might be the real issue.

 

[Mr Tj]

Not sure if it is the design of the vehicle or if my Goodyear HP's are really that horrible. The latter might be the real issue.

Probably a bit of both. Anything that weighs as much as a Disco will tend to follow Newtonian motion laws on snow/ice and understeer like mad. I'm about to switch to Scorpion Snow/Ice tires on my P30A, which should make for a remarkable difference from what I've read over teh stock Michelins.

I have heard from normally reliable sources that horse trailers can be very prone to flip over Disco's, which would tend to indicate that even though they have a low COG, any shift of mass across the axels will tend to cause a spin or 5.

 

[Mr Tj]

I'd suggest comparing with a '99 onwards P38A, which if I remember correctly is the model year where they got the 4-wheel traction control in place. That together with the better angles / articulation should (in theory) give better off-road than any Disco.

Of course still not as good as SWD Defenders, 422L's or LR3s (probably).

 

[Disco Mike]

One more option.
I can't say much in comparison of a stock Disco2 over a P38 off the road, but I can give 2 comparisons of these thrucks in semi. mod. form, that being tires and lift and full dress so to speak with tires, lift, CDL and lockers.
In the 2 Rover clubs I am in, we get out and play pretty hard sometimes and as much as I have always liked the Range Rover, they are just about equal with tires and a lift and they are less equal when really set up including CDL, lockers and gears.
I can't really say why, some of it is the heavier weight of the D2 and I think some has to do with the suspension.
From the stand point of pure stock a D2 with ETC will out perform a P38 with only rear ETC and a VCU.
From the stand point of snow and ice, I don't have enough experince to say, but I have to think that either vehicle with good tires, not Good Year Wranglers should do well.
So much for my 2 cents worth.
Mike J.

 

[JMan]

hey mike, is that shot in anza borrego? near coyote canyon area? looks aweful similar

 

[Disco Mike]

No, that is a shot coming out off the Duran trail at Calico out of Baker.
This is one of the better areas I have found to go play.
Mike J.

 

[troverman]

D2, P38a Differences: For the duration of the life of the Disco, both series, from years 1989-2003 when the Disco was ended for the LR3, the Disco always used the 100" wheelbase setup of the old Range Rover Classic. It also utilized the same 14-guage frame. Now obviously the 100" wb gives a ramp-breakover angle advantage to the Discovery over the 108.1" wb of the P38a. Not sure if air suspension raised eliminates the breakover advantage or not. Also, the P38a is heavier than the D1 or D2. The axles used on the D2 and the P38 are the same. Land Rover decided to eliminate the CDL as a "convenience" to the many stupid drivers who never wanted to have to do anything related to engaging 4x4. So they used ETC; ETC puts a greater strain on the differential because it can shift torque while under load; up until 1999 when the D2 came out all Range Rovers had rear ETC and used a HD differential in the back while the front diff was "standard." So the discovery 2 simply used the RR axles / diffs and since the D2 would be forced to use 4-wheel etc or it would be a lousy 4x4, they upgraded the front axle / diff to the rear axle standard. Of course, the RR being $20k more than the Disco retained the VCU and got the 4ETC. Many people say that having just the ETC is not good enough for two reasons: one is it does not react quick enough, that is if you are driving through a long stretch of deep mud you never have both axles locked together and torque is only redirected when the wheel actually slips. The second reason is the ability to gain 4-wheel drive traction is entirely dependent upon ABS sensors which can be damaged or fail. So while the D2 technically can continue when only one wheel has traction and the D1 technically needs at least two wheels to have traction in order to continue, the D1 has the advantage of being guaranteed to have both axles locked the entire time CDL is engaged. In terms of the Camel Trophy many people have said the D2 would not have made it or would have had much more difficulty making it than the D1's used.
Anyway---

 

[TerryS]

Nice write-up !