Yet another Land Rover
Discussion
You might remember my Discovery
(http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1191235&i=999999&nmt=My%20new%20baby%20-%20Discovery%202%20TD5)
that I bought as a new daily, and which has slowly morphed into a mean dual-purpose commuter and off roader. However, I get the impressions that the PO got out just in time, as I have had just about every single well known D2 fault occur on me in the space of our time together. Ironically, it's probably one of the most sorted ones out there now, but in my eyes now I can't stand the sight of it any more, and it has to go.
So, what to replace it with? I wanted something more modern, more dependable, but still fulfilling the same criteria of being large, luxurious and capable of hauling itself and trailers/other vehicles off of wet showgrounds and out of deep mud.
I came within a hair of buying genuine G4 Discovery 3 like this one:
However, at literally the 11th hour, and HPI check revealed a very large amount of outstanding finance that the seller made no mention of in the advert. Coupled with their previous assertion over the phone that their cousin would meet us with the car as he was on a business trip, I ran away.
In hindsight, it was perhaps a blessing in disguise, as several D3 owning friends of mind tell me that the vehicle's electronics do not take kindly at all to the sort of infrequent use it would encounter with me studying away a lot. Not to mention facing the spectre of the dreaded TDV6 cambelt (in a Discovery 3/4, the timing belt is the back of the engine, under the scuttle, and can only be accessed properly by lifting the body off the chassis. I'd love to meet the engineer who thought that was a good idea).
Then I thought, why restrict myself to a Diesel? Given the predicted backlash in tax etc that is coming, plus all the expensive complications of a mdoern diesel engine such as DPFs, injectors etc,. why the hell not go for a V8 on LPG?
I even wavered slightly from my devotion to the green oval. I was dead set on buying a 2009 Dodge Ram 5.7 Hemi spotted on ebay. However, this led to a huge argument with the parents, as I still live at home. They said I was being totally stupid, that such an enormous vehicle was stupid (actually, a Ram 1500 isnt any bigger than a new Cayenne/Q7/FFRR, but never mind), and that I could park it somewhere else if I bought one.
Having lost that argument, my attention turned to an L322 Range Rover. Even if I hadnt ruled out diesel, the early TD6 is glacial and has a GM autobox renowned for going bang every 100,000 miles if not rebuilt at great expense.
A TDV8 would have been nice, but they are a) still very expensive, and b) well in line to be clobbered with eve more tax on their already high rate.
So, a V8 Range Rover then. However, you won't see a 4.2 or 5.0 Jaguar engine'd one on LPG. The Jag engines have such soft valve seats that even with a flashlube system, they just can't handle running on gas without major recession problems a hundred thousand miles down the line.
So, an earlier 4.4 then with the bombproof BMW M62 lump. I had already experienced this engine in a friend's X5, and boy is it good! Effortless power and an wonderful noise too.
Thus began the search for the newest 4.4 on LPG that I could find for sale. I soon stumbled across one very special vehicle in particular - a 2005 Vogue V8 with the Luxury Pack and a colour-coded interior (apparently not something reserved only for the Autobiography as I had previously thought).
I was previously unaware of this, but the interior of the FFRR was updated with the Jaguar/Ford fibreoptic-based touch screen infonav system a year before the external facelift that brought the new Jaguar engines. This system was a vast improvement on the clunky, unreliable and dated button-based BMW system previously fitted. Thus, being a 2005 model, this has the rare and desirable crossover of the M62 V8, but the new Jaguar infotainment.
First impressions are that it is a truly superb vehicle for near-silent motorway wafting, but I definitely noticed the increased width on my narrow country lanes - its like helming a supertanker! It doesnt look wider than my D2 from outside, but from inside it feels much, much more vast. I suspect a lot of that is due to the better packaging of the engine in the monocoque body, creating a much larger interior.
As said, I already knew good things about the engine but wow, what effortless performance (30-70 in about 4 seconds, when experimenting with the tiptronic manual mode) and WHAT A NOISE!!! Many, many smiles per gallon, yet with the Stag LPG system it's costing less per mile to run than the diesel Disco. The tank is 88 litres and in the spare wheel well, and a 66 litre fill up after 212 miles of driving equates to 14.7 mpg on gas, or 30mpg on Diesel allowing for the roughly half price ratio.
Another impression is, as expected, how much more comfy the air suspension is over my broken country roads than the beam axled coil setup on the Disco. Thee downside however, is that this is definitely a wallowy old hector, whereas the Disco could be hustled through bends to a certain extent. But then, this isnt a vehicle for hooning at all, rather it is made to waft imperiously whilst looking down on other motorists and peasants
Here's to many happy miles to come in the king of barges!
(http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1191235&i=999999&nmt=My%20new%20baby%20-%20Discovery%202%20TD5)
that I bought as a new daily, and which has slowly morphed into a mean dual-purpose commuter and off roader. However, I get the impressions that the PO got out just in time, as I have had just about every single well known D2 fault occur on me in the space of our time together. Ironically, it's probably one of the most sorted ones out there now, but in my eyes now I can't stand the sight of it any more, and it has to go.
So, what to replace it with? I wanted something more modern, more dependable, but still fulfilling the same criteria of being large, luxurious and capable of hauling itself and trailers/other vehicles off of wet showgrounds and out of deep mud.
I came within a hair of buying genuine G4 Discovery 3 like this one:
However, at literally the 11th hour, and HPI check revealed a very large amount of outstanding finance that the seller made no mention of in the advert. Coupled with their previous assertion over the phone that their cousin would meet us with the car as he was on a business trip, I ran away.
In hindsight, it was perhaps a blessing in disguise, as several D3 owning friends of mind tell me that the vehicle's electronics do not take kindly at all to the sort of infrequent use it would encounter with me studying away a lot. Not to mention facing the spectre of the dreaded TDV6 cambelt (in a Discovery 3/4, the timing belt is the back of the engine, under the scuttle, and can only be accessed properly by lifting the body off the chassis. I'd love to meet the engineer who thought that was a good idea).
Then I thought, why restrict myself to a Diesel? Given the predicted backlash in tax etc that is coming, plus all the expensive complications of a mdoern diesel engine such as DPFs, injectors etc,. why the hell not go for a V8 on LPG?
I even wavered slightly from my devotion to the green oval. I was dead set on buying a 2009 Dodge Ram 5.7 Hemi spotted on ebay. However, this led to a huge argument with the parents, as I still live at home. They said I was being totally stupid, that such an enormous vehicle was stupid (actually, a Ram 1500 isnt any bigger than a new Cayenne/Q7/FFRR, but never mind), and that I could park it somewhere else if I bought one.
Having lost that argument, my attention turned to an L322 Range Rover. Even if I hadnt ruled out diesel, the early TD6 is glacial and has a GM autobox renowned for going bang every 100,000 miles if not rebuilt at great expense.
A TDV8 would have been nice, but they are a) still very expensive, and b) well in line to be clobbered with eve more tax on their already high rate.
So, a V8 Range Rover then. However, you won't see a 4.2 or 5.0 Jaguar engine'd one on LPG. The Jag engines have such soft valve seats that even with a flashlube system, they just can't handle running on gas without major recession problems a hundred thousand miles down the line.
So, an earlier 4.4 then with the bombproof BMW M62 lump. I had already experienced this engine in a friend's X5, and boy is it good! Effortless power and an wonderful noise too.
Thus began the search for the newest 4.4 on LPG that I could find for sale. I soon stumbled across one very special vehicle in particular - a 2005 Vogue V8 with the Luxury Pack and a colour-coded interior (apparently not something reserved only for the Autobiography as I had previously thought).
I was previously unaware of this, but the interior of the FFRR was updated with the Jaguar/Ford fibreoptic-based touch screen infonav system a year before the external facelift that brought the new Jaguar engines. This system was a vast improvement on the clunky, unreliable and dated button-based BMW system previously fitted. Thus, being a 2005 model, this has the rare and desirable crossover of the M62 V8, but the new Jaguar infotainment.
First impressions are that it is a truly superb vehicle for near-silent motorway wafting, but I definitely noticed the increased width on my narrow country lanes - its like helming a supertanker! It doesnt look wider than my D2 from outside, but from inside it feels much, much more vast. I suspect a lot of that is due to the better packaging of the engine in the monocoque body, creating a much larger interior.
As said, I already knew good things about the engine but wow, what effortless performance (30-70 in about 4 seconds, when experimenting with the tiptronic manual mode) and WHAT A NOISE!!! Many, many smiles per gallon, yet with the Stag LPG system it's costing less per mile to run than the diesel Disco. The tank is 88 litres and in the spare wheel well, and a 66 litre fill up after 212 miles of driving equates to 14.7 mpg on gas, or 30mpg on Diesel allowing for the roughly half price ratio.
Another impression is, as expected, how much more comfy the air suspension is over my broken country roads than the beam axled coil setup on the Disco. Thee downside however, is that this is definitely a wallowy old hector, whereas the Disco could be hustled through bends to a certain extent. But then, this isnt a vehicle for hooning at all, rather it is made to waft imperiously whilst looking down on other motorists and peasants
Here's to many happy miles to come in the king of barges!
Edited by ChemicalChaos on Friday 3rd April 12:55
Thanks BF 
It is strange - despite the dimensions suggesting otherwise, it does look and feel huge compared to my Discovery. Perhaps it just has more presence!
Anyway, yesterday was spent giving it a bloody good clean both inside and outside. The previous owner has several kids and large dogs, and boy did it show once I'd set to work with some carpet shampoo and a hoover. Lego and crumbs seemed to abound in the space underneath the back seats when I folded them down!
This is a "during" shot of one of the cleaner bits of carpet from inside....
Happily, it is lovely and sparkling clean now, after 4 hours, 2 cans of shampoo, a pack of wet wipes and a lot of hoovering!
Next job is a new set of boots - I was told when buying it that it could do with 4 new tyres, and closer inspection showed that the fronts are on the wear bars with the rears not far behind. this gives me a very good excuse to whack some all terrain tyres on to replace the road rubber currently on it. There isnt a lot available in 255/55/19, but the current favourite idea is a set of the nice and discrete but very capable new General Grabbers, or the slightly less aggressive Cooper Zeon:
It is strange - despite the dimensions suggesting otherwise, it does look and feel huge compared to my Discovery. Perhaps it just has more presence!
Anyway, yesterday was spent giving it a bloody good clean both inside and outside. The previous owner has several kids and large dogs, and boy did it show once I'd set to work with some carpet shampoo and a hoover. Lego and crumbs seemed to abound in the space underneath the back seats when I folded them down!
This is a "during" shot of one of the cleaner bits of carpet from inside....
Happily, it is lovely and sparkling clean now, after 4 hours, 2 cans of shampoo, a pack of wet wipes and a lot of hoovering!
Next job is a new set of boots - I was told when buying it that it could do with 4 new tyres, and closer inspection showed that the fronts are on the wear bars with the rears not far behind. this gives me a very good excuse to whack some all terrain tyres on to replace the road rubber currently on it. There isnt a lot available in 255/55/19, but the current favourite idea is a set of the nice and discrete but very capable new General Grabbers, or the slightly less aggressive Cooper Zeon:
Very nice choice.
FFRR is genuinely the only thing I can say would be able to replace our Discovery 2. Even then it would have to be a facelift TDV8 for us, hence recently staying with a D2 and swapping the TD5 for a V8 on LPG.
On the tyre front the Grabber ATs get my vote. Very good tyre.
FFRR is genuinely the only thing I can say would be able to replace our Discovery 2. Even then it would have to be a facelift TDV8 for us, hence recently staying with a D2 and swapping the TD5 for a V8 on LPG.
On the tyre front the Grabber ATs get my vote. Very good tyre.
Love the Green leather, also the later Harman Kardon HiFi. Lovely looking wagon.
I had the later General Grabber ATs on my D2, great tyre. No noisier than the Pirelli Scorpions on road, and miles better off-road. I'd recommend them to anyone.
Do the early 322s not have a centre diff lock like the D2? I know the TDV8-on cars had them with the Terrain Response (from memory)
I had the later General Grabber ATs on my D2, great tyre. No noisier than the Pirelli Scorpions on road, and miles better off-road. I'd recommend them to anyone.
Do the early 322s not have a centre diff lock like the D2? I know the TDV8-on cars had them with the Terrain Response (from memory)
ChemicalChaos said:
NomduJour said:
"Luxury Pack"?
So I was told by the PO. Further research has suggested this means the heated rear seats and steering wheel, and a few other bits and bobsClivey said:
Not a fan of the colour scheme but otherwise it looks fantastic Matt.
Where's the LPG tank on this one?
As I said, in the wheel well Where's the LPG tank on this one?
Unfortunately, this means up until now I had nothing but a can of foam in the boot.
Luckily, some Land Rover karma came my way - having given away a few Disco spares to a chap in my Land Rover club, another chap heard me asking around about whether space-savers exist in RR size.
It turns out they do - he had the optional space-saver from a Disco 3/FFRR/RRS lying around unuse. Mine for a small donation of my choosing to the clubs sponsored charity
I picked it up tonight - although it spent a few years slung under a D3, it's unused and will come up nicely with a clean and respray. Once done, I'll get a bag for it so it can live tidily in the boot and have things stacked on top.
Yes, at 175/80/R19 it's bigger than the normal tyres on most cars, but compared to my 255/55/19 road wheels it's tiny
Edited by ChemicalChaos on Saturday 18th April 22:41
Just out of interest, Where is your LPG filler located? I have a car thats being converted as we speak and I mentioned I wanted the filler hidden behind the fuel filler door, LPG fitter calls me halfway through the job saying this is too difficult to do,
My plan was to have it done in this way
http://www.environmentallyfriendlymotoring.co.uk/g...
The fitter wants to mount the filler under the rear bumper on display for the whole world to see, Car is an 05 Lexus ls430,
What are your thoughts as to the viability/safety of such an installation?
My plan was to have it done in this way
http://www.environmentallyfriendlymotoring.co.uk/g...
The fitter wants to mount the filler under the rear bumper on display for the whole world to see, Car is an 05 Lexus ls430,
What are your thoughts as to the viability/safety of such an installation?
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