Defender upgrades
Discussion
All but the early classics had ABS, as did all Disco and P38 so not like my TD5. It is perfectly safe but having had the opportunity to try an emergency stop in a controlled situation, I was very glad it had not been for real and have adjusted my stopping distance accordingly. So I commend this to others.
Brakes tend to only overheat if you are constantly on them, so if you are doing track days it is worthwhile but it is probably a sign of poor advance observation to be doing that sort of braking on the public road.
I regret that I do not know what fast road upgrades are, nor why they would be desirable on a Defender, but assuming you can lock the wheels with the brake pedal, then the rest is down to the nut that holds the steering wheel.
Brakes tend to only overheat if you are constantly on them, so if you are doing track days it is worthwhile but it is probably a sign of poor advance observation to be doing that sort of braking on the public road.
I regret that I do not know what fast road upgrades are, nor why they would be desirable on a Defender, but assuming you can lock the wheels with the brake pedal, then the rest is down to the nut that holds the steering wheel.
phib said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Try Googling "workman, tools and the blame thereof"
Have you actually owned both ? Normal defender and defender with fast road upgrades or a 50th with fast road upgrades ? Phib
Edited by phib on Wednesday 20th April 14:00
Dixy said:
All but the early classics had ABS
Nope, not even remotely close. 1971 Range Rover's most certainly did not have ABS.Dixy said:
as did all Disco
Nope. The one in my profile didn't. It did become more common on latter models, but by no means did all of them have it.Dixy said:
so not like my TD5.
ABS was optional on all Td5's and standard with any fitted with TCS.Dixy said:
It is perfectly safe but having had the opportunity to try an emergency stop in a controlled situation, I was very glad it had not been for real and have adjusted my stopping distance accordingly. So I commend this to others.
You should try drum brakes Series Land Rover, or other classic vehicles.But a Defender with discs all round should pull up fine if needed. Of course AT or MT tyres won't help, but an ABS equipped car on those tyres would likely take longer to stop... although retain steering.
If yours didn't stop well, then I would suggest getting the brakes looked at.
Dixy said:
Brakes tend to only overheat if you are constantly on them, so if you are doing track days it is worthwhile but it is probably a sign of poor advance observation to be doing that sort of braking on the public road.
What utter tosh. You can drive a Land Rover quickly on the roads, just as you can any other car. With lots of braking, country lanes, or when loaded, or fast A roads and round abouts, then yes you can overheat them.The brakes on my 300Tdi 90 were good, they'd lock all 4 wheels with ease at 50mph if you wanted them too. But I could get them so hot that it discoloured the rims (white Disco 5 spoke steels, went sort of yellow/cream colour).
If you have something like a 50th, they are a 4.0 litre, 190hp V8 auto. So lots of go and being an auto, will be much harder on the brakes.
Dixy said:
I regret that I do not know what fast road upgrades are, nor why they would be desirable on a Defender, but assuming you can lock the wheels with the brake pedal, then the rest is down to the nut that holds the steering wheel.
Personally I much prefer to off road my Land Rovers and feel for most uses the standard brakes are more than up to the task. However if you like spirited driving and live where you can drive like that, then uprated brakes that reduce fade, could indeed be a good thing. This is no different to upgrading the brakes on any other vehicle.phib said:
Blimey all driving gods !!
This is my daily round trip - c.1,250m climb and descent. Good luck not cooking the brakes !!
Phib
I think that's an example of living somewhere that allows for a different kind of driving, due to the terrain and location. But very nice This is my daily round trip - c.1,250m climb and descent. Good luck not cooking the brakes !!
Phib
Edited by 300bhp/ton on Wednesday 20th April 17:26
300BHP, I will concede the point on Disco which I have no first hand knowledge of. The rest I have to respectfully disagree with. Having owned a 72 classic I am well aware that it had neither power steering nor ABS but it was also early by any description.
As the owner of a series IIa and a 101 GS I am familiar with drum braked LR products being under braked but still legal and huge fun.
If you bother to read from the beginning you will note that my defender brakes work perfectly as designed.
Any muppet can cook the brakes on any car the skill comes in making progress without doing it, cars dont overheat brakes, drivers do so I will see your tosh and raise you a codswalop.
People are free to waste there money on what ever snake oil they want, my advice to the OP remains there are far better things to spend your hard earned on.
As the owner of a series IIa and a 101 GS I am familiar with drum braked LR products being under braked but still legal and huge fun.
If you bother to read from the beginning you will note that my defender brakes work perfectly as designed.
Any muppet can cook the brakes on any car the skill comes in making progress without doing it, cars dont overheat brakes, drivers do so I will see your tosh and raise you a codswalop.
People are free to waste there money on what ever snake oil they want, my advice to the OP remains there are far better things to spend your hard earned on.
phib said:
Blimey all driving gods !!
This is my daily round trip - c.1,250m climb and descent. Good luck not cooking the brakes in a 50th ( Auto - 210bhp ;-) !!)
Phib
If only you had said you live in France and drive like a local I would have understood from the beginning, Brake lights on all the way down the mountain. Still curious what fast road set up means.This is my daily round trip - c.1,250m climb and descent. Good luck not cooking the brakes in a 50th ( Auto - 210bhp ;-) !!)
Phib
Edited by phib on Wednesday 20th April 15:00
Edited by phib on Wednesday 20th April 15:03
Well to me 'fast road' means :
Upgraded firmer suspension : thicker arb, blistein shocks and twisted -1 upgraded springs
Vented, drilled and grooved discs
6 pot calipers : ap racing
Race brake fluid : ap racing radi - cal
Not necessary but have brake bias valve as well .
Actually changing the bilsteins back to standard Landrover shocks with twisted springs as it's a bit hard with bilsteins on the rubbish roads over here.
Do I 'need' these upgrades ? Debatable
On the question of why have i done this ...... My view is why not, if you can !
Phib ( waits for the abuse now :-) ! )
Phib
Upgraded firmer suspension : thicker arb, blistein shocks and twisted -1 upgraded springs
Vented, drilled and grooved discs
6 pot calipers : ap racing
Race brake fluid : ap racing radi - cal
Not necessary but have brake bias valve as well .
Actually changing the bilsteins back to standard Landrover shocks with twisted springs as it's a bit hard with bilsteins on the rubbish roads over here.
Do I 'need' these upgrades ? Debatable
On the question of why have i done this ...... My view is why not, if you can !
Phib ( waits for the abuse now :-) ! )
Phib
Crossflow Kid said:
phib said:
Do I 'need' these upgrades ? Debatable
On the question of why have i done this ...... My view is why not, if you can !
Because it compromises other aspects of the cars ability/performance?On the question of why have i done this ...... My view is why not, if you can !
I used to race an early classic with a 6.3 Chevy in on standard discs without warping them.
We did try some HiSpec 4 pot calipers on the back and they seemed better. However I then had a puncture and one of the calipers was damaged,so as I didn't have a HiSpec spare caliper I reverted to a standard caliper on that side.
Interestingly it still braked in a straight line even from high speed, so my conclusion is that the brakes felt better because I'd spent £400 on them rather than being better.
Years of experience tells me it's the pads that make the most difference, for me Mintex 1144 or 1155 work best.
I did run 'police' spec springs all round if any one needs to know that
We did try some HiSpec 4 pot calipers on the back and they seemed better. However I then had a puncture and one of the calipers was damaged,so as I didn't have a HiSpec spare caliper I reverted to a standard caliper on that side.
Interestingly it still braked in a straight line even from high speed, so my conclusion is that the brakes felt better because I'd spent £400 on them rather than being better.
Years of experience tells me it's the pads that make the most difference, for me Mintex 1144 or 1155 work best.
I did run 'police' spec springs all round if any one needs to know that
300bhp/ton said:
Crossflow Kid said:
phib said:
Do I 'need' these upgrades ? Debatable
On the question of why have i done this ...... My view is why not, if you can !
Because it compromises other aspects of the cars ability/performance?On the question of why have i done this ...... My view is why not, if you can !
And it may not be apparent until it's too late or really, really inconvenient.
That aside, bombing up and down the Alps is a bit special so hardly indicative of "must have" upgrades.
Crossflow Kid said:
Err.....they've still been compromised though, haven't they?
And it may not be apparent until it's too late or really, really inconvenient.
That aside, bombing up and down the Alps is a bit special so hardly indicative of "must have" upgrades.
Compromise against what criteria ? And it may not be apparent until it's too late or really, really inconvenient.
That aside, bombing up and down the Alps is a bit special so hardly indicative of "must have" upgrades.
Is the out of the box defender not a compromise, i.e it doesn't meet everyone's / every situation ?
I.e a new one has road bias tyres out of the factory and won't get across a ploughed field, so some people put more off road tyres on and it works better for ' their' situation
It's all about being able to customise them to meet their needs
Phil
Crossflow Kid said:
phib said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Try Googling "workman, tools and the blame thereof"
Have you actually owned both ? Normal defender and defender with fast road upgrades or a 50th with fast road upgrades ? Phib
Edited by phib on Wednesday 20th April 14:00
Simond S said:
Crossflow Kid said:
phib said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Try Googling "workman, tools and the blame thereof"
Have you actually owned both ? Normal defender and defender with fast road upgrades or a 50th with fast road upgrades ? Phib
Edited by phib on Wednesday 20th April 14:00
Maybe try ignoring it?
Or, just a thought, add positive meaningful comments relevant to the thread. It does get boring when every thread involving upgrades turns into a mass of seemingly clever comments which add nothing but a comedic value to the writer.
I personally read this as I have just bought a defender and want to learn about the upgrades, not because I wanted to see two or three people berate the concept.
But that's me, I'm sure many will find the posts hilarious.
I personally read this as I have just bought a defender and want to learn about the upgrades, not because I wanted to see two or three people berate the concept.
But that's me, I'm sure many will find the posts hilarious.
Gassing Station | Land Rover | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff