2 questions for those in the know. Which Land Rover?

2 questions for those in the know. Which Land Rover?

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BroadsRS6

Original Poster:

785 posts

38 months

Thursday 24th June 2021
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Speaking to a L R fanatic today he said the older 1990s engine is the one to go for. 2.5 litre diesel I believe. So did the company not improve the engine with the later cars in 2.4 and 2.2 litre (was it?) size? Which engine's best from the 1980 to 2015 era Defender?
Secondly if I splashed out on a 4 litre V8 petrol L R about a year old would it be as rugged and capable off road as the last cars? I love the look of them but are they now too posh?

JustGREENI

498 posts

179 months

Thursday 24th June 2021
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Having owned near enough every option and then some:
NA - SLOW
Turbo - SLOW
200tdi - SLOW but great
300tdi - SLOW but one to tour the World with
Td5 - Keeps up with traffic when mildly mapped, reliable, sounds great.
2.4 tdci - sorry, just hateful and lacks soul.
OM606 - was epic, but the one i owned rolled too much coal!
GM6.2 v8 diesel - HUMMER H1 lump. Slow and heavy.
GM6.5 v8 diesel - slightly less awful than the 6.2!
3.5 v8 sounds great, lazy.
3.9 v8 sounds great, lazy.
4.6 v8 sounds great, less lazy.

I’d recommend a td5 time and time again.
But that’s just me.
I currently have and always will have a 4.6 GEMS 90.

camel_landy

4,863 posts

182 months

Thursday 24th June 2021
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JustGREENI said:
Having owned near enough every option and then some:
NA - SLOW
Turbo - SLOW
200tdi - SLOW but great
300tdi - SLOW but one to tour the World with
Td5 - Keeps up with traffic when mildly mapped, reliable, sounds great.
2.4 tdci - sorry, just hateful and lacks soul.
OM606 - was epic, but the one i owned rolled too much coal!
GM6.2 v8 diesel - HUMMER H1 lump. Slow and heavy.
GM6.5 v8 diesel - slightly less awful than the 6.2!
3.5 v8 sounds great, lazy.
3.9 v8 sounds great, lazy.
4.6 v8 sounds great, less lazy.

I’d recommend a td5 time and time again.
But that’s just me.
I currently have and always will have a 4.6 GEMS 90.
Good summary... Worth noting the GM engines were after market conversions and the 2.8 BMW 6cyl (petrol), was briefly used too.

  • 300TDi (2.5) - Utterly bomb-proof and fast enough.
  • TD5 (2.5) - Awesome engine and I love the power delivery of the 5cyl.
  • TDCi (2.4) - Great engine.
  • TDCi (2.2) - Hate it... Underpowered and you have to flog it hard if you're doing any challenging off-road work.
All the cars are VERY capable, out of the box, often made more so with proper training. The main difference with the old Defender vs the new cars is the cost of repairing body damage if you have an 'un-planned excursion'.

M

BroadsRS6

Original Poster:

785 posts

38 months

Friday 25th June 2021
quotequote all
I've ruled out the latest car. Costs a fortune and I'd be gutted the first time a panel was damaged.
TD5 seems the best. Why did they go to 2.4 and 2.2?

BroadsRS6

Original Poster:

785 posts

38 months

Friday 25th June 2021
quotequote all
PS. 4.6 litres of old fashioned V8 to me sounds great in a LR.
Must go well.

JustGREENI

498 posts

179 months

Friday 25th June 2021
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It goes okay…for a Land Rover!

https://youtu.be/ZzVW819S-AY

https://youtu.be/7fK45hzZygM

The 2.4 and 2.2 are both Ford lumps, shared with a Transit. Emissions was the reason, i think.. i lost interest!
A place called DT Engine solutions can build/swap an LS3 or Supercharge you a Toyota 1UZ if you really want to keep up with traffic!

Here’s how an LS3 sounds.. stick around for the kick-down!

https://youtu.be/8uok-YCOQiI

BroadsRS6

Original Poster:

785 posts

38 months

Friday 25th June 2021
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Beautiful engines old V8s. I had a Vauxhall VXR with the 6.2 lump.

A.J.M

7,894 posts

185 months

Friday 25th June 2021
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2.4 and then 2.2 were for emissions regulations.

The 2.4 from my experience isn’t a bad engine.
A friends got a 2.4 90 XS. Unlike the older ones, it’s heated is actually a heater. The dash is nicer and generally it feels a nicer car.

The rest of my friends in the landy club have a mixture of 200/300 tdi engines for off roading etc.

For beating the st out of they are probably the best.
Minimal electrics etc for going wrong and with a snorkel they can swim happily.
But they are definitely a Labour of love, always needing something sorted and the wiring looms are a disaster so having one with every light working is an achievement!


Identify what you want from it and go according.
Road car? Get a newer one.
Off road play thing, tdi.

rxe

6,700 posts

102 months

Friday 25th June 2021
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I have a 300 Tdi and a 4.6 V8. The V8 is a bit of a Franken-Motor, old non-serp block at 4.6 litres with Disco injection system stuck on it.

The V8 is a great tow vehicle, and when not towing has impressive in gear acceleration. Fuel consumption is predictably catastrophic - it is not a sensible daily. Top speed is limited at about 90 because I am unwilling to use "The Force" for steering.

The 300 Tdi lugs away, and to be honest struggles to hold 70 on an uphill motorway. Mine is unmodified - with a barn door sized intercooler, they can be made more sprightly. It is a very simple, cheap engine and very reliable.

TD5 is a better driving engine, at a cost of more complexity and expense. Basically, if you intend to drown the thing on a regular basis, get a 300 TDI. If you want fun on an occasional basis - get a V8. If you want a daily driver, get s TD5 (or a 2.4).



C Lee Farquar

4,066 posts

215 months

Friday 25th June 2021
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Puma engine would be my choice, nice gearbox, heater and aircon

I'd prefer an LS7 with 6 speed auto but it's an expensive conversion.

BroadsRS6

Original Poster:

785 posts

38 months

Saturday 26th June 2021
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There's a fella here on Skye with what I think would be an amazing LR. His new model has a stonking 296 bhp diesel engine with a massive 479 ft lbs of torque. Add to that 8 gears and the usual low ratio option and surely that's going to be mega.
I'd love one.

Andy_mr2sc

1,223 posts

175 months

Saturday 26th June 2021
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I'm rebuilding my 90 at the moment using a bmw m57 3L diesel and 6sp manual ZF gearbox. 204hp standard but already mapped to ~290. Cracking engine so should be a fun drive!

Bill

52,485 posts

254 months

Saturday 26th June 2021
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Agree with the consensus... 300tdi is good enough off road but a bit lacking on, td5 is good as standard and great with a remap, 2.4 (had one in a 3.8T motorhome...) is bland but effective.

astroarcadia

1,710 posts

199 months

Sunday 27th June 2021
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Three I have had......

300tdi - great engine and a good match for the overall character. (stolen)
TD5 - always wanted a bit more power from mine. (sold)
2.4 - strong engine, pulls really well. (keeper)

I would go for a 2.4 given they come with the other benefits/comforts mentioned in posts above.

I wouldn't let the engine determine my search for the right vehicle, search for an unmolested, clean example. Good luck with that!

BroadsRS6

Original Poster:

785 posts

38 months

Monday 28th June 2021
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I'm sorted now with a Wrangler 4.0 (i'm behind the sofa right now), but it seems people favour the TD5 and 2.4 as the best choices.
The old fashioned Rover V8 lump, fairly light as i recall, would be great in an old Landy, especially in TVR trim, say the 5.0 version. I can imagine 300 quite lazy bhp being a hoot!