The Range Racer
Discussion
Part of me is glad that the RWD/AWD debate is dividing opinion as we are equally unsure which route to go down...
Our priority for the medium term is to get a manual box in the car, then decide if its worth the hassle to get the transfer box back in or just take the easy option and go RWD (with approx 100kg weight save)
Sadly our manual dreams dont seem as easy as we were hoping. There wasnt ever a manual version of the range or the XK with the 4.2 V8.
There was however a manual version of the engine in the aston martin v8 vantage but as expected, 2nd hand boxes for these are rare & crazy money.
Looks like there was a couple of chaps in forum history that have managed the manual swap on the XK, so more research required and we shall see who we can find in the depths of forum history.
For the mean time, we shall have to look into a big wing, just because it still looks too much like a normal range rover!
Our priority for the medium term is to get a manual box in the car, then decide if its worth the hassle to get the transfer box back in or just take the easy option and go RWD (with approx 100kg weight save)
Sadly our manual dreams dont seem as easy as we were hoping. There wasnt ever a manual version of the range or the XK with the 4.2 V8.
There was however a manual version of the engine in the aston martin v8 vantage but as expected, 2nd hand boxes for these are rare & crazy money.
Looks like there was a couple of chaps in forum history that have managed the manual swap on the XK, so more research required and we shall see who we can find in the depths of forum history.
For the mean time, we shall have to look into a big wing, just because it still looks too much like a normal range rover!
Hi all, just managed to find some time to catch up on a bit of range racer documenting! Sorry it’s been so long.
So a few months back we FINALLY got to take the range racer out for a bit of fun at Curborough Sprint Course. It was a day long affair, with about 20 cars, one in one out with someone keeping note of the times.
A great first test for us as its only a short lap so good to try things out without putting too much strain on the beast.
So the first few laps were mixed. On the good side, loads of power, sounded fantastic no overheating and no limp home mode! (our charge cooler pump upgrade was working well). On the bad side, the traction control system / DSC was getting in the way of ALL of the fun. It was coming in all the time giving constant understeer and delaying getting the power down.
Anyway, a quick trip back to the pits and some recommendations from some of the other people there (a great bunch of petrolheads) and we unplugged opposite corner wheel speed sensors = lots of warning lights + no more traction control, no more DSC and no more ABS. RESULT!
After this it was a very different story, no driving aids at all, 400hp and 2tons to wrestle around the track. Its hilariously fun in a strange scary and challenging way. Strangely fast but some clear room for improvement in some areas.
The brakes balance is now very wrong, it locks up the fronts incredibly easily coming into every corner (probably because we upsized the front brakes and not the rears) so i think we are going to need some form of brake adjustment. This also led to overheating the front tyres causing the fronts to start spinning up on the way out or corners.
It was all great fun, we will be back for sure and the constant locking up ment we got some great photos with lots of tyre smoke (thanks to mdb images)
There is also a video of the onboard footage on our youtube channel.
BM7I3658 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I3751 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I4021 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I4058 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I4345 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I4351 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I4356 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
BM7I4369 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
So a few months back we FINALLY got to take the range racer out for a bit of fun at Curborough Sprint Course. It was a day long affair, with about 20 cars, one in one out with someone keeping note of the times.
A great first test for us as its only a short lap so good to try things out without putting too much strain on the beast.
So the first few laps were mixed. On the good side, loads of power, sounded fantastic no overheating and no limp home mode! (our charge cooler pump upgrade was working well). On the bad side, the traction control system / DSC was getting in the way of ALL of the fun. It was coming in all the time giving constant understeer and delaying getting the power down.
Anyway, a quick trip back to the pits and some recommendations from some of the other people there (a great bunch of petrolheads) and we unplugged opposite corner wheel speed sensors = lots of warning lights + no more traction control, no more DSC and no more ABS. RESULT!
After this it was a very different story, no driving aids at all, 400hp and 2tons to wrestle around the track. Its hilariously fun in a strange scary and challenging way. Strangely fast but some clear room for improvement in some areas.
The brakes balance is now very wrong, it locks up the fronts incredibly easily coming into every corner (probably because we upsized the front brakes and not the rears) so i think we are going to need some form of brake adjustment. This also led to overheating the front tyres causing the fronts to start spinning up on the way out or corners.
It was all great fun, we will be back for sure and the constant locking up ment we got some great photos with lots of tyre smoke (thanks to mdb images)
There is also a video of the onboard footage on our youtube channel.
BM7I3658 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I3751 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I4021 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I4058 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I4345 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I4351 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I4356 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrBM7I4369 by Charlie Foley, on FlickrEdited by charlie-5mkmt on Sunday 19th January 11:10
Some other things we learnt
Our seat mounts are pants. Rather wobbly and are way too high as you can see from the photos. So another job to add to the list is to get something better. So if anyone has an BMW e46 or e36 bucket seat mounts sitting the in garage then let us know (bolt spacing is the same as the range rover)
We need to wire up our wheel speed sensors to switches on the dash as its way too much of a pain to unplug them under the car all the time.
despite our best efforts (painting the wheels and nothing else) the car still looks too normal. We have found a HUGE wing for sale so it looks like we are getting that hoping to get that sorted and on the car in the coming weeks.
Now for the most exciting bit..... We have found a chap who happens to have an Aston Martin MANUAL gearbox that in a previous life was in a jag XKR (the same engine as ours). Looks like this could be the one if we can raise the funds. This would mean we can ditch the sloppy auto box and front diff etc and over 100kgs with it. The negative is the amount of electrical problems it will give.
It looks like the best way out is just to removal all the factory ECU and go standalone.This really isnt our area of knowledge (all chassis engineers) So does anyone have any advice/recommendations for standalone ECU options and companies? Especially that are compatible with 8 cylinder engines and are relatively cost efficient.....
BM7I3860 by Charlie Foley, on Flickr
Our seat mounts are pants. Rather wobbly and are way too high as you can see from the photos. So another job to add to the list is to get something better. So if anyone has an BMW e46 or e36 bucket seat mounts sitting the in garage then let us know (bolt spacing is the same as the range rover)
We need to wire up our wheel speed sensors to switches on the dash as its way too much of a pain to unplug them under the car all the time.
despite our best efforts (painting the wheels and nothing else) the car still looks too normal. We have found a HUGE wing for sale so it looks like we are getting that hoping to get that sorted and on the car in the coming weeks.
Now for the most exciting bit..... We have found a chap who happens to have an Aston Martin MANUAL gearbox that in a previous life was in a jag XKR (the same engine as ours). Looks like this could be the one if we can raise the funds. This would mean we can ditch the sloppy auto box and front diff etc and over 100kgs with it. The negative is the amount of electrical problems it will give.
It looks like the best way out is just to removal all the factory ECU and go standalone.This really isnt our area of knowledge (all chassis engineers) So does anyone have any advice/recommendations for standalone ECU options and companies? Especially that are compatible with 8 cylinder engines and are relatively cost efficient.....
BM7I3860 by Charlie Foley, on Flickrjoropug said:
Video looks good , pics are dead though.
I watched this the other day, same gearbox ?
https://youtu.be/_112x2jR2DI
It's too aggressive but shows it can be a bit like a dual clutch!
haha! this thing is mental!I watched this the other day, same gearbox ?
https://youtu.be/_112x2jR2DI
It's too aggressive but shows it can be a bit like a dual clutch!
I actually drive an X5 as a daily these days, sadly the 3L diesel doesn't quite perform like this....
andrewrob said:
Can't you just pull the fuses relating to the ABS system, that should knock that and traction control out? Looks amazing by the way!
We did try that and unplugging the ABS modulator, it caused the car to have a bit of a fit, gave us very limited power and locked itself in 3rd gear (some form of limp home mode) 
Hey all!
Apologies for not sending any updates on here recently! I haven't had any time to keep you all updated with what we have been up too!
Here is a quick update on whats changed and i shall write up something more complete over the next few weeks!
1) Its now RWD! With a modified transfer box we are now sending all drive to the rear, amazingly it didn't caused catastrophic electrical failure! We still have the old transfer box so its completely reversible but it seems like a good idea for some fun
2) we took it to curborough for a little test, feedback is.....it can now do skids but.....it very much wants to under steer still!
3) we crashed on our 3rd lap! in a failed attempt to provoke some over steer, we ended up with HUGE under steer which meant we has a slight bump with a wall. Everyone was ok and minimal damage to the range (headlight, bonnet & bumper and lots of electrical problems caused by a blown 60a fuse) Its very clear our week point is suspension set up, over sprung and over damped, we need a plan to fix that next.
Apologies for not sending any updates on here recently! I haven't had any time to keep you all updated with what we have been up too!
Here is a quick update on whats changed and i shall write up something more complete over the next few weeks!
1) Its now RWD! With a modified transfer box we are now sending all drive to the rear, amazingly it didn't caused catastrophic electrical failure! We still have the old transfer box so its completely reversible but it seems like a good idea for some fun
2) we took it to curborough for a little test, feedback is.....it can now do skids but.....it very much wants to under steer still!
3) we crashed on our 3rd lap! in a failed attempt to provoke some over steer, we ended up with HUGE under steer which meant we has a slight bump with a wall. Everyone was ok and minimal damage to the range (headlight, bonnet & bumper and lots of electrical problems caused by a blown 60a fuse) Its very clear our week point is suspension set up, over sprung and over damped, we need a plan to fix that next.
ked with your request to alter trajectory' 
Well well, its been a little while hasn't it 
Lots has changed with job changes, house moves and life for all 3 of us.
However the range racer is not dead....VERY neglected and still looking sad from its bump on the nose but not yet dead.
We have treated her to some parts to repair the damage and some new coil overs to finally get rid of the far too soft air springs (who knew someone made coilovers for range rovers?!
We plan on getting back to it through 2023, dont expect rapid progress but its time we got this stupid project back on track ASAP.
Hope you are all have kept well!
Lots has changed with job changes, house moves and life for all 3 of us.
However the range racer is not dead....VERY neglected and still looking sad from its bump on the nose but not yet dead.
We have treated her to some parts to repair the damage and some new coil overs to finally get rid of the far too soft air springs (who knew someone made coilovers for range rovers?!
We plan on getting back to it through 2023, dont expect rapid progress but its time we got this stupid project back on track ASAP.
Hope you are all have kept well!
Edited by charlie-5mkmt on Friday 23 December 23:33
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