Automatics off road.
Discussion
I am looking at getting a TD5 Disco and have seen a few autos. As I have to tow a couple of trailers off road can anyone tell me if an auto will perform the same as a manual?
The worst I do is tow a couple of tons of hay up a steep loose surface drive and onto grass and towing a trailer across some fields at our stables. My manual TDi200 copes well with the centre diff locked and in low ratio, is the auto the same principle.
The worst I do is tow a couple of tons of hay up a steep loose surface drive and onto grass and towing a trailer across some fields at our stables. My manual TDi200 copes well with the centre diff locked and in low ratio, is the auto the same principle.
I was skeptical about Auto boxes off road, my Trooper was a manual and that was what I was used to. My 2000 Discovery with the ZF 4 speed automatic has yet to disappoint me however, I'm very pleased with it's performance off-road.
Some Disco II Autos have the central locking diff and some don't, If they don't, they will have traction control. The traction control isn't the most sophisticated system in the world but it does work. I have yet to get stuck off-roading here in Colorado, through snow, mud, cinder, sand, creeks with steep muddy banks and any combination off the above. I was out this weekend and in my stock rig I was able to go everywhere a highly modified, lifted Jeep Cherokee was able to go.
The 2 things I would recommend due to your heavy trailer towing would be to maybe add an extra transmission cooler, talk to your favorite mechanic about it to see if it may need one and also get some good tires on it, something in the General all-terrain II or BF Goodrich all-terrain area should do nicely.
With the auto box you will still have the ability to select 4 gears plus low range offering another 4, so 8 gears to chose from, plenty. The thing I notice driving off-road with an auto compared to my old manual Trooper is that I'm less busy while driving. There seems to be fewer panic situations where I have to apply the brakes, dip the clutch, shift up or down, all at once, which is nice!
I say do it without fear.
Some Disco II Autos have the central locking diff and some don't, If they don't, they will have traction control. The traction control isn't the most sophisticated system in the world but it does work. I have yet to get stuck off-roading here in Colorado, through snow, mud, cinder, sand, creeks with steep muddy banks and any combination off the above. I was out this weekend and in my stock rig I was able to go everywhere a highly modified, lifted Jeep Cherokee was able to go.
The 2 things I would recommend due to your heavy trailer towing would be to maybe add an extra transmission cooler, talk to your favorite mechanic about it to see if it may need one and also get some good tires on it, something in the General all-terrain II or BF Goodrich all-terrain area should do nicely.
With the auto box you will still have the ability to select 4 gears plus low range offering another 4, so 8 gears to chose from, plenty. The thing I notice driving off-road with an auto compared to my old manual Trooper is that I'm less busy while driving. There seems to be fewer panic situations where I have to apply the brakes, dip the clutch, shift up or down, all at once, which is nice!
I say do it without fear.
Edited by Trooper2 on Monday 20th August 17:18
falcemob said:
I just had a test in one and it only had high and low, no diff lock.
Some, like my 2000 have the diff lock installed in the transfer case, just not the cables, lever, etc to activate it. I looked up the parts to hook it up in my vehicle and IIRC it was under $1000.00 to get the parts to hook it all up.I need to upgrade my tires but after that I really can't see myself ever getting stuck just relying on the traction control. I'd have to be willing to risk lots of body damage to the vehicle in a real technical off-road situation I think. The traction control does work.
Just FYI, if you reach up on the front nose of the T case and a threaded shaft (part # 35 on picture, Diff lock selector and housing) is sticking up then the T case has a center locking diff and it just needs to be hooked up. If it doesn't have the shaft sticking up and just a flat plate then there is no option the have it without changing the T case.
As trooper says, just because it doesn't have a lever doesn't mean the gubbins aren't there. My Rangie was an auto and it was a doodle dive off road. My defender is a manual and has a diff lock. So much more to do when driving off road. The only down side I can see is that you don't have the same engine braking in an auto as a manual. There are ways around that by using reverse on slippy slopes but that is probably out of the remit
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