Question on the Disco's

[hattrik21]

OK I've seen/read/heard about worldwide expeditions and the vehicle of choice has been the Disco with the gasoline engine. Now they use Premium gas right? If so, can you get premium fuel all over the world? If not, are they adding octane booster to regular gas or will the engines run fine on regular gas?

 

[Green96D1]

that's a good question.
I only know from American spec rovers that the manual states Premium gas.
Other grades of gas can be use and the Truck will run but it won't run it's best.

Outside the US I'm not sure. I do know they get the Diesels which we don't:smilies27

 

[Dmarchand]

Octane boost.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I don't believe there are any *practical* octane boosters available for trips like that. The trucks will run just fine on 87, but power and milage drop. I've run mine on it before, milage went from 14mpg to 10. :smileeek:

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

Ancient, lo-tech '94 here.....it usually gets 89 octane E10 since it's the cheapest thing that still burns here in Iowa.

I try to keep whatever mid-grade in it that's available when we head west, but it really doesn't seem to care.

 

[craig]

They run fine on the cheap gas, you just get a bit more carbon buildup. For short periods there is essentially no difference is performance.

Where did you read that Petrol powered Discos were great for expeditions? I always thought it was the simplicity of the diesel Rovers that made them legendary in the Camel Trophy, etc. Better economy, better wading, improved reliability, etc. Are petrol Rovers desireable in other places in the world? If they are, I'll have to start looking to export mine in trade for a Diesel Defender or something.

 

[hattrik21]

I don't know if its the ideal choice of a vehicle to not be diesel, it was just a random thought after reading through this site. http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/longitude.html

 

[TeriAnn]

I don't know if its the ideal choice of a vehicle to not be diesel, it was just a random thought after reading through this site. http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/longitude.html

Nick and I have been friends since he first got into Land Rovers and I did a lot of the prep work on his Dormobiles for his first trip around the world.

The Second trip was supposed to be taken with 3 Land Rover Dormobiles and Nick's APGP prototype. About 4 months before the trip Land Rover USA agreed to be one of the sponsors of the trip if and only if Nick left the Series rigs at home and used factory refurbished Discoverys. LR USA gave him the US spec Discoverys & some other help in return for his hyping the vehicles. That and their use of his trip to show the reliability of LR refurbished Discos (They had a lot of Disco I's coming off lease and wanted customers to feel these vehicles were reliable).

If it were not for Land Rover USA providing the Discos and servicing them during the trip, the trip would have been made with Series Land Rovers.

So read the Disco hype on Nick's web site as Nick meeting his obligations to his sponsor, who just happened to give him a hand full of US spec Discos. Americans were the targeted customer so the Discos had to be US spec and not diesels.

I never saw any LR advertising that featured Nick's trip but I've always enjoyed the Mobile 1 advertisement.

Nick's 2 Dormobiles just before their trip around the world

Stuck in Nepal

In Mongolia

Nick & I traveling through the Majove.

Model for model, I think Land Rover Dormobles must be the most traveled model of them all. Most every one was purchased with at least one long expedition in mind.

​

 

[R_Lefebvre]

FWIW, I have a Disco, and while I love it, I would always take a diesel Defender if I had the choice. The only thing better about the Disco is it's more comfortable for a daily driver/commuter. Other than that, a diesel defender trumps it.

With gas prices going up and up, I don't want to daily drive it anyway, and it's left me kinda wishing I'd gotten an old Defender instead just to use for trips. I didn't realize it was possible to import a 1984 into Canada until too late.

 

[craig]

Teri Ann,

The Longitude Expedition Vehicles were promoted in a handful of TV commercials about 6 months back.

Craig

 

[revor]

FWIW, I have a Disco, and while I love it, I would always take a diesel Defender if I had the choice. The only thing better about the Disco is it's more comfortable for a daily driver/commuter. Other than that, a diesel defender trumps it.QUOTE]

What do you mean a Disco is more comfortable than a Defender?!?
The seating is well, okay, when it's hot I can turn on the... I mean roll down the windows and those front vents.. When it's cold out I get heat on my left foot (RHD) if I'm running the engine hard enough for it to make heat. The roof and doors only leak when it rains. It doesn't rattle or squeak, I guess the radio is up load enough to cover the wind noise that I don't hear the rattles. The Defroster works if nobody in the truck exhales.

Why am I driving this primitive beast!?!?!

I guess because it has no computer other than my Laptop, the power windows will never fail unless I break my arm, the engine requires only one wire to run, it gets 22 MPG (twice that of my Disco) You can put an entire Mariachi band and their instruments in the back. And it's worth $30K now it probably still will in 10 years (not that I every plan to sell it.

But no it's not really comfortable.

Sell the Disco Buy an econo box for a DD and import a nice 110!

 

[ttravis5446]

I would agree that a gas powered discovery wouldn't be the best vehicle. I think engine parts might be hard to come by on the shelf in a lot of places. I have a hard time even finding basic stuff, and I'm just in Wyoming. I would definately go with a diesel defender if I could afford it but they are just way to pricey for me right now. The v8 fuel economy definately hurts too, my disco has been sitting more and more in favor of the 4 banger toyota truck. Of course the Disco gets the nod on highway trips.

 

[SouthAfrican77]

Hmmm.... Petrol/Diesel?

So I am playing around with getting rid of my 2010 Taco (6 speed V6 4x4 double cab) and replacing it with a Traverse (for my wife) and in turn replacing HER VW Golf with a Disco I or II for me and the camping gear....

In the process I am reading a lot of interesting stuff on the Disco's on this forum and I must thank you guys for sharing so completely and thoroughly. As I am from South Africa I do have a unique perspective on Landy's in general, but two things strikes me as odd:

Why did LR USA spec the Disco in gas only? Why not the Tdi? Any good, sane, logical reason for it? Ironically, the same thing applies to my Taco. In South Africa their cousin Hi-Lux'es run around with nifty 3, 3.4 and sometimes 4 litre diesels. Put a 3litre turbo diesel in my Taco and you will never see me again, especially up a hill (but I will return every other month for some more diesel)

Secondly, why are 15 year old Defender 110's or 90's worth 40K USD in the USA? Simply because you cannot get them here. If LR USA re-introduced the new Defenders to the US market (with air bags etc etc) the guys selling 60k mi, 1995 Defender 90's on ebay for $36,000 reserve price would disappear overnight and they would be available for their proper intended use, not strutting around on Miami beachfront roads or in California to commute a silicon valley techie and his surfboard to the beach and back in super macho style... (Sorry for the rant but this is ridiculous, they should be selling for 10K, it shouldnt be a viable alternative to import a 1985 vehicle from a cold and wet RHD island simply because the local ones cost $40K)

So, with the rant over I still need to ask my question: Given the colorful mechanical/electrical life experience a used high mile Disco will offer me, will it be better or worse than telling my wife she has to stick to her Golf with two baby chairs and mod my Taco for overlanding instead? I sense a lose-lose coming on....

 

[David Harris]

They run fine on the cheap gas, you just get a bit more carbon buildup. For short periods there is essentially no difference is performance.

Where did you read that Petrol powered Discos were great for expeditions? I always thought it was the simplicity of the diesel Rovers that made them legendary in the Camel Trophy, etc. Better economy, better wading, improved reliability, etc. Are petrol Rovers desireable in other places in the world? If they are, I'll have to start looking to export mine in trade for a Diesel Defender or something.

I know what he means. If you look at the round the world trips that have been done, a lot of them were done on gasoline, in Discos and other makes. For example, the Longitude expedition in Discos:

http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/vehicles/

In a LR FC101:

http://www.beastlyadventure.com/The_Beast.htm

In an FL80 Land Cruiser:

http://transworldexpedition.com/

In Toyota trucks:

http://www.theworldbyroad.com/


All of these were on gasoline. So, you don't need a diesel to go on even the longest expeditions. Just throw a few gas cans on there to make up for the shorter range.

 

[AxeAngel]

So I am playing around with getting rid of my 2010 Taco (6 speed V6 4x4 double cab) and replacing it with a Traverse (for my wife) and in turn replacing HER VW Golf with a Disco I or II for me and the camping gear....

In the process I am reading a lot of interesting stuff on the Disco's on this forum and I must thank you guys for sharing so completely and thoroughly. As I am from South Africa I do have a unique perspective on Landy's in general, but two things strikes me as odd:

Why did LR USA spec the Disco in gas only? Why not the Tdi? Any good, sane, logical reason for it? Ironically, the same thing applies to my Taco. In South Africa their cousin Hi-Lux'es run around with nifty 3, 3.4 and sometimes 4 litre diesels. Put a 3litre turbo diesel in my Taco and you will never see me again, especially up a hill (but I will return every other month for some more diesel)

Secondly, why are 15 year old Defender 110's or 90's worth 40K USD in the USA? Simply because you cannot get them here. If LR USA re-introduced the new Defenders to the US market (with air bags etc etc) the guys selling 60k mi, 1995 Defender 90's on ebay for $36,000 reserve price would disappear overnight and they would be available for their proper intended use, not strutting around on Miami beachfront roads or in California to commute a silicon valley techie and his surfboard to the beach and back in super macho style... (Sorry for the rant but this is ridiculous, they should be selling for 10K, it shouldnt be a viable alternative to import a 1985 vehicle from a cold and wet RHD island simply because the local ones cost $40K)

So, with the rant over I still need to ask my question: Given the colorful mechanical/electrical life experience a used high mile Disco will offer me, will it be better or worse than telling my wife she has to stick to her Golf with two baby chairs and mod my Taco for overlanding instead? I sense a lose-lose coming on....

you need to do 3 things.
1. Buy a disco
2. Drive to Texas for the annual potjie competition
3. Drive to north Carolina for the final LR URE rally and bring me aforementioned potjiekos.

-Sam