Can you guys tell me about the LR3?

[devinsixtyseven]

My uncle got one recently, and he's all about getting it dirty.

Could you guys help me out a bit, I'd be great to have him on some of the trips we do, but I'm not familiar with the rig at all. At a glance it seems nice.

What sort of capability does it have...

Low range?
Lockers?
Ground clearance?
Strengths and weaknesses?
Fording ability?
Tire size, choice, etc?
Capability in soft bottomless sand?
Air down range?
Rock crawling as is possible with the suspension design and chassis/body clearance?
Visibility from the driver's seat?
Tranny braking?
Traction assist?

And anything else you can think of!

Thanks very much in advance . He's really excited, but the LR3 is completely different from my rig in almost every way, and I absolutely don't want to put him in a situation which would risk mechanical or body damage.

Where have you guys taken your LR3, and where do you see one going?

-Sean

 

[bigreen505]

I can't contribute much as my experience is very limited. They are lacking both ground clearance and articulation, but capability is impressive. The way it moved around a steep, snowy and muddy job site on the side of a mountain near Granby -- with stock tires -- was inspiring. They are not mall crawlers.

 

[Scott Brady]

In the right environment/trail, they are spectacular in stock form. Moab in particular. I have spent quite a bit of time with them, and their comfort and performance on easy to moderate terrain is very impressive.

I would recommend he installs the sliders from Off-Roving

The dowside is very limited modifications to bring the vehicle to the 3+ obstacle range (IFS IRS). Up to that point, they are near the top of the list.

 

[ssmathis]

I'll add to the comments.

Scott

Low range? - All electronic. You don't have low range switch but with the terrain response the cumputer decides when the low range is required.

Lockers? - The rear locker was optional and part of a package when he bought his. They do come with their electronic traction control and center diff lock. Again, this is all computer controlled.

Ground clearance? - 7.3" up to 9.5" in high mode.

Strengths and weaknesses? - I can't add much here other than to say they are tooo heavy and get horrible gas mileage.

Fording ability? - 27.6" according to LR.

Tire size, choice, etc? - Can fit 275/65/18" with no problem. Copper makes some STTs in this size. This adds about 1" more ground clearance from stock.

Capability in soft bottomless sand? - The weight is a big dissadvantage here.

Traction assist? - Full time.

 

[outsidr]

Sean,

I have built a few of these and would second the recommendation that you need to protect the side sills. because they have a tenancy to high center. ARB makes a factory like Bull Bar that can support a winch, There are also skid plates for the front end and transfer case.

The most vulnerable part of the suspension in my experience is the air bag suspension which has the tendancy to overextend causing a rip that can disable the suspension. (Air leaks out of the rip).

Here is what we did to the last LR3 that came in. Enjoy the pictures...http://www.lokeytrucks.com/images/pages/Range Rover/05_land_rover_lr3_index.html

 

[TeriAnn]

Sean,

I have built a few of these and would second the recommendation that you need to protect the side sills. because they have a tenancy to high center. ARB makes a factory like Bull Bar that can support a winch, There are also skid plates for the front end and transfer case.

British Pacific carries a selection of underside protection plates, a rear tyre swing away that gets the spare out from under the rig and mounts it where you can get at it while on the trail and they carry the ARB winch bumper for the LR3.

Web page with pictures of the protection plates, ARB bumper and rear swing away

 

[NeilWilson]

I know it is UK based but there is shed loads of info on http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/

Neil

 

[viatierra]

I'll add to the comments

Low range? - All electronic. You don't have low range switch but with the terrain response the cumputer decides when the low range is required.

This isn't true. Low range is activated by the driver. The computer can adjust torque settings though.

I think the #1 improvement to be made is tires. The car is highly electronic, but actually quite capable. If he's willing to get it dirty... go for it!

 

[Ruffin' It]

I thought the terrain assist was able to fully lock all the diffs not just center and rear? Since there are very few LR3s in the states that didn't come with Terrrain Assist (I believe the only ones that lack it have the V6 in them), chances are he'll have it. Likewise, the fully extended mode offers, I believe, up to 11" inches of clearance.
They are VERY capable. The vehicle not only chooses when to lock what and what ride height is appropriate, but it also can sense when you are hung up and automatically gives you a little additional lift, but remaps the throttle and transmission controls to be suit the needs of the environment. It will allow you to "clean out" your tires in mud by spinning them, but will keep you from digging down in soft sand. I've been on several significant trails with LR3's and they never have failed to blow me away, even stock. I['ve watched them blow away '04 Disco II's (Me), Defender 90's, and Jeep Rubicon's (although that is likely down to the drivers). To be honest, they are more capable than I wanted them to be. The exhuast pipes under the rear IRS don't help, but ultimtately, aside from the Rubicon, I don't believe there has ever been a more capable 4wd for sale from a dealer (Unimogs/Pinz excluded). Even then, the Rubi doesn't have it by much as far as ability and the LR3 is WAY more useful and comfortable.
That said, I really don't like the complexity of them. Even if it was a Toyota, I wouldn't want to have that much computer control in my 4WD. And the mention of limited mods is very true. The suspension geometry changes that result in lifting any independant suspension inherently limits what you can do - unless you are going to start replacing a lot of things (read: everything including relocating the steering rack).
I would say, if you you look at the Rubicon Trail as a quaint little warm up, I'd avoid the LR3. Also, if you plan on putting 200,000 off-road miles on your rig I would say leave the LR3 out of the running. But for the way 90% off-roaders use their vehicle 99% of the time, they are pretty hard to beat.

(I still wouldn't get one for me though)

I'll add to the comments.

Scott

Low range? - All electronic. You don't have low range switch but with the terrain response the cumputer decides when the low range is required.

Lockers? - The rear locker was optional and part of a package when he bought his. They do come with their electronic traction control and center diff lock. Again, this is all computer controlled.

Ground clearance? - 7.3" up to 9.5" in high mode.

Strengths and weaknesses? - I can't add much here other than to say they are tooo heavy and get horrible gas mileage.

Fording ability? - 27.6" according to LR.

Tire size, choice, etc? - Can fit 275/65/18" with no problem. Copper makes some STTs in this size. This adds about 1" more ground clearance from stock.

Capability in soft bottomless sand? - The weight is a big dissadvantage here.

Traction assist? - Full time.

 

[devinsixtyseven]

Thanks for all the comments!

I found out unfortunately it is a lease, so he's stuck with it for a couple more years and can't mess it up or tear in to it.

I guess that leaves tires, which can make a huge difference all by themselves.

We're going to take it out for a spin in the next couple weekends and try out all the gadgetry . I don't think he's ever exercised it but he's aware of some of the selling points, assuming we're both complete newbs to the vehicle, where would you start if you wanted to shift to low range and ascend an off-camber hill? Now how about coming back down that same hill? It's got a lot of buttons compared to my truck (mine starts with two, now it has two more since I added a locker and compressor! very simple stuff, unlike the LR3 it seems). How do you set the ride height?

How small of a rim and large of a tire can you reasonably (full travel and steering) cram in those wheel wells? How strong are the sidewalls on the stock tires with the big blingy rims?

His has the 8cyl engine. Do you guys run in full auto or semi auto in the dirt?

I'm pretty sure we can navigate it through most of the scenic trails in the local CO/UT area, just not sure yet what all the buttons do .

One more question, maybe this is the money Q tho...what inputs result in a certain computer choice, and what are the transducers...accelerometers, pots, what? and where? etc. (er...to paraphrase...what makes this thing tick?)

Thanks again!

-Sean

 

[FortyMileDesert]

Thanks for all the comments!

I found out unfortunately it is a lease, so he's stuck with it for a couple more years and can't mess it up or tear in to it.

I guess that leaves tires, which can make a huge difference all by themselves.

We're going to take it out for a spin in the next couple weekends and try out all the gadgetry . I don't think he's ever exercised it but he's aware of some of the selling points, assuming we're both complete newbs to the vehicle, where would you start if you wanted to shift to low range and ascend an off-camber hill? Now how about coming back down that same hill? It's got a lot of buttons compared to my truck (mine starts with two, now it has two more since I added a locker and compressor! very simple stuff, unlike the LR3 it seems). How do you set the ride height?

How small of a rim and large of a tire can you reasonably (full travel and steering) cram in those wheel wells? How strong are the sidewalls on the stock tires with the big blingy rims?

His has the 8cyl engine. Do you guys run in full auto or semi auto in the dirt?

I'm pretty sure we can navigate it through most of the scenic trails in the local CO/UT area, just not sure yet what all the buttons do .

One more question, maybe this is the money Q tho...what inputs result in a certain computer choice, and what are the transducers...accelerometers, pots, what? and where? etc. (er...to paraphrase...what makes this thing tick?)

Thanks again!

-Sean

Doesn't this guys truck come with a manual? Everything about operating the LR3 off-road is fully explained in the operators manual.

 

[Funrover]

They do amazing!!!! The ground clearence is alright but it could be better.. However they can do so much that limiting them is hard... check ut www.off-rovering.com to see some videos or go to www.lrrforums.com and there are a few that go wheeling there!

 

[Dirty Harry]

They are VERY capable. The vehicle not only chooses when to lock what and what ride height is appropriate, but it also can sense when you are hung up and automatically gives you a little additional lift, but remaps the throttle and transmission controls to be suit the needs of the environment.

My experiences mirror your's. I tested one with MT/Rs on it when they first came out and they are VERY capable. I was able to drive up a steep talus slope and could feel the tires start to slip, and with no driver input the vehicle would adjust and keep climbing forward. Ground clearance was the only limiting factor that I found, the LR3 is easily the most capable IFS (and IRS) vehicle I have driven in stock form.