X-plorenow
Adventurer
Why did Rob get banned? I was wondering where he went all of a sudden.
Canadian Disco 2 Build
- Thread starter R_Lefebvre
- Start date
brushogger
Explorer
It had something to do with the ExpoBat Robots video.
The Adam Blaster
Expedition Leader
My take on it - there was a bunch of arguments in the Land Rover forum, and Scott Brady was not on Rob's side. So, he got the boot.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Well, after a long hiatus, I'm back!
Currently, my Disco is outstanding in it's field.
Life took a few unexpected turns. Around 2010 I fell deep, deep deep down the rabbithole of UAV technology and started a company, which consumed my life almost entirely for the past few years. I actually took no vacation at all in 2016. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and hoping to get back into this stuff.
I have a few things that I build for the truck and trips I did after this thread ended. But the thread is such a mess now, now sure if I should bother continuing it or just start a new one. Not planning on spending days and days repairing broken picture links.
Currently, my Disco is outstanding in it's field.
Life took a few unexpected turns. Around 2010 I fell deep, deep deep down the rabbithole of UAV technology and started a company, which consumed my life almost entirely for the past few years. I actually took no vacation at all in 2016. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and hoping to get back into this stuff.
I have a few things that I build for the truck and trips I did after this thread ended. But the thread is such a mess now, now sure if I should bother continuing it or just start a new one. Not planning on spending days and days repairing broken picture links.
94Discovery
Adventurer
Welcom back i thought you were dead �� last time we spoke at the OVLR Birthday party ,hope to see you this year
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Wow, reading back a few pages, I forgot how much good tech there is here. I'm glad I documented what I did here, because otherwise I can't remember what I did 7 years ago!
This here is particularly interesting. This is the #1 thing I don't like about the manual trans. Off-road, the stock gearing totally sucks. For many difficult situations, 1st gear just isn't low enough and results in lots of clutch slipping being required. A lower crawl ratio is really needed. Going 4.11 on the axles, and changing the high ratio to 1:1 is definitely a viable alternative. The final crawl ratio would be lower, without drastically affecting the highway RPM.
But I'll look into this too.
After all these years, the other thing I hate about the manual, is that shifting this thing really is incredibly terrible. I'm starting to suspect the problem is just the oil in the box. I used whatever synthetic fluid from Ashcroft. My experience with the MTX75 in the Focus was similar. All the performance guys swear the standard fluid is junk and that you should replace it with synthetic. The synthetic resulted in terrible shifting, it's just not good for the syncros. I changed back to the standard fluid, and it went back to normal. I'm suspecting the same is true with the R380. IIRC, it's specced for an ATF actually. Worth a shot.
For a long time, I was thinking it was just that the R380 is a bad gearbox. But at some point I got to test drive somebody's D1 with a factory installed R380, and it was actually one of the better shifting boxes I've used.
This here is particularly interesting. This is the #1 thing I don't like about the manual trans. Off-road, the stock gearing totally sucks. For many difficult situations, 1st gear just isn't low enough and results in lots of clutch slipping being required. A lower crawl ratio is really needed. Going 4.11 on the axles, and changing the high ratio to 1:1 is definitely a viable alternative. The final crawl ratio would be lower, without drastically affecting the highway RPM.
But I'll look into this too.
After all these years, the other thing I hate about the manual, is that shifting this thing really is incredibly terrible. I'm starting to suspect the problem is just the oil in the box. I used whatever synthetic fluid from Ashcroft. My experience with the MTX75 in the Focus was similar. All the performance guys swear the standard fluid is junk and that you should replace it with synthetic. The synthetic resulted in terrible shifting, it's just not good for the syncros. I changed back to the standard fluid, and it went back to normal. I'm suspecting the same is true with the R380. IIRC, it's specced for an ATF actually. Worth a shot.
For a long time, I was thinking it was just that the R380 is a bad gearbox. But at some point I got to test drive somebody's D1 with a factory installed R380, and it was actually one of the better shifting boxes I've used.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
I guess one thing I did that never made it to this thread. My rear cargo barrier. I wanted to do something to give me more storage, but not drawers as I find that they waste a lot of volume, are heavy, etc. So I just made a shelf system, with a barrier integrated. This allows me to pack all my heavy recovery gear underneath. And then camping stuff or whatever goes on top. In any sort of accident, the stuff piled high on top can't shoot forward into the passenger area. And this would also give some roll-over roof crush protection. I also replaced the rear door panel with steel sheet. No, I didn't make a table. I don't cook gourmet on the trail.
Yes, the CG is high if I pile it to the roof. But it's still much lower than if it was on the roof rack. And yes I have to dig for stuff on the bottom. Oh well.
Yes, the CG is high if I pile it to the roof. But it's still much lower than if it was on the roof rack. And yes I have to dig for stuff on the bottom. Oh well.
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