New disco

[Sollidisc]

Hi all, I may be mad but have just taken delivery of a new disco 4 sd se. My previous vehicle was an my11 tdv6 2.7. Have just retired so thought I'd get a new one with extended warranty. The tdv6 was a very good vehicle, it did do a turbo but apart from that was a top tourer and great tug. I had the choice of a new tdv6 with tech pack or base sd se for five dollars less! The tech pack was tempting but the extra neddies and captains chairs did it for me! Anyway just finished swapping over the sidesteps etc and headed for North Queensland towing a jurgens 23 footer at the end of the month until November. Was thinking of fitting a bull bar, any thoughts out there on the LR one?

[jonesy63]

Was thinking of fitting a bull bar, any thoughts out there on the LR one?

If you want a functional bullbar, avoid it. Steel OL or ARB would be my suggestion.
Cheers,
Rob

[Plane Fixer]

I second Jonesy's sentiment re steel bullbar.
I have the ARB steel and a while ago sadly, I hit a roo. There was no damage to the Disco but the roo went to roo heaven.

[gghaggis]

A good alloy bar will be as resistant to impact as a steel one. Of course, I don't know if the LR one is a "good alloy bar".

It's easier to repair a steel bar, but most impacts would result in an insurance claim, and that usually results in the bar being replaced, not repaired, thereby negating the advantage.

Cheers,

Gordon

[herrBlick]

A good alloy bar will be as resistant to impact as a steel one. Of course, I don't know if the LR one is a "good alloy bar".

It's easier to repair a steel bar, but most impacts would result in an insurance claim, and that usually results in the bar being replaced, not repaired, thereby negating the advantage.

Cheers,

Gordon

I agree ..I have never read about anyone hitting a roo at high speed and airbags not being deployed plus not being towed, adding also that they look naff.... Just don't drive at dusk or dawn and keep the good looks of your discovery

[discojools]

Have to agree with Herrblick..I have an OL fitted (initially badly!) to my D4 and now wish I hadn't.
Much prefer the looks without and I don't like all that weight over the front wheels. In my opinion has ruined the handling. Have had bars on both my D3 and D4 and still haven't hit anything. Of course if didn't have them I would probably hit something by now!
Then there are the probs of how to mount lights and winches..

saw a new red D4 in Kakadu a few weeks ago with the LR bar.. It was very shiny!

[minibloodhound]

I was in the Land Rover dealership the other day and they were advertising a special on the factory bar......at over $4000!.....on special!:o

[Graeme]

Just don't drive at dusk or dawn and keep the good looks of your discoveryI connected with a roo at about 3pm in my D2 that didn't have a bar. Fortunately the vehicle was mechanically driveable as I was in the middle of nowhere but the loss of the use of the vehicle for a couple of weeks whilst being repaired was very inconvenient. I almost collected a large billy goat at 100 kph mid morning a couple of weeks ago - that would have done some damage without a bar.

[herrBlick]

I connected with a roo at about 3pm in my D2 that didn't have a bar. Fortunately the vehicle was mechanically driveable as I was in the middle of nowhere but the loss of the use of the vehicle for a couple of weeks whilst being repaired was very inconvenient. I almost collected a large billy goat at 100 kph mid morning a couple of weeks ago - that would have done some damage without a bar.

You must live in the country to have had so many encounters with wildlife, us city folk have to also worry about pedestrians,,,, I am dead against the bullbar..... I saw some twit the other day with a sticker saying "a bullbar is worth more in the country than a pedestrian in the city".......bloody pillock!
Anyway...... They are necessary if your on a farm maybe but driving around the high country or up in Mt Pinnbar, it seems a little bit too much like a sales pitch has been pitched so often that we believe that these things actually save lives.... I don't believe they do...do you ?

[BMKal]

I wouldn't be without a decent bullbar. Have an ARB steel one on the D4 and it has been tested and proven more than once. Also have a decent set of lights, plus UHF radio and telephone kit aerials mounted on it.

I agree with Gordon's comment that a "good" alloy bar will provide the same level of protection against a roo strike - but I'm still more comfortable with the steel one for a number of reasons. Having said that, I had an ECB alloy bar on my D2 (which the son still has) and a similar alloy bar on my D1 - both of these cleaned up more than a couple of roos over the years without any damage.

Not impressed with the look of the LR supplied bar for the D4 - and you can definitely get a good steel bar for much less dollars.

If you're ever considering installing a winch - a steel bar is really the only way to go. I opted for the ARB winch bar ............. in case I ever decide to install a winch - was only a couple of hundred dollars more than the non-winch version.

While I'm happy with the fit of my ARB bar, there is a bit more of a gap between the bar and the guards than I would have thought necessary. Photos of other people's D4's that I have seen on here with the OL bar look like that might be a neater fit.

Be interested to know what you think of the Captain's chair Sollidisc. Haven't got one in mine. The dealers recently loaned me a HSE Freelander for the day while mine was in for a service. Ended up folding the armrest up out of the way as I found it annoying - but that was admittedly only driving round in the city for a day.

[Crimdog]

If your going off road or if your stroll far from the city IMO bull bars are great to have. LR one over priced but that's what you would expect.

BM- just a guess, is the extra gap in your bar so that it can fit the winch behind it?
Captains chair is the best! So is the fact you can flip it up when needed, like some off road and city driving when you want to use the gears.

Congrats on your new rig Sollidisk post some photos when you get a chance.

[discojools]

What's Captains chair?

[Crimdog]

When I'm say captains chair I mean the seat with the flip up arm rest ( and extra adjustments like lumbar support) I think that is what others are referring to here, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Sollidisc]

Hi,

The swing down armrests do get in the way a bit but on a long trip they work well. Will have a think about the bull bar - plenty of time as this disco is a keeper, well as long as the warranty:). The odo reads 400 so am trying to put some k's on before connecting to the van. Handbook doesn't mention anything about recommended minimum k's, so am thinking 1000 or so should be fine. Still with 600nm's the thing won't strain too much anyway!

[BMKal]

If your going off road or if your stroll far from the city IMO bull bars are great to have. LR one over priced but that's what you would expect.

BM- just a guess, is the extra gap in your bar so that it can fit the winch behind it?
Captains chair is the best! So is the fact you can flip it up when needed, like some off road and city driving when you want to use the gears.

Congrats on your new rig Sollidisk post some photos when you get a chance.

No - the gap is just to allow a bit of "flex" when on rough roads, so that the wheel arch flares do not hit on top of the bar. On some installations, gap is quite small, on others a bit greater. I suppose it depends on the different installers and how much of the wheel arch flares they cut off during the install.

I had previously thought that the OL bar installation looked a bit tidier than the ARB - but there's another post going on here at the moment that shows an OL bar with even larger gaps than I've got on mine - so again, it must just depend on the competence of the installers.

Sollidisc - my Disco will be floating around down your way in October. I'll be staying at South Arm, but travelling round a fair bit for a month or so. If you're near there and want to have a look at the ARB bar, give me a yell.

[Crimdog]

Ahhh I see BM, I was thinking of a different area, my bad. disappointing that it depends on the installer like that. Oh well.

[Graeme]

If you're ever considering installing a winch - a steel bar is really the only way to go.What's your reasoning?

[discotwinturbo]

Heh Graeme,

About 7-8 years ago, I saw a winch on a Toyota 100 series alloy bar part way on a heavy winch. Me being a non engineering person I did not examine to see why it parted way.....but the bar did bend and crack.

Maybe BMKal has come across a similar experience ?

Brett....

[Graeme]

My D2's alloy bar used a steel cradle bolted to the chassis rails so the bar material was irrelevant. I can't remember how my D4's winch-ready alloy ECB bar is setup so I'll have a look later.

[Redback]

I had a look at the Land Rover bar, no way that would protect anything, any decent animal strike and not only would the bar be stuffed but it would come back and damage the car also, to me it just looks like a giant brush/nudge bar.

This is what happens when an Opposite Lock bar meets an Emu at speed(about 70 or 80kph) and we had the camper on as well, IMO if we didn't have the OL bar on, that would have been our trip ended.

Never really had an issue with handling with the bar on, car drives fine.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/ (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bazzar/media/South%20Australian%20Adventure/DSC00696.jpg.html)

We have a bar fitted because we do alot of outback touring and we live semi rural, lots of Roo's, wild goats and Deer around our place, had a few near misses, deer are big buggers.

Baz.

[jonesy63]

For comparison, this is what happens without a bar when you hit a 1m tall wallaby at 80km/h:
http://users.tpg.com.au/rjones11/Kimberley/02%20wallaby.JPG

Smash repair bill for all the bits was over $3k.

I now have an OL bar as well. No vibrations on rough road and well fitted. The South Sydney branch installs about 20 per year.

Cheers,
Rob

[BMKal]

What's your reasoning?


My D2's alloy bar used a steel cradle bolted to the chassis rails so the bar material was irrelevant. I can't remember how my D4's winch-ready alloy ECB bar is setup so I'll have a look later.

Not saying that you can't run a winch with anything other than a steel bar. I've seen a few set up as you have described for your D2 (and have even seen similar cradles behind plastic bullbar & original bumper) and they have worked without problem.

My point was that if buying a bullbar from scratch and intending to install a winch - you're better off buying a "winch ready" steel bar rather than having to add a cradle behind something else.

I've had a good run with alloy bars on both my D1 and D2 (no winch fitted to either). But I believe that the steel bar on my D4 is stronger than either of the alloy bars that I've had on Disco's - and feel more comfortable installing a winch in it rather than a cradle behind another bar.

Another advantage of steel is that I can weld things to it. :)

I know you can weld to alloy as well - I've had it done. But I can weld onto the steel one myself with gear that I've got in the shed at home - don't need to go out and pay someone else to do it for me.

[gghaggis]

Another advantage of steel is that I can weld things to it. :)

I know you can weld to alloy as well - I've had it done. But I can weld onto the steel one myself with gear that I've got in the shed at home - don't need to go out and pay someone else to do it for me.

That's great if you're the sort of person who does their own running repairs and mods. But the majority of people aren't, so what advantage is the extra weight of a steel bar to them?

I think a bit too much is made of "steel versus alloy" arguments in these conversations - they're all made to a compliance level (or should be), and most people will simply have a bar replaced under insurance after a strike. For those that really need them, I would think by far the more important point is how much clearance is there between the bar and the body?

Cheers,

Gordon

[MR LR]

Our Land Cruiser ute at the farm (mums family's!) hits about half a dozen Roos a year, without the steel bar it would be in the smash repairs every time, the bar has a few bends and dings, but an alloy one would be destroyed after so many strikes. It's a primary producer and to have it off being fixed isn't viable.

Any car I drive for extended periods in the country will have a steel bar.

As to everyone whingeing about them damaging people, I noticed a lot more people think before walking in front of or cutting me off when I'm in a car with a bar!

Cheers
Will