D4 - TOWING IN SPORTS MODE

[BLOOZ D4]

Hi All, As with most new forum members I have a question. I have a D4 diesel auto 2.7 and tow a Jayco sterling about 2 ton loaded. I would like members views on towing in sports mode gear. My mate has an LC200 v8 diesel auto and he was telling me that a lot of LC owners advocate towing in S4 (IE Sports mode 4th gear) when towing vans. The reasoning is that the gearbox does not run as hot. I was wondering if the same applies when towing with the Discovery 4. Appreciate any opinions.

[TerryO]

Hi Blooz,

Welcome to the forum, your mate with LC is correct towing in sport mode is a better option.

[Tombie]

Just Sports mode.. Not stuck in 4th like your Toyo mate...

The Sports mode makes it a little more responsive to variations in road condition...

[disco4now]

We tow a 3500kg van with a D4 3.0. We have towed about 35,000km now. I normally just tow in drive except if I get a windy up hill, where I select sport mode so it will hold the same gear better and wont change up when you lift your foot for a corner or road levels off a bit with steeper stuff still to come.

On long or steep down hills I select sport mode and then the next lower gear and just dab the brakes as required to keep the revs down.

For our steep driveway at home and low speed stuff, I select low range.

On the caravan forum I am on much discussion on towing in S4 for the Toyota. Those with scanguage connected see 20c difference in transmission temperature when in S4 and better economy. The issue is that the torque converter does not lock up in the higher gears at the speed they are likely to be towing. Link below discusses it.

LandCruiser 200 Touring Build - Torque Converter Lockup kit installation (http://www.australianimages.com.au/project200/torque-converter-lockup.php)

My understanding is the D4 does not have issues with the torque converter locking. Just need to change the transmission oil more often when towing.
Plenty of info on changing the transmission oil on here.

Regards
Gerry

[Redback]

As others have said, sport mode for the 2.7l

Baz.

[mowog]

Like disco4now I tow a 3500kg van and I leave it in drive and only change that for condition like disco4now said.

I have my auto serviced on a regular schedule

The Auto is a D4 is a lot smarter than the unit fitted to the LC200. The D4 will pick the best gear to be in 99% of the time.

[theresanothersteve]

Not sure if it's relevant, but Holden states in the owners manual for the VE Commodore to put automatics in sport mode.

The Holden auto is, of course, a different box than that used in LR. They are both, however, modern autos that are surprisingly similar to drive.

[LeighW]

We tow a 3500kg van ... I select sport mode so it will hold the same gear better and wont change up when you lift your foot for a corner or road levels off a bit with steeper stuff still to come.

On long or steep down hills I select sport mode and then the next lower gear and just dab the brakes as required to keep the revs down....

What he says but I select Sport mode and then drive to the conditions. e.g. steep hill ahead, I select the next gear down (raises engine revs = more power) tackle the hill, then slip it across to Drive, wait a few seconds and then re-select Sport mode. This has the advantage of having extra power if needed on the climb but also seems to return best fuel economy and least load on the engine.

BTW - this is when towing a 3 t Bushtracker caravan not the 850 kg braked trailer as the D3 seems to do that quite well in Drive only.

And I believe the auto transmission must have changes of ZF oil at not much more than 80 000 km intervals if towing anything above about 500 kg.

HTH

[VK3GJM]

Hi BLOOZ D4


I have towed about 20,000km now with D4 3.0 8 speed. I let the box select the best gear and only use sport mode when I need response and use pedals to select manual gears as needed, generally in sticky situations off-road towing.


In 2013 I did 12,700Km to the Cape and back, towing TVAN fully loaded, 1300kg with D4 at or near GVM limit, AC on, charging 4 batteries and average temp 25-38, not a single issue with overheating or box issues.


Upon my return I got a full service and I asked my service provider to closely look at all Box, Diff and Sump oil conditions, I also asked them to look at each plug for signs of metal, they have magnet. None found


However, with so much articulation, the Air pump did alarm due to over heating. A short rest and not changing height often muted the issue.


Go with vehicle feel, sound, check fluids regular.


Regards


Gerald
VK3GJM

[nat_89]

Hi BLOOZ D4


I have towed about 20,000km now with D4 3.0 8 speed. I let the box select the best gear and only use sport mode when I need response and use pedals to select manual gears as needed, generally in sticky situations off-road towing.


In 2013 I did 12,700Km to the Cape and back, towing TVAN fully loaded, 1300kg with D4 at or near GVM limit, AC on, charging 4 batteries and average temp 25-38, not a single issue with overheating or box issues.


Upon my return I got a full service and I asked my service provider to closely look at all Box, Diff and Sump oil conditions, I also asked them to look at each plug for signs of metal, they have magnet. None found


However, with so much articulation, the Air pump did alarm due to over heating. A short rest and not changing height often muted the issue.


Go with vehicle feel, sound, check fluids regular.


Regards


Gerald
VK3GJM

I tend to agree with all your saying, just let the car do its own thing there a smart vehicle and I'm sure its all been manufactured to handle all of the capacities and limits that have been set. Unless of course its hunting a lot in 8th then i would possibly put it in sports mode and keep it in 7th. But I've only towed about 500kgs in a trailer and had no problems at all.

[benji]

I don't own a d3, so I'm just repeating what I've been told by my uncle. Between 1800 and 2200 the d3 trans progressively locks the clutch (but that is also load dependant).
By towing in sports mode it's more likely to keep the revs above 2200 and thus there's less heat from a slipping clutch.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using AULRO mobile app

[zilch]

I towed a 1 tonne Camper trailer to Cape York and to be honest the 3 litre with all that weight in Sports mode outran my brother in laws GQ which although loaded had nothing on the back.. even up the steep climbs when you hang left before Mossman to head Norffffff

[BLOOZ D4]

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR REPLIES. MAJORITY OPINION APPEARS TO BE TO LEAVE IN DRIVE. HAVE BEEN OFF THE AIR AS HAVE JUST COMPLETED MY FIRST BIG TRIP TOWING VAN FROM MAROOCHYDORE TO MACKAY AND BACK. CAR WENT LIKE A DREAM. AVERAGE 17LTR/100K WITH FULL WATER TANKS SITTING ON SPEED LIMITS. DID NOT USE SPORTS ON THIS TRIP BUT WILL TRY ON NEXT TRIP. I DID NOTICE THAT WHEN GOING UP HILLS THE GEAR BOX WOULD NOT CHANGE DOWN FURTHER THAN 4TH GEAR AT ABOUT 3200 REVS EVEN WHEN TAPPING ACCELERATOR WHICH USUALLY DOES THE TRICK. IS THIS USUAL OR MAYBE THATS THE TIME TO USE THE SPORTS MODE? MAYBE I AM EXPECTING TOO MUCH FROM THE CAR. CHEERS BLOOZ

[Tombie]

That's why you use sports mode :)

Having said that, above 3200rpm you're really just revving, all the pull is done below that!

[101RRS]

I DID NOTICE THAT WHEN GOING UP HILLS THE GEAR BOX WOULD NOT CHANGE DOWN FURTHER THAN 4TH GEAR AT ABOUT 3200 REVS EVEN WHEN TAPPING ACCELERATOR WHICH USUALLY DOES THE TRICK.

What is this tapping the accelerator thing??

Simply, the computers are continually calculating load and adjusting the gearbox accordingly, so if it the gearbox didn't change down below 4th the load was not enough for it to do so.

Just leave it in drive or sport mode and drive it - use command shift if you need to hold gears going down hill - it doesn't need to be harder than that.

Garry

[BLOOZ D4]

Hi Garrycol, Regards to tapping the accelerator thing! In my opinion automatic gear boxes are far from perfect, some change down too quick and some change down to slow. As you said they are governed by computers and computers are governed by human input. I find that sometimes when going up hills this gearbox has a tendency to labour in the top gears and by jabbing the accelerator it will change down quicker if you think you require it. When in 4th gear going up a hill I feel that the engine has a lot more power to use but will not change down and consequently could leave you stranded on the wrong side of road when overtaking. However I take on board what you and others have said about sports gear and that is probably the solution. I guess you get an ear for revs and changing gears after driving manual trucks for sometime which I have. Once again thanks for your replies. BLOOZ D4

[Tombie]

Or you could use the gears as designed and actually change gear :)

Reactive changes always suffer compared to proactive Changes.

And using Sports mode often comes closer to what you're trying to achieve.