Sand driving - D3 TDV6

[Bulletman]

Gday All,

Done heaps of sand driving but not in the D3. Read about disabling DSC .
My main question is do most people use sand mode on the TRS . ?

I would be more inclind to just use low range but am guessing with technology even though its now 10 yr old , the system should match engine / gearbox to suit sand and the need to keep revs and momentum.

What / How do you drive in sand .

Bulletman

[PhilipA]

No1 , let your tyres down.
Regards PhilipA

[DiscoDB]

No2. DSC off.

[DiscoDB]

Gday All,

Done heaps of sand driving but not in the D3. Read about disabling DSC .
My main question is do most people use sand mode on the TRS . ?

I would be more inclind to just use low range but am guessing with technology even though its now 10 yr old , the system should match engine / gearbox to suit sand and the need to keep revs and momentum.

What / How do you drive in sand .

Bulletman

So Sand Mode more or less does what you described. Makes the throttle more responsive, and holds gears longer.

It also detunes the DSC but advice is to switch off and remember it reactivates every time you change TR modes or restart the engine.

[scarry]

When forward motion stops,hold foot on brake pedal,push raise button,vehicle should raise higher than off road height.The readout in the dash will also tell you what to do.
So it will now be easier to get the long handled shovel under and remove sand so its off its belly.Dig around wheels,let tyres down some more.
Select rock crawl,and turn DSC off.Remember to do this each time you start the vehicle,as it resets DSC on each start.

Good luck.

[DiscoDB]

No3 - make sure DSC is off [emoji13]

And to quote Gordon who wrote the book on how to get the most out of the TRS....


As everyone has said - turn the DSC off, but _after_ you've selected sand mode. Every time you change the TR setting (or re-start the car) the DSC will automatically switch back on. You need to hold the DSC button down for at least 1 sec for it to turn off - you should then see an orange warning symbol under the tachometer.

A few other things:

If your not driving 100's of kms in the sand, and you have 70-profile tyres, don't stuff around, drop your tyre pressures to 16psi straight away. You're trying to drive 2.5 tonne of vehicle in the soft stuff!

Sand mode is for driving in sand. But if you're actually bogged, it's pretty useless. Do the normal digging thing, then raise the car to emergency height. Select the gravel/snow TR setting - this will reduce wheel spin on take-off and lock the wheels when spinning. Remember to switch the DSC off again and then try to drive out. Usually works!

Cheers,

Gordon

[John_D4]

Sorry but I really don’t know... what’s dsc and does it relate to the D4?

[Bulletman]

Sorry but I really don’t know... what’s dsc and does it relate to the D4?

Dynamic stability control or something like that . Best you read the manual or someone else explain exactly what it does in relation to sand driving.

Bulletman

[scarry]

Sorry but I really don’t know... what’s dsc and does it relate to the D4?

What bulletmqn said.

It reduces power to virtually nothing at times in the soft stuff,don’t ask me how I know.

You realise this when it’s to late usually🙄😂

[PerthDisco]

Dynamic stability control or something like that . Best you read the manual or someone else explain exactly what it does in relation to sand driving.

Bulletman

It detects drift and slide through the wheel speed and steering wheel sensors and works to brake individual wheels and stabilise the car back to traveling directly straight ahead.

Unfortunately drift and slide is exactly what happens on sand just usually as you are nailing it at the bottom of a dune or trying to climb off the beach up a track.

This may result in Tojo and other owners pointing and laughing at you and commenting what a useless 4wd the LR is.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200516/4508019946281ff1ce71e4cb0cc599d3.jpg

[LRD414]

There's some good stuff in the FAQs on driving technique and the TR modes:
The AULRO Discovery 3/4 & RRS FAQ (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/the-d3-d4-sticky-zone/93220-aulro-discovery-3-4-rrs-faq.html)

Also, this is a 10 year old sand driving thread that's a good read:
Sand driving in a D3, what am I doing wrong? (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-discovery-3-and-4-a/97108-sand-driving-d3-what-am-i-doing-wrong.html)

I don't tend to use sand mode that much. Generally low range and suitably low tyre pressure is all you need if DSC is off.

Cheers,
Scott

[DiscoDB]

A minor error in the FAQ - Sand mode will aim to keep the engine and gear selection in the maximum power band not maximum torque band as stated. When in Mud mode then it targets the maximum torque band.

The other point that hasn’t been mentioned in this current thread is the role of the TRS over the centre diff (and rear diff if fitted). The Driveline ECU will actively take control of the diff locking when not in the General mode. So selecting an appropriate terrain mode other than General ensures the diff locking is also optimised. Probably not a big deal in sand.

[John_D4]

I don’t recall seeing a DSC button on our 2013 D4 8 speed.

[DiscoDB]

I don’t recall seeing a DSC button on our 2013 D4 8 speed.

Isn’t it just left of the Hazard lights button?

[PerthDisco]

I don’t recall seeing a DSC button on our 2013 D4 8 speed.

Can be also ESC

[Tombie]

The car graphic doing a burn-out [emoji41]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200517/c03665d38766bd1d97bc52e16bf3bb9d.jpg

[101RRS]

If in doubt read the handbook [thumbsupbig] [bighmmm]

[John_D4]

The car graphic doing a burn-out [emoji41]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200517/c03665d38766bd1d97bc52e16bf3bb9d.jpg

Thanks Tombie