Thread: Standard disco 2 in sand dunes

Originally Posted by ozscott

Traction control is a good addition to Centre Diff Lock if you have it (in deep soft sand). In a D2 you can't easily disable it anyway unless you have retrofitted CDL and did not perform the wire cut. I ended up doing the wire cut because CDL and traction control in the D2 in sand is a good thing as it only brakes wheels and unlike a lot of Japanese 4wds does not rob engine power. Cheers

I agree.
Without TC and no CDL a disco would be doing the turtle impressions very swiftly, TC is your Best friend in soft sand

Originally Posted by trout1105

I agree.
Without TC and no CDL a disco would be doing the turtle impressions very swiftly, TC is your Best friend in soft sand

Maybe WA sand but since TC has become the norm, most experienced off road pundits suggest to turn it off plus any Stability Control when in loose sand. In loose sand some wheel spin is quite often necessary to keep forward motion. I had a crack at it on Fraser in a friends Dmax and TC is definitely detrimental to performance. The owner told me that the sales person had advised them to turn TC etc off when in loose sand.

Last time on Moreton I stopped to help a bloke in a Ranger (I think) who was stuck with a jet ski in tow. Even after he had unhooked the trailer he couldn't get out. His mate suggested he disable TC and after a few goes, he got free, hooked up the trailer and toddled off.

I'm quite willing to be educated more if someone can convince me that most 4x4 articles on the subject are incorrect.

I will give it a crack. Driving in very powdery sand and towing heavy loads in same (like I noted above...) with a D2 for 16 years with traction control on and off on the same vehicle, same conditions etc and with CDL locked and unlocked. Forget the articles as they only relate to those vehicles (most but not D2) where the traction control cuts engine power robbing torque and power when the vehicle needs it most. I say again the D2 only brakes by pulsing the caliper on those wheels slipping (spinning) the most and leaves engine output alone. Simple and effective in sand.

I recall with fondness towing a 23 foot dual axle road van at Stradboke Island and the ETC ie what allowed me to steer into a camp site when speed was not an option. The boggy sand in was stopping a lot of vehicles without loads and you could feel the ETC working and allowing the D2 to pull through. Fantastic stuff. Onlookers remarked on the whole thing but also that they could see the ETC working. Dont compare D2 with any (even modern) Japanese 4wds...

Originally Posted by ozscott

I will give it a crack. Driving in very powdery sand and towing heavy loads in same (like I noted above...) with a D2 for 16 years with traction control on and off on the same vehicle, same conditions etc and with CDL locked and unlocked. Forget the articles as they only relate to those vehicles (most but not D2) where the traction control cuts engine power robbing torque and power when the vehicle needs it most. I say again the D2 only brakes by pulsing the caliper on those wheels slipping (spinning) the most and leaves engine output alone. Simple and effective in sand.

I recall with fondness towing a 23 foot dual axle road van at Stradboke Island and the ETC ie what allowed me to steer into a camp site when speed was not an option. The boggy sand in was stopping a lot of vehicles without loads and you could feel the ETC working and allowing the D2 to pull through. Fantastic stuff. Onlookers remarked on the whole thing but also that they could see the ETC working. Dont compare D2 with any (even modern) Japanese 4wds...

Thank you. Never too old to learn, hey

Originally Posted by Saitch

Thank you. Never too old to learn, hey

Thats great - you do not learn by reading about how Japper systems work when you drive a Landrover.

A D2 without a CDL needs TC to be working to transfer drive between the front and rear or vice versa or else you have in effect a 1 wheel drive car. the D2 does not cut power when TC comes on and only a wheel that has already lost traction and not driving, is stopped by TC. Also when many of the Jappers talk about TC they are often talking about stability control which does cut power - but then some also cut power on TC - most of their drivers dont have a clue.

For LRs leave traction control on (cannot turn off anyway) but in later models with DSC - it does need to be turned off.

Garry

Originally Posted by Jimgee

Yeah that's a great idea. Will definitely get involved.

Check out the TeamW4 club in Perth also. Perth's only dedicated Landrover only 4WD club.

Yep, in any sand leave the ETC on. If the ETC is causing probs it will be because the tyre pressure is too high. Hard sand, soft sand, ETC on. CDL locked if you have it and tyre pressures down. Disco2 rims will take pretty low pressures because of the bead retainer design, so don't be afraid of going low - quite a few will say 18-20psi and at those pressures aftermarket rims, Patrol rims etc will spit the tyre off, but their bead retainer is not remotely comparable to a Disco2. Not make a suggestion for others, but on sand I think I ran 14psi with standard 16" tyres and with 285/75-16 I'm down at about 11psi and so far have not broken a bead on hard or soft sand.

As to the question of if the D2 is good on sand, I think they are good, but there are better 4WDs for sand. The Disco2 isn't over endowed with power and they're heavy. The biggest factor though is tyre pressure.

All said and done.... there is nothing like getting out there and practice. Dont be overly concerned with the technical bit of traction control etc etc, believe it or not some of us grew up with 4x4s that had no traction aids, no coils springs, no constant 4x4, no auto....... and unbelievably we got to our destination quite happily.

First bit of kit I bought was a electric air compressor, I think it was a cheap unit from Marlows. (auto parts place back in the day). You should also get your mates interested in buying a 4x4, preferably the same brand. At one point growing up, myself and my mates all had the same 4x4s.