Thread: Steep Hill Incline

Originally Posted by chief75

hi Guys

Good first post. Welcome

The diff should always be locked. Unlocked it is easy to break the center diff and a stall recovery is unsafe. It is unsafe as it is too easy to lock up the front wheels which leads to the front sliding and leading to a rollover.

When you stall just put your foot on the brakes. Shift to reverse. Take feet off all pedals and start engine.

Hi,
Stalling my D130 puma does strange things.
It will start, but has absolutely no power to rev or move the vehicle. Especially if I key off, key on/crank.
I have found it needs key off, key out, lock with key fob, unlock with key fob, insert key and start.
Damn nuisance in traffic.
Does yours do that?
Cheers

Things I learnt in a Defender in Solihull on the experience course. I'll caveat this as I was in a 110 Puma and my 130 has traction control.

Trust the anti stall much more than you think you can. it will idle anywhere in 2nd gear low range.
Lock the diff lock as others have mentioned
when you lose traction put the boot into it a bit to get traction control to work
First gear low range when coming down hill always


We have learned first hand on driver training courses that a 130 with an unlocked diff can get away very quickly going down a steep slippery slope with the centre diff unlocked. With the back wheels unloaded and no engine braking effort from the front of the car I have seen one wheel spin backwards while descending at a much too rapid pace.

Regards,
Tote

Originally Posted by chief75

hi Guys, I have scoured the internet over the past few weeks on this topic and have learned a lot from experts but i still have a few unanswered questions, I am hoping you guys can share your knowledge on this topic.

Every weekend I drive my PUMA 2.2 up a hill where I usually walk up the final stretch (because i enjoy the hike) This stretch is a narrow cemented road which has decent traction in the dry season but extremely wet most time of the year. Its very steep (about 35-40 degrees) and goes up straight about 500ft with 2bends before it flattens out.


I have previously drove up successfully multiple times in 1st and 2nd low gear, with and without difflock. The few times i failed, i usually slip at at the first 20feet of the climb and just reverse to the bottom and park. (and continue on foot)


Recently i drove up (1st gear with difflock) but i lost traction half way after the first bend and luckily i stalled at a point where the vehicle was secure and i managed to recover it. This experience made me realize that i didnt know enough about gear selection, torque, throttle control etc and i was extremely lucky the times i drove up without knowing much about this.


I have read and watched a lot of videos on his topic but its mainly on trails which are steep but not long or trails where you can stop half way and recover. A few unanswered questions:


1. When going up a steep incline with diff unlocked, one wheel loses traction: does the other wheels become "free" and the vehicle rolls backwards? (Manual Defenders specifically)
On a Discovery1 auto, diff unlocked , on the same stretch of the climb, the front wheel loses traction but the vehicle doesn't roll backwards. (I believe this be because of the traction control)



2. Using difflock on steep road with good traction and a few sharp bends. I know its safer, but will there be damage to transmission in the long run.


3. Stalling the vehicle - From what i have read so far, when an incline attempt fails, the vehicle should be stalled while on gear. My typical reflex is to press the clutch and immediately shift to reverse as i am certain that the vehicle will skid backwards. On extreme scenarios, i was told to turn the wheels towards the hill side wall and brake all 3 points. Any tips here?


4. Downhill - Diff locked or diff unlocked? why? (center diffs specifically)

Thank you.
-SD

Disco 1 doesn't have traction control.

Disclaimer: this is not serious advice.

Originally Posted by austastar

Hi,
Stalling my D130 puma does strange things.
It will start, but has absolutely no power to rev or move the vehicle. Especially if I key off, key on/crank.
I have found it needs key off, key out, lock with key fob, unlock with key fob, insert key and start.
Damn nuisance in traffic.
Does yours do that?
Cheers

You're right, every defender has its own quirks. Fortunately i do not have the same issue you described above but one of my buddy had this exact symptom when he first got his ride in 2016. I am not sure how it was resolved but i know that his ride was at the dealer most of the time on the first year.

Originally Posted by Tote

Things I learnt in a Defender in Solihull on the experience course. I'll caveat this as I was in a 110 Puma and my 130 has traction control.

Trust the anti stall much more than you think you can. it will idle anywhere in 2nd gear low range.
Lock the diff lock as others have mentioned
when you lose traction put the boot into it a bit to get traction control to work
First gear low range when coming down hill always


We have learned first hand on driver training courses that a 130 with an unlocked diff can get away very quickly going down a steep slippery slope with the centre diff unlocked. With the back wheels unloaded and no engine braking effort from the front of the car I have seen one wheel spin backwards while descending at a much too rapid pace.

Regards,
Tote

Thanks for your input. Its reassuring to know that i can push it a bit more in 2nd low. From what i have gathered so far, looks like i need to put more hours behind the wheels pushing the defender to do what it was built to do.

Cheers