Thread: Improving on the D4... designing the D5.

Some great suggestions and some more thoughts:
Darn I forgot to mention fuel capacity. 125l would be a great improvement and would probably cause me to buy a D5... as long as they leave the spare wheel under the car (and able to be lowered without emptying the cargo out). Did someone say they got 700-800km from their standard tank? I havent tested this but suspect I would get around 600 and maybe a lucky 700 out of a D4 HSE 3.0TDV6.
Tyre options at purchase time would be fantastic. Your intended use of the vehicle dictates the type of tyres you need. I asked when purchasing and this wan’t an option at my dealer. Do other manufacturers / dealers do this?
Air compressor connection.. wow that should just be a simple attachment to the air tank.. neat!
What’s the issue with manual override for electronic tail gate... is this an issue when the battery is flat... ie you can’t open the tailgate?
BTW I’m sure that the Land Rover Marketing team would be well across this type of internet chatter. Large organisations are quickly waking up to the need to monitor and react to internet content (I work for a large organisation that has now been doing this for 6 months). So lets let them know what we want. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind some extra D5 sales. Land Rover.... are you out there??
I don’t agree that some of the improvements identified are more for 4x4ing in Australia and so not of big enough concern to LR. If that was the case then Toyota and Nissan would also only have small fuel tanks as well.
Re the suspension mod. What you do to your vehicle should be your own business... as long as you know all the facts at the time of deciding. I personally would not want to stuff around with the suspension and most major systems in the car. The car has been tested as a package and mostly I will keep it standard so as to maximise reliability.

European Prados don't get long-range tanks. Prados are much higher volume of course, and I can't see a special build for a Discovery. After all, who would not buy a Discovery because of the range knowing it's fixable aftermarket? In any case you'd want proper long range, like 160L+, otherwise you'd be in the Patrol/LC200 situation where it's better than what it could have been but still people buy plenty of aftermarket tanks.

Plenty of dealers will swap tyres for you. Just ask. Several times ;-)

Originally Posted by RoverLander

Air compressor connection.. wow that should just be a simple attachment to the air tank.. neat![/FONT]

Mitchell Bros do that. "Air off KIt" (byproduct of the suspension kit). Useful addition but not enough in the resevoir (9L at 240psi) to air up all tyres from sand pressures but useful re-fill after for smaller pressure reductions (and slow leaks).
MY09 and above is more complicated. No front bung, but I just put a kit on a D4 and had made a special connection and braket behind the air tank.

Originally Posted by RoverLander

BTW I’m sure that the Land Rover Marketing team would be well across this type of internet chatter. Large organisations are quickly waking up to the need to monitor and react to internet content (I work for a large organisation that has now been doing this for 6 months). So lets let them know what we want. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind some extra D5 sales. Land Rover.... are you out there??

Wishfull thinking. We can only hope. But if the read this does not meen they will listen or do anything about it.

Originally Posted by RoverLander

I don’t agree that some of the improvements identified are more for 4x4ing in Australia and so not of big enough concern to LR. If that was the case then Toyota and Nissan would also only have small fuel tanks as well.

Different markets unfortunately. Aus and Africa are big markeys for Toyota/Nissan, small for LR. Europe and UK are big for Land Rover small for Toyota/Nissan in fact Landcruisers are plebs cars in Europe LR are prestige.
It is matter of how much clout LR Aus have or more to the point how much effort they are prepared to lobby LR Head Office.

Originally Posted by RoverLander

Re the suspension mod. What you do to your vehicle should be your own business... as long as you know all the facts at the time of deciding. I personally would not want to stuff around with the suspension and most major systems in the car. The car has been tested as a package and mostly I will keep it standard so as to maximise reliability.

Land Rover did not think it was up to the owner.
They seemed to think it was their vehicle.
They over-reacted without knowing anything about the mod and The magazine responded without asking.

If you think the way the factory suspension is set up, fine. There are may who don't and would like more flexibility.
Advantage of my system is that it does not interfere with the electronics it just self levels higher.

Originally Posted by Graeme

This smacks of Overlander being scared into thinking they needed to protect themselves legally so effectively retracted their earlier support for the system, rather than having changed their mind on its ability to perform a task.

Yes, I didn't think it had anything to do with the other article where a editor was a guest at Eastnor.

No, they said that they have never thought the Land Rover air suspension needed to be changed. This is a general comment about LRs not specifically this modification and a change in their previous position on the vehicle. (which was why they probably published the article)

Originally Posted by Graeme

This smacks of Overlander being scared into thinking they needed to protect themselves legally so effectively retracted their earlier support for the system, rather than having changed their mind on its ability to perform a task.

I think the greater likelihood, rightly or wrongly is that LR would be a major source of ad revenue for Overlander and other mags, most back covers carry the Defender or general LR adds so it is not hard to understand why they might have reacted this way. Legal threats just give them the avenue to back away.

I am in no way saying that makes it acceptable but reality dictates that hard earned $ from a major client often trumps standing up for what is right.

The key point it that LR does not appear to support the after market suppliers for their products.

The fact that ARB have taken so long to come up with a design for a D4 bar points the fact that they probably get little or no support from LR to produce bull bars and other items for a majority of the LR range. There is obviously a volume argument from ARB's point of view as well v's say a Prado but the point remains that LR could offer some assistance in this area.

Not sure if this is the same for Defenders etc but I bet Toyota,Nissan etc provide some of these after market suppliers with a lot more support than LR as after market accessories and make their truck more "bushable" it is such a large part of their brand.

As has been said it is highly unlikely any of this "feedback" will get acted upon, and lets face it the base vehicles are pretty high quality otherwise we would not be on this forum saying mostly good things about them !!!

George

Originally Posted by DiscoWeb

The fact that ARB have taken so long to come up with a design for a D4 bar points the fact that they probably get little or no support from LR to produce bull bars and other items for a majority of the LR range. There is obviously a volume argument from ARB's point of view as well v's say a Prado but the point remains that LR could offer some assistance in this area.

Not sure if this is the same for Defenders etc but I bet Toyota,Nissan etc provide some of these after market suppliers with a lot more support than LR as after market accessories and make their truck more "bushable" it is such a large part of their brand.

You'd lose your bet. No Aussie manufacturer gets any significant support from any car maker, unlike the situation in the USA.

Extended development times for aftermarket products are due to priorities. Your point re volume is correct. What's more important, making a bar for a D4 or something else like a Prado 150 which would have many time the sales? It doesn't help that the D4 is one of the more complex vehicles.

Where can your kit be bought?

Who me?
Mitchell Bros as in article.

Or install yourself.