Thread: Discovery 3 for towing advice

Why the S?
I know they are cheaper but having the air springs is a massive plus when towing?! That's not to mention all the other advantages.
Jonesfam

Welcome and have a read of these threads as a good start:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...hasing-d3.html
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...ns-please.html

And have a read here for a few things to look out for with older ones:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...mp-casing.html

Cheers,
Scott

Wouldnt do S, the Air suspension is so good on those kinds of roads.

Depends also how heavy. You are going from a 2.9 to a 2.7, assuming you are going diesel, the Disco goes very well with what it has. It technically has a 3tonne towing capacity, but I tow a camper trailer which is probably about 1.3 tonnes loaded and on the flat it is fine but I personally wouldn't be delighted with having to tow a lot more in hilly country with my D3.

A V8 is probably better but I think you would be eating a lot of fuel and significantly reducing your range.

Also you have to be prepared that the D3 ps are getting on. There is no reason they can't be reliable but you will need to keep up with the preventive maintenance and it is not outrageous, but it also not cheap. See the great links that LRD414 gave above.

There are quite a few here that have great vehicles north of 200k on the clock, but if you want to do a lot of long range touring I would be aiming for as close to 100k as you can afford.

And also these

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...age-d3-d4.html

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...de-advice.html

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...-d3-v8-td.html

The S will only be Ok offroad with a lift...then you have potential accelerated CV wear like any other IS vehicle. And it doesnt simulate live axles like the air suspension does...another offroad negative....think Pajero. From memory the coiler does not have terrain response so it would need lockers to do the same tricks offroad....

Cheers

I saw 2 lifted D3 coilers over easter,they looked so wrong.Yes the CV wear would be an issue.
Whilst in Albany over easter I was asked by a toyota landbruiser owner who parked next to me did I have my suspension lowered to make it look cool.
I pointed out that I have a back issue,I simply press a button to lower it to make getting in and out easy.Told him when we go off-road I press another button for an instant 2" lift,and we dont have diffs to drag thru the sand either.He looked confused and asked how.I told him it has air suspension.He thought I was talking about pump up shockies or the airbags you put inside coils.
As he wasnt a smart arse,older gent with an 80 series I gave him a demo with the heights.Blew him away,he said he had heard these Discoveries were good off road and said know he understands why.I told him to have a drive of one,IF I had time I would have taken him for a spin.
Look for an air suspension version the terrain response works really well.Its very hard to find a coiler with terrain response
Andrew

I vote for air suspension too. The terrain response is fantastic and as andy said the air suspension is very useful.

Another good thing about the air suspension is it can tell when you've bottomed out, and will lift higher for extra clearance. You can override and go higher again for a total lift of over 100mm (for short periods). The only downside is you can't drive at off road height (+50mm) over 50kph, but this can be overcome with Llams or syspension rods.

Unless of course you don't plan to go offroad in which case it doesn't really matter.

EDIT: Here's a couple of vids of mine offroad.

[ame]https://youtu.be/elOQXHFHs5I[/ame] skip to 4mins to see the traction control in action vs a hilux - the d3 is way more controlled. A coiler without terrain response would drive similar to the hilux.

[ame]https://youtu.be/yWmXEhKElaM[/ame] the car lifts itself after bottoming out. Compare how high it is at the end compared to the start!

I hear the air suspended models ride better than the coilers too.

Cheers

Dan

Hi Journeytower,
Another vote for the air option, having had both you will always regret getting a coiler over air if you decided to go that way, especially if your basic motivation is for towing, my opinion.

There will be posts about timing belt & fuel pump belt replacement, oil pump housings, water outlet housings and a few other things. If you have fancy having a go at a 4.0 petrol they aren't that bad, V8 petrol, thirstier but more fun.

Take a few for test drives see what you can get for your money, you might be surprised. Service history is important, saying that buying from an avid LR owner isn't that bad either, some spend a lot of time and money looking after their vehicles.

Cheers Marty