Thread: D4 Pro's & Cons

Never, ever had dust get past the pollen filter in the D4...

After living with the D4 and 19"s for the last 3 years I now do not consider the 19 inch tyre size to be a "con". I have had it off road in soft sand, mud and ruts and harsh rocky corrugated roads. Sure you have to adjust the way you drive it but you have to do that with the TR system anyway. And now I have the Maxxis AT 980 tyres on I don't think there is much difference between the 18's and 19's. You just need to be "aware".
Anyway my two cents.
Cheers
Scott.

Scott. Spot on..
People also tend to push D4s harder - the feed back from a D2 or Defender for instance on rough tracks tends to keep people 'sensible'.
The D4 handles such terrain so much more comfortably that you can get over zealous and actually feel quite safe and comfortable whilst giving tyres and suspension a hiding...

Originally Posted by Tombie

Scott. Spot on..
People also tend to push D4s harder - the feed back from a D2 or Defender for instance on rough tracks tends to keep people 'sensible'.
The D4 handles such terrain so much more comfortably that you can get over zealous and actually feel quite safe and comfortable whilst giving tyres and suspension a hiding...

This is so very true. In the kimberleys last year had a few people comment how bad and roughly corrugated the tracks were and was thinking to myself how it didn't seem bad at all. Watching a car coming the other way and seeing its suspension hammering , then looking at our speed and comfort and was so glad I was in the D3.


If the D4 is any better than the D3 then it must be impressive.


Cheers Ean

It's one of the reasons for the Hydro Bushes.
And why I'm happy to replace with Lemforder bushes each time..

Originally Posted by scomac

After living with the D4 and 19"s for the last 3 years I now do not consider the 19 inch tyre size to be a "con". I have had it off road in soft sand, mud and ruts and harsh rocky corrugated roads. Sure you have to adjust the way you drive it but you have to do that with the TR system anyway. And now I have the Maxxis AT 980 tyres on I don't think there is much difference between the 18's and 19's. You just need to be "aware".
Anyway my two cents.
Cheers
Scott.

I recon you have hit the nail on the head. Leave 'hurry' at home, slow down a bit & 19's are fine for 99% of the time. The choice of tyre seems to be improving too. When towing on tar, the lack of sidewall is a huge advantage as the back wheels don't squirm around as much. Maybe someone will produce a slightly higher profile tyre soon?
Thanks for the feedback.

For the record, I've driven the Great Central road three times, Coober Pedy to Birdsville twice, Savannah Way, Cape York , Binns Track, Plenty Hwy and gravel roads north to Underra, heaps on the Pilbara and Kimberley gravel "roads", South west gravel roads, Kakadu and many others and never had any dust, smells or anything else in the car. No face full of dust ever, except if opening the windows and dust comes through the windows!


I've never once used recirculate (it may not even work for all I know) and have my air con on auto at between 22 and 24 at ALL times when in the D4, day or night, city or country. I change my pollen filter every service. If you use the D4 as its designed the HVAC system is perfect.


If I have one gripe with it, it is that it takes more notice of the outside air temp than the inside temp. It can be quite hot inside due to the sun but the auto system thinks it should be heating if it is cold outside. Easy enough to fix by turning the temp down a couple of degrees for while.

The auto height lowering over 40 kph :/