Thread: Air suspension auto lower

I also note from the manual that the vehicle will automatically lower when you reach 160kph.

Now I will never do 160kph in my TDV6, I don't know about you, but if there are fuel consumption and or cornering/handling advantages to this at 160 (I presume there must be some advantage) then why would you not also have the option of manually selecting this for 100+ too?

WRT Extended... Let's face it, if there was the option, people would just blindly select it and then whinge when they kept on breaking things. (Remember that extended is pushing things outside of the comfort zone for the car).

As for the other settings. Well, the engineers spend a long time 'tuning' so there's usually a reason for most things.

M

When the vehicle is in a mode other than Normal the wheel alignment, particularly the camber, changes and with it the handling and tyre wear. At low speeds and for short durations it doesn't matter. At 160kmph for more than some time (check your manual) it lowers 20mm from Normal and will raise again to Normal as speed drops. I suspect this is due to wanting to lower the CoG at speed which would take precedence over tyre wear issues, but it may also be for aerodynamic reasons. Either way it's kind of a moot point for touring D3 owners. For Sport owners who do trackwork different story of course ;-)

The D3 would handle better if it was -20mm off Normal all the time, and was designed that way.....but then it'd be lower, of course! Would you like a Normal mode 20mm lower than what it is now? The wheel alignment can only be set properly for one height, until such time as Land Rover come out with really variable suspension.

Those running with mods such as lengthened rods should have their cars re-aligned at the new height so as not to compromise handling or tyre wear.

Originally Posted by camel_landy

WRT Extended... Let's face it, if there was the option, people would just blindly select it and then whinge when they kept on breaking things. (Remember that extended is pushing things outside of the comfort zone for the car).

As for the other settings. Well, the engineers spend a long time 'tuning' so there's usually a reason for most things.

M

That is true, but things can be broken anyway and may be broken *because* there is no manual override.

Reasons for most things...agree of course. There are excellent reasons why the D3's suspension setup is the way it is, but there are other, equally excellent reasons to have it a different way. Each to their own, but the Land Rover engineers get the casting vote and they vote for the majority of owners, who aren't offroading Aussies.

Interestingly I noticed in that the how-to-drive-offroad info has been deleted from the D3 manual, probably after litigation fears. It was there in 2005 or thereabouts.

Originally Posted by rmp

Each to their own, but the Land Rover engineers get the casting vote and they vote for the majority of owners, who aren't offroading Aussies.

Absolutely, in a commercial world, it makes sense to go with the majority vote. However... You can rest assured that the cars are tested at speed, on dirt.

M

On recent trip to Birdsville from Gold Coast via Immaninka and Walkers Crossing had the following experience. ( relevant as all about suspension height)
Still on Walkers Crossing towing the camper trailer chimes, alarms and LCD message - special programmes fault, special programmes turned off, suspension lowered. Turn off start up and fine for around 2k then same again.
Did not realise really till I got on the straighter esctions but wheel alignment way out steering wheel at around 40 degrees off for straight ahead. Later on the hoist at Birdsville found the adjustment bolts etc took hardly any effort to turn so suspect not tightened sufficiantly after new tyres fitted. Anyway after all the palaver with roadside assist (covered to take the vehicle on truck back to nearest dealer etc etc) decided to have a play as did not want to take that option or drive mostly in low access height towing the trailer. Worked out that while it was still working raise to off road height or drive height and pull the 20A fuse for the compresser. At approx 2k the fault would come up but could not lower. Brilliant - I could still play over Big Red and continue the trip. Big Red was a doddle with no special programmes at all Cooper LTZs at 20psi and just hi range 3rd and 2nd locked at any speed in off road height. Couldn't hear the periodic chimes after a while. Next day for the trip back east performed the same routine with trailer hitched up let the suspension self level etc then pulled the fuse again.
As suspected a rough wheel alignment was all it needed in Roma to fix the problem. The steering angle sensor would have been indicating a constant right turn I guess and confusing the system. So - do I now just fit a toggle switch to simulate pulling the fuse for those odd occasions I want to lock in at off road height? Pretty tempting. Seems a lot simpler than the modified sensor arms etc for the odd time I would want to stay at that height at the higher speeds. Our dealer service manager had a good laugh when told of our temporary fix. Wear and tear on the front tyres a bit savage though.

Love the idea of pulling a fuse. Did it still chime though?

When a vehicle with stability control (ESC) -- such as the D3 -- hits a bump and ends up with misaligned front steering it causes a problem. This is because the ESC looks at where the steering wheel is turned, and what the car is doing. It then tries to help you turn the car and regain control by differential braking and/or cutting the throttle. Having the steering wheel permanently off centre will indeed confuse it. I don't know about the D3, but other cars will realise there is something amiss after a short while and entirely shut down the ESC.

Sure did chime but after a while tuned that out. All special programmes were turned off and I guess that meant ESC but quite frankly mine in that condition handled Big Red much more easily than the other 2 TDV6s which were fully functional. Sure the bigger Cooper LTZs played a fair part in that but would be really interesting to be able to manually turn off the special programmes as it did with this fault (no lights showing for any mode at all on the terrain response rotary switch) and see just how well they still perform off road. Incidently even with the wheel alignment issue off road height at 100knh on the way back to Birdsville was just fine. Obviously it all comes down to common sense when cornering etc and it handled much more like your basic high set 4WD without all the interference. Still that was sand where really it is more a question of momentum and tyre pressure than very slippery conditions when the electronics come into their own. Still I have more confidence in the vehicle now given how well it went with none of that operating than I had before.
Incidently and a bit off topic but one of the other brand new TDV6s blew a heater hose as it was not secured back to a bracket on top of the engine as the others were and consistent rough ground saw it contacting the fan till it wore a big hole. Still we had all the spares, coolant etc so no drama.