Thread: 2014 Range Rover Tyres and Suspension for Australian conditions.

noting that 25/50/20 fit too

Just noticed that Pirrelli have dropped 275/45/20 ATRs from their website so no choice but Coopers now.

Hoping that RR see the error of their ways for the Australian market and tweak the design so that a larger range of tyres more suitable for our conditions become available to us. Whilst Gregs tyres survived I'd suggest that the damage to the shocks was in part a consequence of the tyres not being able to play their part by absorbing some of the impact.

On reflection I'm thinking that whilst the RR is an incredible piece of engineering and has capability beyond what many people would ever ask of it - it fails in the very area that many of us Australians want to use it most, on our corrugated gravel roads, simply, and only because it limits tyre choice.

Originally Posted by Ozjet

Hoping that RR see the error of their ways for the Australian market and tweak the design so that a larger range of tyres more suitable for our conditions become available to us. Whilst Gregs tyres survived I'd suggest that the damage to the shocks was in part a consequence of the tyres not being able to play their part by absorbing some of the impact.

On reflection I'm thinking that whilst the RR is an incredible piece of engineering and has capability beyond what many people would ever ask of it - it fails in the very area that many of us Australians want to use it most, on our corrugated gravel roads, simply, and only because it limits tyre choice.

There is no way bigger tyres world have prevented Greg's shocks from overheating. Shocks control about 8 inches of wheel travel. Tyres about 1 inch.
You simply need to drive slower and/or stop more often in those conditions to let shocks cool.

Try to use tyres soft enough for suspension and they will overheat and fail.

Yeah I'd agree with that Dougal, with the somewhat expensive experience I've now gained.

(And maybe carry a spray bottle of water to aid the cooling process.)

Sorry to divert thread but what could have avoided Greg's trip termination because of shock failure? Is temp monitoring for each shock worth considering, carrying 2 spares?

I guess the notion of having to nurse your car along the corrugated road and stopping regularly to measure the shock temps - and then wait for them to cool before progressing the journey highlights my point. Why should you NEED to do this on a 200k vehicle that is pitched by Landrover as the most capable off road car in the world. I reflect on the countless hours I've driven on outback roads over the years at a comfortable (but safe) clip in other vehicles without being overly concerned about my suspension and tyres and I've never had one failure. All I've needed to do is reduce the air pressure down to about 28psi and off I've gone - no needing to stop by the edge of a dusty road in the hot sun being covered by flies (sometimes) to check shockie temp just to ensure you get to the end of the journey with shockies and tyres in tact. Dougal, you're probably right. a little bit of air out of tyres on 20 inch rims wouldn't help that much - but what does seem so wrong is that a car that is designed to be so good of road can't mix it with the pack when it comes to Australian corrugations.

As I said before - there are only two accounts that I can find (Greg's and Toby Hagon's) of RR's on outback roads. In both accounts there were catastrophic failure of shocks.

As a way of not falling victim to the same thing - yes, you could doddle along at a snails pace, yes you could stop a regular intervals to check the temperature status of the shocks, and yes, you could carry spare shocks BUT, wouldn't it be just better if the Range Rover was designed in such a way that owners could be more confident in the suspension or equivalently confident as they would be with any of the main brands that are commonly seen traversing this great country of ours.

It's really frustrating that they didn't consider resolving this issue at the time of release of the 2013 model. Had they done this I'd say that they could proclaim (hand on heart) that their cars were undeniably the best cars off road.

Sorry if this sounds like a rant but I guess that my frustration over this issue is directly proportional to my love of the car. What I'm hoping is that there are a lot more untold stories of loaded RRs travelling along outback roads without incident.

Still, I should keep things in perspective here as it's very much a first world problem!

Originally Posted by Ozjet

I guess the notion of having to nurse your car along the corrugated road and stopping regularly to measure the shock temps - and then wait for them to cool before progressing the journey highlights my point. Why should you NEED to do this on a 200k vehicle that is pitched by Landrover as the most capable off road car in the world.

Okay, first of all this is not overheating shocks on a currogated road. Corrugated roads driven at speed are only small displacements and there is plenty of cooling air flow to keep shocks cool.

The danger time is driving at slow enough speeds that air cooling doesn't work well while also repeatedly using the majority of the suspension. This is when the shocks create the most heat and the airflow is lowest.

It doesn't matter how much you pay for the vehicle. It cannot break the laws of physics.
The above situations will overheat shocks on virtually any vehicle. The exceptions are those with suspension that barely moves.