Printable View
Do you have any insight as to why the 5-seater has a lower GVM and rear axle capacity? Its almost as though the 7-seater was increased to keep GVM and axle load reasonable with the extra rear weight of the seats and passengers and I'd be very surprised to learn that any suspension or body components are rated for higher weight, except perhaps if the 5-seater's tyres have a lower load rating.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobD
Pretty stupid isn't it Graeme? I have no idea why they do this. Like you, I would expect that both 5 and 7 seaters are identical but you would probably not be able to carry the extra passengers without the extra GVM. Maybe there is an opportunity for someone to do GVM upgrades for the current Land Rovers in Australia. The restrictions on axle loads and GVM do not seem to be logical at all. Even worse, is the massive confusion on specified weights in the various LR sources. I had to check the spec on the compliance plate before I believed the capacity provided in the on line manual.
As usual, LR increasing weights here and there to allow the vehicles to be acceptable for Australian use.
All the big players do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graeme
A bit off topic Bob, but how does new D5 compare to the L405?
The main difference is the lack of CVD shocks I think and perhaps heavier duty rear air bags due to the increase in axle capacity from 1775 in the RRV to 1900 in the D5. The D5 is noticeably firmer riding and more controlled, ie much less floaty. The RRV has perfect control over say a speed hump but is very floaty on smoother roads and sometimes way too soft feeling, which is good for ride but you may almost get sea sick.
The other thing I notice is significantly more road noise than the RRV, which has slightly more road noise than the D4 I reckon. The engine is much quieter in the D5 and D4, believe it or not. I think they set the exhaust sound in the RRV so you can hear the V8. However, it makes the V6 exhaust noisy, especially around the 2000rpm mark where it spends a lot of time when towing.
Rear comfort is terrible in the D5 compared to the base RRV and front seat comfort is OK but marginally less comfortable than the RRV. My daughter in law hated it and said it was better in my son's D1 on one off road trip we did. She loved it in the RRV on any surface but wanted to get back into the D1 because the D5 was too rough and uncomfortable on the rough tracks. This was after swapping to the D5 because the D1 was too rough!
The panel that holds the fan speed knobs on the D5 SE looks very cheap compared with the RRV, despite having exactly the same controls.
The worst thing about the D5 is the noise from the suspension and massive crashing from the front and rear suspension over normal pot holes in a gravel road. The RRV is a bit like that but not as bad as the D5 and the D4 is much better in this regard. I had to raise the D5 to offroad height to try to reduce the terrible crashing over normal potholes that litter any gravel road in winter. This improved things a bit but still not as good as a D4 which is not as good as a D1 in this regard! When the suspension is raised, both the RRV and the D5 have lots of suspension banging due to topping out off road, much like an air sprung Jeep. This does not happen in my D4.
The best thing about the D5 is the 5 year unlimited km warranty from the factory! Sometimes on the open road I can feel like I'm in the RRV but mostly it feels cheaper and less luxurious, but still perfectly adequate and comfortable, when there are no potholes.
I don't really notice the extra 100Nm of the SDV6 but when towing it pulls a gear lower than the RRV on any sort of incline while towing. The RRV spent most of its time in 6th and 7th but the D5 uses 7th and 8th on my 3000kg Zone RV and holds 8th for much longer, even though I tow in S mode.
Bob
I changed tyres to 275 55 20's on my D5 - ride comfort increased noticeably yet less sideways movement (sway)
The improvement was noticed by my wife as soon as we traveled down our dirt road.
Have you checked the ride on gravel road pot-holes at OR1 height, ie at a speed fast enough to be above OR2 speed but slow enough to not lower to normal height?Quote:
Originally Posted by BobD
I swapped the near new 275 55R20 Nitto Grapplers from my RRV to the D5 prior to purchase so my comments are with the larger tyres. I haven't driven it with the standard tyres.Quote:
Originally Posted by chuck
it is better than normal height at both OR1 and OR2 but still not that good. I may have to get LLAMS again so that I can drive at OR1 or 2 at above 80kph. I will see how I go first. I only did a small bit of driving at OR heights after getting sick of the crashing at the standard height. It would also be good to be able to use OR1 at slow speeds to reduce the topping out when conditions are not too extreme although I found that I hardly ever used the LLAMS on my RRV so I wasn't going to get it for the D5.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graeme
I was also running at high load recommended tyre pressures for towing, which are a bit higher than on the RRV and D4 (44/50 F/R instead of 36/42). Next time I go on gravel I will reduce them and see how it goes as well I think, although on the D4 lowering tyre pressures for gravel didn't make much difference unless very corrugated in my experience.