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Thread: Learning to 4WD, in a Discovery Sport

  1. #1
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    Learning to 4WD, in a Discovery Sport

    Hi guys. I just posted my hello in the Intro forum, and like I said there about 18 months ago we bought a 7-seat DS to be our family car.

    Despite the sales folks assurances and all the great vids online of the DS off-road credentials, it was more than a year before we tried a couple of beach drives (first one successful, second one bogged!) and just this April we got to do the "Discovery Day" that Land Rover hosts to introduce owners to the capabilities of their new vehicles. OMG that was fun and a real eye-opener as to what "Mum's car" can do.

    But it was also an eye-opener as to what a "real" Discovery can do with air suspension and low range gears. The bush is calling me back...

    Being a 7-seater, my DS only has a skinny spare and doesn't allow a tow bar. I have a 65L diesel tank and just one battery with no room to expand either of those. Don't have even have roof racks, though I could remedy that I suppose. On the bright side I went with the standard 18" wheels so I have 235/60's that I can take down to reasonably low pressures (and I now have a deflator and a compressor to take care of that). The 2015 models all had "active driveline" which I think is the auto-locking centre diff so I get FWD economy on the highway and rear wheel assistance as required.

    I've taken a drive up in the Conondales (easy peasy) and also into the D'Aguilar forest park. I made it to the car park at Diana's Bath with reasonable caution but no actual difficulty. "Grass/gravel/snow" mode and Hill Descent Control meant I really only had to worry about where the tyres were headed. I took one look at the entrance to the "A Break" track and decided I'd have to be an idiot to attempt that alone, with no recovery equipment, no knowledge of my car's limitations and bugger all experience.

    I'm keen to explore the capabilities of this car on day trips or on 1 or 2 night outings to places where I don't have to take my own accomodation at this stage. My mate picked up a 2016 DS before Christmas, and since he only has 2 kids he got the 5 seat version with a full size spare... if I can convince him to join me every now and then I won't worry quite so much about what happens if I bust one of my tyres

    So, hoping that some of the more experienced 4WD'ers are reading this forum, does anybody have any suggestions about gear I should get, skills I should learn, places I should go or people I should link up with to safely explore the region around Brisbane in a Disco Sport?

    If it all goes well, I'm contemplating an upgrade to a full size Discovery at the end of next year, and heading out for some proper escapes from the city.

  2. #2
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    A bit left field, but one of the guys at work has a DS (wife's car) and he has just bought a 7 seat D1 (his car) for playtime and harder off-roading. Next year (tax time) he will be buying a newer D4 or D5 to replace the D1. He figured the D1 scratches the 4WDing itch until he gets his new baby without tempting him to put the DS through the wringer too much - and the ire of his wife!

    Whichever way you go, a Land Rover specific 4WD course is invaluable (through Land Rover itself, Land Rover clubs, or through Gordon's "Green Oval Experience") as they will cover the Terrain Response system's usage. I'm sure the guys here will chip in shortly and help out with getting the most out of your DS off-road. Good car by the way!

  3. #3
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    G'day TB. Glad to hear you are getting out there and exploring your vehicles capabilities and expanding your own. A-Break looks scary (especially from the Southern end) but once you get going it is an awesome drive. Very narrow with steep drops, yes, but steady steady and all good.
    Cant add anything about your vehicles capabilities. I drive a Perentie now and stepped out of the D2. What I can say was that ultimately I found my Disco boring to drive as it was so capable. I expect that yours is a couple of generations ahead so it is usually just a matter of knowing the ins and outs like the d3-4. With them the best option for sand is not sand but mud with traction control off.
    I understand that Green oval experience are the leaders in this training.
    Cheers, BDave.
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    BDave, that's encouraging about A break – thanks. I'll work my way up to it, providing the DS is deemed suitable.

    The most helpful thing you said though was "Green Oval Experience". Now I know what GOE stands for and have managed to find their website

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by TB. View Post
    Being a 7-seater, my DS only has a skinny spare and doesn't allow a tow bar.
    LandRover do a towbar for the 7 seater, it just sticks out a bit further than the 5 seater one...

    Towbar 5+2.jpg

    It's not cheap though - by the time you add the tow hitch and electrics the total cost is about 2.5k.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mamil View Post
    LandRover do a towbar for the 7 seater
    Oh, interesting - thanks. Wasn't an option at all on the 2015 build. Given my aspirations towards a future D5, I'm probably not going to ask about a retrofit.

  7. #7
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    Still exploring the Mt Mee forest tracks for a few hours each weekend. It’s beautiful country, but the granite is really tough on these city tyres, so I’m babying it a fair bit. Dropped the pressure to about 30 front and 25 rear (warm) today just to spread out the load a little. It’s amazing how the car takes on a totally different personality when you soften the tyres and press the gravel button.

    When I got back to the bitumen acccess road at the top of the Dayboro valley today I pulled over to reinflate. Just as I was packing up a handsome old blue Range Rover (an early Sport, maybe?) pulled up behind me and starting doing the same thing. The driver – friendly British sounding bloke – and I chatted briefly, leaving me even more envious of the bigger LRs with their air suspension. He’d just done the A Break track for the first time in his, and he was rather sceptical that my coils would be sufficient given the current state of the track.

    That’s OK, I’m loving the one I’m with. This week I bought Mud Maps 3 for my phone and iPad and today picked up a set of Max Trax on 20% discount from BCF. The trax fit perfectly across the very back of the cabin behind the 3rd row seats if they’re up. Reckon I’m gonna take on some more sand in the next couple of weeks.

  8. #8
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    Great to hear you are out there getting to know your new beast!
    Beautiful weather to explore.
    Cheers, BDave.
    Replace "You are...!", with "Are you...?"

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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by TB. View Post
    .... he was rather skeptical that my coils would be sufficient given the current state of the track ....
    I've been up A-Break in the D4 and you won't have any problems in the DS, except maybe the road biased tyres. But even then my guess is you'd still handle it, albeit with some tyre damage.

    Cheers,
    Scott
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  10. #10
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    Thanks Scott. I'm not keen to damage anything so I'll put that track on my "later" list.

    The big unknown right now is which will come first:
    1. I put Grabber ATs on the DS
    2. I succumb to the sudden desire to grab one of the very decent 2nd hand D4s which are currently on the market
    3. I trade up to a new D5 (but not so new as to get all the 1st generation glitches)

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