Thread: D250 vs P300 Defender 110 S

Originally Posted by TB

Anybody want to talk me out of ordering a petrol Defender for exploring the unpaved country?

So thats two clutch packs to replace an electric centre diff.More complications,and possibly expensive repairs.

Yet in their current range,centre diffs seem very reliable.

It didn't take much to talk me out of one,i don't want to be doing the guinea pig testing for LR,i have done enough of that over the years.

Originally Posted by scarry

So thats two clutch packs to replace an electric centre diff.More complications,and possibly expensive repairs.

I'm not actually worried about the reliability of the clutches – the electronic locking diffs are all implemented using clutch packs and I've not heard of one of those failing. My concern is more about how it behaves as a differential to distribute torque both front and rear when all wheels have good traction but you're in a turn. Something has to slip.

Originally Posted by TB

I'm not actually worried about the reliability of the clutches – the electronic locking diffs are all implemented using clutch packs and I've not heard of one of those failing. My concern is more about how it behaves as a differential to distribute torque both front and rear when all wheels have good traction but you're in a turn. Something has to slip.

Really hard to know without a lot more info.

I am no engineer,but I am sure LR would have that sorted.

Just my 2 cents worth.

I like that constant 4wd with open diffs allocating torque assists cornering on sealed surfaces. With front wheels travelling further than the rears through corners I cannot see how clutches in the drive to the front wheels can make the front wheels turn faster than the rears and therefore cannot assist unless the rears slip. The clutches in the centre and rear diff if an e-diff only come into play when wheels begin to slip or as a preventative to slipping rather than providing normal drive.

The extra weight of the batteries and the space they occupy for such little reward when touring would have me looking for a way to remove them.

Originally Posted by Graeme

The extra weight of the batteries and the space they occupy for such little reward when touring would have me looking for a way to remove them.

I could be confused and mistaken about this, but I think that in at least one of the new engines (P400 or D250/D300) the electric motor for the mild hybrid system is also the starter motor. The MHEV stuff is pretty deeply integrated into the design and I can imagine any attempt to remove the electronics from the boot being something of a problem.

I suspect likewise and would do my best to avoid vehicles with such features.

Just thinking really hard about the diff v clutch thing for the front drive... it seems impossible that the LR engineers didn't think about the need for the front to go faster than the rear. So what if they took that into account and actually overdrive the front? You could calculate from your minimum turning radius what the relative speeds need to be, then build that into either the TC or the front diff.

That would be a rear-wheel-drive system with on-demand recruitment of the front wheels when seemingly needed, but not for too long because the clutch slip would generate heat even when driving in a straight line.

I don't get it. Everything about this new system sounds dumb, especially for the engine and vehicle it's been deployed in. Really hope I'm missing something.

That the e-diff is optional indicates the market that LR is targeting.

The disconnecting front drive may make the front smoother until the front tail-shaft has to suddenly spin-up as the clutches engage. Backlash in the centre diff would be gone though.