Thread: the time has come, i can dodge it no longer

I believe that the overdrive fifth gear really makes the County as a highway tourer, 2200 rpm at 110 k's. Lightly laden my NA Isuzu retrurns 29 to 30 mpg in highway work.

The roadspeed formula for those interested is (rpm x 60) divided by (tyre revs per kilometre x total gear ratio)

For longer trips I really prefer the LT85 - the one I had copped a bit of abuse and never gave me problems. Then again, I didn't run big tyres or a turbo on that vehicle. I miss the 5th gear as I'm running an LT95 at present and don't do a lot of technical off road driving.

If it were me I'd probably go with the R380 conversion, but it's always going to come down to personal choice.

hmmmm

been making a few phone calls to well rep'ed land rover specialists and it appears to be the general concensus that sticking with the lt85 is the lessor of all the evils behind an isuzu.

they tell me that generally speaking the opinion in the trade is

the lt95 is stronger in the gearbox and weaker in the transfer and has pretty much the same bearing setup it appears so unless you get an lt95a you gain very little and lose 5th

the r380 changes much nicer but really isnt that much stronger overall esp in 5th gear so the costs really dont justfy the change if you can cope with the way an lt85 changes gear.

decisions decisions....

I'd agree with the difference between R380 and LT85, depends on the dollar value you place on your knuckles.

No turbo and running 7.5x16s, and I changed into low range in a traffic jam the other day, although the weight would've been more on the show than the need. Also been driving up and down the highway mostly in 4th(LT85) I find I'm not driving fast enough to hit the quiet sweet spot in 5th.

I would disagree with peoples opinion on R380's. We have been running an R380 behind a very boosted Isuzu on 35's towing a camper etc for 5 years and its superb. No offence intended guys but most criticism comes from people who have not got an R380/Isuzu setup.

Justin

Mine is an LT95, I simply used it, because they are virtually bullet proof, aside from the Tx, simply fixed by a taper roller bearing intermediate gearset

It will happily sit on any speed, with 35" tyres and 3.54 diff gears, upto the engine governor at 140km's, BUT it really would love a 5th gear

Can't comment on R380, as I've never had one behind an Isuzu

Originally Posted by DRanged

I would disagree with peoples opinion on R380's. We have been running an R380 behind a very boosted Isuzu on 35's towing a camper etc for 5 years and its superb. No offence intended guys but most criticism comes from people who have not got an R380/Isuzu setup.

Justin

How many kays in that 5 years?

Originally Posted by flagg

Is that with the 1.003:1 transfer?

Yes



I was lucky enough to clock up a couple of hundred km's both on-road & off over the weekend in Rijidij's tricked up 300VNTdi 130 with a brand new R380 - must say I was very impressed with the smoothness and precision of the 'box. I know how much it cost me 10 years ago to fully rebuild my LT85 - and it still wasn't as slick as this R380. Opinion seems the R380 isn't up to Santana strength but growing evidence suggests otherwise. If I had a choice again, between both LT95/LT85, I reckon I'd take the chance