discomikey

Looking very good. If you're doing an ultra4 build definitely post your progress on a build thread! I saw U4 has now made it to aus. I can't wait to see some of the builds to turn up, hopefully something a little different to the standard styles Cheers

The tubular outrigger may have a fair amount of cross sectional area but the loads won't work in shear, more bending. It entirely depends on what you intend to use your cage for. If you want a bit of protection in case of an on road accident, then in the event of said accident, if the chassis outriggers were to deform a bit but don't break off or bend too much (disclaimer - it still needs thinking about) then they have done their job, you walk away and the car is scrap. If you are intending on competition use, then this probably isn't good enough. You'll also have to factor in the fatigue loads that will transfer through the cage into the outriggers from elsewhere, mainly seen in hard driving conditions. I think the idea has mileage though. Bolted joints are often good because you know an 8.8 bolt of X diameter is good for Y load in Z loading condition. Welding is harder to gauge. Thinking outside the box though! I like it

"jeep" 😂 You can find yourself applying all 567BHP of a SVR engined bulldog on desert tracks! I wouldn't want to do that in a 90 though!

in a defender 90, you wouldn't want a great deal more. In something longer, or with modern chassis and suspension engineering you can get used to much more!

que explosion of hatred 😂

not long now. if anyone asks.. it's important work!

yes please!

perhaps could you rivet together a bracket, instead of welding?

I don't know a great deal about the details of air filtration. Only that OEM's make the best filters for their own engines. I would however suspect that the rubber mountings especially these days are more to do with NVH than with keeping the filter clearer of dust. It'd be interesting to make an experiment that would compare rubber VS solid mounted, but I wonder if there are too many factors to account for? One thing to note is also the weight of the filter and housing. Solid mounting that weight off an engine would probably require rubber mounts in order to reduce the effect of fatigue due to vibration. Mounted to the bodywork I personally would see this as less important

I'll leave you to determine my 'hard off road' experience for yourself.

While access in that particular body is yet to be seen. if you look inside a D5 V6D you can practically stand in there with it. Failing that, the subframes with engine and box fitted can be removed from a body in a couple of hours.

The new defender has been seen, and well documented, on these hardest US trails in bog standard form. No need for 35's and lower pressure? correct. which whether we as off road enthusiasts like it or not, drives their concentration to making it extremely good on the tarmac. They seem to be doing so whilst not neglecting the off road ability and requirement to be able to do so (More because of history than actual market demand). Which, to me at least, is quite admirable. And D4's, which this lines directly up behind by my judgement of the market I have. Morocco, Spain, France, Portugal, etc. Now that (for the most part) is something I definitely agree with. IMHO they made quite the looker with the L494 Range Rover Sport. I really quite like its styling. the Big L405 RR too... But they seem to have latched on to that face, which doesn't suit the other models so well having been squashed, stretched and pulled about to fit. I'm actually looking forward to the full unveiling of the new defender. From what I've seen so far it may be the first step away from that Range Rover styling in the last 6-7 years, but built on a platform that to me at least has proven to be more than adequate.

Close enough, Development Engineer at Bowler. The TC system is highly advanced, as - is the torque vectoring system. (basically one and the same) It does take into account steering input, engine load, engine speed, wheel speeds, current gear, pitch, yaw, Rear and center E-diff status (Locked-unlocked and everywhere between), steering angle and hundreds more.

Long enough, I also race in Ultra4 Europe, so I get the big tyres/Lockers/massive flex argument. But many of these features are hardly applicable to a consumer level fleet vehicle. My current job also contrasts this whilst still remaining in the off road vehicles sector. I don't have a figure of how many miles and/or types of terrain I have covered off road, but it's enough to take a good grasp on what is suitable for use by a large consumer market.

The bonus to leaf springs, is they allow you to carry extra paving slabs in all occasions, just on the off chance they might come in handy.. it's not to make it ride better.. honest 😂

that is completely untrue: the transmission takes hundreds if not thousands of factors into account to determine what it should be doing. and it does it bloody well. Now I'm not an auto guy. Much prefer using a manual gearbox but this particular transmission is about as good as they come. Ask Jeep, Dodge, Audi, Bentley, Toyota, Iveco, etc etc.. the list goes on. Indeed. There are mud tyre options for all land rover wheel sizes. And nothing stops you fitting smaller rims. Granted, you can't currently fit 16's yet but then for what its worth I'd prefer 18"s than 16, not because I use my car as a chelsea tractor, but for the extra stability while towing. and you can still get as far on 18" wheels. That wheel and tyre package would be selected for the 99% of the market who want above all else, good road manners and long tyre life. If you're that 1%, there are options. I have also been in a situation in a D4, on a wet grassy slope with a trailer on where I had to uncouple a series, on mud tyres and pull the trailer out. The D4 was on road tyres. we can all find and post as many videos or examples of the old cars winning, or the new cars. The internet is full of both, does it prove anything? you could always go and buy a new Jimny if you wanted?

I'd agree. with the standard tunnel and an enclosed console on top you have the opportunity to use that space for a lot of sound deadening/proofing. The tunnel especially at the bellhousing end is one of the largest sources of cabin noise in a defender!

663 is (or has been) the new defender designation for the last 5 or so years. I've not heard of L851 before, but that could be down to different body style offerings. The code relates to the BIW. I haven't measured the specifics in the differentials, but it's safe to say they are much sturdier than the early 1900's design rover diff, chunkier parts and bearings. Rear diffs often have an electronically preloaded plate diff, which you can lock pretty much solid. It works very well and has proven reliable. Front differential is open as standard but we fit our own centers into both these and the rear too in some cases so modification is certainly possible. The prop shafts are a UJ/CV mix. They are re packable, don't have a grease nipple on the CV's but the construction means if you really wanted to you could add them quite easily. Driveshaft CV's are pretty chunky too All of this is easy to see if you get chance to look under a Range Rover, Sport or D5 so nothing to worry about from an NDA point of view. I'd also like to point out that although I have a lot of experience with the drivetrain, including engines and transmissions. I'm in no way involved in new defender development

I wouldn't just say the competitions are a measure of strength. The platform has been released since 2013 under Range Rover. How many failures have you ever seen of that particular shaft?

you can't beat a horse for go-anywhere ability!

What do you reckon to both Toyota and JLR's (alleged) "dig itself out of sand" function, which utilises the ETC to do so? Toyota Tacoma Crawl Control You can't deny that's impressive use of modern technology! The shafts take flat-shifting through the autobox on various terrains, gravel, sand, tarmac, etc. The autobox undoubtedly helps. Other competitors with manual boxes have destroyed larger shafts in the same competition. I'm not arguing that larger = stronger by any means. But the drivetrain package as a whole has been designed to take the same inputs in terms of driving style and "road" conditions, as those manual boxes, but less breaks. I'm not suggesting these are indestructable, we have had breakages of other components (Mostly due to crashing @ speed) but I certainly wouldn't say they can't cope In terms of breakover, approach and departure angle, the new defender will be mostly equal to old when in off road mode.

neither are wrong.. There is no single perfect spring rate for a vehicle. It is largely down to driver preference. The ideal in this situation is to specify a dual or even triple rate spring. Easily doable, but it has to be calculated for YOUR car, and YOUR preference to get it right. Dampers are very much the same. you have stated you want an upgrade, and your general usage. When you say upgrade, what do you actually want to improve on? Body roll? Harshness? Wallowing? Axle shimmy? Articulation? As i'm sure you are already aware, dislocation cones won't directly affect the ride characteristics of a car on-road. It does however suggest you are searching for a lower roll stiffness to increase available articulation travel? This will increase body roll.

Here here. poeple often forget the limits of a standard defender off road. Most here will have lots of experience no doubt, but with modifications to their vehicles to make them perform better off road. Lockers, mud tyres, lift kits, all developed to ensure defenders are better than factory. In a situation where it really matters, and there are two cars, a Defender and a L663 both sat there, 100% standard and on road tyres. Im picking the 663 every single time. Traction control is not a fix of poor design. It is far superior to a locked center and two open axle differentials. Is it superior to unlimited travel and full lockers? In most situations no. But that isn't what an old standard defender is...

That's assuming it's made from the same material and treated with the same processes, These shafts are undoubtedly stronger than defender halfshafts and have proven to be so on multiple occasions. I'm sure a large factor in this is the excellently smooth power delivery through the 8 speed auto box. somewhat protecting the driveshafts from a lot of the shock loadings seen through a manual gearbox drivetrain. All i know is they take 575PS and over 700Nm torque off road... a defender shaft does not. Is that strong enough for you?

Just a quick one on running through tube. It works fine for casual use, we ran it for 1 season on the Tomcat and it really affected the drag on freespool, so much so that I had to get james to tap out a lot of the time. It also packs with mud if you're ploughing dirt banks on approach, something to consider. If you keep it as straight as possible it would probably be fine. bends here are not so good purely because of the amount of contact between rope and the tube side.