Naks Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hi all We had an epic trip to Matroosberg on Sunday. I left some scrapes of the rear diff there, could even see them on the way back down the mountain! I am thinking now that I need some more ground clearance, maybe a 2inch lift? The one thing that I really liked about the D2: just put foot and the TC sorts you out. Except the one hill which was muddy and all I ended up doing was going backwards while all the wheels were driving forward. A quick reverse and 2nd Low momentum sorted that out, but it was touch and go for a few minutes :shock: On the way back, I found it very tricky when going downhill in mud/slippery rocks because when you stand on the brakes in 1st Low, I think what happens is the ABS tries to stop you from locking up and releases the brakes selectively and I ended up slipping sideways quite a bit My white hair count has definitely gone up after this trip! Some pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/n.sunassee/Matroosberg# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Nice pictures there. Is that an allday trip? What altitude did you get to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naks Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Nice pictures there. Is that an allday trip? What altitude did you get to? Yep, allday trip. The distance from the farmhouse to the top of the mountain is approx 6km, and it takes about 2hours in these conditions. In the dry season it should be much easier & faster. Altitude is 2249m from sea level and approx 2000m from the farmhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hi allWe had an epic trip to Matroosberg on Sunday. I left some scrapes of the rear diff there, could even see them on the way back down the mountain! I am thinking now that I need some more ground clearance, maybe a 2inch lift? a 2" lift won't give you any more clearance under the diff - the only way to achieve this is to fit taller tyres. You may then need a lift for the bodywork to clear the new tyres... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naks Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 a 2" lift won't give you any more clearance under the diff - the only way to achieve this is to fit taller tyres. You may then need a lift for the bodywork to clear the new tyres... *doh* I might have left some brain cells on that track too and disconnecting the anti-sway bars? Will the extra articulation help in these conditions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlykepower Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Howzit Naks! If you are thinking of creating extra clearance under the diff, then maybe think about putting some sort of guards on the diffs at the same time. No matter how much clearance you end up with, there will always be something you can hit down there! With regard to going down a steep descent and "standing" on the brakes......just dont do it. If necessary, get out and walk the hill first and recce; but select the correct gear before beginning the descent, and trust in the vehicle. Even just touching the brakes on a steep descent, let alone standing on them, can end up in disastorous consequenses See this video HERE to see what i mean. Getting rid of the anti-roll bars depends really. If you do predominantly road kilometers with very little off-roading, then they may be best left on. Depends on how civilised you want your D2 to be on the road? If you DO want a well-behaved vehicle, then the pay off comes when you DO get off-road and need extra articulation. Personally, I would take them off and go for extra articulation, and learn to live with the body roll when on road. If you dont throw them away, you can always fit them again later. HTH Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naks Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 With regard to going down a steep descent and "standing" on the brakes......just dont do it.If necessary, get out and walk the hill first and recce; but select the correct gear before beginning the descent, and trust in the vehicle. Even just touching the brakes on a steep descent, let alone standing on them, can end up in disastorous consequenses Hi Martin! yep, I know this. But I'm still getting used to the D2 auto, where the 1st Low is still too fast for me compared to my previous Defender's 1st low. I did a hectic descent last yr in my Defender, with my foot on the brake pedal all the way down to control my descent and it worked fine, but that was in the dry though. see the pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlykepower Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Yeah, I have touched brakes on rocky descents like that before too; its when you do it on slippery surfaces that it can all go wrong I guess. Like most things, I reckon you instinctively know when you can or cant do something, if you do it enough times and get enough experience. I only said it because I did one of those free half day Land Rover Experience things they give out, and I was made to go down a very steep, muddy descent in pouring rain, and my instructor was very, VERY adamant that I keep well away from the brakes. I think the course I was driving on was the one not meant for the freebies, but for more advanced learners. Its just that the instructor knew I was only interested in Land Rovers as an expedition vehicle, so I didnt have to waste 3 hours on a road test, just straight in at the deep end! I can tell you, that descent almost gave me a brown trouser moment! The lesson has stayed with me ever since. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Is that chickenwire on the track? Or just some weird optical illusion? Try driving a petrol auto down hill! Scares me all the time, seems about twice as fast as my 300Tdi 110 I used to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naks Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Is that chickenwire on the track? Or just some weird optical illusion? no, u are not seeing things. The farmer laid mesh on the track at this point to prevent further erosion. IIRC this is the first 4x4 trail in SA to be approved by the Dept. of Environmental Affairs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Cool. Could some other countries learn from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I can tell you, that descent almost gave me a brown trouser moment! The lesson has stayed with me ever since. Hi Martin Your advice is sound for about 60% of cases, but not for 40% of others. It's also good advice for novices, and is why LRe give it out. In an V8 auto with little engine braking on a rocky surface you'll typically get into more trouble with 'feet off' on a steep descent. It is fine braking on any descent in any vehicle, you just have to be careful. Actually, with ABS equipped vehicles you get a bit more leeway to brake as the ABS helps to maintain traction. It's loss of traction that causes the problems and gravity takes over. To overcome this on non abs vehicles you can also use cadence braking. On a V8 auto on rocky descents, the best technique to learn is left foot braking. Using your left foot, enables you to apply brake and throttle at fine adjustments to give you control over your speed and therefore traction. This technique is ideal on rocks as you can use just enough throttle to get up over a rock and then use the brake to control the drop off. Also think about tyres in these conditions. If you didn't, look at letting some air out to give better traction and flexibility. This helps a lot on slippery rocky surfaces. If these are you usual off road conditions think about a tyre that has a good reputation for traction on rock, something like a Goodyear MTR for example. Have a practice on a safe section of the pass. Try left foot braking until you are used to it. Then you could try pulling the fuse on the ABS and try it with and without and decide which you prefer. Either way, remember to put it back in before the tarmac. By the way, your front and rear HD bumpers are very neat. Are they made in SA?? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naks Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 By the way, your front and rear HD bumpers are very neat. Are they made in SA?? Yebo, by Burnco. the only problem with these is that they got the dimension for the rear bumper light cluster wrong, so the standard Disco2 light cluster does not fit. Which means I am driving around with no reverse lights but with 4 indicator lights and 4 brake lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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