brocky
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 10
 
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First post, but have been reading for a few months on and off. Have got lots of good tips, my favourite is how to unlock the Navigation with a PIN while driving along.
I recently took my LR3 to the Empty Quarter in the UAE. I had been a few times before in a Landcruiser that was replaced by the LR3. The LR3 is generally OK on the sand as long it is lightly loaded and the tyres are on 15 psi. However, this day I had the family on board and some overnight equipment and had to be towed out by a Landcruiser at one point. The sand was very hot, we recorded 50 deg C air temp. I believe the main problem is that the vehicle is under tyred for these conditions (I have a photo of the back of the vehicle sinking into the sand while traveling at speed in a sand bowl). The Landcruisers that I was with ran 16" rims and get a lot of float from deflating their tyres to 15 psi. After getting stuck I ran on 10 psi for the last 10 km out of the desert and the LR3 was floating much better but it places undue strain on the sidewalls. At 15 psi it was necessary to use a lot more engine power, which tends to churn oil in the transfer case. This, at times, led to high engine temperatures. It would be preferrable to be able to turn off the electronic stuff in these conditions and just link the engine directly up to the wheels. Unless anyone has any other ideas, I am looking around for 285/55 R19 tyres to replace the OEM 255/55 R19's. This would give me 30 mm of extra width and about 15 mm of extra sidewall. This would perhaps give me the performance of running my existing tyres at 10 psi but be more sustainable.
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 Thu May 03 2007 9:35pm |
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10forcash
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Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Location: In the naughty corner.... eligible for parole 2025
Posts: 13987
 
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Pity there isn't a diesel variant available out there - then you'd be able to run 17" or 18" rims... 
FWIW, we ran MT/R's @ 20psi in Morocco but with a much lower ambient - loads of traction... a couple of vehicles were running on stock tyres but suffered sidewall damage  , transfer case temperatures shouldn't increase engine temperatures - did you get a dash warning? if so, did it specify engine or transmission?  for Freelander 2 Diesel, Discovery 3 / RR Sport TDV6 & RR Sport TDV8, Defender (TD5 & Puma) - available Now!
Vehicle modifications, preparation, training and equipment also available 
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| Thu May 03 2007 9:42pm |
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brocky
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 10
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No warnings, just high temperature and the aircon shutting down until normal temperature resumed. Lasted for about 30 seconds after going through particularly sticky bits. No sure where the high temperature comes from but as the vehicle tries to use electronics to maintain traction it churns oil, which heats up and then has to be cooled. Correctly, this cooling is done at the expense of airconditioning but the Landcruisers don't have to do this with their bigger tyres.
This should be a pic of driving across the side of a sand bowl.
[img]http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=11660&pos=0[/img]
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| Thu May 03 2007 9:48pm |
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10forcash
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Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Location: In the naughty corner.... eligible for parole 2025
Posts: 13987
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try this
Yer, that's real dry stuff alright, the rear wheels were probably digging in due to weight transfer, not the electronics - did you notice the engine cooling fan 'roaring' more than normal?
It's more likely that the high temp was in the auto gearbox rather than the transfer box as this does more work for Freelander 2 Diesel, Discovery 3 / RR Sport TDV6 & RR Sport TDV8, Defender (TD5 & Puma) - available Now!
Vehicle modifications, preparation, training and equipment also available
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| Thu May 03 2007 9:52pm |
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Baben
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Joined: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Kyalami
Posts: 794
 
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Hi Brocky
Forgive me if this is a dumb question - Were you using terrain response in "sand" mode, and did you try switching off DSC? This made a huge difference for me in the sand recently, albeit not nearly as deep as what you have in UAE. Its almost like you only need half the power to move the vehicle.
Other than that, for 19" tyres you probably only have the MTR option like 10FC said. Awesome tyres for sure, and almost as good as Cooper STT's  Remap and TTBox available for most vehicles
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| Thu May 03 2007 9:55pm |
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10forcash
Site Sponsor
Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Location: In the naughty corner.... eligible for parole 2025
Posts: 13987
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STT's are awesome in the 'right' terrain, I ran them for a while but found the MT'R's to be good all-rounders, that said, UK terrain is vastly different to SA and UAE  for Freelander 2 Diesel, Discovery 3 / RR Sport TDV6 & RR Sport TDV8, Defender (TD5 & Puma) - available Now!
Vehicle modifications, preparation, training and equipment also available
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| Thu May 03 2007 9:59pm |
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Baben
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Joined: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Kyalami
Posts: 794
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Hook, line & sinker!
Gotcha TFC
You know what, I am almost convinced the STT's and MTR's are the same. If you see them next to each other they look SO similar. Of course the construction and compound might be different, but they certainly look very close. Remap and TTBox available for most vehicles
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| Thu May 03 2007 10:10pm |
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10forcash
Site Sponsor
Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Location: In the naughty corner.... eligible for parole 2025
Posts: 13987
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  for Freelander 2 Diesel, Discovery 3 / RR Sport TDV6 & RR Sport TDV8, Defender (TD5 & Puma) - available Now!
Vehicle modifications, preparation, training and equipment also available
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| Thu May 03 2007 10:15pm |
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Baben
Site Sponsor
Joined: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Kyalami
Posts: 794
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Remap and TTBox available for most vehicles
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| Thu May 03 2007 10:19pm |
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brocky
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 10
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Baben wrote:Were you using terrain response in "sand" mode, and did you try switching off DSC?
Yes, TR on "sand" mode and DSC off. From the picture you can see the rear wheels digging in a more than the front. This is the problem taking the vehicle "loaded" into the sand. As I noted in my original post, I definitely have less trouble when it is only myself and a recovery box in the car. Load it up a bit and the tyres really struggle to handle any extra weight. There is not enough sidewall.
The problem with the electronics comes when the vehicle is stuck on a side slope. Normal procedure is to try to get the engine (heavy end) heading down hill. This procedure requires the wheels to be turning. At times I was not able to get any wheels turning as the electronics were locking all of the wheels up, causing the gearbox to become an oil heater. There was a lack of directness between input at the throttle and what happened at the wheels. Having done this before in a Landcruiser there was significant difference in these difficult situations in how, and even if, I could get unstuck. It was also a source of great mirth to the 2 Landcruiser and 1 Lexus driver seeing the LR3 exert a mind of its own.
All of that said, I believe that with a little more tyre on the vehicle I would have had far less problems. This is evidenced by the last 10 km that I did with the tyres on 10 psi. I actually asked the other drivers whether they noticed a difference in the sand conditions as the LR3 behaved completely differently. No sticking, and hence no overheating. The problem was that at 10 psi I had almost no sidewall left. Also on the plus side is the front and rear ramp angle and breakover clearance is better than my Landcruiser was. I did not touch the front even going down some steep slip faces onto hard sabkhahs. I also only touched down a couple of times on the crests of dunes before going down a slip face.
I have added another picture below of one of the Landcruisers coming down a slip face. You can see where vehicles in the foreground have dug into the soft sand.
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Stopping for lunch. Decided to eat in the cars as it topped 50 deg C outside. You can see the pre-disposition for Landcruisers (and Patrols) in the UAE for desert driving. I like a challenge.....
 | | Click image to enlarge |
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| Fri May 04 2007 7:27am |
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SPOTTER
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Location: Adrift........
Posts: 2098
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that lexus looks like a Landcruiser........
I assuem Silver is less popular out there  really ought to change this.........
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| Fri May 04 2007 9:16am |
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Dune Disco
Joined: 02 May 2007
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 16
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Hi Brocky,
Keep your eyes out for a Lugano Teal LR3 - shouldn't be too hard to spot in Abu Dhabi as there aren't many of us LR3 owners here yet.
I bought mine from Khalidiya about 3 weeks ago. Took it to the Ghaf forest (south of RAK) through the dunes and had no problems. Tyres were down to about 15 PSI. Thing is though, it was only me and the long-haired general plus about 30 kg of camping kit. I think the weight issue on the rear wheels will become a problem when I next go to Liwa. Have you considered shifting the spare wheel to the roof (as far forward as it will go) as an interim measure?
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| Fri May 04 2007 6:25pm |
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brocky
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 10
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Hi Dune Disco,
Will look out for you. Mine is the unwashed silver LR3. I haven't taken it to the carwash since the trip to Liwa. That is the good thing about silver.
I had thought about getting a roof rack to distribute weight forward but hadn't considered the spare tyre, which is a good idea.
I will start the search for 285/55 R19's in the UAE as well.
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| Fri May 04 2007 9:42pm |
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baltunay
Joined: 31 May 2007
Location: Dubai
Posts: 1
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Hi Brocky,
If you are still in and around UAE, I am in Dubai with my newly acquired LR3 HSE and the belowed TD5 Disco II. I live in Mirdif and lemme know when you are out to play again.
Cheers If Living With Obession is a SIN, Let Me Be Guilty
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| Thu May 31 2007 12:24pm |
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Guy
Joined: 05 Jul 2005
Location: Sitting Down, Facing Front
Posts: 901
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brocky wrote:You can see the pre-disposition for Landcruisers (and Patrols) in the UAE for desert driving. I like a challenge.....
Nice one Brocky - you're right - waaay too many Landcruisers doing the desert safaris (not to mention FFRRs and Sports around town). Can I come and play in the sand next time I'm in the Gulf? I'd love to see a proper vehicle doing it!
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| Thu May 31 2007 12:32pm |
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