Member Since: 24 Apr 2017
Location: Dubai
Posts: 25
New Owner - with inevitable newbie questions!
Hi all,
I've been reading these forums for the past few months as I searched for a car and have found much valuable info. to date so thanks for all that.
Yesterday I placed a deposit on a very clean 2009 V8 HSE with 85k kms [not miles] and full dealer history [last one done at 79k]. For an 8yrs old car in Dubai its somewhat of a miracle for it to have such low mileage and not be covered in a rash of dings and scrapes so glad I spent so much time looking now. Its getting the brakes done [dash warning for pad wear was on] and a full valet/detail before I collect midweek so no photos at present unfortunately.
Car will be used for commuting, camping/exploring and towing. Mods will be limited but inevitable, so in anticipation of its arrival I have some questions:
1] Is there an online thing where I can type in the VIN and get a full spec back? when I put it into mud mode I got the padlock signs over the diffs so assume it has the heavy duty pack with diff lockers, but then it has no tow bar? Would be interesting to see what kit I have/don't have.
2] Whats the consensus on the 'best' towbar kit? UK supply isn't an issue, I am back there regularly enough.
3] Same for onboard compressor. Car will see some light desert trails but the main use for this will be for trackday support - tyres and a windy gun. I can't see a recent 'how to' installation thread anywhere for this.
4] Has anyone here chip tuned their V8? I see +37bhp / +40nm is available and can be done by a guy I know and trust. I like the fact this car cruises quietly and I appreciate its a heavy beast not a sports tourer but I honestly don't care about mpg so a 10% hike is always going to be welcome in my book.
5] Having watched the videos I reckon the transmission shop here can do the megaflush or an approximation thereof. I plan to do this based on the age of the car and the fact I will be towing and tuning it. Is this generally considered the 'best' solution or do I need to change the filter pan as well?
6] Any chance of swapping the nav screen out for something a little more intuitive? I realise the car settings all run through there but they're not exactly extensive and that nav screen looks older than the ark! A year is a long time for Dubai's traffic planners, 8 even more so. Knowing my exact spec would help here again I guess.
Cheers for now!
24th Apr 2017 2:05 pm
bimblephish
Member Since: 21 Jul 2016
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 272
Hi shirt
1) Not sure, I believe that there is one somewhere but I've not found it, however the wiki lists the UK specs which are probably fairly close: http://www.disco3.co.uk/wiki/HSE#UK
2) Do you have the tow electrics installed? If so are you sure that there isn't a removable tow bar stowed somewhere in the car? If you are going to be regularly towing then a fixed bar is worth the investment. There are LR fixed and removable bars coming up for sale fairly regularly on the forum, alternatively the tow trust after market bars have a good reputation, I got mine from here: http://www.just-tow.co.uk/towbars/land-rov...wbars.html and have been very happy with it.
3) When you say onboard compressor do you mean the one for the air suspension or an aftermarket one for pumping up tyres? If it's the former then the AMK upgrade seems to be favourite but will require a software update - one of the more experienced forum members should be able to help
4) Not tried to tune my own V8, runs on LPG anyway so not much point but I'll be interested to hear how you get on
5) There is a known issue with the transmissions starting to leak oil from around the electrical connector, mine has just started so it's going in to Bristol Transmissions tomorrow to have the upgraded connector and the new filter pan installed. Whether or not you change the filter pan changing the oil is highly recommended.
6) There are a couple of options here, first is that there are updated map disks available on a popular auction site (for the UK at least, not sure about Dubai) where enterprising folk have copied the updated map files from a different vehicle and married them with the landrover software. The moral implications of buying what are essentially pirate maps has been discussed at length elsewhere on the forum so I will leave that to your conscience. Alternatively other members have managed to upgrade the screen and nav to the screen from the D4: http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic120453....reen+in+D3
Welcome to the club, I'm sure that V8 D3's grow on trees in Dubai but they are pretty rare beasts over here
all the best
25th Apr 2017 8:26 pm
Luapno
Member Since: 27 Sep 2013
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 871
register on here and put your Vin No in and you will get a full spec sheet
Member Since: 11 Nov 2013
Location: Canberra
Posts: 209
Down in Aussie the best aftermarket D3 towbar is Mitchell brothers - particularly if you are towing something heavy. It is rated to 3,500kg and 350kg towball weight which exceeds the factory max recommended towball weight of about 260 (from memory). You can also even remove your spare wheel without dismantling the hitch... who would have thought that far ahead?
Member Since: 24 Apr 2017
Location: Dubai
Posts: 25
Thanks for the replies!
I collected the car on Thursday evening and have been wafting about since then. Very impressed with it and it had turned out to be a good buy. Less than impressed with the fuel capacity mind you I thought it'd be much bigger [filled 72 litres from the fuel warning light coming on].
I don't know if I have electrics fitted, will check tonight. I have read that there is little logic to the spec. on these cars and it seems that has carried over. For example I have a full size spare, adaptive HIDs etc but manual column adjust. That VIN decoder gave me back nothing other than the engine size, trans type and the fact it's LHD.
For compressor I mean for accessories not the one for the suspension. A job to be done over the summer months I think.
For the tow bar I saw the tow-trust one and was thinking I'd go with that but the aussie solution also looks good. I'm used to towing with a hitch and receiver and it'd mean I can swap tow balls and bike racks easily. Cheers for the link.
I'm planning on doing the flush/filter change before the remap and yes, will report back my findings.
As for the Nav I will take a look around but my conscience is easily bypassed for things like this
TBH the stereo and Nav is the only thing that annoys me about the car so far. I think I'd deffo bought a good one even though there are a couple of small things to attend to, but the stereo is pretty dire.
I actually find logic7 to be reasonable when playing from a source other than radio, but the radio reception is crap and its rather antiquated to be able to pair an iPhone for calls but not for Bluetooth audio. That the only aux. line in is a 3.5mm just adds insult to injury as you need your phone in hand to change tracks!
Is there any solution to this? 99% of the time I listen to music via ipod. I don't care how I connect it but its pointless if I can't change tracks using the wheel controls.
I'll take some photos and upload at some point when the sun comes back out. Unusually overcast this week.
1st May 2017 11:47 am
r4ff
Member Since: 30 Apr 2013
Location: York
Posts: 512
if you don't mind moving the spare wheel to the boot then you can get a secondary tank that fits under the boot pretty much doubling the fuel capacity.what is this life, if full of care?
we have no time to stand and stare.
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