Older Generation 4x4's

[Huge_Vitae]

OH Well..........

 

Just seen Watchdog on the telly....

 

Lannies have a FEW problems, mainly because they are now driven by cissies and townies who don't know how to drive them in the 'rough' They think 'rough' means having to park on a field at garden parties.

 

At least they don't burst into flames like the £30,000 VOLVO XC series (allegedly, not necessarily the view of me, my family, Anglers Net, my employers, the bloke down the road, my mate etc etc etc)

 

I still stck by my guns as I have to say that I have never experianced a problem with a landrover which others report (apart from my '93 discovery which I had from new and needed two gearboxes in it's 40,000 mile 9 year life before I traded it for a Shogun)

 

PS. Chesters doesn't need a JEEP, we all know he has a small winkle

[chesters1]

there were a lot of problems with seasoned landy owners breaking coil springs in their 110's the old ones (109's) had leaf springs which complained when they were over exerted unfortunatly the lack of feedback snapped the coil springs ,the windscreens suffered the same as they lacked the upright stiffener and cracked easily being one piece

your right about the winkle but we live in a real road now and on ice or snow my honda 90 will go where landies fear to tread.

i did have the embarressment of breaking down on a bridge and was towed off it by a jap baby offroader

for landy lover "first overland" by Tim Slessor is a must ,its about the ox/cam expedition from london to singapore in the early fifties ,great book ,influenced me from a spotty yoof to eventually get one.

Edited April 4, 2006 by chesters1

[Nightwing]

Im not too sure about that. The ground clearance looks a wee bit low. Elton also asked for something cheap and jeeps are not exactly inexpensive over here.

 

Can't say about the price of Jeeps over there, but here, they are easily found and relatively inexpensive.

As to ground clearance, this is what I found for the Discovery:

 

Ground clearance

Under differential: 8.2 in. (208 mm)

Under frame: 10.0 in. (254 mm)

Angle of approach: 31 degrees

Angle of departure: 21 degrees (25 degrees with SLS in High Mode)

Ramp breakover angle: 27 degrees (excluded angle)

Here is a quote from a Brittish auto mag discussing the Defender. It quotes an 8.5" ground clearance:

(the quip about it being less suited for on-road use..I would take that as a badge of honor!)

 

Driving the Defender is not a comfortable experience due to its front and rear live beam axles and coil springs with dampers. The steering is vague and the 16-inch wheels, high 8.5-inch ground clearance with long travel suspension needed for off-roading are not comfortable combinations on-road.

 

So...the Defender, the off-road rated LR, has 8.5" of clearance, I am sure this is refering to the differential clearnance.

The Discovery has 8.2, and 10 to the body.

 

I measured my jeep, in the driveway today.

The distance from ground level to the bottom of the rocker pannel(essentialy, the bottom of the body), was just over 17".

The distance from the ground to the lowest point of the sub-frame, which I found to be the skid plate protecting the drive shaft, was just over 14".

The distance from the ground to the lowest point on the differential(rear), was 10.8", front, was 11.2". These mesurements represent the minimum ground clearance, at the lowest point of the diff.

 

Here are some factory specs for a cherokee with standar(read:tiny), tires of 225 by 70 by 15:

approach angle/departure angle 38/31°

Breakover angle: 21°. Running ground clearance 2WD/4WD: 10/10.6.

Those show that the approach/departure angles are also superior to a disco, and that is with tires that are IMO, totally unsuited to off road use, MY tires are considerably larger, and would improve on those stats considerably.

 

Yeah...I'm a car geek.....

Edited April 5, 2006 by Nightwing