Diff lock vs viscous diff?

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Mike, don't fret about it. RRC with auto and VC is a fine machine, it does what it needs to believe me I've driven mine in all sorts, mostly it is fine. RRC gets stuck because of two things - the plough on the back and clearance under the diffs. remember you're not as tall as a standard defender and have a much longer over hang at the back. Read what's in front of you and use the power but use it wisely!!
 
classic kev said:
Mike, don't fret about it. RRC with auto and VC is a fine machine, it does what it needs to believe me I've driven mine in all sorts, mostly it is fine. RRC gets stuck because of two things - the plough on the back and clearance under the diffs. remember you're not as tall as a standard defender and have a much longer over hang at the back. Read what's in front of you and use the power but use it wisely!!
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or chop the back off,fit 36" tyres job done

b.jpg
 
If you know how to drive certain vehicles you can drive as if you have TC fitted even if the vehicle isn't fitted with it. LR teach apprentices how to
 
Jai - I agree about the descents, and even wet grass, but I still don't think you need the diff locked all the time offroad, particularly if your snaking throught trees and the like! Same for greenlaning - all depends on the conditions!

classic kev said:
Mike, don't fret about it. RRC with auto and VC is a fine machine, it does what it needs to believe me I've driven mine in all sorts, mostly it is fine. RRC gets stuck because of two things - the plough on the back and clearance under the diffs. remember you're not as tall as a standard defender and have a much longer over hang at the back. Read what's in front of you and use the power but use it wisely!!
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Hi Kev,

My mates car is a Disco, not a Defender, so think the diff clearance is the same! And his also has the snow plough on the back - which hit a lot! So did mine when greenlaning to be fair! But in a way, I'd rater the tow hitch is hitting the ground rather than aything else.

I guess slightly bigger tyres would help - what has yours got again? And could you post a pic?

Cheers!
 
Insa sahara's or Amazons from another manufacturer all good for what you want. We'll have to agree to disagree on the locking the diff. :)
 
jai_landrover said:
Insa sahara's or Amazons from another manufacturer all good for what you want. We'll have to agree to disagree on the locking the diff. :)
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I'm happy to be proved wrong Jai! It's just it is the opposite to what LR recommend (or at least when they published back in 1994!) and I don't understand why the diff lock needs to be engaged permanently offroad!
 
difflock should only be used in situations were wheel slip is likely to occur otherwise your putting a strain on transmission ,but should be used before you get stuck,hence the beauty of vc
 
Bromsgrove Defender said:
No sorry your wrong.

If you've got your Diff Locked you're less likely to get stuck in the first place

Which is why if you look at any Off Road driving technique manual, or ask anyone who regularly drives off road it/they will tell you always engage Diff Lock in any situation where traction may be lost, before traction is lost.
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I'd have to agree also, I am in diff lock 100% of the time on these pay & play sites, as I want to make sure that 100% of the time my front & rear prop are spinning at the same time. Most of the time i'm going up such an incline that the wheels are going to spin up and having them in Diff lock obviously helps matters.
When i'm green laning, I rarely have it in, maybe low range from time to time but rarely diff lock as per condiitons etc.
 
i learnt it as kid on my dads farm when ploughing if you got wheel spin and engaged diff lock you just dug holes and were stuck more ,allways told to put diff lock in first in conditions were traction maybe lost
 
MikeV8SE said:
Hi Kev,

My mates car is a Disco, not a Defender, so think the diff clearance is the same! And his also has the snow plough on the back - which hit a lot! So did mine when greenlaning to be fair! But in a way, I'd rater the tow hitch is hitting the ground rather than aything else.

I guess slightly bigger tyres would help - what has yours got again? And could you post a pic?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

The Disco has the same problem as the RRC, diff clearance and plough on the back. People lift their discos to put taller tyres on to increase clearance (camel cut also normally required).

Mine is on 235/70/16's which are the same height as the standard 205 R16's. Like I said you can compensate by using V8 power but you do need to be careful or you will be properly stuck or you'll do a bit of damage. Practice is what you really need.
 
classic kev said:
You're not wrong, but personally I'm not a fan of bob tailed motors - they just look funny but I suppose they will go pretty much anywhere if that's your thing.;)

The Disco has the same problem as the RRC, diff clearance and plough on the back. People lift their discos to put taller tyres on to increase clearance (camel cut also normally required).

Mine is on 235/70/16's which are the same height as the standard 205 R16's. Like I said you can compensate by using V8 power but you do need to be careful or you will be properly stuck or you'll do a bit of damage. Practice is what you really need.
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Yeah I don't like the look of Bobtailed Range Rover's - if I wanted something that short I'd buy a 90 Defender I guess!

Have you got a pic of your car head-on, but without being submerged in water - so I can see how it sits on the tyres. I think that is the size I'll go for - combined with a decent steering guard and diff guards front & rear I should be OK for my needs! :)
 
There is no substitute for a manually operated diff lock. Providing the vehicle user knows when to apply it and when to disengage it. They are much better than the early viscous couplings systems which took longer to engage and while they were trying to engage the wheels were spinning and chewing up the ground. Current viscous systems are much improved. However, for serious off-roading you can't beat a manually operated difflock. In addition, when teaching off road driving, a manually operated centre diff allows a much better example of what is meant by 4 wheel drive - what it is and what it is not. Should anybody want to see how useful the centre lock is try driving the Discovery 2 off road relying only on Traction Control. Better on road but awful off it. To allow some of the Discovery 2 models to leave the factory without the ability to lock the centre diff was daft in the extreme.

John TLC

You can laugh in the bedroom, but don't point
 
vc have 2 downsides for me the gearing in low is too high andi want to manually lock and unlock my diff as and when required. Vc are good and will lock with when the differential is greater than it should be which is very very small ammount of differential. Try it on the bench you can turn one flange only very very slightly faster than the other flange any more than a wee bit it locks.
 
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