kerbstone
Member
- Posts
- 33
- Location
- Herefordshire
I have a 2006 Freelander 5 dr manual TD4 first registered in May 2006 and have been having a bit a tussle with Land Rover about tyre specifications. So far they have been saying that the Load Rating can only be 101 (825kg) as per the original fit Michelin Synchrones. (Main dealer didn't know.) The handbook and the plate on the B pillar puts the Gross Vehicle Weight at 2050kg; and the maximum rear axle load at 1460kg, which would actually be on the limit of 2 x 97 Load Rated tyres (each 730kg), where there is a much wider choice in the fitted size 225/55R17.
So being a bit sad and pedantic, I started looking at Freelander handbooks for a number of years, and which they put on the TOPIx website TOPIx - TOPIx, to see whether the weight specs had changed. Lo and behold:
From 1999 to 2001 (with the original 1994cc diesel) the unladen weight was 1480-1525kg, Gross Vehicle Weight was 2050kg, Max Rear Axle Load was 1120kg.
From 2001 to 2003 (with the TD4 '1950'cc diesel) the unladen weight was 1540-1635kg, Gross Vehicle Weight was up 30kg to 2080kg, Max Rear Axle Load was still 1120kg.
From 2004 to 2005 (with the TD4 1951cc diesel) the unladen weight was 1555-1640kg (facelifted model was presumably a bit heavier), Gross Vehicle Weight was still 2080kg, Max Rear Axle Load was still 1120kg.
Then in 2006, there are 2 versions in the handbook, both with unladen weight still 1555-1640kg:
'EU 2/3' GVW still 2080kg, Max Rear Axle Load was still 1120kg,
and then there was my version:
'EU 4' GVW 2505kg, Max Rear Axle Load 1460kg
I don't understand the significance of categorising vehicle weights under European Emission Standards - can anyone shed any light?
However mine must be a 'EU 4' because the label on my B pillar says GVW 2505kg, Max Rear Axle Load 1460kg. The V5 says max permissible weight is 2505kg as well.
So why should the Freelander 1 Gross Vehicle Weight have been increased by a massive 425kg during 2006, and the Max rear axle load by 340kg?
Was the FL1 uprated during its last year; if so was it as some sort of testbed for the Freelander 2 (200-odd kg heavier, and co-incidentally in 2007 the FL2 was introduced with exactly the same GVW of 2505kg, although the maximum rear axle load of the FL2 was 1310kg); or was that just too much of a coincidence, making this a handbook and plating specification cock-up? Does anyone know?
It's potentially a big issue for owners of 2006 FL1s with 2.0 TD4 (like me) or 2.5L Petrol because (a) the GVW affects the max train weight which is important for people who tow (but strangely the published MTW remains unchanged at 4080kg, which must cast doubt on the accuracy of the published GVW) and (b) the maximum rear axle load may be limiting tyre choice even more than usual if they really do have to be 101 Load Rated. Potential insurance issues in both cases. I await sensible answers which I can trust from Land Rover, but I thought it right to raise this here!
So being a bit sad and pedantic, I started looking at Freelander handbooks for a number of years, and which they put on the TOPIx website TOPIx - TOPIx, to see whether the weight specs had changed. Lo and behold:
From 1999 to 2001 (with the original 1994cc diesel) the unladen weight was 1480-1525kg, Gross Vehicle Weight was 2050kg, Max Rear Axle Load was 1120kg.
From 2001 to 2003 (with the TD4 '1950'cc diesel) the unladen weight was 1540-1635kg, Gross Vehicle Weight was up 30kg to 2080kg, Max Rear Axle Load was still 1120kg.
From 2004 to 2005 (with the TD4 1951cc diesel) the unladen weight was 1555-1640kg (facelifted model was presumably a bit heavier), Gross Vehicle Weight was still 2080kg, Max Rear Axle Load was still 1120kg.
Then in 2006, there are 2 versions in the handbook, both with unladen weight still 1555-1640kg:
'EU 2/3' GVW still 2080kg, Max Rear Axle Load was still 1120kg,
and then there was my version:
'EU 4' GVW 2505kg, Max Rear Axle Load 1460kg
I don't understand the significance of categorising vehicle weights under European Emission Standards - can anyone shed any light?
However mine must be a 'EU 4' because the label on my B pillar says GVW 2505kg, Max Rear Axle Load 1460kg. The V5 says max permissible weight is 2505kg as well.
So why should the Freelander 1 Gross Vehicle Weight have been increased by a massive 425kg during 2006, and the Max rear axle load by 340kg?
Was the FL1 uprated during its last year; if so was it as some sort of testbed for the Freelander 2 (200-odd kg heavier, and co-incidentally in 2007 the FL2 was introduced with exactly the same GVW of 2505kg, although the maximum rear axle load of the FL2 was 1310kg); or was that just too much of a coincidence, making this a handbook and plating specification cock-up? Does anyone know?
It's potentially a big issue for owners of 2006 FL1s with 2.0 TD4 (like me) or 2.5L Petrol because (a) the GVW affects the max train weight which is important for people who tow (but strangely the published MTW remains unchanged at 4080kg, which must cast doubt on the accuracy of the published GVW) and (b) the maximum rear axle load may be limiting tyre choice even more than usual if they really do have to be 101 Load Rated. Potential insurance issues in both cases. I await sensible answers which I can trust from Land Rover, but I thought it right to raise this here!
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