First offroad attempt

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RO51

RO51

New Member
Posts
300
And omg was I in fear for my car.... The ground clearance is horrible and grip even worse thank god for the TC. It's no disco or sj that's for sure

Before fitting my diy lift parts and new tyres I wanted to run it off the tarmac for a comparison to standard performance, it bellys out over the slightest of ruts :eek: and the sump area is very prone to knocks, approach and departure angle such too lol.

So I now know I need my two inch lift, taller tyres, but also need a smaller rear exhaust box or removed rear box, full sump and transmission guards front mid and rear. I guess I will go similar to the Msport freelander on protection.

Or I just forget off road in the freelander and go for a purely rally look for on the road and mild lanes. A cool looking tow wagon for my suzuki and boat uploadfromtaptalk1410776404353.jpg
 
IMO an off road prepared Freelander 3dr would look pretty nice,

But the lack of a locking diff does make it more interesting interms of driving style,

Not saying you cant do what the big boys can do, you;d just need to plan routes better
 
There are a few offroader freelanders around but next to nobody mods them. Even searching Google for pics there is not much about. I just don't want to hoof a load of effort into building parts for it if it's not going to get much better. I will do the lift and tyre combo and fit some slid plates and test it on the same lane
 
RO51 said:
And omg was I in fear for my car.... The ground clearance is horrible and grip even worse thank god for the TC. It's no disco or sj that's for sure

Before fitting my diy lift parts and new tyres I wanted to run it off the tarmac for a comparison to standard performance, it bellys out over the slightest of ruts :eek: and the sump area is very prone to knocks, approach and departure angle such too lol.

So I now know I need my two inch lift, taller tyres, but also need a smaller rear exhaust box or removed rear box, full sump and transmission guards front mid and rear. I guess I will go similar to the Msport freelander on protection.

Or I just forget off road in the freelander and go for a purely rally look for on the road and mild lanes. A cool looking tow wagon for my suzuki and boat View attachment 63608
Click to expand...


Errr I think your road tyres may not have helped you with off road traction....

A properly driven and prepared freelander is very good off road. All I have is good AT tyres and good VCU with working traction control and have yet to get stuck. Ok clearance is not as good as my RR but that dictates your driving style and approach.

Report back once your mods are done :)
 
roccotune said:
Errr I think your road tyres may not have helped you with off road traction....

A properly driven and prepared freelander is very good off road. All I have is good AT tyres and good VCU with working traction control and have yet to get stuck. Ok clearance is not as good as my RR but that dictates your driving style and approach.

Report back once your mods are done :)
Click to expand...
I know that the road tyres won't help but traction was only needed to keep pulling the undercarriage over the ruts lol its the ride hight that really let it down, couple that with a lot to catch the ground on underneath and it's a stuck waiting to happen.
Driving line is important but when I'm in a situation where the lane is only just wider than the car I have no choice but to drive in the ruts as that the only way forward.
An extra 3-4 inches of clearance will help massively
 
RO51 said:
I know that the road tyres won't help but traction was only needed to keep pulling the undercarriage over the ruts lol its the ride hight that really let it down, couple that with a lot to catch the ground on underneath and it's a stuck waiting to happen.
Driving line is important but when I'm in a situation where the lane is only just wider than the car I have no choice but to drive in the ruts as that the only way forward.
An extra 3-4 inches of clearance will help massively
Click to expand...


Oh no doubt!

I'm replacing the rear shocks at the weekend and thinking that a small 1inch lift will be fun. If I drove the car (the missus does during the week) I would go for a 2 inch lift :)

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by good AT tyres so hope you are ready for more off road fun! Keep us informed.
 
Yeah I'm looking at Kingpin AT same as used on the camels or the rip off bfg from event tyres
 
Jonnyb1990 said:
But the lack of a locking diff does make it more interesting interms of driving style
Click to expand...

A locking diff creates a direct 1:1 ratio drive to both front and rear axles - that's what the Freelander's VCU does - it may allow for a little slip, but in essence where you need a locking diff to be locked, the VCU will do this by design.

Traction isn't a problem. Its better than 90's Defenders, D1 or RR - because it also has Traction Control, and better than a D2 which just relies on TC.

Its clearance & lack of low-range where the Freelander suffers.
 
I have no doubt that the can make a fair case offroad but.... Is it fair for me to think I can take it places my discos and zooks would go, I'm not so sure. Even with a lift and decent rubber I don't think it will be as good. It's just not got the solid axle offroad handling. The low box thing I could probably do with out anyway as unless I was climbing a steep gradient I didn't use it much
 
I used to have a serious hybrid 90. The freelander can't compete in the real rough stuff but it's loads of fun, nicer to drive, and the best bit! The look on peoples faces in proper 4x4s stuck cross axled and a freelander drives straight thru with wheels in the air :)
 
My little Freelander surprises everybody wherever it goes off road. So far I have not got stuck, but I have around the same ground clearance now as a stock defender. (without the height - a good thing - car park barriers etc.

Only has a modest 40mm lift and slightly bigger tyres and rock sliders.

Being auto makes up for not having a low range box.

As for solid beams axles, well, the freelander doesn't have them - thankfully. They severely restrict off road clearance.

When you lift the Freelander, you lift the body and all the transmission. I know the driveshafts go into the same place, but they are nowhere near as bulky as a beam axles Land Rover. If you lift a beam axled Land Rover, you don't improve the ground clearance in the same way as a Freelander, just lift the body further away from the axles.

The only way to lift a beam axled Land Rover is to increase the tyre size to lift the beam axles up.

I am well aware of the increased articulation etc etc. I used to have an RRC year ago.
 
Epicuser said:
My little Freelander surprises everybody wherever it goes off road. So far I have not got stuck, but I have around the same ground clearance now as a stock defender. (without the height - a good thing - car park barriers etc.

Only has a modest 40mm lift and slightly bigger tyres and rock sliders.

Being auto makes up for not having a low range box.

As for solid beams axles, well, the freelander doesn't have them - thankfully. They severely restrict off road clearance.

When you lift the Freelander, you lift the body and all the transmission. I know the driveshafts go into the same place, but they are nowhere near as bulky as a beam axles Land Rover. If you lift a beam axled Land Rover, you don't improve the ground clearance in the same way as a Freelander, just lift the body further away from the axles.

The only way to lift a beam axled Land Rover is to increase the tyre size to lift the beam axles up.

I am well aware of the increased articulation etc etc. I used to have an RRC year ago.
Click to expand...


This ^^^^
 
Ahhhh but a solid axle has the same ground clearance throughout its suspension travel where as a independent set up loses ground clearance as one side or the other is compressed,
Crossed solid axles can be dealt with by fiddle brakes or lockers fiddle brakes working the same as a TC system only manual engagement rather than ecu control.
I did get a little stuck on my venture out but it was ground clearance that caused it.... The disappointing thing is the area I got delayed I have driven in a standard suzuki with no problems
 
So can crossed independant ones, but the freelander does it standard. Deep ruts will always be an issue. A lift and bigger tyres and you'll be amazed. Mines only the 1.8!
 
first person i've ever seen who's said that a freelander is ****e off road, let alone that its worse than a disco or suzuki, if you drive it like a beam axled car then you're going to find problems, all about how you drive it and the lines you take
 
SES88 said:
first person i've ever seen who's said that a freelander is ****e off road, let alone that its worse than a disco or suzuki, if you drive it like a beam axled car then you're going to find problems, all about how you drive it and the lines you take
Click to expand...
Yeah I get that it's about lines but as I said in a previous post what about single track lanes that are only just wide enough to drive down, I have no choice but to drive in the ruts, if there was space for me to straddle them I would. In an open area where I have a choice of paths it's not an issue
 
Speed is key, bottom of the car doesn't drag that much so just keep going, need to drive faster in a freelander than a disco anyway. Doesn't sound the best, but no damage is done
 
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