300bhp/ton
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 5,029
- Location
- Near MK
Just for fun..... 
There was a small test trench in the field, so thought, might as well drive through it.
Nothing too extreme or serious, but a good demonstration of the vehicles suspension and traction.
Range Rover p38a 4.6 on coils with 4"+ lift and +2" shocks and slightly larger 255/70R16 MTs and 4 wheel factory Traction Control.
I was worried that the side step and mud flaps might cause an issue. The autobox and low 1st made dropping into the hole a smooth, controlled and easy process.
Amazingly the side step and mud flap didn't touch anything. And the vehicle seemed completely clear all round.
The front spoiler was pretty close to the ground, according to the handbook you are meant to take it off when off roading. But I've not ever hit it on the ground.
Showing some nice flex at the rear and all wheels firmly planted on the ground:
Now we needed to drive out, which it did on tickover and no bother at all and no use of the TCS. The rear wheel rolled into the hole with equal little drama or effort.
I was concerned that the bumper and exhaust would hit the ground as there is quite a bit of overhang on a p38 and it does catch the ground on the bumper/exhaust when off roading. But it all cleared fine. Even the tow hitch!
The front flexed well too, although nothing really looked maxed out on either axle either time. Still some compression and droop available.
It also drove straight out again with almost no fuss at all.
Now for the Freelander. A stock Td4 manual with the factory TCS. So maybe slightly biased to the RR as it has different shocks/springs. But it is what it is.
Getting the Freelander into the hole was more difficult, lack of low range meant you couldn't go as slow, but the ground had lots of small stumps, so you needed feet on the throttle and clutch pedal as well as the brake at the same time. You also can't see the Freelanders front wheel, you seem to sit more inboard with less visibility. The Range Rover you could lean out and see the tyre.
The Freelander didn't roll down into the hole, but neither did it drop (which is what I thought it would do). It actually got hung up on the mud guard and bent it nearly 90 degrees backwards and stopped! With some TCS encouragement it did eventually end up in the hole though.
Now you can't really see from this picture, but the front wheel hadn't reached the bottom of the hole, it was sort of floating....
Walk round the other side and the rear wheel was off the deck too.
One would assume that the Freelander is sitting on its sill or belly, that would make sense??
But no, as you can see there is clear light all the way beneath the vehicle:
It was somehow sitting on just 2 wheels. And if you grabbed the vehicle you could rock it back and forth.
Now to drive out of the hole. This is an area where the Freelander is really let down. No low range!!!!! So you have 2 wheels spinning, you need to wait and maybe increase the revs a bit. Its a manual, so I tried completely off of the clutch. And even at 2500rpm, as soon as the TCS bit and tried to move the opposite wheels not spinning it would stall the engine. So the only real option is to slip the clutch.
It required a reasonable amount of TCS encouragement and as soon as it decided to transfer power around it shot off like a scalded cat. I stamped on the brakes as soon as I physically could and only just stopped with the rear wheel inches away from plummeting at speed into the hole! Again really showing up the limitations of not having low range. And quite a stink of slipped clutch to boot!
At a more sedate and controlled pace, we drove then drove the rear wheel into the hole.
Impressively no part of the bumper or body touched the ground though:
Predictably the rear wheel wasn't at the bottom of the hole, but was floating in the air:
And I assume that the front passenger wheel would also be dangling in the air too, but it was not:
You could still rock the car into the hole, but clearly the dynamics of a real wheel dropping are different to a front wheel dropping.
Driving back out still required use of the TCS, however it made much easier work than it did with the front wheel in the hole.
Conclusion
Well clearly live axles, long travel flexy suspension and low range make a huge difference to the controllability and shear ease to drive a vehicle off road. The RR also has 4 wheel TCS so doesn't loose out on that count either, not that it needed in this situation. But I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the Freelander. It held every disadvantage, yet was still able to drive the obstacle. I'm not sure how much punishment the front mud flaps would take at being bent in the manner that they did. But ultimately it did make it through and demonstrated that as long that you have traction control (or lockers), independent suspension can get you places. But it was a lot more work and effort and less enjoyable with higher stress levels. I think had it been wet, even if the Freelander had MT's then this would be much more of a challenge. The shear revs required to extract itself mean you are at high risk of making a mistake or something else going wrong.
I would be interested to repeat this with some taller tyres and maybe a 40mm lift on the Freelander. Ground clearance wasn't an issue for this obstacle. So I'm not sure a lift would offer a huge amount in this scenario. But it would be good to try.
If anyone is in the Beds/Bucks area with a modded Freelander, feel free to PM me if you'd like to give it a go.
And for completeness, we did put a Ninety through here too.
33's, +2 shocks and +2" standard rate springs:
It "almost" lifted a rear wheel but not quite. But didn't slip or spin a wheel.
I also took my stock suspension Jimny through. A bit more mud flap flexing....
It mostly kept its wheels on the ground, but didn't flex as well as the Land Rover and the rear is slightly off the ground.
The Jimny also needed a bit of TCS encouragement and it did sit on its side bar and skid plate. But due to having low range was a lot less fuss and easier to drive through than the Freelander was.
There was a small test trench in the field, so thought, might as well drive through it.
Nothing too extreme or serious, but a good demonstration of the vehicles suspension and traction.
Range Rover p38a 4.6 on coils with 4"+ lift and +2" shocks and slightly larger 255/70R16 MTs and 4 wheel factory Traction Control.
I was worried that the side step and mud flaps might cause an issue. The autobox and low 1st made dropping into the hole a smooth, controlled and easy process.
Amazingly the side step and mud flap didn't touch anything. And the vehicle seemed completely clear all round.
The front spoiler was pretty close to the ground, according to the handbook you are meant to take it off when off roading. But I've not ever hit it on the ground.
Showing some nice flex at the rear and all wheels firmly planted on the ground:
Now we needed to drive out, which it did on tickover and no bother at all and no use of the TCS. The rear wheel rolled into the hole with equal little drama or effort.
I was concerned that the bumper and exhaust would hit the ground as there is quite a bit of overhang on a p38 and it does catch the ground on the bumper/exhaust when off roading. But it all cleared fine. Even the tow hitch!
The front flexed well too, although nothing really looked maxed out on either axle either time. Still some compression and droop available.
It also drove straight out again with almost no fuss at all.
Now for the Freelander. A stock Td4 manual with the factory TCS. So maybe slightly biased to the RR as it has different shocks/springs. But it is what it is.
Getting the Freelander into the hole was more difficult, lack of low range meant you couldn't go as slow, but the ground had lots of small stumps, so you needed feet on the throttle and clutch pedal as well as the brake at the same time. You also can't see the Freelanders front wheel, you seem to sit more inboard with less visibility. The Range Rover you could lean out and see the tyre.
The Freelander didn't roll down into the hole, but neither did it drop (which is what I thought it would do). It actually got hung up on the mud guard and bent it nearly 90 degrees backwards and stopped! With some TCS encouragement it did eventually end up in the hole though.
Now you can't really see from this picture, but the front wheel hadn't reached the bottom of the hole, it was sort of floating....
Walk round the other side and the rear wheel was off the deck too.
One would assume that the Freelander is sitting on its sill or belly, that would make sense??
But no, as you can see there is clear light all the way beneath the vehicle:
It was somehow sitting on just 2 wheels. And if you grabbed the vehicle you could rock it back and forth.
Now to drive out of the hole. This is an area where the Freelander is really let down. No low range!!!!! So you have 2 wheels spinning, you need to wait and maybe increase the revs a bit. Its a manual, so I tried completely off of the clutch. And even at 2500rpm, as soon as the TCS bit and tried to move the opposite wheels not spinning it would stall the engine. So the only real option is to slip the clutch.
It required a reasonable amount of TCS encouragement and as soon as it decided to transfer power around it shot off like a scalded cat. I stamped on the brakes as soon as I physically could and only just stopped with the rear wheel inches away from plummeting at speed into the hole! Again really showing up the limitations of not having low range. And quite a stink of slipped clutch to boot!
At a more sedate and controlled pace, we drove then drove the rear wheel into the hole.
Impressively no part of the bumper or body touched the ground though:
Predictably the rear wheel wasn't at the bottom of the hole, but was floating in the air:
And I assume that the front passenger wheel would also be dangling in the air too, but it was not:
You could still rock the car into the hole, but clearly the dynamics of a real wheel dropping are different to a front wheel dropping.
Driving back out still required use of the TCS, however it made much easier work than it did with the front wheel in the hole.
Conclusion
Well clearly live axles, long travel flexy suspension and low range make a huge difference to the controllability and shear ease to drive a vehicle off road. The RR also has 4 wheel TCS so doesn't loose out on that count either, not that it needed in this situation. But I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the Freelander. It held every disadvantage, yet was still able to drive the obstacle. I'm not sure how much punishment the front mud flaps would take at being bent in the manner that they did. But ultimately it did make it through and demonstrated that as long that you have traction control (or lockers), independent suspension can get you places. But it was a lot more work and effort and less enjoyable with higher stress levels. I think had it been wet, even if the Freelander had MT's then this would be much more of a challenge. The shear revs required to extract itself mean you are at high risk of making a mistake or something else going wrong.
I would be interested to repeat this with some taller tyres and maybe a 40mm lift on the Freelander. Ground clearance wasn't an issue for this obstacle. So I'm not sure a lift would offer a huge amount in this scenario. But it would be good to try.
If anyone is in the Beds/Bucks area with a modded Freelander, feel free to PM me if you'd like to give it a go.
And for completeness, we did put a Ninety through here too.
33's, +2 shocks and +2" standard rate springs:
It "almost" lifted a rear wheel but not quite. But didn't slip or spin a wheel.
I also took my stock suspension Jimny through. A bit more mud flap flexing....
It mostly kept its wheels on the ground, but didn't flex as well as the Land Rover and the rear is slightly off the ground.
The Jimny also needed a bit of TCS encouragement and it did sit on its side bar and skid plate. But due to having low range was a lot less fuss and easier to drive through than the Freelander was.
Last edited:
