Freelander 1 How long will the IRD last?

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Nodge68

Nodge68

Well-Known Member
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Cornwall
Over the last couple of weeks, I've seen this good condition FL1 TD4 SE around the town.
It looked odd from the side, but couldn't put my finger on it, until the last time I saw it, so I snapped this this photo.
20210629_093454.jpg

So the question is, how long is the IRD going to last running it about like this?
 
Stv123 said:
Are they different size? Don’t look it to me but they do look small. Pressure looks low on the front?
Click to expand...

The front wheels are 6 spoke Freedom wheels, which means they are 17", with 225/55/17 tyres.
The rears are 5 spoke Freedom rims, which makes them 16", fitted with 215/65/16 tyres.
This is bad for the whole drive train, as the wheels have different rolling radius.
 
It is funny, when I looked at the pic a decent while, I didn't spot the difference in wheels. Then, once you see it, its totally obvious.

Bit like the early and late 15" rims. They look the same, unlit you realise the early ones are 5 spoke and the later ones 6 - then they become obviously different as well :D
 
Nodge68 said:
The front wheels are 6 spoke Freedom wheels, which means they are 17", with 225/55/17 tyres.
The rears are 5 spoke Freedom rims, which makes them 16", fitted with 215/65/16 tyres.
This is bad for the whole drive train, as the wheels have different rolling radius.
Click to expand...
Could they have the same rolling radius?
 
jedi said:
Could they have the same rolling radius?
Click to expand...
No, they don't.
New 225/55/17 tyres have a rolling radius of 207.2 cm. The tyres on the car (on the front) are near the wear indicators, so the rolling radius will be less.

New 215/65/16 have a rolling radius of 208.9 cm. This size (on the rear) have about 6mm of tread.

This is enough of a different to overload the AWD system, causing the IRD to fail.
 
jedi said:
VCU should cope with that minute difference, should it not?
Click to expand...

I guess time will tell. In my experience, simply putting a different make of tyre on 1 axle of FL1 will cause the VCU to transfer torque, taking out the IRD.
 
jedi said:
VCU should cope with that minute difference, should it not?
Click to expand...
It doesn't take much to lock the VCU up...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/feels-like-driving-with-brakes-on.260939/

This fella had 4 Goodyear Efficientgrip tyres fitted and he reported that driving with them felt like the brakes were on. On examination 2 said "SUV 4x4" but other 2 only say "SUV" - so although they were the same spec (eg 215/65/16) and both Goodyear Efficientgrip, what ever slight difference in rolling diameter between the "SUV 4x4" and "SUV" variants was enough to excite the VCU. Switching to "SUV" on all 4 wheels sorted it.

I imagine which ever was the larger of the "SUV 4x4" and "SUV" variants ended up on the front axle. At least the car in this pic has the larger ones on the back.
 
A used car salesman told me a couple of years ago that most Freelander 1's are now 2WD and an MOT tester said the same so I guess it might not be a problem.
 
Alibro said:
A used car salesman told me a couple of years ago that most Freelander 1's are now 2WD and an MOT tester said the same so I guess it might not be a problem.
Click to expand...

I think it's still AWD, as it seems to stop quickly when he's maneuvering around the car park.
 
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