Dr_evil

Dr_evil

Banned
Hi guys, I just bought a Discovery with a 300tdi (R reg running an auto box) and I want to give it a bit more grunt, what are my best options with this engine ?

I've also read about being able to chip the auto version, does anyone out there have a good idea on price and how easily available they are ?

It already has a stainless straight through exhaust and a K&N air system so I guess the above option and a larger intercooler plus variable boost or larger turbo/hydraulic supercharger would be the only way to get range rover style performance from this old beast. Should add it will be used for driving on roads most of the time and some casual off roading ;)

Thanks in advance
Barnaby
 
Last edited:
as said above. these things weren't built for speed. you can improve them slightly, but from the sounds of things not to the level that you may be looking for well safely anyways. there have been old post, regaurding fitting bigger turbos. It would seem however that this isn't really a good thing, alot of damage can be caused.

If you want more grunt try de-cat pipe(if not already done) and blank off the egr vavle(again if not already done). Failing that drop a v8 lump in it and gas it.

Last thing well in my veiw. Fit another engine from something else i believe a cummings will fit not sure as to which model thou
 
EGR and decat it is then, I want to do it safely so it doesn't affect the life of the engine seeing as it's only done 71,000

Also just noticed with your Disco pic you've got a bullbar on it with the foglights, I'm bidding on one of those right now and was just wondering how easy it is to fit over the foglight bumper. I've also got Cibie's on the front of it mounted straight onto the bumper so would they have to be removed before fitting or will they be alright where they are ?
 
Easy to fit IF it isnt bent,a bit of a fiddle,better with 2 on the job.You may want to remove the centre plastic part of the bumper first.

The later 300 auto with EDC has a higher BHP than the manuals....alledgedly! I havent noticed much difference.If it doesnt have air con you might want to try drop a Td5 intercooler in or put an electric fan in front of the fitted one.But,end of the day,you are talking fractional increases.As said before,de cat,de EGR and if that aint doing it,get a V8!
 
I've got the ES Spec so it's got aircon and it was re-gassed recently so I dont want to be fiddling with that

I cant afford a V8 on insurance yet as I'm only 19 1/2 so I'm just trying to make it a little faster so I can keep up with cars on the motorway, I'll go with the small increases it's not like I need to go fast I would just like to be able to overtake slow cars with a bit more ease rather than take a 50 meter run up
 
Ive got,and had,a few late 300 autos and none of them have been very quick off the mark.They are just not set up for it.....a 2 ton brick is never going to be first away from the lights.They will do speed quite happily but if you are looking for fast acceleration....you aint gonna find it here! Take pleasure in being up high and looking down on the plebs in their hot hatches as you sail past in comfort because their motors cant maintain the the level of performance after the acceleration phase !

Concentrate on getting what you have running the best it can.Get the fuel system clean,drain the sedimentor,change the filter,get the injectors checked and serviced,replace the spill pipes.Then clean out the air hoses and swill out the intercooler.Flush the rad and check its free of crap on the outside and inside fins.Change the transmission fluid and filter.Do a fluids job on the diffs,grease the UJs,do the swivels with the correct one shot stuff.Etc,etc,etc.

Its all on here if you search each thing seperately,I know its a pain in the arse,I hate doing it but its worthwhile.
All the relatively straightforward stuff will give you more gains than any magic boxes,plus your car wont fall apart from overstressing.

meanwhile,I envy you your ES,my last one is in my avatar pic....after a quick experiment with anti-gravity involving a tree.......
 
If you like your disco but unhappy with the diesel performance the you should have got one with a V8 engine, the reason that the RRC was fitted with a V8 in its early days and the only reason disco's were available with a petrol engine ... better performance.

The V8 disco auto was road tested 0-60 around 10sec and top speed 110 and I've driven mine at 120 down hill a month ago on my way to southern Germany with no probs other than the rev limiter cutting in.
Forget about performance with a TDi they were designed as a working vehicle,,, off road and towing big trailers which ehey excell at. :D
 
Last edited:
yeah bull bars fitted over the lower valance no problems. had to take the plastic trim off that the number plate fixes top thou. It can be done on your own but having two pairs of hands would make it aload better.

The bullbar bracket fix to the same placeas the bumper does. ie they share the same bolts.
I tilted my bumper down, feed the bars through, then with feet,legs,arms,and hands going everywhere, got it all into place.
One tip, make sure there is no rust where the bars are welded to the mounting brackets, mine had and they snapped.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I'll be sure to do a few of the mods

Just out of question would a snorkel help to pull in extra air or will the K&N intake suffice ?
 
Dr_evil said:
Thanks for the replies guys, I'll be sure to do a few of the mods

Just out of question would a snorkel help to pull in extra air or will the K&N intake suffice ?
Click to expand...

If you are thinking that a snorkel will in any way improve general performance then the answer is no.

If you try to shove more air in without putting any more fuel in, all you will achieve is leaning-out the combustion and raising the engine temp.

To be honest, using a K&N filter on a a TDi 300 EDC is, imo, a waste of money.

You would be fair better off ensuring that all oils and filters are new, the brakes don't bind, the sedimenter is clean and the lift pump is working correctly.

In other words optimise the std. configuration before trying to modify it.

Once optimised, the most successful mods I have found for an EDC car are De-EGR and De-Cat. A De-cat from from Paddocks is about £15+vat and makes a noticeable improvement.

But overall, 2200kgs, an auto 'box and 120bhp does not make for a fireball.

Good luck

Dave
 
The K&N came with it when bought and was brand new so I'm quite happy keeping it, the brakes, filters etc. were all changed less than a week ago

Would it be easier to bring it into a Landrover specialist and have them make some mods after doing the EGR blanking (pretty sure it's been de-cat'd but if not then I'll do that too before sending it round to the local garage)
 
Dr_evil said:
The K&N came with it when bought and was brand new so I'm quite happy keeping it, the brakes, filters etc. were all changed less than a week ago

Would it be easier to bring it into a Landrover specialist and have them make some mods after doing the EGR blanking (pretty sure it's been de-cat'd but if not then I'll do that too before sending it round to the local garage)
Click to expand...


To get the best from running any Land Rover you should, imo, learn to do simple stuff like this yourself. It doesn't need lots of specialist tools and it will give you a greater understanding of the vehicle.

When you have successfully completed a task the sense of pride of ownership will give you a real buzz as well.

The more you can do the less likely you are to be taken advantage of, by any unscrupulous garages.
 
We use a Landrover garage we've been sending ours to for the last 10 years so they are fairly trustworthy :)

I can do the small stuff like the EGR and things like that but for potentially damaging stuff like fiddling with the fuel pump etc I'd rather have a professional do it. It'll be the same for fitting chequer plate as I don't trust myself to do a decent job on it as you have to drill/rivet it onto the body and I'd rather have it put on right than a bit squint by myself.
 
Take a look around the Turbo Diesel Owners Club UK forum. There are plenty of bods there who can help with tuning etc.

There are HUGE gains to be had with torque and BHP with the 300tdi engine, it will benefit both off and on road performance and MPG if driven properly!!

To do it properly it will include a chip, fuel pump/boost tweaks and best done by a professional tuning company.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
What money should I be asking?
2
Replies
27
Views
5K
Karls
K
gstuart
Disco 3 (LR3) P0046-00 (28) Error / hopefully resolved
7 8 9
Replies
165
Views
32K
tyregeezer
tyregeezer
Dave2302
Disco 2 A few issues proving difficult to resolve depite many new parts
Replies
15
Views
2K
Dave2302
Dave2302
T
VE Injection Pump Tuning
Replies
3
Views
605
tango90
T
Nodge68
Freelander 2 (LR2) LR trouble codes.
Replies
6
Views
38K
Keith Kernow Kernewick
Keith Kernow Kernewick