Land Rover Discovery 3 Se Petrol V6 2007

[Peter Pono]

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 SE PETROL V6, 2007


Good Points
Super comfortable on 4 x air bags. Great compromise truck between tuff off road and manners on road. Smooth, quiet, accelerates well. Lots of gadgets, auto head lights, auto wipers, climate contral etc. Leave wipers on auto and when you slam through a mud hole and go blind with mud they wipe it away while you are busy steering! Articulation is very good. Unbelievable for independant. 10k cheaper than same car in diesel.

Bad Points
Had hand brake issues (electronic hand brake) and another mystery electric gremlin already. Back to LR Monday. Still under warrantly but a bummer. i do mostly highway driving for work and get an average of 13L/100km which is reasonable. Has used 14 a few times and 12.5. Traction Control does not seem tight enough to me and if you bury the pedal it seems to give up all together. TC on TD5 Disco seemed better. getting it checked in case it's not working 100%

What mods have you done?
Fitted General Grabber AT2 tyres which are similar to BFG AT. Not wrapped in them so far although I have had mudders in the past so not sure how good they should be.

What mods are on the list to do?
Maybe a snorkel. Not much else.

Why did you buy this vehicle?
Comfort. I have owned 2 x patrols and I do 55000 km per year. First one was std and was OK but second one was lifted 2" with Tough Dogs and had Pro Comp Xtreme AT's on it. Like driving a big slow tractor around without suspension. Great loaded with 500kg's but terrible the rest of the time. Wanted power, speed, quiet and comfortable with 4wd capability as well. So far so good.

How often do you go offroad?
Now I have some comfort been the last 3 weekends in a row! The family hated going in the Patrol and I was getting sick of it too.

What will your next vehicle be?
Same again at this stage.

[tankbloke]

Nice one Peter, the series 3 will be my next Disco (hopefully in the next month or so.. )
Really like the look of it.
Not having a go at the Pootrolls, but they really are quite primitive comfort wise in
comparison. Reckon you'd be pretty pleased trading up.

[bmurray2250]

Nice Disco. There are a nice 4by, I looked at a few before purchasing the Prado. They drive every nice and comfortable

[_Rich_]

Yeah nice D3, so much so I bought one too!
It replaced a 100 series.
So quiet and refined, I love the TDV6 drove the petrol and could not fault the TDV6 so that is what I settled on.
I have not had a problem / gremlin in mine yet.
It was a second hand 2005 HSE with the Electronic rear diff lock.

BTW have you turned the DSC off when off road? Hold the button in for 5 seconds. But you have to redo this every time you turn it off.

[Peter Pono]

Cheers. I have been having issues with what I consider too much wheelspin. Had a TD5 and the TC seemed tighter on that. I am wondering if that is why the E Diff was an option. What do the shortened suspension links do? What does BTW stand for and what does turning the DSC off do? I have read you should do it on sand. I don't think the Grabbers are too crash hot grip wise either. I was spinning on rocks and normally if a tyre is trying to grip you would rip a few lugs off but it didn't bite enough to do that either. What do you have on?

[Sambartom]

Nice looking rig mate.....

[_Rich_]

Hi Peter you may be interested in this site, so much info on everything D3.
DISCO3.CO.UK - Index
Australia section too:
DISCO3.CO.UK - View Forum - Australia & New Zealand

I have the adjustable links on in these photos:
DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - Last additions/Front adjustable rods they link the chassis to a sensor arm which monitors vehicle height. By shortening these adjustable ones ( Factory ones fixed length) by approx 8mm it fools the computer re the vehicle height giving an instant 50mm lift across the range of heights.
DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - Last additions/Off Road height with adjustable rods
Combined with the Cooper Zion LTZ 285 / 60 R 18 tyres which give an extra 19mm height this equates to a 69mm lift from standard.
DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - Cooper LTZ Zion 285 / 60 R18/Front / Standard Links / Standard Height.
I run two sets of tyres as these are oversize, others are standard HSE 19's with the Goodyear tires.

But having said that a new switchable kit will be out shortly:
DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Keeping the suspension "UP".
Stay tuned for that one, it will be the way to go!

( BTW means "By the Way")
Most of the guys usually switch DSC off anytime that you need more traction.

[Peter Pono]

Thanks heeps mate. More lift with a button sounds sweeeet. Let me know if you hear of it coming out. What did the adjustables set you back? Do you basically drive around +50mm all the time or do you wind them out again for the bitumen? I really wanted those Coopers for mine but the larger OD was a worry. The petrol revs very low in 5th and 6th and doesn't take much to kick back. I figured it would nearly always be dropping down a gear with bigger tyres so steered clear. fuel economy aint great as it is.

[_Rich_]

Np Pete,
I'll let you know re the kit when it comes out, I would wait for that rather than buying the adjustable links which cost about $295 from the US.
It depends on what I've got coming up (4wd trips) as far as whether I swap back over to the standard links ( no I don't adjust the adjustable ones on the car)
Yes the Coopers are oversize but with the TDV6 I don't notice any difference as far as power / gearing goes.
Had a great drive yesterday up in the Lithgow / Hampton area, the other guys where amazed at how easily the D3 drove anything challenging, yes it does lift wheels but keeps going. Two Patrols one with 33" Muddies one the standard tyres, a 80's with 33" Muddies and a Series 2 Disco with standard tyres.
The two cars with standard tyres had real trouble! In some spots I drove up easier than the Muddie equipped cars due to my eDiff.
Great Fun.

[Peter Pono]

Hi mate. got a service at Bruca Davis Landys last week. Was not impressed. Quote 450. Actual 750. Anyway, he mentioned he is about to bring in the electronic height switch as the main importer and will be slugging $600 for them. Will be on discplay at upcoming Eastern Creek show. 30mm + for off road. Off road height locked to 60km/h and can also lower a bit for freeway speeds. Cheers. I assume this menas we might be able to get it direct from the UK somewhere now then?