I spent yesterday at the Biltmore getting a great education on the specifics of the various Defender off-road settings from a super instructor (Ben Wooten, if you're going to Ashville.) It is so useful to get to dial in various settings and try them on the same terrain to see how they behave differently. (for reference, I have a lot of Jeep experience in the rocks and sand out west, but very little in the mud and forests back east, ironic since I live in Atlanta. And practically no Defender experience anywhere off-road, yet.)

Anyway, I was very curious about the configurable terrain response -- what exactly does it do and how does it compare to the various pre-programmed Terrain Response options (Mud & Ruts, Grass/Snow/Gravel, Sand, etc.) My real question, once I got familiar with the parameters of Configurable Terrain Response (CTR from here on), I was curious about how my settings compare to the canned ones of the various programs. I was wishing you could choose, say, Mud & Ruts, see the settings for it, and only add a little more of this or that, rather than starting entirely from scratch. But if you choose Mud & Ruts, you don't know what the parameters are, nor do you have any control over changing them.

Ben just sent me a brochure from LR showing the 3 main settings are for each of the canned programs. So for instance, now let's say I wanted to utilize Rock Crawl, but add a heavier steering feel (I happen to prefer a heavy wheel), I could look on the chart and see what Rock Crawl gives you for each of the parameters, duplicate that in my CTR settings, but push Steering Response to 3 to get the heavier feel. Etc.

Here it is if anyone wants it. I printed on heavy card stock and put it in the glove box.

Cheers!




The other question I was interested in was this: why would I bother with any of the canned responses, much less my own CTR settings, when Auto is so smart and just adjusts itself to what it finds?

Ben's two-part answer:

1) Auto is fast, but it is still reactive. It has to wait till slip starts somewhere and then figure out what to do, maybe softening the throttle. But at that point you've already started slipping, and perhaps you've dug down into the slop just enough to make recovering very hard. Whereas Mud & Ruts would have already softened the throttle beforehand AND started you out in 3rd gear (if you're in LO), and that might prevent the tires from slipping in the first place, and get you moving before you started spinning and digging a trench.

2) Auto has access to all settings, but you don't know what any of them are. So it might change on you mid-stream, and if you're driving a certain way based on how the settings have been responding up till now, you may find yourself unprepared for a new setting and not cooperating well with it. It's a very nuanced answer, but I understand what he's saying.

 

I put it in auto whether mall crawling or interstate driving.

 

Thanks for posting the settings. We just completed our 4 hour session last weekend (upgraded from the free 2 hour option) and had a wonderful time. Like you mentioned, it was invaluable to have the opportunity to drive their Defender in multiple settings over the course to see and feel the difference. The Biltmore grounds also make a wonderful backdrop to the off-roading experience as well. Not having much more than a beginner off-roading background our goal was to gain some insight into the techniques and abilities of our car so that when we do go with the kids (hope to do a weekend of backpacking out of the car soon) we’ll know enough to do so safely.

For anyone else looking at doing their experience at the Biltmore in Ashville - we spent the weekend in Brevard (30 minutes outside of Ashville). Lovely town right at the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. Tons of hiking trails, waterfalls everywhere and it’s some of the best mountain biking on the East Coast!

 

NoGaBiker,

Excellent post…thanks. Very helpful chart.

In October ’20 my wife and I did the 2-hour course with Ben, 8-months before my MY22 was delivered. At the time I wasn’t sure about the truck but was amazed at the technology and thought driving one in the woods would be a good way to decide to purchase or not. We were both amazed at its capabilities and had much fun with Ben (COVID, so he was outside with radio). We’re going back in April for the half day course using our truck.

Questions:

What exactly is “Differential Control”? And how does it change? For example, Mud & Ruts shows three segments whereas Sand shows one. So I assume the diff is used more in M&R but what exactly is it doing, I wonder. Is it just locked more of the time? Maybe it stays locked until the setting is changed. The word ‘control’ is what I don’t get.

Also, what happens when “traction sensitivity” is varied? Is this suggesting the truck senses slipperiness and reacts according to the surface? No wait, it seems it’s somehow more sensitive with rock crawl than M&R, so is it controlling the torque?

I’m sure someone here will have lots to say…just wanting to understand more.

 

I keep looking for 'school drop-off mode' and 'Costco hauling mode'.

Also, 'restaurant valet mode' for when the parking lot is 11 feet away and nearly empty but all the spots are blocked with cones. That would be great if I'm not asking too much!

I suppose I'd be ready to give up the dream of 3 separate modes and settle for a 'dead inside' mode that handles all 3 situations with hyper-responsive braking, numb acceleration, and an automatic change to that radio station that has the bumper sticker that says "safe for the little ears".

 

Without looking at it right now (going from memory) the Differential Control on CTR is 3 segments. The first is "no lock", where neither rear nor center diff locks at all. The middle is "Center Lock", which dials in some measure of center diff lock, still subject to the computer deciding how much, and the third (most aggressive) is "Center and Rear Lock", which dictates that both are locked the whole time, but again, the computer decides how much "Locked" they are. If you look at your display graphic of the real-time locking condition of the diffs you'll see a 3-segment circle around them, along with the padlock that's locked or unlocked. That circle lights up either 1/3, 2/3, or all 3/3 of the circle, according to how "locked" the diff is. I don't understand how there can be partial lock of a mechanical locking differential -- will have to read up on just what that means, but in the forced lock situation that you can choose in CTR, it never forces them to be fully locked, like pushing the button on a Rubicon does. It will decide how much lock you need, but there will always be some.

"Traction sensitivity" determines how much slip you want to allow before the traction control steps in. So for instance, on sand you want the wheels to spin like mad so you can keep up some momentum even in low-traction situations. Picture climbing a sand dune, wheels spinning, truck moving slowly, sand flying up in a roostertail behind each tire. You can imagine what would happen with normal sensitivity -- the TC would kick in and cut power and you'd grind to a halt, never to regain your momentum.

 

Thanks!
1) Makes sense (the segment graphics) but, like you, I'm not sure how a diff can be partially locked. The programming must be interesting.

2) I should have realized sensitivity means slip.

Thanks again

 

Funny you referenced this — after typing it I searched the Goog for “New Defender Differential locking explained” and hit this thread from March of this year, in which I was a frequent participant. I have zero recollection of the convo. It was a week before I ordered my 110.

Locking Diff’s thread from LR Forums

 

Thanks for the link...interesting reading.

Months ago I started reading about and viewing videos about diffs because it's a component I just don't fully get. After reading and reading, I do better understand but not fully.

One of my favorite videos is:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...rential-works/

 

Good stuff, thanks for the link.

One thing a lot of people don’t really understand is “locking center diff.” It sounds like it’s “better than Jeeps or other old-skool trucks that only have locking front and rear diffs.” But that’s because they don’t even have a center differential. Which is why they can’t be run in full-time AWD, on pavement, but can only shift into 4WD on loose surfaces. In place of a center differential, they have a 2-speed transfer case that is engaged to send power to the front wheels, or disengaged for RWD.

The center diff in most modern AWD cars works like the front and rear diffs in all cars, only it sends power fore and aft rather than side-to-side, and does so in a way that negates the fact that the different axles turn at slightly different rates than each other, just like the left and right wheels do. In effect, it “slips” internally to accommodate those differences in rotational speed. Without a center diff, as when a Jeep is driven on pavement with 4WD engaged, there will be periodic binding and then “skipping” of the two tires on one axle as they have to catch up with the other axle’s tires. This is upsetting to the vehicle’s composure, and also very wearing on drivetrain components. The center diff takes care of that, but if it’s open, as in most AWD vehicles, you could get into the situation where one axle was in mud and the other on good ground, but the center differential just sends all the power to the spinning axle and none to the one with good traction. This can’t happen with a Jeep, since any time 4WD is engaged the center is “locked” effectively.

But the most versatile and effective solution is a center diff, allowing for full-time AWD, but lockable, giving you the effect of the Jeep’s transfer case.