What makes a Disco a good off-road vehicle?
The body SKINS are aluminum, the stuff you dont see is steel.
By using aluminum body panels they not only save weight (DII's have steel door skins and roof) and you stick true to the heritage of the brand.
The very first Land Rovers were made out of scrap and left over Spitfire's, they also used the surplus Spitfire paint, thats why they came in any color you wanted as long as it was RAF green.
Steel could not be had in the UK during/after WWII, hell, even the US stopped making cars and trucks for the consumer and there was a HUGE push for used steel/brass/aluminum to be recycled to make war supplies/trucks/tanks/tires.
The average American could not even buy a new tire for their car because the war machine took them all, people ran around on bald tires and carried 2 spares.
The *****'s JEEP was made by 6 different companies, Ford made the Korean and Vietnam era JEEPS, Vietnam JEEPS had 4 wheel indie suspension, anyway, off topic...
RRC's have a steel roof and hood, Defenders and Series are like the DI, the P-38 and DII use steel doors and roof.
By using aluminum body panels they not only save weight (DII's have steel door skins and roof) and you stick true to the heritage of the brand.
The very first Land Rovers were made out of scrap and left over Spitfire's, they also used the surplus Spitfire paint, thats why they came in any color you wanted as long as it was RAF green.
Steel could not be had in the UK during/after WWII, hell, even the US stopped making cars and trucks for the consumer and there was a HUGE push for used steel/brass/aluminum to be recycled to make war supplies/trucks/tanks/tires.
The average American could not even buy a new tire for their car because the war machine took them all, people ran around on bald tires and carried 2 spares.
The *****'s JEEP was made by 6 different companies, Ford made the Korean and Vietnam era JEEPS, Vietnam JEEPS had 4 wheel indie suspension, anyway, off topic...
RRC's have a steel roof and hood, Defenders and Series are like the DI, the P-38 and DII use steel doors and roof.
Pro Wrench
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,482
Likes: 8
From: Gramercy, La
How are my body panels rusting at the windows on the doors and all the rust that I hear people get by the alpine windows. Im sorry Im not following.. Skins?
But what I dont see is steel? Are you talking about the frame is steel and the body panels are aluminum?
Agian how do they rust?
But what I dont see is steel? Are you talking about the frame is steel and the body panels are aluminum?
Agian how do they rust?
Yes the window frames are steel, they bolt to the door frame, which is steel, the "skin" is what you see looking at the truck with the door closed.
Open a rear door, look at the bottom of it and you will see where the aluminum wraps around and is formed to the steel of the inner door.
I really cant explain it anymore than that.
Open a rear door, look at the bottom of it and you will see where the aluminum wraps around and is formed to the steel of the inner door.
I really cant explain it anymore than that.
Pro Wrench
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,348
Likes: 3
From: North Carolina Coast
if you get a chip in your paint on the aluminum it doesn't rust but it will oxidize. the problem with rust is, that on a rover the doors and hood and fenders are all aluminum so a truck might look great on the outside but the inner wheel wells and floor which are steel could be rusted out underneath.
Tweak Rover got it right aluminium will oxidize if in contact with the elements, such as water or de-icing salt (which is used a lot on the roads). It wil oxidize even more if it is in contact or contaminated with particles from a metal that can rust, such as steel. This is why the skin of my cargo door is coming off from the frame. The roof from DI is made of steel.
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
I think the major reason why people always choose Discovery is because it tools are everywhere unlike other vehicles that may need https://www.roguefab.com/ to make customized tools for them.
Mudding
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 155
Likes: 28
They're heavily depreciated. Let's face it. That makes all the difference. Not many people radically offroad the new ones, nor would they have done so to the D1 when it was brand new and cost the equivalent of today's $70,000.
We can count the Discovery 1's virtues, but it has to be in the context of the depreciated sale value and the expense typically necessary to get them to function as expected. A $4000 Discovery 1 with no further expenditure is going to come up grossly short in many ways. It just won't likely make it long without truly needing additional spending. On the other hand, a Disco with the issues sorted and good components that have been proven for at least a few years of regular offroad use could be compared to other on-highway vehicles as well as offroad side-by-sides in a similar price range.
Every vehicle is a set of trade-offs, and the Discovery 1 is not just a bunch of trade-offs that favor offroad use. In many ways, it compromises substantially and we can say that it's not that good offroad -- compared to something more dedicated. The most obvious issue is its heavy weight. Obviously, it's not as massive as a full-size truck, but there are a lot of much lighter alternatives and the advantage of this offroad is undeniable. While the aluminum outer skins and aluminum block and heads lower the weight in relation to what it would be with only steel and iron, it is still not lightweight nor is it remarkably lighter than many capable alternatives.
The front radius arm suspension is another trade-off. It's more stable at speed both on the highway and offroad, but it will not articulate as much as a 3 or 4-link and it tends to unload when going up obstacles. It's a compromise somewhere between links and IFS.
The coil spring suspension is another compromise. It's clearly more capable than a leaf-spring suspension at allowing lower spring rates that flex better while still positively positioning the axles. Leafers usually need excess stiffness in the springs to locate the axles and control axle wrap. On the other hand, the Discovery does not go as far as offering coil-over suspension that would allow a much greater range of tuning for offroad. There is really no serious offroad vehicle that doesn't (notwithstanding alternatives like airshocks, struts, bypass and so on). Perhaps even more detrimental to the Discovery's offroad performance is the characteristic roll-center. This is one area where the side-by-sides or Ford Raptor-style trucks have a clear advantage in some situations, and hardcore rock crawlers have an advantage in others.
Even so, there was no production on-highway vehicle with coilovers and a extreme roll center positions being made 25 years ago, and the more recent offerings are either much costlier than a depreciated Disco or they lack other features like glass windows and AC.
Ultimately, we have to see the Discovery as a package. It has a lot of good offroad features, but it also comes with things that don't help and could even hurt its offroad abilities but which still make it attractive in other ways. It has a roof to keep the sun off, windows that roll up and air conditioning. Most of them in the NA market have front airbags, a crash-test proven dash, and reasonably good protection in rollovers even without a roll cage added on. It's freeway capable and quiet enough inside at speed to hold a normal conversation.
I won't repeat all the other great information in this thread that explain some of its virtues, but I will add one I'm not sure has been emphasized enough. If fit 85 profile tires on mine, 255/85R16's. While this isn't remarkable for some other vehicles out there like Jeep Wranglers and some pickup trucks, all the late-model Land Rovers and many other contemporary SUV's use low-profile tires. For that matter, even the side-by-sides tend to use tires incapable of forming a long contact patch when aired-down. No amount of eletronic wizardry can give you more traction than the tires have available. The kind of tires that can be fitted to an early Discovery make generous traction available even with relatively crude mechanical traction control (diff locks, limited slips, or even open differentials). That combined with simplicity and ruggedness of the solid axles (of which the Land Rover has a good design) and a comparatively flexible suspension, give the Discovery 1 outstanding offroad ability that is generally assisted by its other design features while still providing a lot of the creature comforts that people expect from their on-road vehicles.
We can count the Discovery 1's virtues, but it has to be in the context of the depreciated sale value and the expense typically necessary to get them to function as expected. A $4000 Discovery 1 with no further expenditure is going to come up grossly short in many ways. It just won't likely make it long without truly needing additional spending. On the other hand, a Disco with the issues sorted and good components that have been proven for at least a few years of regular offroad use could be compared to other on-highway vehicles as well as offroad side-by-sides in a similar price range.
Every vehicle is a set of trade-offs, and the Discovery 1 is not just a bunch of trade-offs that favor offroad use. In many ways, it compromises substantially and we can say that it's not that good offroad -- compared to something more dedicated. The most obvious issue is its heavy weight. Obviously, it's not as massive as a full-size truck, but there are a lot of much lighter alternatives and the advantage of this offroad is undeniable. While the aluminum outer skins and aluminum block and heads lower the weight in relation to what it would be with only steel and iron, it is still not lightweight nor is it remarkably lighter than many capable alternatives.
The front radius arm suspension is another trade-off. It's more stable at speed both on the highway and offroad, but it will not articulate as much as a 3 or 4-link and it tends to unload when going up obstacles. It's a compromise somewhere between links and IFS.
The coil spring suspension is another compromise. It's clearly more capable than a leaf-spring suspension at allowing lower spring rates that flex better while still positively positioning the axles. Leafers usually need excess stiffness in the springs to locate the axles and control axle wrap. On the other hand, the Discovery does not go as far as offering coil-over suspension that would allow a much greater range of tuning for offroad. There is really no serious offroad vehicle that doesn't (notwithstanding alternatives like airshocks, struts, bypass and so on). Perhaps even more detrimental to the Discovery's offroad performance is the characteristic roll-center. This is one area where the side-by-sides or Ford Raptor-style trucks have a clear advantage in some situations, and hardcore rock crawlers have an advantage in others.
Even so, there was no production on-highway vehicle with coilovers and a extreme roll center positions being made 25 years ago, and the more recent offerings are either much costlier than a depreciated Disco or they lack other features like glass windows and AC.
Ultimately, we have to see the Discovery as a package. It has a lot of good offroad features, but it also comes with things that don't help and could even hurt its offroad abilities but which still make it attractive in other ways. It has a roof to keep the sun off, windows that roll up and air conditioning. Most of them in the NA market have front airbags, a crash-test proven dash, and reasonably good protection in rollovers even without a roll cage added on. It's freeway capable and quiet enough inside at speed to hold a normal conversation.
I won't repeat all the other great information in this thread that explain some of its virtues, but I will add one I'm not sure has been emphasized enough. If fit 85 profile tires on mine, 255/85R16's. While this isn't remarkable for some other vehicles out there like Jeep Wranglers and some pickup trucks, all the late-model Land Rovers and many other contemporary SUV's use low-profile tires. For that matter, even the side-by-sides tend to use tires incapable of forming a long contact patch when aired-down. No amount of eletronic wizardry can give you more traction than the tires have available. The kind of tires that can be fitted to an early Discovery make generous traction available even with relatively crude mechanical traction control (diff locks, limited slips, or even open differentials). That combined with simplicity and ruggedness of the solid axles (of which the Land Rover has a good design) and a comparatively flexible suspension, give the Discovery 1 outstanding offroad ability that is generally assisted by its other design features while still providing a lot of the creature comforts that people expect from their on-road vehicles.
Last edited by nathanb; Aug 5, 2021 at 01:42 AM.
