I have never been light on the throttle on any of my vehicles. I will rev my 235K Kalahari up to 4.5K no problem. If I am going to own something I am going to use it. I keep up on all the fluids/maintenance, I am very in tune with my vehicles, and I can feel the slightest thing or thru throttle input I can tell if something is off.

When I have people over that I'm working on their LR's sometimes we take one of mine into town if we need something. They are usually pretty quiet and when I we get back they all pretty much say the same thing like "man I wish my LR ran like that" or "that is the best running 4.0L D2 I've ever rode in". All I can say on that is I learned everything I know from my two best friends with over 25 years of LR experience each. I was 15 when I fell in love with these things back in when my mom had an 89 RRC. I saw plenty of blown up engines, D2's that jumped off small cliff's, and vehicles that people owned that didn't even know where or what the hood latch was for (and it showed...). I have owned over 20+ LR's to date and honestly not a single Rover 3.9/4.0/4.2/4.6L engine has ever let me down! I have had axles snap, alternators die, and plenty of other goofy things happen, but I have always made it home.

These engines are NOT as delicate as people make them out to be. The sad fact is some rolled off the assembly line crappy due to the Brits & Germans not always getting along on the assembly line, tooling for the engines got worse over time, and then finally a lot of the LR's running around were not maintained by people with a lot of knowledge. I've been lucky to have bought 20+ LR's that were well kept by their owners. Keeping them cool, and full of fluids is key to any engine, but with a LR engine it's critical. I've seen so many people spend 1500.00 on a HG job only to overheat either on the way home or shortly thereafter because they DID NOT actually fix the cause of the problem. The HG's were the end result, but almost every one I've looked at that just had a HG either had the original water pump, radiator, coolant hoses, or thermostat....... You can not blame the engine for that!

I bought one 02 D2 from a guy and he said he changed everything out. I was in a rush to pick it up and I forgot my scangauge II when I was dropped off to get it. I drove it 2HR and little did I know yes he replaced a lot of stuff, but the completely clogged and rusted thermostat was still in it and I was running 230F all the way home...... I quickly changed out the thermostat to a 180F unit and my temps never went above 206F in stop n go traffic after that. Now when I look at LR's I honestly don't even look at anything with less than 150K on them. It's the 150K and up vehicles I look at. Those are the ones people have maintained and it shows.

Each one I've looked at I've dropped into 1st gear and left it there and driven it up to the rev limiter. I look for black smoke, and I watch the engine temp, and listen to the engine. If everything looks good I'll buy it. If something doesn't add up I usually pass. If the owner won't let me test it like that = I walk

I personally prefer the 4.0L engine. The 4.6L to me was just to much blood being squeezed out of a turnip & LR was already getting ready for the LR3 and the end of the Rover V8 so they had absolutely no plans to fix it. Making it run hotter for emissions was the final nail in the coffin, and the 180F thermostat should have been factory vs used years later.

I sound old when I think back how long I've been messing with these things, but I love every single minute of it. My latest project has been the 97 XD that I saved from just barely running around on a ranch in TX rusting slowly away (the cancer is severe), but I took a vehicle that hadn't been out on the road in years, and after 4 months of working on it = it's now cruising down I-10 at 70-85MPH (I got up to 80-85MPH for testing purposes). The engine needed serious TLC. The previous owner did some stuff very well like a new $$$ Nissens radiator, but then did other stuff really cheap. It got a complete tune up, new coolant hoses, new water pump, new 180F thermostat, new coolant, and I fixed the AC which the previous owner said hadn't worked in 6 years by simply replacing the A/C on/off button and the blower slider. Then I finally tracked down it's awful running to an ECU that looked like Jack Dawson from Titanic took down with him to rest on the ship. It was badly corroded and 6-10 traces were complete done for. One of those LR buddies I mentioned earlier tracked down a 96 ECU and matching alarm box, and now it runs excellent. It has power, idles properly, and I'll be at the 2019 HCRR in it. Only thing left on the list is larger 235/85R16 tires. The XD will never be perfect cancer wise (needs a new body honestly), but I will probably totally restore that one day with a donor body. However mechanically she is solid and I'll be driving it 10HR roundtrip in Oct not counting cruising around Austin for a few days.

The good news is now days there is a lot of knowledge thanks for forums like LRF and you can modify and upgrade your Rover V8 in many ways to make it last longer (cooling and other improvements like PCV mods and several other things). 93 octane fuel is awesome, but these things will not just die with 87 in them. Less HP maybe, but the Bosch setup was the best of the best Rover V8 management wise. When I towed home the XD from College Station with my 99 D2 I was going highway speeds and up/down hills. I watched my Scangauge II like I always do and the temps were spot on 193-202F for the entire 3.5HR trip home. I've made that trip without a D1 strapped behind me and the performance was just about the same minus the braking lol.

 

Wow! That's an awesome background with our vehicles!!!!!

I might be a nerd for it but I enjoyed reading that.

 

The stuff I saw when RRC/D1/D2/D90's were new was pretty interesting. The cliff jumper was particularly interesting. Guy had bought a brand new LE D2 and he lifted it, ARB, Safety Devices Roof rack, the whole package. It was just a beautiful truck. Then I go into the back and my friend flags me down and there she sits.. Front wheels barely held on, thing is bent at the bulkhead, front wings are at an angle, and the entire body is warped front to back. Then I was told the guy was dared by some Toyota people that he couldn't jump a little dip in the road. He said I'll do better than that so he jumped like a highway embankment! The things we did before Youtube... haha Well he jumped it 2 times fine, and the last one he went full throttle, and what I saw sitting there was the result. Funny part was it wasn't in there for any of the damage to be fixed, it was there for something completely stupid like a broken cup holder or center console part....

The guy walked in just as I was looking it over and he started asking my friend what he needed to fix it. My friend looked at him puzzled and said it's rough man, and the guy replied well I want it fixed so add it up. I still to this day do not have a clue how much that guy paid, but 2-3 months later at a LR Wheels event he rolled up in the same LE D2 and it looked brand new. It's warranty was void, but he always came by the dealership for stuff to be done to it.

Or the lesbian couple that had an 03 D2 with every add on you could think of. They bought it together and went to town on the interior stereo, the wheels, bumper, roof rack, and lift. Then they were parting ways and were asking the dealership to buy it back which they did and a crazy low price. However back in the day when LR re-certified any LR it had to go back to 100% LR spec. I got the wheels/tires with Discount Tire certificates, and my friends kept the stereo stuff, and the bumper/rack. I had a P38 at the time so none of that stuff besides the wheels worked for me. They put it out on the lot and it sold in probably a week for almost double what the dealership paid for it. Those lesbians lost their $$$$$ on that one.

Or the famous 03 D2 4.6L engine business. I have never seen so many engines in one room in my life. It had to be over 50 LR 4.6L engines just all over the place from complete to torn down bits. They were supposed to ship them back, but eventually every tech just grabbed themselves one and eventually the remaining bits = scrapped.

All that started when I was 15 and I'm now 42.... The LR party for the 94 D1 and 94 D90 at the San Antonio dealership was the bomb!! D90's with tires on the hood, no roofs, 94 D1 La Ruta Maya Vehicle was on display as well and I actually was given a real Event badge which I sadly lost over the years when I won a Know your D1 challenge they held during the party. Then the LR3 party was another awesome event!!

Sadly those kind of dealership things are over as they barely even stock a LR hat vs Jag stuff these days. I did roll up in my Kalahari once in Houston and about 10 dudes came out and were like what kind of LR is that???? I quickly looked for a hat and left lol.

My two LR buddies have a shop together just north of Austin, TX and their shop reminds me of the dealerships back in the day (TX used to just have one in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston).

When I went to the 2018 HCRR event I saw people I hadn't seen since I was 15-20 years old and they all instantly remembered me and my moms beautiful 89 RRC. I had Jeeps for a while, but those owners don't compare to how the true LR enthusiast are. That's why I love to offer help, or work on peoples RRC/D1/D2 LR's. I love the heritage, I love it's involvement in the Camel Trophy over the years, events like the La Ruta Maya, G4, and I just bleed green I guess.

 

Lol, the west wing was one of my favorite shows! Good choice.
Oops! Well you joined the discussion so it couldn't have been a complete waste of time! it wasnt until I finished reading the replies and saw the 'related topics' at the bottom that I realized I probably could have chosen a topic that hasn't been discussed half a million times already...

 

I basically check these threads to make sure they are staying civil.

People get all kinds of fired up about octane and viscosity for some reason.

I probably have put more miles on Rovers in the last 17 years than most and have never ran anything but unleaded. 80k on the LR3’s 40k on a DII 40k on the 110, 175k or more who knows on the RRC’s I have had.

0 head gasket failures, no slipped liners, no cam bearings falling out, no rod or main knock no detonation, etc etc etc. Mileage is in line with what many post here on premium fuel.

Did do one engine replacement on my 110 it was a tired 3.5 V8 that apparently did not like running 5k rpm for 800 miles.


The morale of this story is put in the tank or oil pan that which makes you smile.

 

Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

 

**** and beer??

 

I run on that why shouldn’t my truck. It’s a Land Rover though so it has to be premium ****.

 

I use premium only. Lower octane is cheaper per gallon only, but not much per mile.

 

I read somewhere that higher octane burns cleaner and cooler; thus less heat generated within the block. Has anyone tested this? Ive got a digital multi systems meter and it will read up to 10ths of a degree and I was considering seeing if lower octane had any noticeable difference.