Maybe this is too amateurish - but what are the iron weights, behind the rear wheels, that are permitted to swing on a horizontal axle? Are these some kind of load balancing or are they for the hill descent sensors?
Strange stuff, this car.
Michael US
8th Apr 2005 4:31 am
BN
Member Since: 18 Mar 2005
Location: Here
Posts: 6463
The 40 Kgs of weights are connected to the vehicles on road dynamics, DSC etc. This has been covered on the forum and we are waiting for a full answer from land Rover. Keep watching the space, but sadly LR don't ever appear to reply.
8th Apr 2005 11:52 am
TonyH
Member Since: 01 Mar 2006
Location: Market Drayton, Shropshire
Posts: 211
Has anyone found the answer to the reason for the rear end "weights"????*Disco3 7-seat Auto
March 2006
Zermatt silver
*Disco TD5 GS Manual
2001
Epson Green
108,000 miles without a single problem
*Disco TD200 Manual
1993
Bonatti Grey
55,000 trouble-free miles
*Various company cars, no comparison
11th Mar 2006 10:01 pm
irf
Member Since: 28 Sep 2005
Location: Herts
Posts: 106
I believe that they are there to deal with some unwanted vibration/ resonance in the chassis
11th Mar 2006 10:17 pm
grommet
Member Since: 15 Feb 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 331
The pendulum weights hanging in front of the rear bumper are to counteract resonate frequency vibrations coming off the frame of the truck. Really... covered/answered multiple times in many Discovery 3/LR3 forums, including this one.
11th Mar 2006 11:51 pm
randalls
Member Since: 02 Mar 2006
Location: aberdeenshire
Posts: 703
but surely all this resonance should have been catered for in the original frame design and made all up into the unit itself. I dont recall my D2 having lots of dangly bits coming off the frame. And nobody seems to have tackled the issue of the smaller spare wheel vs full size wheel forming part of the chassis crumple safety zone either- I want to know if NCAP crash tests are going to include both the full size & safety wheel - to see what happens with both . 2007 TDV6 HSE 'Silver Lady'. With 'free' privacy glass LOL.
Taking the greenpi$$ is: Green taxing your citizens more & using some of the money to buy nukes.
12th Mar 2006 12:12 am
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26704
No, but your D2 had big lumps of iron stuck on the differential housings to dampen the propshaft vibration, So I guess LR have some form in this area.
12th Mar 2006 12:38 am
randalls
Member Since: 02 Mar 2006
Location: aberdeenshire
Posts: 703
hence I am pulling lumps of iron around that should have been engineered out- yes the D2 & D3 are going to be probably similar in this area then. 2007 TDV6 HSE 'Silver Lady'. With 'free' privacy glass LOL.
Taking the greenpi$$ is: Green taxing your citizens more & using some of the money to buy nukes.
12th Mar 2006 1:26 am
irf
Member Since: 28 Sep 2005
Location: Herts
Posts: 106
My Merc ML also had lumps of iron attached by rubber to the centre diff so it's not just LRs
As an engineer (not automotive) I reckon that sometimes a simple solution to a vibration issue (like adding mass) is the best way...
Remember that when the international space station crews first met (Russian & US) the Americans gave the Cosmonauts a Fischer positive pressure Space Pen - to allow them to write notes in zero G. The cost of development of this pen was $2m.
The Russians were grateful but quizzical and just said "whats wrong with our pencils ?"
FWIW, I also had a Porsche 911 and it had huge counterbalance weights in the front bumper... but they were to help stop you leaving the road...!!
MuddyFrom a two Land Rover household to one big FFRR...
Range Rover Vogue TDV8
Shogun SWB 4Work
Steyr M9094 Tractor
(Still a D3 fan though!)
12th Mar 2006 7:11 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
My 3.2 DSG TT had lead weights behind the bumper and the battery located in the boot to help with 'balance' issues. You should see the extra metal in the end of a Rolls-Royce too.
All makes of cars use this method of 'refinement'. Come to think of it, my 'company' aircraft uses depleted uranium in the tail...
12th Mar 2006 8:07 pm
Smarticus
Member Since: 01 Jan 2005
Location: Northumberland
Posts: 655
Did someone mention NCAP saftey tests ? Is it only me who is slightly surprised, disappointed and suspcious that the D3 still hasn't got an NCAP rating despite now being almost 18 months old ? Neither does the RRS after 9 months. The New Jeep Grand Cherokee had an NCAP rating on or very shortly after its launch date. Should we be worried, as a poor rating will see residuals drop sharply. The Jeep Voyager instantly lost £5k a unit when its NCAP came out lower than expected - which is probably why Jeep now design in saftey and get the stars to show for it from the outset. The D3 was supposed to be designed for saftey with a 5 star rating for passengers on the designers wish list (one of the reasons she is so stiff and heavy) but why hasn't that yet been tested or at least the test results published Disco 4 TDV6HSE
Defender 200TDi CSW
RR Evoque
12th Mar 2006 8:27 pm
randalls
Member Since: 02 Mar 2006
Location: aberdeenshire
Posts: 703
yes it was me. I was asking about the (small) spare wheel issue in any crash tests. I read the theory behind the NCAP crash tests and it strikes me there are two significant flaws in this system.
1. is in all crash tests it's assumed the vehicle striking the vehicle in test will be of a similar size & weight. So what are the chances of that in reality ? to me this means that smaller cars are given similar crash ratings to a larger car when in fact they could be easily compromised by being hit by a larger vehicle - this simply is not accounted for in the NCAP tests.
2. the star system looks like a hotel badging system to me and is equally open to abuse. Comparing An airbag system from one manufacturer to another is often like comparing chalk to cheese, as they often operate in very different ways, the NCAP stars are very generalised. 2007 TDV6 HSE 'Silver Lady'. With 'free' privacy glass LOL.
Taking the greenpi$$ is: Green taxing your citizens more & using some of the money to buy nukes.
12th Mar 2006 9:23 pm
SN
Member Since: 03 Jan 2006
Location: Romiley
Posts: 13710
...may be LR are worried that a negative( ) pedestrian safety rating (lets be honest, you don't want to be run over by one of these things) is going to be counter-productive...Steve N | 21MY Defender | 08MY Discovery 3 (history) | 06MY Discovery 3 (ancient history)
12th Mar 2006 9:42 pm
simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
Maybe they don't feel the need to do so in order to sell their vehicles !
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
2007 TDV6 HSE 'Silver Lady'. With 'free' privacy glass LOL.
end of a Rolls-Royce too.
) pedestrian safety rating (lets be honest, you don't want to be run over by one of these things) is going to be counter-productive...
| 08MY Discovery 3 (history) 
