Never had toay for a courtesy car before, I normally tend to get out of paying the £10 for the insurance.

Taz up to Inverness, going looking for snow ?

Meeting the HPA up there, visiting customers on the way up, gives me an excuse to drive and not fly up.
Camera gear going too, so may get some nice pics

i use stratstones never had to pay or been asked to pay yet all as i do is replace fuel i use ask them is this a new policy and make a complaint to l/rover customer service bet they dot know about this  rainy-city
xs

Taztastic.

Regarding the auto box gear change.

Interesting your garage hinted at the harkness being temp. related.
I too had wondered if it were worse on a cold engine. Trouble is that sometimes the gear change is perfect, then what seems an identical situation and it graps the lower gear as it changes down.

It is not a big problem - more the fact that the previous TD4 auto box was so smooth.

bigalf1961 wrote:

i use stratstones never had to pay or been asked to pay yet all as i do is replace fuel i use ask them is this a new policy and make a complaint to l/rover customer service bet they dot know about this

The Merc gearbox was simply rubbish at low temperatures, it would hang onto gears for ages, which it was designed to do, to aid warming up, then it would slam into the next gear, so much so it would hurt. The garage tried different maps and fixes but nothing worked. As soon as it was warm it was fine.

The Freelander snatches when cold but nowhere as bad, although because the whole car is heavier it may fell damped.
Once it is all warmed up I can't remember it doing it. As the torque convertor relies on oil at pressure as a coupling it makes sense that cold working will be different.

Old auto boxes were 3 speed units which take an age to slur between gears, there was loads of time for eveything to settle down, now we have six gears changing in rapid succesion things must get a little frantic in the innards of the box.

It doesn't bother, I just say "bloody hell Freddy" and get on with it, it still changes better than I can

The best gearbox i have had was in a Skoda, the DSG gearbox, but I think manufacturers are running into problems with torque values with those units.

John Deere now offer DSG tractor gearboxes , 8 speed DSG over 3 auto changing ratios giving 24 speeds.
Makes Land-rovers gearboxes looks a bit agricultural  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

taztastic wrote:

Meeting the HPA up there, visiting customers on the way up, gives me an excuse to drive and not fly up.
Camera gear going too, so may get some nice pics

Will look out for, going Tuesday up as far as Glasgow, then on to Aberdeen, may see you before I get to Perth.

taztastic wrote:

CG's RRS isnt going too, so wont get any nice pics

 At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I have had my SD for about nine months now and I am extremely happy with all aspects of the car. Definately smoother than my TD. As for the DS gearbox I find both my Freelanders and Golf GT work really well. If Jason Plato can't change gear in a manual Golf GT quicker than an DS box can , I doubt I ever will.