The one thing that it's taking time for me to get comfortable with with my TD4 is the gears. I've been driving for a little over 20 years and owned 8 different cars, including a TD5 Disco II and a TDV6 Disco 3, which have had anywhere between 4 and 6 gears. The one consistent thing I've found is that just cruising around at 30mph, they've all been pretty comfortable in 4th (with a little oomph still in hand), and normally are happy to sit in 5th at 40mph. So I'm kind of conditioned to be using these gears at these speeds (unless accelerating of course).

But with my FL2, these gears/speeds just seem to labour the engine. I'm finding that I need to be in 3rd at 30mph, and 4th only really becomes an option closer to 40mph. At the top of the scale, 6th only feel right at 70mph+, but I guess it's meant to be a cruising gear anyway. With 6 gears, I'm surprised the "spread" isn't lower down the scale, especially for a vehicle which is likely to spend more time under load at lower speeds than high-speed cruising.

I think I'm mentally conditioned to think "higher gear = better fuel economy", even though I really know that this isn't necessarily the case. In the early days of the Disco3 forums, I seem to remember somebody making a good post about fuel economy relating to optimum engine speed, rather than lower engine speed, anyone remember seeing that?

Anyone else got any views on this?

Night fox,

How many miles has your car done? My car is fine at 30mph in 4th and will pull from that as well, but at nearly 12k miles it's well run in. I would also say that I'm frequently using 6th at way below 70mph (which is spot on 2000 rpm).

For me there's a difference between using a gear to keep up with traffic, and choosing a gear that will allow more agile acceleration if the opportunity is found. But I find that from 1200-1300 rpm the engine is remarkably repsponsive.

I think LR got suckered into making the headline fuel consumption figures with the 6th gear which is an overdrive. I would have much prefered a much lower optional 1st gear (i.e. normal 1st is what it is now , but there is a gated 'super low' for off road , and dealing with heavy trailers etc)

avtur wrote:

Night fox,

How many miles has your car done? My car is fine at 30mph in 4th and will pull from that as well, but at nearly 12k miles it's well run in. I would also say that I'm frequently using 6th at way below 70mph (which is spot on 2000 rpm).

For me there's a difference between using a gear to keep up with traffic, and choosing a gear that will allow more agile acceleration if the opportunity is found. But I find that from 1200-1300 rpm the engine is remarkably repsponsive.

AndyP wrote:

I think LR got suckered into making the headline fuel consumption figures with the 6th gear which is an overdrive. I would have much prefered a much lower optional 1st gear (i.e. normal 1st is what it is now , but there is a gated 'super low' for off road , and dealing with heavy trailers etc)

NightFox wrote:

avtur wrote:

Night fox,

How many miles has your car done? My car is fine at 30mph in 4th and will pull from that as well, but at nearly 12k miles it's well run in. I would also say that I'm frequently using 6th at way below 70mph (which is spot on 2000 rpm).

For me there's a difference between using a gear to keep up with traffic, and choosing a gear that will allow more agile acceleration if the opportunity is found. But I find that from 1200-1300 rpm the engine is remarkably repsponsive.

I've only got just over 1000 miles on the clock, but no way does it feel like it could ever hold 30mph in 4th...

I find that I won't change up unless I've got >2200rpm in the current gear, which tends to be about 1500rpm in the next gear up; anything less than 1500rpm and the engine feels like its on the edge of stalling. Can't imagine there being anything mechanically wrong though, as I'm getting a good 37mpg. Does anyone know if any of the software updates have done any major remapping of the ECU?

avtur wrote:

Mine is a very early car, delivered first week Jan, to date no ECU updates. I can drive all day at way less than 2200rpm and the engine keeps pulling. As I've noted on another thread it will happily climb a 1 in 4 gradient (in 1st gear) at tick-over with over 500kgs in the car. my impression is that the engine is terrific at low speed.

I'm not a engineer and don't know much about the operation of engines at their best revs/power/torque for econonmy or performance but to me the best revs economy for any given gear is where it is on point of the maximum torque so you let the engine do it's thing without stressing it. The torque curve for the F2 flattens out at about 1900/2000 rpm which should be the best revs to keep it at for performance and econony in any gear How can carbon have a footprint, it has no feet?
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Nightfox, the posts you were talking about were by BN and explained that keeping the car around its maximum torque gave best fuel economy, on my D3 that means 2000 revs and the gear box learns your style of changing. I haven't had much of a drive of the Fl2 (wife won't let me ) but I expect it will be similar. D4 HSE Lux for me
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pelyma wrote:

Nightfox, the posts you were talking about were by BN and explained that keeping the car around its maximum torque gave best fuel economy, on my D3 that means 2000 revs and the gear box learns your style of changing. I haven't had much of a drive of the Fl2 (wife won't let me ) but I expect it will be similar.

Read the threads..... tried the gears out.......no problems that I have noticed and sat ticking over at 32mph in 6th!!! 900rpm..no engine strain... quite happy .... got to an incline dropped into 4th and pulled away fine. I have found as long as you do not expect a miracle from the car they do great...literally they will 'tick over' in any gear as long as the engine is not under strain. If you are being unrealistic don't complain. My gear box is a dream whether driving like Miss Daisy or Mr Schumacher