My son has an 11 plate FL2. He is an Agronomist which means that he spends most of his days driving around farms advising on crops and crop protection (he also travels a lot on motorways). Most people in his profession use Freelanders as they seem to be the best all round vehicle for doing what he does. The general view amongst his colleagues seems to be that the best setting for general off road use is actually SAND with DSC off (especially on the later 11 plate onwards cars which have a different engine mapping more like a road car). Do other people have views on this?

I would respectfully suggest your son would benefit from a 1/2 or full day at a LR Experience Centre where he will learn the correct way to drive his Freelander offroad. The one thing he will learn is that Sand mode and DSC off are rarely, if ever, needed in a Freelander when driven correctly.

Other than on sand all sand mode with DSC off is good for is playing the hooligan charging around tearing up the countryside!

Well for a start he has been on the LandRover off road course and that is where he was advised to switch DSC off!

Secondly he is not charging around like a hooligan, he is a mature adult professional Agronomist and he looks after nearly ten thousand acres of arable crops. People like him probably spend more time driving off road daily than most people on this forum. His comments are based on his own experience and that of his colleagues.

Fine. But why he needs the more aggressive throttle setting that Sand mode gives is beyond me and certainly not recommended by the LRE centre I attended. Surely the aim is to keep traction as much as possible rather than to spin the wheels.

Exactly. All sand / DSC off gives you is uncontrolled wheelspin - exactly the opposite of what is normally required.

I think it's worth remembering that the engine mapping has changed. I have a 60 plate FL2 and he has a 11 plate (post facelift) FL2 . The engine characteristics are quite different and the cars feel different to drive (now more like a road car or urban lifestyle vehicle). The earlier one has more low end torque in normal driving mode. Vehicle Tax rates changed too.

This sounds like quite an emotional topic!

DSC off can help in certain circumstances (deep snow, for example), but the combination of DSC off and sand mode gives an aggressive throttle and no control of wheelspin. The result is more wheelspin than usually required. It's not a combination I would envisage using in the UK except possibly in extreme circumstances.

That's just my view, as requested!

You don't say which engine he's got but both the current TD4 and Sd4 produce 420Nm of torque at 1750 rpm. The pre-2011 facelift was a 160 bhp engine the post-2011 facelift is either 150bhp (TD4) or 190 bhp (SD4).

Given that the Land Rover offroad driving policy is "As slow as possible, as fast as necessary" I'd be surprised if a LR Experience instructor was advocating turning DSC off in anything other than the most slippery of off road conditions.

Both of our cars are TD4 GS. Incidentally the instructor was aware of his off roading experience and the "DSC off" advice was an aside comment from the instructor that was not supposed to be part of the normal advice given (presumably most attendees are going on a "lifestyle" experience and will probably never drive off road anyway)

So it's a bit pointless of LR having a Mud/Ruts setting. General off road driving is keeping momentum and not inducing wheel slip, the opposite of what has been suggested.

Last edited by ad210358 on 29th Apr 2014 7:02 am. Edited 1 time in total

Have to agree with other replies. To use sand mode when off roading is somewhat unusual as it basically removes the traction control, encouraging wheelspin. Then to also remove DSC is, as said, not recommended unless certain circumstances warrant it.

Get a 90 with diff lock and low box  * GONE. GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* GONE.2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Rocket ship. 33mpg.
* Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

dorsetfreelander wrote:

Well for a start he has been on the LandRover off road course and that is where he was advised to switch DSC off!

That I don't doubt. On the (several) LRE courses that I have done, I have been advised the same, generally in Mud/Ruts program. I have yet, however, been instructed to put it into Sand mode on any of them!  Foraging near Gaydon....
——————————————
MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

DrRpb wrote:

Get a 90 with diff lock and low box