Episode 7: Water / Land Rover LR3 / Air Vs. Coil Shoot-Out / Military Mobility

[@TjarkoTarnen]

Very interesting video. Also some of the best testing I have seen online. I know you have had trouble with the air suspension system in your Disco 3/LR3 and when the vehicle goes into limp mode. In my experience in owning my Disco 4/LR4 2010 with the 2.7l Diesel for a few years now, it has been different. Maybe it's a change between year models. When I bought it, it had quite a few problems and I have been working on it steadily for a couple of years to iron them out myself. In those couple of years the car has gone into limp mode many many times, but the mode only returns the vehicle to normal operation height, restricts vehicle to 3rd and reduces engine performance. So never have had an issue with the air suspension lowering the car, the car is 14 years old with 300 000kms / 185 000miles on the clock. Has always got me home so far, even with the issues it had when I bought it. Issues it had were with the power systems, fuel pump, transmission and epb. God has blessed me in figuring out every issue and fixing them myself for very little cost thankfully, big learning curve though.

[@MilitaryMobility]

Thank you for the compliment and sharing your experience. Yes, when we got the vehicle donated to us the air suspension was out but we've been doing well since that initial fix. I think the issue for some is , depending on your size tires, when you go into limp mode if the tires are bigger than around 31", then they will rub bad while driving. Best of luck with your rig!

[@bmiller9456]

I learned more about water crossings on this video than in twenty years of asking other people's "opinions". Thanks!

[@MilitaryMobility]

That means the world to us; thank you very much and we’re glad the video is a useful tool 🙌

[@ForgottenWaypoints]

Well done. I had never thought about the fan clutch before. Filed that info away, thanks.

[@MilitaryMobility]

Appreciate you letting us know the content is of benefit to you, and hopefully fun to watch as well! Love your YT handle name! 🙌

[@bmiller9456]

Finally! I needed my LR fix from Military Mobility!

[@Physics072]

Air is better in water as well. If you were to loose the compressor or electrical the car wont lower. Once they are pumped up they are fine. Again more clearance = deeper water Air wins this one too. Guess they don't want the coils to get beat too badly.

[@MilitaryMobility]

Greatly appreciate the conversation however have to disagree with this one, we’ve owned these air and coil LR3’s for quite some time now and if there are any number of electrical quirks the air drops to the bumpstops. We’ve actually had the air LR3 out of commission for us for awhile now due to mystery voltage issues that have crept in. Until we solve it the vehicle is worthless and can barely be moved around the compound. // Now with some modifications to the OEM setup you can isolate and remove the ability for the brain computers of the LR3 to drop the ride height by fooling the vehicle to think it has coils but manually inflate air shocks (which we’re looking at doing) so you’re not at the will of any number of things that could go wrong. Bottom line for us; water (and extreme cold weather) messes with these electronics way more than it does to the reliable coils. It pains me to say that because I love the added capability the air provides but it’s what we’ve experienced time and time again. So many times we can’t drive the air and the coil has never let us down.

[@ceeddesign774]

Great info and insights to off roading and processes involved. Thank you gentlemen, really appreciate it. im curremtly looking into buying a Disco for family fun and general go where the vibe takes you times... Very good videos and content * * * * *

[@MilitaryMobility]

Best of luck to you and the family; lots of adventures ahead! Thank you for the compliment; it's greatly appreciated! 🙌

[@JaseBakes]

just a thought with the bungee around the wipers, if you lose traction and need to reverse it may rip the tarp and your wipers and/or blades as well... be careful.i must add i learnt so much from this video! you may of indeed saved me a car one day, appreciate it :)

[@kiwibrett]

Just to add to the great advice in your video if I may, preventing water from entering a radiator is especially important in muddy water. Mud blocks the fin gaps, then heat bakes it in place leading to major overheating issues. I once rescued a mate's totally blocked up V8 Defender with only a half pint squeezable soda bottle with a hole whittled in the lid and nearby swamp puddle for water. Took hours, but saved a very long tow home!

[@MilitaryMobility]

Boom! Great stuff, we love others sharing info like this. Thank you!!

[@kiwibrett]

In New Zealand we call a show snorkel not connected seamlessly to the airbox a "Bluetooth Snorkel". I run a waterproofed one on my LR4 with 3" lift and 33's on Airsprings. I've done brief periods of wading over the bonnet [about 4ft] but sustained ones at full tyre so 33". Like 6hrs down a boulder river with 50+ crossings. No problems whatsoever, absolutely no water ingress in cabin. Having wheeled Land Rovers with the biggest LR club in Australasia for 20 years, I had to question if it was actually built by LR at that point! A LR that holds its door seals at 120,000mls - really? Mine being the TDV6 3.0 Diesel, I'm extra cautious not to hydraulic it but it continually impresses and you have to love having 680Nm of Torque on tap. Admire your work and your enthusiasm Sirs, long may you rove.

[@MilitaryMobility]

Brett, great story and thank you for sharing your experiences and details on your rig! Keep on adventuring 🙌

[@ZachBrimhall]

Fantastic content and another pro video. You guys have knowledge and experience👍🏻 As for water, I would never cross deeper than my door bottom. Wet carpet is the worst. Thanks for an excellent video!

[@MilitaryMobility]

You are Z (thee) Man! 🙌

[@Physics072]

Mine has seals no water gets in. I think they all do.

[@stlswagger]

100% disabled vet here. Just upgraded my overlanding rig from a D1 to a 2012 LR4. Should be done building by next spring. Are you guys doing veteran runs? Would love to make the trek from the PNW

[@MilitaryMobility]

You’ve got one helluva nice rig there! …and hoping you had a kickass Veteran’s Day 🇺🇸 Check out our website at militarymobility.com where you can apply to attend a course, and also check out some of our other videos on here (KZbin) to see what we do at our events. Thanks for reaching out and look forward to seeing you on the trail!

[@bmiller9456]

One last question: which river were you crossing in this video? Looks like part of a great trail!

[@MilitaryMobility]

Secret spot, it’s out there… somewhere!

[@bmiller9456]

@@MilitaryMobility Well now I've got to go looking! Four more weeks of classes! Then...

[@MilitaryMobility]

@@bmiller9456 📚🔭🚘

[@bmiller9456]

@@MilitaryMobility The great thing is this: even if I spend a week in the desert and never find it, I still win!

[@MilitaryMobility]

@@bmiller9456 🎯 ding ding ding We have a winner! 🙌👍🇺🇸

[@MendiMountainMan1969]

i thought the comparison was ability.. not liability.

[@MilitaryMobility]

Hi Ed, we’ve made a decent amount of videos and keep pretty busy with our courses. Not sure what you are referring to?

[@MendiMountainMan1969]

@@MilitaryMobility this video.. at 18:56 - liability. it seems the other guy likes to discredit air over coil (in almost all videos) he presented alot of air susp what if scenarios which none came about - yet the coil got high centered, spun out, drooped, and even had to have a tarp to cover front end. Loved the videos, great comparisons. annoyed by the bias coil guy, that's all.

[@MilitaryMobility]

Roger that, you’re taking about Webb, the guy Land Rover hired to test and develop their vehicles and to be a Land Rover driving instructor and who teaches all the Tier 1 JSOC units. Oh yeah, he won the U.S. spot for the Camel Trophy in 91’ too. In this episode we gave a class and consequent discussion about water fording in general and things to be aware of. The tarp was not for the vehicle because it had coils, we were illustrating how to protect your water sensitive engine components (regardless of vehicle or suspension type) with a simple tarp and how to drive and create a bow plane which keeps the water level lower in the front. General dude stuff 👍