The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[DaveN]

Does anyone reckon this is any good? It's on everything nowadays, doing away with diff locks etc.

I went on a gundog day on Sunday, and we had to get along a muddy track to reach the training area. The track was quite firm, but with clay underneath, so was well slippery. To add a bit more excitement, it was slightly uphill, and dropped away at the edges. Well I got there 1st, and trundled up the track in high ratio, without even thinking about it. I parked up, and waited for others to arrive. next up was a TD5 Disco, he got to the worst bit, and prompty slid to the side of the track. He stuck it in low, then tried again. But with that *beep* t/c, you have to give it plenty of gas to get the wheels to spin, then let the abs try and stop the spinning wheels. All that happened, was lots of noise from the abs thumping on and off like a machine gun, lots of mud flying everywhere, and more stuck than he was to start with. Then matey who followed disco man in a new Range Rover did exactly the same thing, only just missing a tree in the process.

We decided they couldn't be pulled backwards, as mateys Range Rover was stuck just past a tree, so I drove back down the track, stuck a rope on the front of mine, engaged low, diff locks, pulled it into reverse, no revs at all, and pulled them one at a time to the top ontickover. You could see from my tyre marks, there was no spin at all. We then had to spend the next half hour trying to fill the ruts they'de made. I know a lot of it's down to MT tyres, but with t/c you have to spin the wheels first, before the t/c cuts in, but of course, by the time they've spun a little, it's too late, the treads are full, and you're already sliding. Plus it makes a right mess of the terrain.

[Google]

[RADIOTWO]

Hi DaveN

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mention the tyres, I have a landcruiser Amazon 4.2, and it came with 18" wheels and (what a call road tyres) I parked on a grass verge and when I come to drive off, I was stuck.

So I bought some 16" wheels and some M/T tyres and no problems since

Steve

[Grimbo]

For proper off road there is no substitute for diff locks, T/C is only a way manufactures can make any Tom , Dick, or Hariott into an off road driver, most don't know what " that funny little gear leaver" does, let alone know about diff locks. T/C is a simple, cheap option for manufacture's cause most vehicles have ABS now, and it's only a bit of software in the ECU to turn it into T/C. Tyre's do play a big part for sure, but anything built for muddy wet conditions has proper diff locks, Tractors, Trucks, Unimogs etc. Toyota are to be applauded for still producing proper 4x4's with a chassis and real off road ability, even if they don't handle like a car on the road. Landrover have sold out big time, the 90 is still one of the best ofroaders made, but that is not long for this world. It's sad for England, but now the 4x4 of choice in most rough enviroments is a Jappanese one, and more than likely a Toyota. A friend just got a Range Rover Sport , and she damaged a wheel rim in a pothole on the road !!! it's got lower profile tyre's than my rally car! . Still, sound like a grumpy old man now, good to see an olden, can still show these modern plastic 4x4's the way home.