Hi,
I had my Land Rover 90 written off last November, and am looking for a car which can pull an one-ton boat up a very steep pier from standstill. I've tried it in a '88 BMW 730 manual, and almost burnt the clutch out.
So I want a used car a transfer box - preferably not a heavy 4*4 again. The choice seems to be a Subaru or Audi Allroad (too expensive).
BUT - these cars don't have the low gearing I need. The following are the reduction ratios for two 'heavy' 4*4's and the Subaru, multiplied together to the 'TOTAL' number. This is the number of engine revolutions required to make the rear axle turn once, in low 1st.
1st gear Transfer box Differential TOTAL
LR90 3.71 3.32 3.54 44
Mitsubishi Shogun4.00 2.00 4.60 37
Subaru Forester 3.50 1.20 4.10 17
As you can see, the Land Rover has really deep gearing (44:1). The Subaru is the same as my former BMW (17:1), and that didn't have a transfer box!
So - do I need another heavy 4*4 or am I missing something?
I had the LR 9 years (in Europe, Africa, Asia) but am now in London and think its silly to have one here.
Regards,
Tim
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No good on calculating gearing, afraid, but check out some of the 'soft' roaders - the diesel Nissan X-Trail is well thought of (I would think you would need a diesel = low end torque) ?
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If the steep slip is the only problem, what about an electric winch mounted on some other heavy vehicle? Winch the boat up the slip, then connect up the car at the top.
There may even be winches that will hook on to a tow-hitch.
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No car is going to touch a 4x4 in low ratio for reduction of engine speed.
Diesel would definitely be an advantage as they produce plenty of torque at low revs so no reving the engine to make it go and burning the clutch out. It's amazing what slope you can drive a diesel up at tick over even with people / luggage in it.
The other option would be an auto where the torque converter slip makes the overall drive ratio lower.
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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I am not sure if an car clutch/gearbox/autobox is going survive long with this treatment. Plus, surely you don't want to suffer the indignity of getting stuck on the slipway?
So....Mk2 Isuzu Trooper.
(Better - Vauxhall Monterey - same thing, but cheaper to buy, if you can stand the badge.)
I have shoved 1600kgs of caravan up unfeasibily steep hills off-road with one. "Stump-pulling" ability in "low box" is astounding.
The SWB ones are cheaper.
rg
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I'd heard that torque converters work as torque multipliers - how does that work? Could it be better than a transfer box? Had always assumed that the hydraulic bit of the auto box lost power.. forgive my ignorance.
Totally agree re diesels. That's why I haven't bought a used Subaru yet. Their diesel engine is still a prototype in a Japanese lab.
Regards,
Tim
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Sorry - but if only it were possible I would have a choice of lots of cars!. The winch option would work to get the boat up the pier, but then there are a couple of steep bends on the same slope to navigate....
Thanks,
Tim
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An executive-sized RWD automatic will be fine, the auto only uses clutches to change between different gear-sets, they don't takeup the drive, this is done with hydraulic fluid, so as long as you change the ATF every so often it should be fine.
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