Discovery 2017

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  • JD
    Member Since: 07 Mar 2022
    Location: London
    Posts: 7
    United Kingdom 

    Soft air suspension

    Another common issue seems to be the soft, wallowy suspension - great for handling rough terrain but not so good when trying to get a move on. Resulting in travel sickness (children, wives, dogs,,,) and a perilous amount of body lean in bends.

    One of the usual benefits of air suspension is an ability to easily alter the ride but I can’t find a way of doing this. Is there anyway of manually ‘stiffening’ the suspension on the D5?

    I’ve heard reference that the ‘Sports’ setting stiffens things but others say it only changes the gearbox. Having tested it, it does seem to make a little bit of a difference but I can’t decide if it’s just a placebo effect.

    Can anyone offer a definitive view?
    14th Mar 2022 3:32 pm
  • Road Runner 2017
    Member Since: 14 Jan 2017
    Location: Scotland
    Posts: 2010
    Scotland 
    2018 Discovery Si6 HSE Lux Santorini Black

    22 inch wheels and tyres.
    Far less tyrewall, so less rolling about than 19s and 20s
    Far flatter ride imo, and kids have been less sick than when in the courtesy car with 19s and 20s Thumbs Up
    MY17 First Edition - 3L Diesel Td6 - Farallon Black - Roof rails,side steps,tints,tow bar,mudflaps,door strips.
    MY18 Hse Luxury - 3L Petrol Si6 Supercharged - Santorini Black - Roof rails,side steps,tints,tow bar,mudflaps,door strips,22's,dynamic pack 1,bonnet vents,t.v,dual view,frontcooler,360°camera,rear cooler/warmer,roof vane,black LR badges,wade sensing,door sill plates,boot liner, solar screen,wind deflectors,service plan,tracker,speed camera detector,dual dash cameras,ceramic coating.
    14th Mar 2022 3:52 pm
  • JonM
    Member Since: 30 Jun 2016
    Location: North Yorkshire
    Posts: 598
    United Kingdom 
    2022 Discovery SDV6 HSE Carpathian Grey

    Adaptive Dynamics (variable rate shock absorbers) solves the problem. It was an extra cost option on MY19 vehicles and standard from MY21.

    Unfortunately, you can't retro-fit it to a D5 that hasn't got it.
    MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - with extra nice bits added
    MY2019 D5 HSE 3.0 SDV6 - sold to a dealer for a crazy price!
    14th Mar 2022 5:11 pm
  • ChrisAbel
    Member Since: 16 Mar 2022
    Location: Norfolk
    Posts: 4
    United Kingdom 
    2020 Discovery TDV6 HSE Lux Santorini Black

    I have the same issue and i find my 2020 Discovery without Active Dynamic suspension handles like a ship in comparison to my 2021 Defender 110 with Active Dynamic suspension.

    Its nothing to do with the Air Suspension springs, it's all down to the damping rate (compression and rebound within the damper (shock absorbers).

    The D5 on the front has one combined airbag spring and damper within one sealed unit.
    The rear suspension has a separate air spring and damper.

    Im going to test drive on Wednesday a new D5 with active dynamic suspension to see if it makes a significant difference on the D5.

    For D5's without the Active Dynamic suspension, the handling could be significantly improved by using a damper with greater compression and rebound damping, It would be interesting to find out if the current Range Rover sport or Defender 110 without Active Dynamic suspension use a damper with the same overall dimensions - length, travel, bolt fixings etc.?

    Just changing the rear dampers would probably make a significant difference and stop the rear end bouncing.

    These are the suspension parts used on a Non- Active 2020 D5.








    [/img]
    18th Mar 2022 11:42 am
  • ChrisAbel
    Member Since: 16 Mar 2022
    Location: Norfolk
    Posts: 4
    United Kingdom 
    2020 Discovery TDV6 HSE Lux Santorini Black

    Road Runner 2017 wrote:
    22 inch wheels and tyres.
    Far less tyrewall, so less rolling about than 19s and 20s
    Far flatter ride imo, and kids have been less sick than when in the courtesy car with 19s and 20s Thumbs Up


    I've got the 22" wheel option and the suspension is too soft. if you have 19" 20" or 21" wheels it will make very little difference to the soft ride and poor road handling on uneven bumpy roads.

    I've actually removed the 22" wheels in favor of 20" wheels with all terrain tyres because i don't agree with having such large rim on a 4x4.

    .
    18th Mar 2022 11:56 am
  • JD
    Member Since: 07 Mar 2022
    Location: London
    Posts: 7
    United Kingdom 

    ChrisAbel wrote:


    Im going to test drive on Wednesday a new D5 with active dynamic suspension to see if it makes a significant difference on the D5.

    [/img]


    Interested to hear your thoughts?
    18th Mar 2022 2:53 pm
  • ChrisAbel
    Member Since: 16 Mar 2022
    Location: Norfolk
    Posts: 4
    United Kingdom 
    2020 Discovery TDV6 HSE Lux Santorini Black

    Having driven a brand new D300 cosmopolitan D5 with the Adaptive dynamic suspension, I can conform that it does make a significant improvement to the vehicle handling and quality of ride. I took the discovery for an test drive down 20 miles of familiar roads that are uneven, winding and bumpy and its handling is significantly better than my current D5 (without active dynamics) and has a similar feel to a new Defender 110 with adaptive dynamics.

    I was impressed enough to placed an order on a new D300 cosmopolitan, with the knowledge that it could take 18-24 months before I see the new car due to the chip shortages.

    As for my current D5, I noticed that by selecting the off-road height that the ride quality improved slightly on the road (It will stay in off-road height up to 50mph).
    I have subsequently fitted a set of 1 1/2" inch Johnson lift rods. The 1 1/2 inch or 38mm lift in standard road height definitely helps improve the ride quality . in my opinion, It still has excessive body roll in the corners, but it's less prone to bottoming out on on a bumpy lanes and B roads. Handling at high speed feels feels more stable too.
    Changing the rear shock absorbers is my next job, once I've figured out compatible aftermarket replacement.
    30th Mar 2022 1:35 pm
  • JD
    Member Since: 07 Mar 2022
    Location: London
    Posts: 7
    United Kingdom 

    Thanks for the update Chris.

    I hope you enjoy the new purchase when it eventually arrives and good luck with the tweaks in the interim.

    Thumbs Up
    4th Apr 2022 4:21 pm
  • JBFUK
    Member Since: 25 Apr 2022
    Location: South East
    Posts: 52
    United Kingdom 

    This is an interesting topic.

    I took out a D5 for a test drive today (first time I've driven one) and it has given me something to think about. I expected the drive to be very different to my X5 (quite harsh suspension on low profile run-flat tyres) but I hadn't expected it to feel so wobbly. It was a case of one extreme to another.

    The car was an MY19 HSE Lux with Adaptive Dynamics and 20" wheels w/Goodyear AT tyres.

    After a 10 mins or so of settling in I got used to the feel on town roads and a dual carriageway and decided to see what it was like on country roads. I was quite surprised by how unstable it felt. I expect some side to side movement with the undulations in the road but what I hadn't expected was the front to back rocking. With movement in all directions it felt a lot like bobbing around on a rough sea in a small boat. I can see how people would complain about feeling sea sick.

    Is this the normal ride everyone experiences? I had been expecting Adaptive Dynamics to stabilise the car a bit more.

    Would the 20" rims contribute to this or is it purely a property of the suspension setup? As someone else mentioned above, I like the idea of the smaller rims and higher profile tyre on this type of car, I don't want to be worrying about buckling a rim or popping a tyre if I have to go up a kerb to get around something now and then.
    20th Jun 2022 8:23 pm
  • JBFUK
    Member Since: 25 Apr 2022
    Location: South East
    Posts: 52
    United Kingdom 

    Well I don't know if it was the 20" wheels, Adaptive Dynamics or both. I test drove another example without Adaptive Dynamics and with 21" rims; the ride was much more pleasant. I did notice more body roll going around sharp corners, like on roundabouts, but the bobbing around - particularly the forward/backwards motion was not evident at all.
    24th Jun 2022 11:47 pm
  • DieselRanger
    Member Since: 12 Oct 2017
    Location: God's Country, Colorado
    Posts: 768
    United States 
    2017 Discovery Td6 HSE Silicon Silver

    I would say if you want a flatter and more sporty-feeling ride and don't plan on going off road all that much, buy a Range Rover Sport. Especially if you're going to choose 21 or 22 inch wheels.

    The Disco is built as it should be - Adaptive Dynamics or no.
    25th Jun 2022 4:01 pm
  • JonM
    Member Since: 30 Jun 2016
    Location: North Yorkshire
    Posts: 598
    United Kingdom 
    2022 Discovery SDV6 HSE Carpathian Grey

    JBFUK wrote:
    This is an interesting topic.
    The car was an MY19 HSE Lux with Adaptive Dynamics and 20" wheels w/Goodyear AT tyres.


    Are you sure it had Adaptive Dynamics? It was an extra cost option on MY19 and not explained at all in the car configurator. Very few will have it.

    Mine had it (I ticked the box when I ordered it) and it had 20" wheels. The handling was just right.

    The only way to tell if the car actually had AD would be to inspect the shock absorbers for the electrical connection to them.
    MY2022 D5 HSE D300 - with extra nice bits added
    MY2019 D5 HSE 3.0 SDV6 - sold to a dealer for a crazy price!
    25th Jun 2022 6:02 pm
  • JBFUK
    Member Since: 25 Apr 2022
    Location: South East
    Posts: 52
    United Kingdom 

    Absolutely certain it did have. The dealers supplied the car from new so had the original build sheet. Excellent spec car, AD, driver assist pack, tech plus pack, off-road capability pack and a few other extras. Unfortunately it just didn’t drive nicely. I’m not expecting Porsche like handling but I don’t want to be wobbling around all over the place.

    As I said the second car I tried out, without AD and with 21’s was absolutely fine. Of course softer and a totally different drive to my X5 but that’s expected and not an issue. A RRS isn’t an option as it has no more boot space than my X5.
    26th Jun 2022 9:42 am
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