Presumably the firmer ride is a result of them fitting ever larger wheels and more shallow-walled tyres...never ceases to amaze me that people want aesthetics over ability - after all, you can't see the thing when you're driving it and driving it is what it's all about. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

or when the wheels are spinning at x rpm! Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

RRSTDV8 wrote:

.never ceases to amaze me that people want aesthetics over ability - after all, you can't see the thing when you're driving it and driving it is what it's all about.

So by that logic you would be happy with no metallic paint, non alloy wheels etc etc?

Yes. Metallic paint makes no difference to me other than that it is a bit more involved to match if it gets damaged. Solid colours are fine. Sure, I like metallic colours but I wouldn't base my purchasing decision on whether it has metallic paint at the expense of some other functional aspect of the vehicle.

Likewise the wheels. Are alloys essential? Nope. Indeed, the amount of people who moan about them being kerbed / scuffed / difficult to clean etc. suggests that they're a lot of effort for little benefit.

Alloys were brought in as a way of making lighter wheels on high performance cars - reducing unsprung mass etc. as the tyres got bigger to cope with the power. The wheels on the RRS are so heavy (by virtue of being chunky enough to carry the loads) that it is possible that a steel wheel could actually be lighter especially if one were to go for pure function over blingy design. The specific strength of alloy and steel are very similar.

Hell, with diamond turned alloys apparently being so sensitive to damage, I'm amazed that anyone is stupid enough to put them on a car that is used as a daily driver rather than just as a concours d'elegance entrant. On today's potholed roads and with ever increasing "traffic calming" you'd have to be mad to do so. But people do, and I will never understand why. We're a free country (ha ha) so let 'em get on with it.

My RRS came to me colour coded and wearing 20 inch wheels (standard on the TDV8 I believe). I've replaced the wheels with 19 inch items and I'm considering de-colour coding it. I'll probably leave the tints on the windows for a bit of security and it seems to keep the interior a little cooler in summer. I'd love to run a smaller wheel with deeper sidewall tyres (for more choice in all-terrain / off road tyres and pothole isolation) but the brakes won't easily allow it.

But then I'm the guy who bought the 309GTi instead of the 205GTi because it was a better drive (and more practical) even though it wasn't as "pretty" and popular. I have a cheap Seiko watch and can't see the point in £1000s for a watch that isn't any better at telling the time. I have an English Springer rather than the more popular Labrador because, although it's harder to train (tend to be a bit full-on), in my opinion it's a better all-round dog in the beating line being willing to go in to the thickest cover to flush and retrieve.

I know someone who spent several hundred pounds on a coat that mustn't get wet. A coat that can't be used outside in the conditions most prevalent at the times when a coat is required? Utter madness and a sign of form over function taken to the n'th degree.

I hate bling and design that has no function other than to be bling.

Sorry, I'll get down off my soap box now...  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

^^^^ And take a chill pill Bloody hell JF look what you've done to him..... Making his blood boil like that on a friday afternoon.

great rant  Sophie Alltoft

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duckworthparts wrote:

great rant

Well said RRSTDV8.