Martin wrote:

Yep

Benefits for me over an overdrive are:

• cost (an overdrive, if you can find one now) is ~£1000
  
• Complexity/reliability - their are plenty of reports of problems with the overdrives, transfer box is a standard part
  
• No wiring an overdrive switch in, I like my leather gear knob

The only issue with the 1.222:1 Discovery transfer box is that it affects the whole high range, most noticeably it takes a bit of getting used to the new 1st/2nd gearchange point apparently.

Only downside... from driving quite a few customer cars....

If your running standard mapping you 90 will become a bit lazy... and you will be working the gears a bit more if you want to drive enthusiasticaly. Compared to a Discovery (on standard tyres) a Defender will be over geared with a 1.222:1 transfer box and 265x75x16 tyres.

A Stage 1 remap will help, infact IMHO it makes a Defender much nicer to drive. A stage 1 and 1.222:1 transfer box makes for much more useable Defender, that still has good acceleration when needed, yet is much better when cruising down the motorway.

And a Defender with a Stage 4 race tune and Hybrid VNT (230bhp + on the rolling road) is still an absolute hooligan with a 1.222:1 transfer box lol... with a standard transfer box you are in fifth before you know it!!

You could widen your search to look for a Puma Transfer box - they run 1.221:1 as standard

Depending how many miles your transfer box has done, it might be worth getting your own reconditioned and converted to a 1.222:1 at the same time.

Ian IRB
The home of the first modified Keswick Green 90 - and the first 2.4 Puma through both the 200bhp and 550Nm barriers.

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Martin wrote:

See my original thread from 2 years ago for why I think tuning's not the best plan with my 90

http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic318.html

Transfer box has ~40k miles on or so.

Martin,

I know your car quite well lol.... I remember the magazine article and spent many an hour reading your web-rover site - and looking over it at when we met at Gaydon the one year (insert geek smiley lol)

10 spline axles aren't that bad... neither are the drum brakes (in good condition and adjusted properly)... but what ever the spec, it still comes down to how you drive it!!!

If you drive it like you stole it, then you will very quickly get to the limits of the drum brakes (and solid front discs), and if you have a habit of wheelspinning out of junctions then you 'will' break shafts and diffs.

However, if you just drive it in a normal manor, without trying to out brake everything into islands, or having a grand prix off every set of lights you won't have a problem with a normal stage 1 remap (IMHO).

Even with discs all round (and standard vented at the front), my Td5 if driven enthusiastically down the lanes, very quickly gets to the limit of braking effectiveness - suddenly you get lots of brake fade....

And in some of my customers Defenders, which will crack 110mph, they still suffer brake fade issues even with the 'standard' avaliable uprated discs and pads when driven hard.

I'm not saying you have to drive like Miss Daisy, but driven in a normal fashion (and not like the son of stig), I really don't think you'll have a problem.

However, if you went down the route of a stage 4, with a hyrbid VNT etc etc (208bhp at the wheels) then I think you might need to uprate your axles and brakes

If you did want later axles - fitted or not - give me a shout.

But in standard form, I do feel your 90 will be 'lazy' with standard mapping - with the 1.222:1 and 265x75x16 tyres.


Ian