Modding TDi To ES Spec?

[bigbaldbloke]

Morning all

Complete newb here.

I'm on the verge of buying my first Disco, but am still unsure as to which model to go for. Two questions......


What are the EXACT differences between the 300TDi, TDi S, TDi XS & TDi ES?
How easy/difficult is it to mod a basic TDi to ES spec?
I ultimately want cruise control, leather & air con, but have an opportunity to buy a basic M reg for £4K that has a shed load of LR service history (150K miles though :(). So I'm considering getting that one & slowly but surely upping the spec.

[turbine_2]

The really difficult bit would be the air-con to be honest. Variances between the models varied a little from year to year and there were special editions as well just to confuse matters.
From (my somewhat hazy) memory the difference between a base model and and S model was body kit and 5 spoke wheels. XS included S items plus 1/2 leather seats and electric sunroofs with optional cruise control, TCS / ABS and Air-Con, ES included XS but with full leather and Air-Con and ABS as standard. The only other thing was the radio / CD changer but I think that the CD changer was optional on all models but the ES included rear heasets that could be plugged in.
Hope that helps.

[oRGie]

Its no doubt possible to upgrade, but its not like defenders or series, there are lots of molded plastic bits that vary between the models and i have'nt seen a good set of leather seats for sale, probably cheaper to have the originals re-upholstered.. cruise on td5's is easy, just 2 switches, but I believe on tdi's you'll need vacuum hoses and all the bits needed :rolleyes:

Probably not so simple, but then I guess that'll be half the fun of owning it :D

[si_guru]

Morning all

Complete newb here.

I'm on the verge of buying my first Disco, but am still unsure as to which model to go for. Two questions......


What are the EXACT differences between the 300TDi, TDi S, TDi XS & TDi ES?
How easy/difficult is it to mod a basic TDi to ES spec?
I ultimately want cruise control, leather & air con, but have an opportunity to buy a basic M reg for £4K that has a shed load of LR service history (150K miles though :(). So I'm considering getting that one & slowly but surely upping the spec.

If you can go to 4500... my brother has a TDi ES (with allt he above) in mint condiiton for sale. Its an M reg too. Low mileage too.

pm "skyline" for details... or look in For Sale section.

[HPLP]

The problem with modding the interior of a discovery is the potential costs as there are not many companies that do cheaper alturnatives to the genuine land rover articles. My parents have a 1994 300tdi ES disco (one of the first with a YAC regestration!!) and spec wise it has a great radio (with autochanger), leather, black free style alloys, air con, twin electric sunroofs, roof bars, 7 seats, and unfortunately no cruise control. I think that being one of the first ones there would be differences between later tdi ones.
If you are buying a disco, I'd be slightly more interested with the overall condition as opposed to the spec and try to find the best that you can afford.
TDi S, TDi XS & TDi ES are simply the engine and the spec. A discovery advertised as a 300tdi is only refering to the engine and not its interior spec.
The ES was simply the best disco available at the time and not a huge number were made because of the price so finding a good one is generally a bonus.
H

[nobbyclark]

TDi 300 ES's all come with full leather and a/c; XS's have 1/2 leather and a/c; cruise was standard on all V8's and TDi Autos, but an option on TDi manuals. Sad what I remember...

If you look on eBay or scour ads in local papers, Exchange and Mart etc, there are shedloads of ES's around for the money you are talking and not necessarily with monster mileages.

If you want to wait about 5 months, you can have mine for £5k as I will be p-exing it for an LR3 (hopefully).

[bigbaldbloke]

Wow! Thanks for such fast & thorough responses chaps!

5 months? I can't wait the 5 weeks between now & having the cash in my hand to buy the damn thing! I'm seriously open to offers from members wanting to sell, but end of May is the latest that I reckon I can stand the anticipation 'til!

[bigbaldbloke]

If you can go to 4500... my brother has a TDi ES (with allt he above) in mint condiiton for sale. Its an M reg too. Low mileage too.

pm "skyline" for details... or look in For Sale section.

Cheers! Have PM'd

[afairington]

So where does the GS fit into all of this then?

I have a 1998 S Reg 3 door TDI auto with GS stickers on it.

It has twin sunroofs, half leather seats, cruise control, front fog lights and roof bars.

But no ABS or Air Con

Did the GS exsist or has someone just stuck some strange stickers on it??

[turbine_2]

Well, for comparison my 97 R reg 5 door TDi manual S has twin manual sunroofs, no roof bars, no fog lights, no cruise control and fabric seats but has flared wheel arches and rub strips, 5 spoke wheels and a basic radio.

[nobbyclark]

If I remember correctly, the GS sat between S and XS. It had the black alloys from the ES, but cloth seats and everything was manual, rather than electric - sounds like you've got an XS with the wrong badge or a GS with some 'donated' parts! Do the seats have LR logos all over the cloth part?

[manthing]

cruise was standard on all V8's and TDi Autos, but an option on TDi manuals. ..


my current "ES" Mreg does not have cruise, but the old "S" Preg did

[afairington]

Mine has the Half Leather seats with Land Rover Logos on the cloth part, It has Deep Dish Alloys and the Rubber Wheel Arch and Side Protectors, Along with all the stuff in My previous Post.

:confused: Hmmmm! All a bit confusing. Sounds like a Land Parts Bin emptying exercise! or I guess that maybe they could have been optional Extras

I guess it fits in somewhere between the S and ES even though it has some stuff that other peoples ES's don't have, not that it matters to me just intersested thats all