Front Valance

[glacierboy]

Just a quickie question.... the plastic front valance on the Disco.... does it perform any duty in terms of aerodynamics (no pun intended) on the car? If it is just cosmetic, is it best to remove it if the car is to be taken for anything but the most tame of offroad situations?

Hope you can advise.

[laalmarra]

Been wondering that too.
I had alook at mine today, it only seems to be held on with about 10 or 12 bolts and self tappers.

I guess you would need different end caps as they are fixed to the spoiler/ valance.

Probably if you got stuck and had to reverse you would most likely leave it behind.

[glacierboy]

Hmm... exactly what I was thinking.... it is only lightly connected to the bumper and body, and I reckon it could just be a bit of 'roadie' flab added for the benefit of the school run.

[DiscoveryV8]

The Therory behind the front spoiler is to give a better airflow under the vehical. The air should be directed closer to the ground and not through the under body obstructions such as the steering gear and axels. If you are going off road I would advise you replace the front bumper with an off road type which is stronger and has no end caps. You also end up keeping the original to put back on when you sell it.

On my RR I took thr front plastics off and to be honest never notice any difference in MPG figure and with the V8 you do keep a check on it.

Look in the ads in the mags for a replacement bumper. The cost of one is near the cost of what it will cost you to replace the end caps and spoiler.

Cheers,

[SVENUK]

Have the same idea. Have bashed mine at last two off road courses. Trouble is you are looking at 250-300 quid for a replacement bumber and i'm a bit brassic at the moment.Had a look underneaf and i'm wondering if i can take it all off and just leave no plate bit held on by bunjee straps. Would have to disconect foglamps as well.
As we are on the subject can you remove the bumper without setting off the airbags.

[DiscoveryV8]

Not sure about the airbags. Mine did not have them so was not a problem. The only thing with the disco is the endcaps are partof the skirt so you either have to remove them or cut them down.

Keep an eye on ebay for bumpers they do come up now and then.
There is a nice one for a series model for a winch etc. Also try Devon4x4.

[madmole]

Took my bumper off last weekend to mount more spots. So no it doesn't set off the airbags!!!

14 self tappers in wheel arches and 6 bolts and it just pulls off, leaving you to undo the 2 spots and the headlamp washer hoses

Its very lightweight!!

It leaves the 2 front ends of the chasis sticking out with the crash cans bolted to the front of them

Would be very easy to run a knife along the line between the actual bumper cover and the angled valance and whip that off. Youd loose the fogs and thats it

Also there is a LOT of space behind the bumber, I could see how the discrete winch can easily be hidden in there

PS the previous owner had obviously run over a chiken at some time, lots of yellow and red feathers

[SVENUK]

I did have the idea of cutting the end caps back but unfortunatly i've bashed them and broke some of the plastic bolts.
Spent to much at Peterboro i.e snorkel/axle breathers/steering guard and roofrack.Then found a Brano hand winch/waffles and winch kit on another forum.
SHMBO says thats it for this year and will have to save up for a bumper.Oh well, got to cut the hole for the snorkel first .Now where did i leave my trusty rusty junior hacksaw!!!!!!

[glacierboy]

Okay, here is my dilemma. For most of the year my Disco spends its time on the UK roads as my main (well, only) car. However, the reason I bought it was for my regular trips to Iceland, when it needs to be able to cope with sometimes unpleasant conditions.

I am planning to get an Icelandic friend to fit a bracket allowing a Warn winch to be attached to the front, doing away with the need for a 'winch bumper'. Now my friend reckons that the valance doesn't need to be removed, but my thoughts are that unless it goes, the winch will stick out so far my descending may come to a somewhat embarrassing end with a winch buried in the ground. I've attached a photo of the way in which he has had his done, to illustrate....

Any experts out there with suggestions as to whether this is feasible?

[laalmarra]

Hi glacierboy

From the look of that pic those are monster tyres

What has been lost in the arrival / departure angle has been more than compensated for in the extra height of those tyres

So if you're going to use icelandic spec tyres then I guess it would work if not then yep you're right you probably would impale the front end

Terrainmaster do a bumper without a spoiler so I guess that I'll be saving for a little bit longer.

I'll keep an eye on this thread with interest
thanks for starting it

[glacierboy]

Sorry, I should have explained the photo a bit more..... the photo is from a superjeeped Cevrolet Suburban (ho ho) with 44 inch tyres and silly suspension. If I had something as big as that welded onto the front of my poor Disco, I think it would pull the front off the car!

The plan is to have a moderate (1 inch) suspension lift, and a smaller winch mounted slightly higher. My real issue is that whilst a winch will be damn nigh essential in Iceland, I am hoping to be able to do away with it (and maybe even refit the valance) whilst back in the UK.

Is this me asking simply too much of the space at the front of a Discovery, and the likely impact of a winch on attack angles, or does anyone out there know of anything similar done in the past?

[Renny]

Glacierboy,

Ian Sykes at For all Fours (http://www.inverness.demon.co.uk) does a demountable mount very similar to that in your photo - funnily enough he spends quite a few holidays in Iceland. It does not reduce the approach angle, especially as the front spoiler is lower than where the mount exits.

The front spoiler on Tdis can easily be removed and the end caps trimmed to level. This looks neat and tidy as well as improving the approach angle.

For Series II Discos, have a look at Disco2.com (http://www.disco2.com) for info on how to trim the spoiler.

[glacierboy]

Hi Renny,

Many thanks for that: very useful information. I thought there was bound to be someone in the UK who had thought of this idea for a demountable winch for LandRovers.

I'll take a good look at what Ian Sykes does.

Cheers!

[glacierboy]

Renny,

You are a marvel: the winch bracket that Ian Sykes produces is EXACTLY what I am after, and even fits the winch I will be getting.

You can always depend on the forums.

[93andy]

Hi there, well i,ve kept my front valance on and as yet had no problems when off-roading.
As long as you take it easy then should be OK

[glacierboy]

Hi Andy (sorry, 93andy)

Welcome to the thread...... this is builfing into quite a useful bit of discussion...

No, its not really a problem having the full bumper and spoiler on the disco most of the time, except when you want to add a winch to the front on the odd occasion when it would be useful. Attack angles are fine without the extra bits (I guess it is the standard 'put a wheel at each corner and let's see what happens' design), but it is the extra bits that add the concern.....

Anyway, I'd appreciate your views....

[93andy]

Thats OK I was just trying to make the point that you don't have to go to the extremes of removing parts of your Disco just to have a bit of fun.

Although fair point removed your clearence is better.

And Andy will do.

[glacierboy]

Aaach, the more people contributing the better.... anyway, I think you have just alerted me to the Abingdon 4x4 meeting, so I'd forgive you anything!