CUSTOMER COMMENTS
The following are comments from ROVERDRIVE customers, gleaned from the internet and other sources.
"I just recently had a Roverdrive fitted to my S-III and like Dr. Beast have gone from 17-18 mpg to 24-25 mpg. I am probably driving it a little faster than I used to just because you can but I expect to settle down eventually. Don't know how much that will change the mileage. I am planning on keeping it forever so the investment didn't seem to hurt quite as bad. I like that it gets better mileage, is quieter, doubles the gear selection options (especially nice is splitting the 3rd to 4th gear option on hills) and reduces wear and tear on the 2 1/4. The guys at Roverdrive are great and build a top notch product. For me it wasn't just about the mileage so it is definitely worth it."
"I now use the Roverdrive SX, having sold this Fairey unit, as the older model would not cope for long with the torque of the TDI engine in my 109. So far, I’m very pleased with it – it’s quieter, and doesn’t need weekly topping up with oil."
"Here's my pennies worth. BUY THE ROVERDRIVE. Ok they are expensive BUT.... They are new. They carry a warrantee. They have better cooling and should be quieter than any 2nd hand OD on the market. They will hold their value and if you swap your Landy just take it with you. Think of it as an investment. The only alternative is a 2nd hand unit who's history is dubious, possibly noisy, leaky, and not as thermally efficient. and everybody wants £300 or more for them. So add the extra and get the Roverdrive."
"Why haven't I got one? I was very lucky and got a Santana OD cheaply two years ago, they are supposed to be bomb proof and have a huge oil reservoir so they keep pretty cool too. Much bigger and very different to the Toro or Fairey units. But it does leak a bit of oil and it's a bit noisy. If I hadn't got it I would be saving for a Roverdrive."
"Get a Roverdrive. Though it costs more than a Fairey, it is quieter and I'm pretty much positive that it will last longer. The input splines WILL wear out on a Fairey and it will have to be rebuilt sooner or later."
"I like the smooth, positive shifting of the Roverdrive. Well done. And the clean well-machined castings. Very thorough and professional. The body and guts of the unit are very well put together and were a nice clean fit. It will be a few days before I have the floor and the rest of the truck assembled, but then I'll take it out on the highway and see what it can really do."
"I have been using a Roverdrive for a bit over three years, with a TDI pulling the heavy 109 on auto routes and up 1:3 ski slopes and up to 10,500' glaciers in the Alps while fully laden, and it's running beautifully. I don't think the Fairey I had before it would have survived the TDI transplant and certainly not that trip."
"I've used a Roverdrive for well over 100K miles on my 88 and it’s a good piece of kit. Comparatively quiet and adds a lot of flexibility to your gear ranges for the hills."
"Downhill, about 88 mph on the clock maximum, 205 tyres, 88" 2¼ litre with Turner head, Roverdrive and Santana discs to stop it! "
"My '66 109" hardtop with Roverdrive does 15.7 mpg on LPG and 17.1 mpg on petrol."
"I would personally choose Roverdrive. I think they've got a good reputation and I've had a Roverdrive for 4 years with no problems. Very good quality stuff."
"I would go with a really late S3 box and the Roverdrive; for those longer slogs you've got a nice strong overdrive to act as a splitter."
“I now use the ROVERDRIVE SX, having sold the Fairey unit, as the older model would not cope for long with the torque of the TDI engine in my 109. So far, I’m very pleased with it - it’s quieter, and doesn’t need weekly topping up with oil.”
“Although I don't have an overdrive in my vehicle I have driven a Series III shorty which had a ROVERDRIVE installed. Cruising at 100 km/h with little or no fuss and noise was quite easy. The owner swore by the ROVERDRIVE and I have heard stories about Fairey not being the best product to install. When I have the means then I will definitely go with a ROVERDRIVE overdrive.”
“I have had a ROVERDRIVE installed on my truck for about 4 years and love it! Absolutely dead quiet and very smooth shifting. I have run it pretty hard behind a strong 3.0l turbo diesel and have had no issues. Actually we just returned from a trip to Alaska and I couldn't begin to even dream of ever doing a trip like that without one.”
“Nick came over to install a ROVERDRIVE with me. It took just under 2 hours to complete, and was a pretty logical process. Why a ROVERDRIVE and not one of the other types of overdrives that are out there? Local connection to parts. Good self oiling system. And a rather creative methodology - using a planetary gear set meshed to one end of a Series III sychro hub, from the look of it.”
"So far I'm impressed with the way it lowers the RPM, but I think, with my 33 inch tires and 2.25 petrol engine, I'll have a bit of a strain actually maintaining speed on the highway due to lack of power. I'm planning an engine replacement at some point anyway, or I'll just have to tickle some more horsepower out of this one. Ray says a bit of port and polish and shaving the head to increase compression will do the trick nicely. It may be worth the effort before going to a full engine swap, as the cost of head tweaks will only be a couple of hundred bucks, a head gasket and my time...”
“In the meanwhile, its pretty quiet, with a slight whine, which will disappear as the new main gear wears in with the old idler. This is very minor compared to what I heard - that overdrives could be rather noisy beasts.”
“I like the smooth, positive shifting. Well done. And the clean well-machined castings. Very thorough and professional. The body and guts of the unit are very well put together and were a nice clean fit.”
“This unit literally makes it possible to run a Land Rover in the Great Race with a chance of getting good scores. With the 4.70:1 axle gears and short 6.00 x 16 tires, top cruising speed was around 55, and that's winding it pretty good. Not only does the ROVERDRIVE provide better top end cruising, it's selectable in any ratio, so that we can sustain speeds of 35 or 40 up the steepest hills by using third/overdrive. Keeping the low overall gearing greatly improves acceleration, and at speeds up to 35 mph it's as fast as anything on the road. The unit is mounted on the back of our own rebuilt trans and t-case. We now have 16 forward speeds and 4 reverse! What we lack in power we make up for in gears.”
“I'd also like to say thanks for the ROVERDRIVE. Trouble free for the last 5 five years I've had it.”