‘14-16 LR4 Transmission Software Reflash??

I’d like to have faster shifts, more intelligent shift logic and hopefully get better fuel economy. All of those things would be possible with a software change. I drove a RRS V6 a while back and it definitely seemed to have better transmission programming than my 2014 LR4. Even though they share the same engine and transmission, they felt like different vehicles. Same thing could be said about the F-Pace V6 S. In my opinion, the LR4 holds gears too long and is super slow shifting compared to BMW or Audi’s identical ZF 8HP70 equipped vehicles.

If I could change just a few things about my LR4 it would go a long way in making the SCV6 feel like less of a disappointing engine vs. the old 5.0L V8.


my wishlist:
1. As mentioned, software reflash for transmission.

2. Raise idle speed to 700-800RPM, not the ~600RPM speed that causes idle speed fluctuations and vibrations.

3. Auto Stop/Start improvements - not sure if this could be done with software updates or if it’s a hardware problem (engine mounts, transmission mounts, etc.)?

4. Better sounding exhaust. This engine is known as one of the best sounding V6 engines, yet you’d never know it driving the LR4. It sounds like a whiny vacuum cleaner.

5. More torque at low revs - yeah, I know it’s a supercharged engine, but it feels drastically less potent (especially <5000rpm) than the old 5.0L V8 even though it’s only down on power ~10%.

It's funny, I wish I had your 8hp70, as the 6hp is slow, lazy and upshifts way too soon. Grass is always greener on the other side, I guess!

I've been driving Land Rovers since the Disco arrived and have had a Discovery, Discovery II, LR3 and currently drive an LR4 and I've never had a problem with the engines' power or shifting of any of the transmissions. You can always want more but it helps to be satisfied with what you got! Makes life much easier!

Not sure, but maybe the weight difference in those compared to the LR4 factors in on both feel when driving and how the transmission was programmed.

The RRS and LR4 feel like different vehicles, be cause they are different. The vehicles are marketed to 2 different groups. That being said, your driving style sets how the engine delivers power, via the computers. Smash on the gas and do the "unchristian motoring" thing for several drive cycles. See if that doesn't change the way your vehicle responds.

Mason Courtney said:

The RRS and LR4 feel like different vehicles, be cause they are different. The vehicles are marketed to 2 different groups. That being said, your driving style sets how the engine delivers power, via the computers. Smash on the gas and do the "unchristian motoring" thing for several drive cycles. See if that doesn't change the way your vehicle responds.

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I drive it like I stole it and it’s still a sluggish beast. I liked my old V8 6-speed LR4 much better. While the LR4 and RRS RE DIFFERENT, they’re the same in the sense the engine and transmission are identical. The new D5 and RRS and even full size RR are essentially the exact same vehicles with different bodies. They all share the same wheelbase, engines, transmissions, transfer cases, etc.

I’d just like to know if it’s possible to program my LR4 with the far superior transmission tuning offered on the RRS/RR.

TrinidadLR4 said:

It's funny, I wish I had your 8hp70, as the 6hp is slow, lazy and upshifts way too soon. Grass is always greener on the other side, I guess!

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I have had the 6HP and the 8HP. The 8HP might shift marginally quicker, but it feels like 1st-2nd is too abrupt and almost like 2nd should be the normal starting ratio. If JLR had just put the 8HP with the 5.0L V8 instead of dropping the LR4 to the SCV6, it would have been great. I get worse mileage in the V6 than I did with the V8, all the while having substantially less power and torque. The V6 just doesn’t do anything well. It’s not efficient, it shakes the truck at idle to the point of things rattling, it doesn’t sound good and feels grossly underpowered for such a heavy vehicle especially if towing.

Fields Carlisle said:

I have had the 6HP and the 8HP. The 8HP might shift marginally quicker, but it feels like 1st-2nd is too abrupt and almost like 2nd should be the normal starting ratio. If JLR had just put the 8HP with the 5.0L V8 instead of dropping the LR4 to the SCV6, it would have been great. I get worse mileage in the V6 than I did with the V8, all the while having substantially less power and torque. The V6 just doesn’t do anything well. It’s not efficient, it shakes the truck at idle to the point of things rattling, it doesn’t sound good and feels grossly underpowered for such a heavy vehicle especially if towing.

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I have the SCV6 and I don't seem to have the transmission/idling issues which you are stating. We have owned a 2014 RRS SCV6, and you are correct, that feels way more refined. That is also true with my friends 2013 RRS. However, compared to the 2013 LR4 which my neighbor has, I feel the 2013 is actually sluggish when accelerating and that it only compares to my 2015 when put into sport. Have you gone back to your dealer to see if you could drive an 8speed on the lot and see if maybe it's your vehicle?

I’ve driven both the V8 6hp26 the SCV6 8hp70 and the SCV8 with the 6hp26. I can tell you that the 8hp70 in both the SCV8 and the V6 feel very different especially in throttle response in sport. The V6 has definitely slower shifts in between gears then the V8 so there should be a software you could put on the V6 8hp70. As for the V8 and the SCV8 with the 6hp26 their should also be a software you could put in to speed up the shifts but for both I have no idea where to find them. If I had found them, they’d already be downloaded on my V8 6hp26.

iSurfvilano said:

I have the SCV6 and I don't seem to have the transmission/idling issues which you are stating. We have owned a 2014 RRS SCV6, and you are correct, that feels way more refined. That is also true with my friends 2013 RRS. However, compared to the 2013 LR4 which my neighbor has, I feel the 2013 is actually sluggish when accelerating and that it only compares to my 2015 when put into sport. Have you gone back to your dealer to see if you could drive an 8speed on the lot and see if maybe it's your vehicle?

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You don’t experience the rough idle and idle fluctuation almost everyone I know with the V6 has? It’s the worst idling engine I’ve encountered in recent years. It tries to idle at 600rpm, but it fluctuates down into the 500s and starts shaking like a leaf.


Maybe it’s an early production issue. Mine is a 14, so 15-16s may be better.