Defender 130 suspension

**LowRanger** · 22nd May 2014, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by brendanm

I will find out a little more tomorrow as their email came through late this afternoon with recommended springs. Their concern was that a lighter duty spring will struggle with the weight and sag. I will find out if the rear is progressive as this may absorb initial bumps easier.
As for how it drives, I need an alignment pretty badly though until all the components are fitted there is no point. I need the springs to correct castor. The height will then tell me if I need an adjustable Panhard rod or can get away with what is there and a new dampener is also going in.
The rear arms are not great. Just a bit noisier and harsher than having rubber at both ends. Again until the springs go in, it is not a fair test. When so much was changed over in one hit it will take a bit of diagnosis. The rear wide angle joint on the A frame is designed for a 2 inch lift. The shocks are 5.5 inches over size so on lower than standard height springs(dropped 20mm with the inner helper coil removed) it is a bit ordinary.
One issue with the trailing arm will be the arm connects lower on the housing to counter the turning moment of force exerted by the different axle setup. A 2 inch lift really needs an arm for a 4 inch lift. I can foreshadow how quickly I will chew through chassis end rubbers by not doing something. Be interested to see what Superior come up with from their current testing of their long arm kit. X Engineering in the UK do a ball and socket type setup, though I would not imagine this would be much better than what is currently there.

I must admit that I am a bit dubious about the springs,especially the front,I hope that they took out your standard fronts and tested them to work out the current rate,and didn't just weigh the vehicle and forgot that you carry possibly an extra 40-50kg from the portals and another 20 odd KG from the SF arms that is all unsprung weight,that shouldn't be taken into account when calculating the spring rates.I would have thought you would not need any more that 240-250 max in the front.

**rick130** · 23rd May 2014, 05:04 AM

One thing we need to remember is that the wheel rate will be different in this rig with the wider track, ie. a higher rate spring will give the same wheel rate as a standard track Defender, it's all about the leverage on the spring in one wheel bump/articulation.

**LowRanger** · 23rd May 2014, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by rick130

One thing we need to remember is that the wheel rate will be different in this rig with the wider track, ie. a higher rate spring will give the same wheel rate as a standard track Defender, it's all about the leverage on the spring in one wheel bump/articulation.

Brendans track is the same as mine

There are other factors involved as well,but I won't bring these up for discussion.

**brendanm** · 25th May 2014, 07:34 PM

Installed the new springs. Not sure what to think. The rate is higher than OEM though not sure of the exact rate as it is classified as the companies medium springs. They knew I was after articulation and suppleness offroad and I don't carry heavy loads
The lift is a bit short of the 2 inches on the front and I am not sure if this is why the steering feels heavy. Initial trials have the springs near completely compressed with still 20mm between the axle and the bump stop. The free height of the coil was near identical to the free height of the standard coil. The diameter of the coils thickness is significantly larger The result is 280mm in car spring height. It sits ok though the lift on the rear is only about 10mm over standard.
Photos show travel. Takes a bit to lift a tyre.
The rear A frame is just starting to rub on the exhaust over the axle and the rear of the tyre is just kissing the guard. Couple of mods to follow.

**LowRanger** · 25th May 2014, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by brendanm

Installed the new springs. Not sure what to think. The rate is higher than OEM though not sure of the exact rate as it is classified as the companies medium springs. They knew I was after articulation and suppleness offroad and I don't carry heavy loads
The lift is a bit short of the 2 inches on the front and I am not sure if this is why the steering feels heavy. Initial trials have the springs near completely compressed with still 20mm between the axle and the bump stop. The free height of the coil was near identical to the free height of the standard coil. The diameter of the coils thickness is significantly larger The result is 280mm in car spring height. It sits ok though the lift on the rear is only about 10mm over standard.
Photos show travel. Takes a bit to lift a tyre.
The rear A frame is just starting to rub on the exhaust over the axle and the rear of the tyre is just kissing the guard. Couple of mods to follow.

All a little perplexing.I would expect that your steering should have felt heavier when you had the standard springs and SF arms,due to a larger variance in actual castor and what is built into the arms.
As far as bump stop clearance is concerned,don't be too worried about it,what you need to find out,is how close you are to the shock bottoming out,when you know your limit there then you can adjust your bumpstop accordingly.

chook73 · 26th May 2014, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by LowRanger

Brendans track is the same as mine

There are other factors involved as well,but I won't bring these up for discussion.

Out of interest Wayne what measurement is your track?

**LowRanger** · 26th May 2014, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by chook73

Out of interest Wayne what measurement is your track?

The same as Brendan's

I don't remember off the top of my head Iain,but last time I was down at Brendan's we measured them and they were the same.

chook73 · 26th May 2014, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by LowRanger

The same as Brendan's

Geeee..... I wonder what Brendan's track measurement is......

**uninformed** · 26th May 2014, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by chook73

Geeee..... I wonder what Brendan's track measurement is......

Looks like he has stock 6.5" wide LR steel wheels. If he is not running any spacers then you can pretty much add 85mm per side for increase of track by the portals. Tyre size doesnt matter as its the centre of tyre to centre of tyre and rim offset is going to dictate that.

So over a stock 130 he would have approx 170mm more track width.

I dont know the difference in offset and size between his rims and yours???

**LowRanger** · 26th May 2014, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by uninformed

Looks like he has stock 6.5" wide LR steel wheels. If he is not running any spacers then you can pretty much add 85mm per side for increase of track by the portals. Tyre size doesnt matter as its the centre of tyre to centre of tyre and rim offset is going to dictate that.

So over a stock 130 he would have approx 170mm more track width.

I dont know the difference in offset and size between his rims and yours???

Serg.
Brendan is running custom offset 8" rims and 35 x12.5/16's

Thread: Defender 130 suspension

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