Thread: Defender 130 suspension

Without having too bigger detour into the legalities, not only do laws differ from state to state but also between engineers interpretations. Portals are not signed off in Qld though fine for NSW. What happens interstate does not effect my insurance. The rear arms which seem to be the point of contention have been signed of on a company promotional vehicle that is a distributor for this exact product in Sydney. They were at the Landrover expo and we discussed this exact point. I would not drive a vehicle that is dangerous or not legal voiding insurance. Thanks to uninformed for your understanding of the gist of the thread, I have been guided by others and learnt from their experience.


Any how, todays progress.
The vehicle weighed in fully loaded with all the gear for extended touring and full of fuel at 2559kg. Fairly evenly distributed with the front 1290kg, and rear 1269kg. Carrying a jerry can in the back would be near spot on. Interesting was a recent Defender 110 that they weighed with both a bar and winch was 100kg lighter at the front. I would not have thought that much difference between similar setups over varying wheel bases. This would explain why a 50mm lift for a 110 returned a 5mm lift in the 130.
The springs recommended will be available to collect tomorrow and should deliver both the height to correct castor and suppleness with articulation. The fronts are around 300lb with the rear spring rate higher than I thought at around 450lb. Maybe that's the weight of the dual cab and steel tray.

Originally Posted by brendanm

Without having too bigger detour into the legalities, not only do laws differ from state to state but also between engineers interpretations. Portals are not signed off in Qld though fine for NSW. What happens interstate does not effect my insurance. The rear arms which seem to be the point of contention have been signed of on a company promotional vehicle that is a distributor for this exact product in Sydney. They were at the Landrover expo and we discussed this exact point. I would not drive a vehicle that is dangerous or not legal voiding insurance. Thanks to uninformed for your understanding of the gist of the thread, I have been guided by others and learnt from their experience.


Any how, todays progress.
The vehicle weighed in fully loaded with all the gear for extended touring and full of fuel at 2559kg. Fairly evenly distributed with the front 1290kg, and rear 1269kg. Carrying a jerry can in the back would be near spot on. Interesting was a recent Defender 110 that they weighed with both a bar and winch was 100kg lighter at the front. I would not have thought that much difference between similar setups over varying wheel bases. This would explain why a 50mm lift for a 110 returned a 5mm lift in the 130.
The springs recommended will be available to collect tomorrow and should deliver both the height to correct castor and suppleness with articulation. The fronts are around 300lb with the rear spring rate higher than I thought at around 450lb. Maybe that's the weight of the dual cab and steel tray.

hmmm that was mine that weighed in at 1190kg on the front (614 ps and 576 ds) which can be attributed to an awning on the passengers side and about 25lt of water in the passengers side tank at the time plus all of my batteries are on the passengers side.

My rear end weighed in at a whopping 1534kg (only 4kg difference side to side) with fridge and drawers etc but I do have a lot more "stuff" in the rear. That weight however did not take into account things like tent, food and camping equipment which varies depending on the trip I do.

Your front difference will be in the portals and tyres, I know when I pick up my portals each one weighs at least 20kg.

Originally Posted by brendanm

Without having too bigger detour into the legalities, not only do laws differ from state to state but also between engineers interpretations. Portals are not signed off in Qld though fine for NSW. What happens interstate does not effect my insurance. The rear arms which seem to be the point of contention have been signed of on a company promotional vehicle that is a distributor for this exact product in Sydney. They were at the Landrover expo and we discussed this exact point. I would not drive a vehicle that is dangerous or not legal voiding insurance. Thanks to uninformed for your understanding of the gist of the thread, I have been guided by others and learnt from their experience.


Any how, todays progress.
The vehicle weighed in fully loaded with all the gear for extended touring and full of fuel at 2559kg. Fairly evenly distributed with the front 1290kg, and rear 1269kg. Carrying a jerry can in the back would be near spot on. Interesting was a recent Defender 110 that they weighed with both a bar and winch was 100kg lighter at the front. I would not have thought that much difference between similar setups over varying wheel bases. This would explain why a 50mm lift for a 110 returned a 5mm lift in the 130.
The springs recommended will be available to collect tomorrow and should deliver both the height to correct castor and suppleness with articulation. The fronts are around 300lb with the rear spring rate higher than I thought at around 450lb. Maybe that's the weight of the dual cab and steel tray.

I hope that they also took into account the drivers weight on the right hand side

Originally Posted by LowRanger

I hope that they also took into account the drivers weight on the right hand side

that would have pushed it over the GVM.....

At least you will be an expert at changing over Defender springs now Brendan,and have them done in no time

Originally Posted by brendanm

Any how, todays progress.
The vehicle weighed in fully loaded with all the gear for extended touring and full of fuel at 2559kg. Fairly evenly distributed with the front 1290kg, and rear 1269kg. Carrying a jerry can in the back would be near spot on. Interesting was a recent Defender 110 that they weighed with both a bar and winch was 100kg lighter at the front. I would not have thought that much difference between similar setups over varying wheel bases. This would explain why a 50mm lift for a 110 returned a 5mm lift in the 130.
The springs recommended will be available to collect tomorrow and should deliver both the height to correct castor and suppleness with articulation. The fronts are around 300lb with the rear spring rate higher than I thought at around 450lb. Maybe that's the weight of the dual cab and steel tray.

How did you find the feel of the vehicle when you went back to OEM LR springs? did you like the ride and handling?

To me 300lb or there a bouts is quite high in the front. Im betting not only will it be harsh on road, but won't allow the use of your new SE Superflex front arms.

While we both have some big differences in our defenders: Yours 127in, 5 inch portal lift, wider track, greater unsprung mass to deal with, higher COG in the body not just the portals. Mine 110in, 2 inch spring lift truck cab, light tray. The front sprung weight is close. Im at 1140kg but you would have at least 50kg more in unsprung mass than me. So at 100kg more which is 11.4% increase, my springs are 190lb/in, that would put yours at 212lb/in. Now I know it doesn't quite work like that, but if you can handle the feel, ride and handling of the 225 in lift, its going to get you more flex at low speed.

As far as springs and more unsprung mass, I know a 118in LR with maxi drive portals that has 187lb front springs (it is lower than yours though)

All just my opinion of coarse.

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 don't think that there has been much follow up on the long arm kit,Greg has been busy with other projects,and the replacement HD standard length arm,which may be a solution,due to the different type of mount at the chassis end.Unfortunately Greg is away for a few weeks,so I can't follow this up until he is back.The other solution is a custom set of arms and bracket like Iain had made,don't know how you would go getting Brad to get them made and weld on the brackets though!
And the good thing with Ken is,if the springs don't do what is expected,he will get you another set,until you and he are happy with how they work