Thread: Help with 130 tyre sizes, wheel offset etc

The defender rear relative to the front sits a little higher so you will always have that appearance of the nose being down relative to the rear. If your lift is same front to rear the nose down appearance will carry over. Though your pic appears a little more pronounced than the stance of a new D130.

My truck (green) sits level front to rear but the rear is about a 2" lift whereas the front is closer to 4" lift. In this shot I was carrying stuff for 3 week trip. The height of the tray is an optical distraction to appreciate the rear lift.



Stefan's D110 is nicely balanced too. He is set up to invade a pacific island nation. Which is testament to his suspension set up.

The only thing we can do on the forum is speculate what is your problem. The best thing to do is put it on a hoist, undo your shock and move your axle through its full range and take note of where it fouls, what are the clearances to bump stops, coil response etc.

Something to think about but i doubt comes into play is the panhard rod. The lift will shift the centre point of your diff towards the driver's side (i think). It's about 1cm for each inch in lift. That might be contributing to your catching of the flare.

MLD

Originally Posted by BadCo.

If you want more spring options, feel free to refer to my spreadsheet

in the interests of sharing, this is my spreadsheet for a D130. Any part ref with a prefix C51 is Dobinson and for a defender. The C51-203V, C51-198V and C51-199V are special order so best to speak with Rockhampton not the outlets, the outlets won't know what you are talking about because its info on the computers in the factory.

For what it is worth, my 2 dealings with Dobinson in Rocky have been helpful and obliging to find the right solution. In fact they redesigned the 199V to my specs and came up with the 203V as a special order.

reference to "LRA" is Les Richmond Auto.

MLD

I'm going to try a new spring on the front to see whether that alleviates the fouling problem.


I think I'm going to go with the dobinsons and reckon I've got 2 choices to achieve an approx 50mm lift:


C51-015 237lb 430mm which is only slightly higher rated than the OME751 that I currently have but 40mm longer.


C51-026 285lbs 385mm (for arguments sake using MLC's data as it differs from Badco's)


In regard to spring sag and age etc is it possible that a spring can lose its ability to support its normal load over time, for example it will compress more with the same load over bumps. I don't mean just a shorter static length but an increased rate of compression too IYKWIM.
I went down an unexpected pothole a couple of days ago, not particularly fast, it was moments after moving from a standstill so 10-15kph at most. It bottomed out pretty severely. The only added weight at the front of my 130 to standard is the arb bull bar driving lights and a synthetic rope (not steel cable) winch. we not exactly big people either, both myself and OH around 60kg each (I'm presuming that hd axles and steering bars dont play a part in spring load bearing values?) I'm worrying about this point because if my current springs are not sagged and decrepit and still just as good as new, then I wonder if they are heavy duty enough which would obviously affect my choice.


When I approached my local ARB and Dobinsons suppliers both pointed me towards the heavier spring rather than the longer spring options I have researched because "thats what their computer said" for the make and model of vehicle. If I have to go with a heavier spring I will, but I would prefer to not have an excessively hard ride if at all possible.


As you stated previously MLC the current shocks have pretty much the same length of travel as stock, however it seems as though they differ in terms of where they rest within that range of travel.
stock open and closed are 584mm and 362mm
ome60037 open and closed are 553mm and 329mm
Excuse my complete lack of understanding of this but why are the open and closed lengths different? And does or should this have a bearing on my spring choice?
If my current shocks have the same amount of travel as standard is OK to be increasing my spring length? Again apologies for lack of understanding as to how spring length relates to shock length.


What are the positives and negatives for the choices I have, so length vs rate?

I've been elevated up the alphabet, that's personal and professional advancement. hippeeee

I would go with the C51-015. I run 240lbs coils in the front (and formerly had the -026 coils) and the 240lbs are firm enough to keep the nose in check yet allow it to flex when required. They won't be as soft as flexi coils or the D110 coils but are not a bad compromise and should feel similar to your current coils. I found the -026 coils to be too firm and harsh on imperfections on the road. The -198V (240lbs) that i run are still firm if you hit a speed bump at speed but not the kidney jarring of the -026.

I cautioned earlier to ignore marketing material from the coil manufacturers. The only way to know how the coil will be is to have the specs and compare to factory and other known examples.

Dealing with your other question re shock length, the OME shock will tuck up more than the OEM because it has a shorter closed length but won't drop as low. This may be a contributing factor to your tyre catching the guard because you have moved your operating range north. The bump stop should be the limiting factor if the wheel tucks up too much. With the OME shocks your coil could also bind up before axle housing hits bump stop or tyre catches. That all said, the shocks may be your problem not the coils.

My suggestion is to remove the OME stuff and melt it down to scrap and slingshot it. Cheap option is to re-fit factory shocks. New shocks will give your truck a new lease on life too. If you want new coils replace with factory coils or the Dobinson -015 coils.

Turning to the -015 coils without knowing the wire diameter its difficult to say what the static height will likely be. If the -015 coil is 40mm longer free length with similar rate to the OME the wire diameter must be thinner. This will give you a more compliant ride over imperfections but may not give you any greater lift. Compliance will come from the thinner diameter and the extra distance in travel before binding. More noticeable on fast drainage culverts than speed bumps in the carpark. It's a suck it an see situation with coils and each person likes a different.

I'll finish on the thought that your shocks may be your problem with catching not the coils.

MLD

Seeing as I was about to outlay well over $1000 on a new set of tyres that may not now be necessary, I think I'd be happy spending a bit on getting the suspension set up well, especially the front for now, the rear isn't really an issue other than its very hard which I would probably look at sorting when I have a bit more spare cash.


If i'm going to replace the shocks then I might as well put in a set that are going to give some more articulation too.


What would be some good shock options with the dobinson 015's. Is there a maximum travel increase that I should be looking at?


What kind of reputation do dobinsons or terrafirma shocks have?
I've read a bit about 80 series shocks being a suitable option, would these be standard 80 series or a longer travel option I've found +4" and +6"? I am aware of maybe having to change the shock mounts and bump stops, what about brake lines or anything else that might come into play? I want to make sure I've covered everything and budgeted before I go out and start buying components.


Reading about Bilsteins and Konis, both sound good, but I'm not sure that i'd like to be spending that big on shocks especially if I have to spend to modify other components to suit .

Originally Posted by sjl81

What would be some good shock options with the dobinson 015's.

If you are asking for a recommendation on a brand, its subjective and every owner can and likely will justify their choice. If you are staying with the factory open and closed lengths then, arguably, any brand that suits your budget.

Is there a maximum travel increase that I should be looking at?

The world is your oyster and only limited by money and imagination. For max articulation before getting into the extremes you may choose to ignore anything longer than 11.5" travel. After that there is a heap of modifications to make it work. Even at 11.5" you will have to change shock mounts, bump stops, brake lines, relocation cones or longer coils to avoid dislocation.

What kind of reputation do dobinsons or terrafirma shocks have?

This is a can of subjective worms.

I've read a bit about 80 series shocks being a suitable option, would these be standard 80 series or a longer travel option I've found +4" and +6"? I am aware of maybe having to change the shock mounts and bump stops, what about brake lines or anything else that might come into play? I want to make sure I've covered everything and budgeted before I go out and start buying components.

Changing to a long travel shock introduces a range of knock on modifications. I have the 80 series +4" shocks and (just on the front) i have extended brake lines, extended bump stops, +2" taller shock towers with relocation cones, longer coils. Those changes would be a minimum. To make full use of the extra articulation you can fit super flex radius arms. Not sure if a wide angle prop shaft will be necessary, you won't know until its on the hoist to see if the shaft binds when the housing is hanging at full drop. +6" 80 series shocks involve the above with more money and thought invested to make it all work.

the rear includes, wide angle A frame joint, raised shock mounts, longer coils and/or relocation cones, brake line, possibly HD trailing arms or at least taking the grinder to the axle mount to give the arm some clearance from binding, and a box of trailing arm bushes because they fog out after a few days of hard 4wding (or superpro bushes).

There is more involved and costs a pretty penny to fit long travel suspension. I would counsel against doing the front and leaving the rear stock. Better to think about the entire package, save your pennies and fit in one project.

Your initial post was warning of a limited budget. I hope you have the appetite for the expense involved when you start to add it all up.

MLD