Thread: Suspension upgrade in Eastern Melbourne

My logic is NO LIFT NEEDED.

Defender has way more articulation at both ends than Hilux or any other ute with leaf springs and wishbones. There's no comparison. You don't need a lift unles your truck is for Boulder hopping 95% and then you would want much more than 2".

If your lift is for cosmetic reasons or to impress your mates plenty of places will take your money.

Originally Posted by MrLandy

Why bother with a 1" beesdick lift?!?! That wont impress your mates. Seriously? Just get some Koni's or Bilies and be done with it. Babs, I went Koni Raids over Bilies simply because of the OS size of the tubes, more stable, solid. But it was a tough decision because I think Bilies are a little more compliant on road. Having said that, as soon as I hit corrugations I know exactly why I chose Koni...awesome.

Thanks MrLandy, that's exactly the feedback I'm looking for. Very reassuring ✅
I'm going to give the Koni's a go. Cheers.

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Originally Posted by MrLandy

My logic is NO LIFT NEEDED. Defender has way more articulation at both ends than Hilux or any other ute with leaf springs and wishbones. There's no comparison. You don't need a lift unles your truck is for Boulder hopping 95% and then you would want much more than 2". If your lift is for cosmetic reasons or to impress your mates plenty of places will take your money.

I must say I agree.

We buys these trucks for what they are capable of doing "Straight Outa Showroom"

What other 4by's comes with 32" tyres standard?

All the other guys apart from Patrols, jump from 30"31" up to 32" tyres. We got them already and we want more. We always want more ha ha ha

The clearance and dynamics of the Deefers are phenomenal, why change something that ain't broke? Better quality Shocks are understandable.

To each their own, doing all that work on lifting and bigger tyres I doubt you are going to go much further over a standard Deefer. Your better off putting the money towards a TrueTrac LSD.

Ha ha ha God knows how much my mate has spent on his Ranger, he put the Fox Racing Remote Canister and big lift in and he has no better wheel travel. There is a section on my farm he lifts the wheels up in the air on all sorts of angles and I go over it like an urban speed hump.

A lot of guys like the 33"tyres on here but I would confidently say the majority of Deefer owners are happy with standard height tyres and springs.

My winch (yet to fit) is for emergencies, my theory is, if it looks like I have to winch to get up there or past there I ain't going!

I bet a standard suspension and tyre set up with a TrueTrac LSD will go further than a 2" lifted 33" tyre modification. This is open for debate ha ha ha

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Hi Corris110,

Reasons not to get a lift:

• You've got a brand new defender and therefore you have several years of warranty.
• In another thread you mentioned that you use the car for work, so it sounds like a daily driver. This is another reason to not get a lift.
• You mentioned one objective of the lift would be to fit 33's. 33's (255/85/16) can be fitted without a lift.
• If your goal is to improve capability then I'd prioritise a set of sliders, a HD steering track rod, a steering guard, diff guards, HD trailing arms, 33's and eLockers all ahead of a lift.
• The factory shocks are actually pretty good and most importantly they're well tuned to the rest of the car (IMO at least). Replacing them with Koni's or Bilsteins won't provide enough (if any) bang for the buck.

If you've put a bullbar and winch on then you may suffer from a bit of sag at the front due to the extra weight. To fix this, get your dealer to replace your front springs with the genuine HD Land Rover Springs. They're cheap (about $100) and they won't cause issues with the front prop shaft.

Just my opinion. Others may disagree.

Originally Posted by RVR110

Hi Corris110,

Reasons not to get a lift:

• You've got a brand new defender and therefore you have several years of warranty.
• In another thread you mentioned that you use the car for work, so it sounds like a daily driver. This is another reason to not get a lift.
• You mentioned one objective of the lift would be to fit 33's. 33's (255/85/16) can be fitted without a lift.
• If your goal is to improve capability then I'd prioritise a set of sliders, a HD steering track rod, a steering guard, diff guards, HD trailing arms, 33's and eLockers all ahead of a lift.
• The factory shocks are actually pretty good and most importantly they're well tuned to the rest of the car (IMO at least). Replacing them with Koni's or Bilsteins won't provide enough (if any) bang for the buck.

unless you use your Defender on rough/corrugated roads a lot - original shocks won't handle it.

If you've put a bullbar and winch on then you may suffer from a bit of sag at the front due to the extra weight. To fix this, get your dealer to replace your front springs with the genuine HD Land Rover Springs. They're cheap (about $100) and they won't cause issues with the front prop shaft.

Just my opinion. Others may disagree.

Well said RVR110.

Originally Posted by RVR110

Hi Corris110, Reasons not to get a lift:[*]You've got a brand new defender and therefore you have several years of warranty.[*]In another thread you mentioned that you use the car for work, so it sounds like a daily driver. This is another reason to not get a lift.[*]You mentioned one objective of the lift would be to fit 33's. 33's (255/85/16) can be fitted without a lift.[*]If your goal is to improve capability then I'd prioritise a set of sliders, a HD steering track rod, a steering guard, diff guards, HD trailing arms, 33's and eLockers all ahead of a lift.[*]The factory shocks are actually pretty good and most importantly they're well tuned to the rest of the car (IMO at least). Replacing them with Koni's or Bilsteins won't provide enough (if any) bang for the buck. If you've put a bullbar and winch on then you may suffer from a bit of sag at the front due to the extra weight. To fix this, get your dealer to replace your front springs with the genuine HD Land Rover Springs. They're cheap (about $100) and they won't cause issues with the front prop shaft. Just my opinion. Others may disagree.

Agree!

Why don't you think changing shocks would improve ride quality?

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Originally Posted by Corris110

Thats exactly on the money. I dont want mega clearance and try and look like a patrol with 37s and a 5'' lift. Just I would like a better quality set up from the start, reliability, and the flexibility to get 33's etc in the future without needing to change my set up again

If you are after reliability, don't lift it. Simple. You can get 33" tyres under the defender with the right offset rims (if you want to go for 285s) without the lift.
Spend the money on Konis and wheels with the correct offset instead.
I've been told by a couple of LR Independents here in SA that the Double Cardan joints are subject to failure, and when they do, they are like a hand grenade and leave gaping holes in your drivetrain where there shouldn't be. I'm not keen to find out if they are right or wrong...

Originally Posted by RVR110

Hi Corris110,

Reasons not to get a lift:

• You've got a brand new defender and therefore you have several years of warranty.
• In another thread you mentioned that you use the car for work, so it sounds like a daily driver. This is another reason to not get a lift.
• You mentioned one objective of the lift would be to fit 33's. 33's (255/85/16) can be fitted without a lift.
• If your goal is to improve capability then I'd prioritise a set of sliders, a HD steering track rod, a steering guard, diff guards, HD trailing arms, 33's and eLockers all ahead of a lift.
• The factory shocks are actually pretty good and most importantly they're well tuned to the rest of the car (IMO at least). Replacing them with Koni's or Bilsteins won't provide enough (if any) bang for the buck.

If you've put a bullbar and winch on then you may suffer from a bit of sag at the front due to the extra weight. To fix this, get your dealer to replace your front springs with the genuine HD Land Rover Springs. They're cheap (about $100) and they won't cause issues with the front prop shaft.

Just my opinion. Others may disagree.

Yup, I agree with the majority of this...except over sustained corrugations (I'm talking out bush where there are chopped out tracks for kilometres), the standard shocks are just not up to it...