Thread: Is my front high or my rear low?

I think the front is too high if those pictures are unloaded.

Thats how mine used to sit with HD coils.

Unloaded i I have a rake. Rear should be higher

For the front end I've found 90mm bump stop clearance on a "Puma" is ideal. You can get away with 95mm, but the backlash in the drive train will feel worse, any more than that and the front prop will start talking to you.

Les Richmond Automotive "Rangie Pink" front coils have given me a 90mm front bump stop clearance with an ARB bar and Warn winch fitted. They are a bit soft, but are available off the shelf so to speak.

Hope this helps,

Tim

I had the same issue, but with an ARB bar, Warn Winch & steel cable. The difference was 1.5 cm.

I got HD airbags installed in the rear coils. she now has a slight nose down look - looks like it should

LANDROVER DEFENDER 110 HD HP FIRESTONE COIL AIR BAG SUSPENSION SPRING ASSIST KIT LANDROVER DEFENDER 110 HD HP FIRESTONE COIL AIR BAG SUSPENSION SPRING ASSIST KIT | eBay

(I bought mine elsewhere)

Good luck

The ride height doesn’t look quite right, but the Keswick and white HD rims do.

The first thing I suggest you do is measure the bump stop clearances to work out whether the front needs to come down or the rear can go up. These are the dimensions you need to work to as the body dimensions can be a little vague on a Defender.

Once you have a bump stop clearance you can relate it to the hub to guard measurement to make it easier. Being a Defender the hub to guard measurement is not necessarily an accurate comparison between vehicles. Just as an aside, I find it easier to measure from the bottom of the rim to the guard - it’s easier to be more accurate.

The front bumpstop clearance on a 110 should be 72mm +/-15 and the rear should be 130 +/-15.

FWIW when mine was brand new and unmolested the front bump stop clearance was 70mm (510 hub to guard) and the rear was 125mm (535 hub to guard). In each case the driver’s side was 10mm lower (typical Land Rover).

Now it’s become a lard-arse it’s down to 50 at the front and 100 at the rear, but it’s now the same on each side. When I finally get around to fitting a winch and a rear wheel carrier it will go down even more and then I will start looking at upgrading springs too.

Cheers,
Jon

Probably a dumb question, but did you put HD coils in the rear as well? You didn't say.

You got me curious, so I just measured my 2009 Puma 110 from hub centre to wheelarch flare and it is:

48cm Front
52cm Rear

So, the front is down a little but the rear seems OK.
The front has an ARB bar and an Ironman winch with synthetic cable. The rear has ORS aluminum drawers (45 kg) and a 30 litre fridge.
The coils are standard, but the rear has Airbag Man airbags with 10 lbs.
I have wondered about going to HD coils, but don't want to make it too stiff.
I'm undecided.

Maybe you should add rear airbags to level it up with a load. The airbags also firm up the ride and roll a bit.

Are you happy with the ride?

I also have the same steel rims. When I had the 'build' done it was explained to me that when steel hubs were ordered they also fitted the HD suspension.
Unless your rims were an aftermarket fit I think you should have the above as well.

Cheers

Rolly

Thanks everyone. I'll get out there with a tape measure in the morning and measure the distance to the bump stops. This is starting to look like a good excuse to get some airbags though.....

Oh and I'm happy with the ride at the moment. The drawers etc that live in the back permanently take the edge off nicely. The front doesn't seem to be harsh at all.

Just measured and I’m at approx 83mm both front and rear.

So they’re both a little out of whack but it seems more a case of the rear sitting a bit too low. The front is still at least in “spec”