04' Discovery 2 suspension upgrade help.

[Barnacle72]

I am new to Land Rover and new to forum and need some advice on suspension upgrades.

First I will explain what I plan on with my D2. First will have to be a Bajarack then I will be installing a snorkel and Bullbar ( maybe ARB ) and would like to put on some bigger tires. The current rims are 18" with road tires so really need to get better rubber on them. I am aware of how much 18" Offroad tires cost but 16" rims seem to be crazy expensive.

I plan on doing mostly beach work and a little mud tracks in the hinterland but really am building this Rig to travel around Australia with a very small camper trailer. Oh I have SLS and am thinking Coil conversion maybe.

Any suggestions would be helpful :angel:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

stick with the SLS,,,;)

[Slunnie]

16" rims are between $50-150ea

[Barnacle72]

Hey Slunnie what type wheels. I can't seem to find anything on the web besides high end alloys that are way out of my price range. My Disco is Silver and am looking for simple flat black rims to compliment the Flat black Bull bar and accessories.

[CJT]

Hey Slunnie what type wheels. I can't seem to find anything on the web besides high end alloys that are way out of my price range. My Disco is Silver and am looking for simple flat black rims to compliment the Flat black Bull bar and accessories.

Have a look here Our Wheels (http://www.dynamictyres.com.au/ourWheels.aspx)

Dynamic do 16x7 & 16x8 steel wheels in a +30mm offset and Allied Wheels have a number of alloys to suit the D2 as well.

[Slunnie]

Hey Slunnie what type wheels. I can't seem to find anything on the web besides high end alloys that are way out of my price range. My Disco is Silver and am looking for simple flat black rims to compliment the Flat black Bull bar and accessories.
Hey mate, just used factory alloys. I doubt very much that there is a better rim available for these. None that I've seen have bead retaining lips even remotely as big as the factory alloy rim and the alloys are very strong. They come in 7" and 8" widths and the ones from P38 Range Rovers are 100% compatible.

[R2D2]

I Just fitted Bildtein 7100's last night.
They wont fade over corrugated roads.
I would get rid of the SLS and go springs. No bags or comp assy, to fail in the middle of nowhere.
cheers
R2

[Pedro_The_Swift]

and if you run solid rubber tyres you wont get a flat,,,;)

[TD50WA]

I Just fitted Bildtein 7100's last night.
They wont fade over corrugated roads.
I would get rid of the SLS and go springs. No bags or comp assy, to fail in the middle of nowhere.
cheers
R2

What are the specs on those shocks please mate

Cheers
Kev

[R2D2]

Hi Kev
I got them from www.eshocks.com (http://www.eshocks.com)
They are Bilstein part number AK7110SB06 They are short body 10inch all valved 360/80 $179 each. I have an ARB bbar and rear drawers.
These come with Heim joints which i pushed out and fitted 19-920 bush kits $45 for the 4 shocks.
Shipping was $171.82 Fedex for the 4.

They are over the top but at that price they are a bargain.
Single "Nitro" shocks here were between $100 and $200 each so $250 all up each i thought was a great price. Fully rebuildable.
I only fitted the rears the other day and the difference was unreal.
Cant wait to fit the fronts and the new springs.
These will be removed and transfered to my next vehicle.
other members use the same shocks. Do a search in the forum. There are plenty of threads.

cheers
R2

[Slunnie]

360/80 is a really nice controlling and comfortable shock rate for the rear, even with very light setups.

[TD50WA]

Hi Kev
I got them from www.eshocks.com (http://www.eshocks.com)
They are Bilstein part number AK7110SB06 They are short body 10inch all valved 360/80 $179 each. I have an ARB bbar and rear drawers.
These come with Heim joints which i pushed out and fitted 19-920 bush kits $45 for the 4 shocks.
Shipping was $171.82 Fedex for the 4.

They are over the top but at that price they are a bargain.
Single "Nitro" shocks here were between $100 and $200 each so $250 all up each i thought was a great price. Fully rebuildable.
I only fitted the rears the other day and the difference was unreal.
Cant wait to fit the fronts and the new springs.
These will be removed and transfered to my next vehicle.
other members use the same shocks. Do a search in the forum. There are plenty of threads.

cheers
R2

Unfortunately another example of prices here in Oz being way over the top. Manufacturers and suppliers need to get together and get prices a bit better so it is more attractive for us to buy local.
Thanks for the info.
Kev

[XHPBT1]

I Just fitted Bildtein 7100's last night.
They wont fade over corrugated roads.
I would get rid of the SLS and go springs. No bags or comp assy, to fail in the middle of nowhere.
cheers
R2

Where did u get those rubbers for the eye link on the 7100s???

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[walker]

I have a set of p38 alloys which go well on the D2. I am about to put them up for sale on EBay

I know you are on GC but freight probably isn't that expensive.

And definitely keep the air suspension. My first D2 had air and it was great. This D2 doesn't have it and I am in the process of removing the coils and installing airbags into the rear.

[Basil135]

1) SLS is the bees knees. I have even had a reputable LR mechanic try to talk me into springs, and I turned him down. For around $400, you can have 2 new airbags, and 2 new height sensors. 20 mins per side, evidently. :angel:

2) Check a few wreckers for 16" rims. There are plenty around now.

3) Wish I had ace. :mad:

[brougham]

Btw you can buy tires from the US cheaply.

I've just ordered a set of 5 255/55 R18 Bridgestone dueler 694's including 3-5 day shipping for only $1400-odd. Works out to less than $300 per tyre. I've run the 694's before and been happy.

I went through the same decisions and decided this way was cheaper and I get to keep the good looking 18" rims.

[Yorkie]

Btw you can buy tires from the US cheaply.

I've just ordered a set of 5 255/55 R18 Bridgestone dueler 694's including 3-5 day shipping for only $1400-odd. Works out to less than $300 per tyre. I've run the 694's before and been happy.

I went through the same decisions and decided this way was cheaper and I get to keep the good looking 18" rims.

are they shipping seperately, would think you will get taxed on that lot?.

[Tombie]

are they shipping seperately, would think you will get taxed on that lot?.

I was thinking the same...

Enough to make buying local viable..

[brougham]

Yes I need to pay GST but the shipping was cheaper for 5 at once (volume discount) and was more than the GST

Given you can't get that size in aust and any alternative A/T tyre here in Perth that size or close were all well over $420ea makes it an easy choice.

[Yorkie]

and duty...

[brougham]

and duty...

duty is supposed to be 5%. never paid it on tyre imports in the past, doesnt bother me if i get it this time.

regardless of the GST and duty, allowing for that, i'm still about $120-150 PER tyre better off than buying locally, including

total for 5 tyres including duty & gst (worst case) = $320 per tyre.
quoted $30 to fit, balance & dispose of old tyres around the corner = $350 per tyre.

cheapest 18" all-terrain tyre i could source locally in perth that was legal for my car = $470ea.

so i'm still $120 per tyre ($600 in total) better off this way.

I looked at buying 16" rims. best I could do was $100ea. set of 5 rims = $500. 16" tyres, best I could do locally for decent A/T was $270ea (discounted thru a mate). so a set of 5 would be $1850 = $370ea.
then i'd also have a full set of 18" rims lying around.

sure i could sell them on gumtree, but since there's been 2 sets in perth for sale for over a year now without moving, that's not going to happen unless i give them away. and my wife would stop making me dinner if i stored 5 tyres in the garage!

i support local Australian businesses and stores where i can (i own and run a retail business in perth), but where it's not coming close to balancing up, my wallet makes the decisions.

[walker]

If you can't get the size you want, then fair enough. But don't always assume tyres from US will be cheaper.

I bought some Goodyear Duratrac recently in 285/75-16. The best Tyrerack could do was $345/tyre delivered for 5. That was in 2 shipments but was only $100 less for 1 shipment. I would still have to pay for fitting after that.

I ended up getting them supplied and fitted around the corner for $325 each.

Personally, I ditched the 18" rims because I didn't want low profile out in the bush. Makes a huge difference, not to mention the fact that if you wreck a tyre you will never get another one quickly.