Essential Mods

[4evershiva]

Hi Guys,

Got too excited being a newbie to the 4wd adventures, took my discovery 3 into logan pine forest track and made a mess of the car. i guess thats what they are built for. But I got bogged in one place and lost my number plate in mud puddle. So was wondering which mods are essential, shud i first put the bullbar or the 2inch suspension ht mod. Or is there something else that needs before all this.

[~Rich~]

Hi and Welcome ;)
First off - what model D3?
S - Coil suspension
Others - Air

[AnD3rew]

First off - what model D3?
S - Coil suspension
Others - Air

X2

If S and coils, then probably a few things essential. If air, then probably start with learning how to use the terrain response properly and the think about mods.

[TerryO]

My advice would be first up join a Land Rover club that does LR training courses and find out the strengths and weaknesses of your Disco, plus how to mke the most of it.

Then decide on what kind of off road driving you intend to do and then decide on a mod list.

And do lots of reading of different topics on modding your Disco on here and ask as many questions as you like.

...:)

[rb30gtr]

Hi Guys,

Got too excited being a newbie to the 4wd adventures, took my discovery 3 into logan pine forest track and made a mess of the car. i guess thats what they are built for. But I got bogged in one place and lost my number plate in mud puddle. So was wondering which mods are essential, shud i first put the bullbar or the 2inch suspension ht mod. Or is there something else that needs before all this.

Good choice on 4x4, all my mates call it 4 wheel cheating! haha This is after months of berating the thought of me buying a Land Rover...Their tune changed very quickly.

2 trips in, I am still on road tyres with the only mod being the GOE EAS Height rods which I barely use the higher setting (it is just nice to be able to do more than 50kph at off road height) and I am the nominated recovery vehicle for a huge range of modded and medium modded Japanese 4x4's.
I had to tow a Navara 3 qtr's up a hill climb (Zig Zag return from the Lost City) that has aggressive tyres a lift and rear limited slip diff..He is not a happy camper, I have the video I will put in the trips report section shortly.

The only mods I will be doing are good tyres and a snorkel, this year anyway.

So to answer your question, get a snatch strap, GOE rods, a couple of shackles with one of those tow hitch recovery thingo's and max trax (So basic recovery items, oh and a shovel). And that is all you will need to stay on track with other 4x4's that have 32inch tyres, lifts and air lockers front and rear!

If you want to know the in's and out's of how incredible the Disco 3/4 technology is, go out with other forum members or simply spend a few hours on youtube.

[4evershiva]

hi guys, i got the 2009 discovery 3 Petrol engine and its air suspension. just replaced 2 sets of tyres with scorpion atr but they dont seem to be good in mud. also can i put in a snorkel and is it available. i think my first stop would be to ARB to get essential recovery tools and select a nice bar for easy recovery point.

[AnD3rew]

hi guys, i got the 2009 discovery 3 Petrol engine and its air suspension. just replaced 2 sets of tyres with scorpion atr but they dont seem to be good in mud. also can i put in a snorkel and is it available. i think my first stop would be to ARB to get essential recovery tools and select a nice bar for easy recovery point.

Not a lot of choice in mud tyres if you have 18" s would need to get some 17" rims to get a reasonable choice. Make sure you are using the terrain response system properly. Having said that I have found a get set of AT's to be fine for my needs including a bit of mud, although I don't actively seek out deep mud. Also good call on getting some recovery gear. A good snatch strap some rated shackles, and a shovel is a good start. Maxtrax are also great.

But since you have the air suspension my pick of the mods is Llams or GOE rods so you can better control the height and clearance than Land Rover allows. Also worth considering a compressor bash plate.

Be aware that the ARB bar still utilises the stock factory recovery point, so don't put a bar on just for a recovery point, go ahead if you really want a bar for protection, but lts of options for mounting aerials and lights without a bar, and the bar is heavy and expensive if you don't need it.

If you are doing a bit of bush bashing I would also recommend some rock sliders.

[Redback]

hi guys, i got the 2009 discovery 3 Petrol engine and its air suspension. just replaced 2 sets of tyres with scorpion atr but they dont seem to be good in mud. also can i put in a snorkel and is it available. i think my first stop would be to ARB to get essential recovery tools and select a nice bar for easy recovery point.

No snorkle availabe for the Petrol D3, as for a suspension, it's not really essential as you have air suspention and terrain responce, maybe learn how to use this first unless you know about now, if you do then GOE rods are a good cheaper option to help with clearence, Llams if you have a bit more money.

ATRs are not ideal for mud, or any slippery surface for that matter, get a good AT tyre in LT contruction, a bullbar is not essential either unless your doing a lot of travelling around, remote stuff or lots of night driving where Kangaroos are a problem or any large wildlife, your standard recovery point is rated and will be enough, towbar recovery piece would be a good addition, ARB have them.

I would just learn as much as you can about the car first, get some recovery gear and maybe do a 4WD coarse.

Baz.

[rocmic]

Basically what everybody else has said. GOE rods for the extra clearance and if you are going to be doings some bush bashing then rock sliders with stand off bars (can double as a side step with non-slip tape) are a very good idea.

My vehicle is stock except for the rock sliders. It does not have major issues in the rough stuff. Invest some time in learning about the terrain response. A good start is here on this forum:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/93220-aulro-discovery-3-4-rrs-faq.html#drivingtechniques

That said, I have a fairly long wish list, unfortunately dependent on persuading my better half that it would be money well spent.
Cheers
Mike

[4evershiva]

thats guys, has anyone got any photos, just to see how it looks...

[Redback]

thats guys, has anyone got any photos, just to see how it looks...


Photos of how what looks:confused:

[rocmic]

thats guys, has anyone got any photos, just to see how it looks...
If you mean the rock sliders then this photo shows them on my car. Very easy to fit and there are a number of vendors selling similar. Mine are from GNV in the UK, but Green Oval Experience (gghaggis on this forum) also make a similar product and there is another person on the forum who also has them. Do a search or someone will be along with the details I'm sure. I think Discoweb has a set.
All of these products just bolt on to exisitng bolt holes on the vehicle. Very simple to fit and I reckon they probably paid for themselves a couple of weekends ago at Ourimbah State Forest.
Cheers
Mike

[Redback]

Here are my sliders
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/ (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bazzar/media/IMG_6027.jpg.html)

Baz.

[rb30gtr]

If you mean the rock sliders then this photo shows them on my car. Very easy to fit and there are a number of vendors selling similar. Mine are from GNV in the UK, but Green Oval Experience (gghaggis on this forum) also make a similar product and there is another person on the forum who also has them. Do a search or someone will be along with the details I'm sure. I think Discoweb has a set.
All of these products just bolt on to exisitng bolt holes on the vehicle. Very simple to fit and I reckon they probably paid for themselves a couple of weekends ago at Ourimbah State Forest.
Cheers
Mike

Yep Mike, awesome looking rig!
I am looking into the sliders. I am getting too close to my sills for my liking.

[rocmic]

Thanks rb30gtr, but when I look at Redback's machine I go green. He has all the mods on my wishlist (plus extra) already

[~Rich~]

Good onya for getting a D3,

I'd add the following as essential:

A front alloy protection plate, a few different ones available incl GOE.
This give much needed protection for the intercooler which is down low at the front.

A GOE Air Compressor protection plate.
The compressor is in a vulnerable position just in front of the P/S rear wheel.
Products (http://www.greenovalexperience.com/products.html)

Either:
LLAMS or GOE Rods.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/verandah/114282-llams-electronic-height-controller-d3-d4-rrs.html

[Graeme]

Don't underestimate the advantages of being able to modify the height sensor signals either mechanically (eg GOE rods) or electronically (eg LLAMS) to get the vehicle to off-road height when the system thinks the vehicle is at normal height, as the benefit is not just the ability to drive faster than 50 kph at off-road height. When the compressor looses the ability to pump at high enough pressure to refill the reservoir quickly enough, the suspension system will only allow what it believes to be normal height but which can be made to be off-road height by modifying the sensor signals. Being able to get to off-road height could get a vehicle out of a predicament where normal height might cause unwanted damage.

[unseenone]

You can fit the safari snorkel on the Petrol LR3, it does require a bit of cutting inside the engine compartment to fit the hose through, and the adapter to the air box. In hindsight, I am not so sure it is a worthwhile effort due to the fact of weaknesses, ie: chances of water ingress into the cabin air inlet.

Pictured 2005 LR3/D3 Petrol 4.4l Left Hand Drive.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/07/38.jpg

[4evershiva]

I got 19" alloys and its got enough gaps for the mud get in touch with the brake pads. People suggest me to get additional stell rims to fit in when doing off road. I dont wanna be swapping rims. Any mods to protect the brakes from mud?? Redback's alloys seems to be in a same situation. How has he handled that?

[Redback]

I got 19" alloys and its got enough gaps for the mud get in touch with the brake pads. People suggest me to get additional stell rims to fit in when doing off road. I dont wanna be swapping rims. Any mods to protect the brakes from mud?? Redback's alloys seems to be in a same situation. How has he handled that?

NO mods for protecting the brakes against mud, never had an issue with brakes and mud, those rims you see on my D4 are 17" BMW X5 rims, I have since sold them and now have Discovery 3 17" rims.

If you want to do any decent offroading, get another set of rims, preferably 17" or at least 18", because you'll get pretty sick of fixing or replacing 19" tyres after all the punctures you'll be getting if you do want to go offroad on a regular basis, put the tyres you want on them, and leave them on, you don't have to change rims if you don't want too.

There are a set of 17" steel rims for sale in the markets section of the forum, Larry is selling them, 5 rims for $400, dirt cheap.

Baz.

[Glynhouse]

I take it that you are at off road possibly + Llams in that photo Baz ?
Plenty of clearance under the guards, they fill mine !
Fitted them today very happy.

DD

[Redback]

I take it that you are at off road possibly + Llams in that photo Baz ?
Plenty of clearance under the guards, they fill mine !
Fitted them today very happy.

DD

No mate, that's standard offroad height, the tyres are only 30.5, which is only .5 over the standard size tyres.

Baz.