Disco 1 suspension

[Timmo]

Ok Disco owners. Keen to hear what is the best suspension setup you can get for a series 1.

Would like to lift up to about 2 inches, what brands do you guys have, and any advantages/disadvantages of that setup? Any brands which should be clearly avoided.

Thanks

[TSR]

We highly recommend Rovertym , but for what you require its an overkill ,
Springs $450 set only buy "Japanese steel" they have much better quality control than the prehistoric BHP that everyone trys to flogg you
Shocks $250 per pair only use a monotube gas shock Procomp es9000 are great as are Billstein and Koni
replace ALL bushes whiile your there and Aframe ball joint , remember that your life and others rely on safe and effective suspension kits .
Keep clear of OME , Tuff Dogg , Series 2000 , Rancho .
Rancho are the worst shocks ever ! breakages and the fact of valving make them useless .
Springs , Kings , Lovells Tuff Dogg Series 200 blah blah blah , they are all BHP and that spells 1960 technology simple .
Only use rubber bushes of Rover Craft {08 93770080 } poly bushes , nolethain / urethain are too harsh and i have seen shocks shear off mounts on the rear of Rovers .
The thing is that all packs are just about made in Brazil / Cambodia or some other 3d world country and repackaged under "Brand Names"
and sold by Kmart type 4x4 shops with sales men patroling around with bottles of Snake oil in their back pockets , hope this helps
www.teamslowracing.com

[shaunp]

While you may be correct about the Rovertym springs, I've used Kings in heaps of cars Jags, Holdens, rovers etc and never had a problem and they are only about $115 a pair trade. I agree that Ranchos are crap and prefer to fit Konis and Billsteins. As for bushes original metalastic type are the best . Nolethane is to hard, lasts less and make stuff break. Rubber ones are normally cheaper as well. You're right about the ball joint most cars with more than 80k on the clock need a new one.

[TSR]

Kings as the others suggest they are 40mm over standard , but in actuall fact are 40mm for 3 months 30 for the other 8 months and from then they generally stop the sag at about 27mm in linear design , people buy them cause their friend has them and his freind too , Scorpion racing are 100 times again better than Kings or Lovells , fact .
Try and get hold of a Maxidrive aframe ball joint , Mal does a great product that is greaseable , as for Jag's you generally need more than 1 as they arnt the most reliable car to own ! I thought that the bosses at Jag were making 4x4's on the side , Lada i think they are called :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: When the Japanese make cars they ask "how can we fit more cig lighters and flashing neon lights in
When the Yanks build a car they ask , how can we make the public fall in love with it
When the Swedes build a car they ask how can we make a car safer and perform better
When the Pom's build them they ask , how can we make more money from spare parts !

[one_iota]

My setup is Bilsteins and King Springs with a nominal 2" lift. After 6 months the left rear has sagged ~10mm. I'm happy with the set-up overall (it is a transformation over standard) but the question marks are appearing about the springs :?: :?: :?: .

[Timmo]

Thanks for the info guys, thats great. Didn't know rancho had so many probs, and will steer clear.

Like the sound of the billstiens.

[pug303]

Hi, don't take too much notice to the stuff about steel etc. Kings make great springs and build them for most of the Aussie after-market trade (ARB, Pedders etc). Have used them heaps including specials made to run the Australian Safari, all excellent. They have all the right gear!

Personally I have ARBs on the Disco. Around a 2 inch lift but as suggested above that will drop a bit, particularly with heavy loads over time. Choice of the rear is important. If you don't cart big loads be careful about the hardest as you will get a bit more "choppiness" in your ride.

I'm using ARB shocks because of price but had Bilstiens on the Rangie and found them great. Incidently I saw an ad in a recent 4WD magazine for a package deal on springs and bilsteins. If I can find it I wil post the detail.

Cheers

Jim

[madrangie]

i now know why pedders springs suck .... but must say when i put a set of 2 inch lowered spring in my xd ute and they sagged after 3 months i was rapped Thanks pedders

[discowhite]

Ive got HD kings all round in my disco. while towing a car trailer with
2 1/2 ton on board they are great, but off road they suck. they are
just to stiff and dont let the wheels articulate. and after only being in
for 2 months they have already settled 20 and 25mm, hope they dont
keep going. 8O

[bigbugga]

I have tuff dog springs and shock's which gave me a 2 inch lift all round.

TSR gave me a hand to fit some spacers under the rear end to stop a bit of bottoming out and level it out a touch as well.

Now I know TSR will hate me for saying it but these springs have done me well.

Ride isnt to stiff and alowe a lot of movment offroad.
proof in the gallery.
I am happy with my choice

[blitz]

My series I disco has an ARB 50mm lift using the heaviest springs they make (at their suggestion) I'm happy with the front as I have a heap of crap hanging off of it, bull bar winch etc, but the back is a different story if I was to do it again I would go for a mid range strength and polly air bags. when the car is full of my kids and their friends to is great but just to heavy when unloaded. I haven't really notice much drop but this could be because it is the heaviest rated springs they sell for Discos.

My shockies are OME and while they are OK I will go for Bilstein or Koni next time around as I have had them on a RR and are much superior. Iteresting comments about the ranchos as I was thinking about them as well because of the incar adjusting kit that can be bought for them.

I also now use plain black rubber bushes as the rest are to hard and can cause damage to other bits.

cheers

[one_iota]

Heavy duty rears must be a pain in the bum. Strap on the kidney belt.

The bloke who does my major services and mods was smiling when I picked up the disco after its lift. He was well pleased with the result. The Kings I used on the rear are soft but I had polyairs installed for heavy loads and towing. This delivers a comfortable ride and adjustable clearance. The articulation is probably compromised but not that I have noticed. I can keep the wheels on the ground and traction is king!

Mind you tyre pressures make a difference as well.

[one_iota]

I noticed on anither forum that in car adjustable air bags and suspension is now illegal in QLD. Rumour or fact. That makes Citroens suspension a no no.

[Phoenix]

Hmmm, quite a few subarus have airbag suspension as well, including some new models I think

[bazzle]

Ive used among others many sets of OMEs on 4bys . Both Discos still have them. No problems.
Ride good, handle well......
Doesnt matter where they are made as long as they are engineered for the task and meet the designers spec.


Bazzle

Opinions are like bum holes.. everyone got their own..

[jf1056]

very interesting all the different combinations, as someone said, opinions are like @#$^% , everyone has one. Rightly so!! Articulation is important to me, along with a comfortable ride. Lifting the car into the heavons does compromise stability to a degree and for me, ground clearance or ramp over is not an issue. Standard ride height is more than adequate for my needs. After 102K's in a '97 300tdi auto that does a LOT of outback touring I have found that standard springs with Bilstein shocks and steering damper are excellent. Even with a full load in the back and towing my off road trailer with 800 litres of diesal on board the old girl sits flat and performs very well on very bad outback roads. Unloaded, the suspension performance is excellent and the originla springs have not sagged despite bullbar, and storage system permanently placed in the back. Hope this gives you another insight as to what people have fitted and the results achieved.