Defender stance - just looks?

[El Rey]

Was walking back to the 110 this morning, admiring it from the side - and wondered if Land Rover had any reason to give it that slight stance with the raised rear/lowered front - apart from the fact that it makes it look more purposeful.

[isuzutoo-eh]

Yes, when loaded up to capacity, it sits closer to level than if it had started at level and sunk way below.

[MrLandy]

Yes agree, it's all about load carrying. Mine sits dead level when fully loaded.

[El Rey]

Got it - thanks for the quick answer.

[isuzutoo-eh]

The One Tens had a bum-down attitude at rest, as they had a hydraulic/pneumatic load leveller that pumps up when in motion, which is a far more elegant solution to maintaining ride height despite wildly varying vehicle mass. Unfortunately (depending on your bias of course) Land Rover decided to do away with the load leveller and just fit stiffer coils to Defenders, and the nose-down-when-empty attitude is the result.

[Slunnie]

I'd bet the front springs just sag. Not all LR's are tail up. The Disco is tail down from the factory, unless that's to compensate for fat drivers.

[El Rey]

I'd bet the front springs just sag. Not all LR's are tail up. The Disco is tail down from the factory, unless that's to compensate for fat drivers.

Mine is an end of MY15 that's only been on the road for 6 months.

It's also a 110 which is long enough that the stance might be more noticeable than a 90.

Load allowance makes sense.

[dromader driver]

The real reason is the stance removes the requirement for the rear wing generating a down load found on other high performance vehicles. The down load levels the vehicle at high speed.....:cool:

[DiscoMick]

Mine is sitting level despite having a bullbar and winch on the front. I considered fitting HD front springs but havent bothered. If it's not broke, dont fix it.

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[ProjectDirector]

Mine had nose dived after the bar and winch went on. Now is level with HD springs at front end.

[MrLandy]

Mine is sitting level despite having a bullbar and winch on the front. I considered fitting HD front springs but havent bothered. If it's not broke, dont fix it.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

Is that loaded or empty Mick?

[MrLandy]

Mine had nose dived after the bar and winch went on. Now is level with HD springs at front end.

How is it with HD fronts? Better ride / handling? ...I'm in two minds re front springs, as I only have a bullbar and don't intend getting a winch. It's ok with standards, but iccasionally feels a bit soft in front end... Anyone with HD fronts and bullbar only on Defender 110?

[JoeFriend]

How is it with HD fronts? Better ride / handling? ...I'm in two minds re front springs, as I only have a bullbar and don't intend getting a winch. It's ok with standards, but iccasionally feels a bit soft in front end... Anyone with HD fronts and bullbar only on Defender 110?
I had HD fronts with just a bullbar for a while. No issues at all really, no worse a ride than with the old ones. That being said though, I had put brand new HDs on and the old ones were a bit sagged, so in no way a direct comparison.

[karlz]

How is it with HD fronts? Better ride / handling? ...I'm in two minds re front springs, as I only have a bullbar and don't intend getting a winch. It's ok with standards, but iccasionally feels a bit soft in front end... Anyone with HD fronts and bullbar only on Defender 110?

The HD front springs make a huge difference to handling.

As soon as the bar and winch went on and I had std springs I hated it.
The HD springs returned the car to normal. You'd be crazy not to do it.

[Slunnie]

The HD front springs make a huge difference to handling.

As soon as the bar and winch went on and I had std springs I hated it.
The HD springs returned the car to normal. You'd be crazy not to do it.
Did you also change the shocks?

[MrLandy]

The HD front springs make a huge difference to handling.

As soon as the bar and winch went on and I had std springs I hated it.
The HD springs returned the car to normal. You'd be crazy not to do it.

Thanks Karlz, but I don't have a winch. I've also upgraded to Koni Raids which are pretty firm (and fantastic off road/on corrugations) even on their softest setting.

[vnx205]

The real reason is the stance removes the requirement for the rear wing generating a down load found on other high performance vehicles. The down load levels the vehicle at high speed.....:cool:

Vehicles with less impressive performance than a Defender gain another benefit. I learned this from my father back in about 1955.

His 30CWT Commer truck (top speed 45mph) was fitted with 20" wheels and he had decided to convert to 16" wheels. Fitting the tyres one Sunday afternoon took a little longer than he had planned, so he had to drive it for a week with 16" wheels on the front and 20" on the back.

Some people were silly enough to ask why he had set the vehicle up that way, so he told them that it improved the fuel economy because it meant that the vehicle was always going downhill. :)

It is obvious that the Defenders also get this improvement in fuel economy by having the vehicle look as if it is going downhill all the time.

Ask any Defender driver about the difference between their fuel consumption when the vehicle is empty and the front points down and when it is heavily loaded so that it is no longer pointing downhill.

That extra fuel consumption can only be because of the fact that the vehicle has to travel along level instead of constantly running downhill. :D

[MrLandy]

Vehicles with less impressive performance than a Defender gain another benefit. I learned this from my father back in about 1955.

His 30CWT Commer truck (top speed 45mph) was fitted with 20" wheels and he had decided to convert to 16" wheels. Fitting the tyres one Sunday afternoon took a little longer than he had planned, so he had to drive it for a week with 16" wheels on the front and 20" on the back.

Some people were silly enough to ask why he had set the vehicle up that way, so he told them that it improved the fuel economy because it meant that the vehicle was always going downhill. :)

It is obvious that the Defenders also get this improvement in fuel economy by having the vehicle look as if it is going downhill all the time.

Ask any Defender driver about the difference between their fuel consumption when the vehicle is empty and the front points down and when it is heavily loaded so that it is no longer pointing downhill.

That extra fuel consumption can only be because of the fact that the vehicle has to travel along level instead of constantly running downhill. :D

...:Rolling:

[El Rey]

That extra fuel consumption can only be because of the fact that the vehicle has to travel along level instead of constantly running downhill. :D

Is that why someone told me the other day that it's all downhill for me from now on?

[DiscoMick]

Is that loaded or empty Mick?

Empty, but it has a bullbar and winch up front and drawers and an AGM battery in the back.
I'm really in two minds about fitting HD front springs. I'm not trying to make it sporty (its a Defender) and it does feel soft in the front, but the HDs stiffen the rate from 185 to 225 lb/in and I don't want to make it too stiff and ruin the ride on rough roads.
Maybe I need a ride in a 110 with HD front springs to see what it rides like.

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[Marty90]

When I fitted a winch and bar to my 90 the front dropped so far, the bottom of the flare was almost level with the tyres.I had Lovelles springs fitted wth Bilstein shocks. The springs were raised height,but not HD,front and back.They raised the front about 35mm from stock height and the rear about 50mm.The rear has settled a little and it sits quite level.I'm very happy with the ride and handling,much better in every aspect IMHO.If the rear sags a lot fully loaded I'll be putting in air (helper) bags.

[ProjectDirector]

How is it with HD fronts? Better ride / handling? ...I'm in two minds re front springs, as I only have a bullbar and don't intend getting a winch. It's ok with standards, but iccasionally feels a bit soft in front end... Anyone with HD fronts and bullbar only on Defender 110?



Definetely harsher ride compared to original springs but had to go for these as it was getting a bit low. Also, rides a lot more firmly on the road. Still rides like a barge though.

[karlz]

Did you also change the shocks?

No I didnt change the shocks.
The handling was awful with the std springs (after the bullbar/winch fitted), was almost dangerous imho.
The HD springs raised the front end back to the normal height and the handling was almost identical to what it was prior to the bullbar/winch.

I will add the car was 3 months old from new when I did this.
There were no other warn parts.

[Portal Pat]

My '01 110 wagon has Dobinson's 300 kg. coils in the rear and 130kg. constant weight coils in front. Stance? Yes but perfect with an offroad van hitched and works well loaded or unloaded.Oh, with winch and full bar up front.

[El Rey]

Here's a pic showing my 110's stance.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/10/734.jpg

[DiscoMick]

Mine looks like that normally, but drops a bit at the back with the camper trailer on, so I'm going to add air bags to the rear just to level it when towing.