Suspension upgrade Defender 110 Wagon MY14

[vjvamp73]

Hi all,
First time posting on the forum, hoping for some guidance. Don't have much of a mechanical background.[happycry]
I have done a few off road trips the longest being Victoria High Country in my Defender 110 for 2 weeks with factory fitted suspension and tires. I
have a Hannibal roof rack, side awning and RTT, drawer at the back , 60L water tank , TJM bull bar, rock sliders and winch. I have removed my rear seats.
I am planning to do the Canning Stock route mid 2019 and hopefully lots more trips around the country.
Did quite a bit reading in the forum with regards to suspension upgrades and got confused. I
think the suspension needs upgrading as the weight of the Defender with a full tank of fuel ( 70L - I will need to fit a long range tank) was 2.6T.

Any advise on the following is much appreciated:
1) Do I change both the shocks and springs? [bighmmm]
2) Read in the forum that the Puma Defender doesn't handle well with suspension lifts?
3) Lots of mention of Koni and Bilstein in the forums, any personal experience related to off roading around the country?
4) Any place that I should head to for advise around Newcastle, Central Coast or Sydney? Looking to get a long range tank fitted at the same time as well - recommendations welcome.
Thanks guys.:BigThumb:

[Vern]

May be speak to someone like Davis Performance Landies perhaps.
I would be getting each corner of the vehicle weighed, and choose springs from there. Speak to Kings or Dobinson springs.
As for shocks, i prefer koni over bilsteins, i just find they ride nicer.

[DiscoMick]

Welcome to Defender world.
Mine has the Long Ranger 120 litre tank, which is excellent, and gives a range of about 1000 kms. Strong too.
I have left the springs unchanged, but have added rear Airbag Man airbags so I can level up the back when towing. Keeping 10 lbs in the airbags also tightens up the rear body roll a bit.
Some people fit the LR HD front springs from the 130, which are the same as the HD front springs for the 110, and say positive things about them. I think the spring rate increases from 180 lb/ft to 220. I dont want to make the ride too hard, so I've left mine standard so far. Defenders are not sports cars intended to go around corners fast, theyre designed to give a comfortable ride over bad roads for long distances.
I have no plan to lift my Defender. It is already plenty high enough except for the most extreme situations, so lifting it would just make it roll more, for little benefit, I reckon. Going up over 50mm stuffs up the drivetrain and requires expensive upgrades.
My original shocks are on my list for replacement after 115,000 ks, but I havent decided which way to go. Konis and Bilsteins are said to be great, but a set is also twice the price of other options, such as OME, Tough Dog, Ironman etc. Are they worth the extra money? Only you can decide.
As for weight, I have an ARB bullbar, Ironman winch, rear drawers, a fridge, a solar panel on the roof and a long range fuel tank, and its all good.
Hope that helps.

[p38arover]

In Newcastle, try All Four x 4 in Kotara

https://www.allfourx4.com.au/epages/shop.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/allfourx4/Categories/Service_Centre

[Zeros]

Welcome... Defender suspension is simple.

Don't change springs
- Your Defender already has a one tonne payload.
- In my opinion, if a Defender is sagging at the rear, it is too heavy. ...If you really need more rear support put airbags in the springs.
- Defenders already have excellent clearance and you don't want to change drive shaft angles - potential problems with uni-joints and vibration.

Shock Absorbers
- Get the best you can afford. IMO either Koni or Bilstein. Otherwise standard genuine Defender shocks are good quality.
- Koni Raids are the best shock absorbers on the market, but they are expensive.
- OME and others simply don't last as long.
- Any suspension place can fit your shocks, or you can do it yourself if you're inclined.

[vjvamp73]

May be speak to someone like Davis Performance Landies perhaps.
I would be getting each corner of the vehicle weighed, and choose springs from there. Speak to Kings or Dobinson springs.
As for shocks, i prefer koni over bilsteins, i just find they ride nicer.
Thanks Damien. Will be in Sydney in a couple of weeks, so will check out DPL for sure.

[vjvamp73]

Welcome to Defender world.
Mine has the Long Ranger 120 litre tank, which is excellent, and gives a range of about 1000 kms. Strong too.
I have left the springs unchanged, but have added rear Airbag Man airbags so I can level up the back when towing. Keeping 10 lbs in the airbags also tightens up the rear body roll a bit.
Some people fit the LR HD front springs from the 130, which are the same as the HD front springs for the 110, and say positive things about them. I think the spring rate increases from 180 lb/ft to 220. I dont want to make the ride too hard, so I've left mine standard so far. Defenders are not sports cars intended to go around corners fast, theyre designed to give a comfortable ride over bad roads for long distances.
I have no plan to lift my Defender. It is already plenty high enough except for the most extreme situations, so lifting it would just make it roll more, for little benefit, I reckon. Going up over 50mm stuffs up the drivetrain and requires expensive upgrades.
My original shocks are on my list for replacement after 115,000 ks, but I havent decided which way to go. Konis and Bilsteins are said to be great, but a set is also twice the price of other options, such as OME, Tough Dog, Ironman etc. Are they worth the extra money? Only you can decide.
As for weight, I have an ARB bullbar, Ironman winch, rear drawers, a fridge, a solar panel on the roof and a long range fuel tank, and its all good.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Mick. Most helpful and sensible advice. Was thinking abt the Long Ranger tank as well.[smilebigeye]

[vjvamp73]

Welcome... Defender suspension is simple.

Don't change springs
- Your Defender already has a one tonne payload.
- In my opinion, if a Defender is sagging at the rear, it is too heavy. ...If you really need more rear support put airbags in the springs.
- Defenders already have excellent clearance and you don't want to change drive shaft angles - potential problems with uni-joints and vibration.

Shock Absorbers
- Get the best you can afford. IMO either Koni or Bilstein. Otherwise standard genuine Defender shocks are good quality.
- Koni Raids are the best shock absorbers on the market, but they are expensive.
- OME and others simply don't last as long.
- Any suspension place can fit your shocks, or you can do it yourself if you're inclined.
Keeping it simple seems the way to go. Cheers[wink11]

[Baytown]

Hi fellas.
I was just contacted by ARB Innisfail, to advise that the new ARB Remote Reservoir BP51 shocks are now available for Defenders. They have an long travel unit as well.
May be worth considering when shocks are next required.
The benefit of ARBistheir support network should we need them.
Best wishes all.

Ken

[DiscoMick]

Thanks. Price?

[Baytown]

Thanks. Price?

Sorry Mick, they didn’t say when they left the message.
Ill inquire about the cost with an Tassie ARB agent and get back.

Ken

[disco 300]

May be speak to someone like Davis Performance Landies perhaps.
I would be getting each corner of the vehicle weighed, and choose springs from there. Speak to Kings or Dobinson springs.
As for shocks, i prefer koni over bilsteins, i just find they ride nicer.Hi Vern
I have a tdi 110 with a 2" lift and heavy duty springs. Not sure what the rate of the springs are but they are too hard for my liking.
I also want to go back to standard ride height and possibly standard load rate springs though I tend to agree with Disco Mick's comments on standard springs ( I also have bought a set of Konis raids that I will fit when I buy new Springs)
Could you please elaborate on your comment on weighing each corner of the vehicle to decide on what rate of spring to purchase, ie how to weigh each corner and how to use that information to decide on spring rate as my defer has a long ranger tank plus a 45 litre side tank and reasonably heavy rear draws that I always keep loaded with tools and recovery gear. I have an ARB bullbar on the front and intend to add a winch.
I'm looking for a comfortable ride but you have got me thinking I should at least go for springs a little bit harder than standard rate. I also intend to add air bags in the rear springs.
Looking forward to your comments
PS I hope this isn't high jacking the thread.
I'm not really sure about posting edicate.
Cheers.

[Zeros]

I run stock standard springs with Koni Raids on my 110. Excellent ride. Anything firmer would be too much. I would consider HD fronts if I had a winch, but not necessary with just a bullbar IME .

[disco 300]

I run stock standard springs with Koni Raids on my 110. Excellent ride. Anything firmer would be too much. I would consider HD fronts if I had a winch, but not necessary with just a bullbar IME .Excellent ride. Thanks. That's what I'm looking for.
Cheers

[jon3950]

In my opinion, if a Defender is sagging at the rear, it is too heavy. ...If you really need more rear support put airbags in the springs.

An interesting premise. I’m a great believer in travelling as lightly as possible and I agree with your comments, but loaded up for a trip I lose about 20-25mm height in the rear. With the bar and winch I’ve lost a similar amount at the front.

We travel two up and carry around 200kg in the rear and probably another 50kg on the roof. I’ve fitted a drawer and have a fridge. On the roof I’ve got a Rhino platform and an awning. We sleep in Bunkers but my back won’t let me sleep on the ground anymore so the old hiking tent and Thermarests have been retired. We don’t carry much else other than food, water and clothes. Whilst this setup is not the lightest I’ve travelled with, I don’t think its fair to say that is too heavy.

With this load the standard rear spring rate is about right, but it sits a little low.

On our last trip, we added another 100kg in extra fuel and water. I could have done with a little more stiffness in the rear as it was hitting the bump stops on a few occasions climbing the dunes. Getting the 20mm back would have been a big help with this. Also, at 70k the shocks are getting a little tired and are up for replacement.

The standard front spring rate is still good with the added weight. However the standard springs are progressive and once they are down 20mm they basically at the same rate as the heavy duty springs, which are linear.

So I’m in the process of adding a set of airbags to the rear and HD springs to the front, as well as replacing the shocks. My aim in doing this is to keep everything as it is now but get back up to standard ride height.

Cheers,
Jon

[disco 300]

An interesting premise. I’m a great believer in travelling as lightly as possible and I agree with your comments, but loaded up for a trip I lose about 20-25mm height in the rear. With the bar and winch I’ve lost a similar amount at the front.

We travel two up and carry around 200kg in the rear and probably another 50kg on the roof. I’ve fitted a drawer and have a fridge. On the roof I’ve got a Rhino platform and an awning. We sleep in Bunkers but my back won’t let me sleep on the ground anymore so the old hiking tent and Thermarests have been retired. We don’t carry much else other than food, water and clothes. Whilst this setup is not the lightest I’ve travelled with, I don’t think its fair to say that is too heavy.

With this load the standard rear spring rate is about right, but it sits a little low.

On our last trip, we added another 100kg in extra fuel and water. I could have done with a little more stiffness in the rear as it was hitting the bump stops on a few occasions climbing the dunes. Getting the 20mm back would have been a big help with this. Also, at 70k the shocks are getting a little tired and are up for replacement.

The standard front spring rate is still good with the added weight. However the standard springs are progressive and once they are down 20mm they basically at the same rate as the heavy duty springs, which are linear.

So I’m in the process of adding a set of airbags to the rear and HD springs to the front, as well as replacing the shocks. My aim in doing this is to keep everything as it is now but get back up to standard ride height.

Cheers,
JonThanks for your very detailed input.
What you have said in your post are just the kind of things I've been considering.

[disco 300]

Lots of good advice on this forum hey vjvamp73 !

[vjvamp73]

Lots of good advice on this forum hey vjvamp73 !

Definitely Disco 300! Really detailed and sensible info. Thanks all[smilebigeye]

[DiscoMick]

I paid for aluminum rather than steel drawers from ORS (Off Road Systems) because they were about 15 kilos lighter than steel. Doesn't sound much, but it adds up. Very happy with the drawers