2015 Defender 110 lift kit

[Madbutch]

Looking for advise on a lift kit for my 2015 110 Defender, I live in Papua New Guinea and the roads are horrendous at best , so I’d like something not too firm as most of the driving is on roads full of pot holes.

[Red90]

If you want soft you don’t really want a lift. Why do you want to be higher?

[carpdvl]

Heaps of variables at play here. Price range, driving requirements, alternative options etc

You can go anywhere from some cheap +2" springs and budget shocks all the way up to a full suspension kit something like what Rick at Kingpin Design and Fab offers

Tyres with larger sidewalls will likely help more than a lift for potholes / rough road

I suggest checking out Kingpins page anyway for ideas of what you can do

Keep in mind that some puma defenders don't like much lift as it involves a few other complimentary modifications such as a double cardan front propshaft due to driveline angles, longer brake lines etc etc

[Madbutch]

Heaps of variables at play here. Price range, driving requirements, alternative options etc

You can go anywhere from some cheap +2" springs and budget shocks all the way up to a full suspension kit something like what Rick at Kingpin Design and Fab offers

Tyres with larger sidewalls will likely help more than a lift for potholes / rough road

I suggest checking out Kingpins page anyway for ideas of what you can do

Keep in mind that some puma defenders don't like much lift as it involves a few other complimentary modifications such as a double cardan front propshaft due to driveline angles, longer brake lines etc etc

Just looking at an inch or two lift , I’m currently running pirelli scorpion MTR 265/75r 16 tyres . The roads up here are atrocious so I’m not wanting stiff springs or shocks as I don’t carry heavy loads . Currently the standard suspension is pretty stiff but could be due to the abuse it’s copped from the road conditions. All the shocker bushes are perished and the vehicle has only done 27,000 klms.

[Madbutch]

If you want soft you don’t really want a lift. Why do you want to be higher?

Don’t want soft just don’t want it too firm and back breaking . As for the extra height and clearance our everyday driving here is basically off-road , river crossings, deep wash outs and everything else you can imagine. The main highway to the next town has 3 bridges washed out with crossings through water 50 mts or more.

[mfc]

Standard HD fronts will make up for what you loose with a bar...pick rears to suit the weight you carry.theres several people who get them made up to suit how loaded you’re car is..lr auto in tomastown can get them custom made and dobbinsons aren’t to stiff if you’re carrying a load 9 bout two inches ..the HD or 130 fronts will level up the car with 2” on the back..soft as you can get imho
Good shocks that don’t fade [Koni’s or blisteins]..both will cope with a 2 inch higher spring.
If I was going to raise a defender to get better suspension I’d be looking at gwyn Lewis from wales or lr auto defiantly not kingpin or Other ****ty lift kits like terrafirma etc
If you’re not looking for clearance or to actually increase travel you’ve got about the most usable compliant and softest setup on the market to start with

Performance Suspension Kits (https://lrautomotive.com.au/contents/en-us/d599.html)
GwynLewis4x4.co.uk – Gwyn Lewis 4x4 Products (https://gwynlewis4x4.co.uk/)

Bilsteins will stiffen up the suspension a bit, and won’t fade..konis I find softer however there adjustable ..I find bilseins soak up big potholes and coronations well without fading
Konis are better in real slow stuff set soft..ie monies on an rrc and bilsteins on a defender
Also if you’re in a puma there’s big issues to overcome in lifting them

[martnH]

My setup is
Koni raid heavy track shocks

Donbinsin springs: c51-017 (50 to 80kg assesory
C51-019 (up to 250kg

With helper airbag at the rear.

Tom woods front propshaft

3degress front radius arms from terrafirma

Gwyn Lewis trailing arms.

Good setup I really like it. Springs are not hard. Riders very comfortably

[modman]

As others have said there’s everything from eBay kits through to Les Richmond Automotive for bolt in gear.
Nothing wrong with matched +50mm springs and koni, bilstein shocks.
The next level up would be mounts and remote reservoir shocks from Rick at Kingpin.
You can get stuff from Gwynn Lewis but Rick also makes the same gear in Australia.
Bout time we started to look inwards to what we can manufacture here.......

[DiscoMick]

I left mine standard and just added rear Airbag Man airbags. Gives plenty of scope for varying it.

[Robmacca]

As others have said there’s everything from eBay kits through to Les Richmond Automotive for bolt in gear.
Nothing wrong with matched +50mm springs and koni, bilstein shocks.
The next level up would be mounts and remote reservoir shocks from Rick at Kingpin.
You can get stuff from Gwynn Lewis but Rick also makes the same gear in Australia.
Bout time we started to look inwards to what we can manufacture here.......

Just dropped into see Rick the other day and it's good to how he has grown... Spent some time talking about future suspension for my Puma and Remote Res Shocks, etc but going down this path there's extra costs involved with new front and rear shock mounts... I like the idea of being able to adjust the shock settings to meet the different road/track terrain when touring some of the outback tracks/roads.

Will be trying to save some $$ so I can do this sometime down the future...

[MLD]

why hasn't anyone suggested the cheapest mod of all for rough roads, drop tyre pressure to 26-28psi. use the side wall to complement the coil and shock.

IME the off the shelf lift kits use a firmer rate coil to achieve lift. the manufacturers do that so the coil free length suit factory shocks. for rough roads i'd opt for a softer coil with a shock with adjustable compression and rebound to fine tune.

if you don't need the lift, leave it as is. too many people fit lifted coils because their mate did. i was and still am guilty of that, but my truck is well past normal. Qualifies me to preach with an empty wallet and wisdom of hindsight.