Defender 90 2015 Suspension upgrades

[lpmb]

Chaps. I need some experienced input please.

I have a 2nd hand 2015 Defender 90. I purchased it with aftermarket non-adjustable Koni shocks front and rear installed, plus the previous owner had rear air bags installed as he used to do a lot of towing. (manual inflation).

I know the short wheel base of this car does nothing for ride comfort and that possibly there is nothing that I can do to improve the ride over and above the existing shocks.

I've been pointed towards Bilstein shocks, but my mechanic feels they are unnecessary as my current shocks are functional.

I'm also confused as to why a suspension upgrade wouldn't upgrade the coils as well as the shocks.

At the end of the day, it's an extremely hard ride on my regional roads and tracks so I'm wondering if this is just something I have to accept, or are there solutions that are widely accepted as vastly superior to my current setup? I don't have an unlimited budget to address this problem.

Thanks in advance

[TonyC]

Hi there, and welcome to AULRO,

There are so many variables in suspension set up that make answering your question very hard.

What do you want out of the 90?

Is it loaded? Empty? Towing? Do you want on road manners, or off road flex? Lift or standard ride hight?

There are many springs available for Defenders, as well as Disco 1 and RR Classic that will fit a 90.

Does you mechanic know Defenders? Or a general mechanic?

Knowing were you are would help.

LRA in Melbourne have a big selection of springs, if you go with them and happy, they will let you swap, they sell both Bilstein and Koni.

Les Richmond Automotive (https://lrautomotive.com.au)

Coil Springs (https://lrautomotive.com.au/contents/en-us/d665.html)


Tony

[lpmb]

Fair call, Tony. Not enough information provided by me.

I'm in northern NSW. Many of the sealed roads are just rubbish following years of rain and neglect, as are the dirt roads into my property.

The Defender is primarily empty, unless I have passengers.

It can be used for towing occasionally, but not caravans etc (more like taking zero turns in for service on a trailer etc). I'd probably leave the airbags in-situ to assist with this.

I'd like the overall ride to be less tooth-rattling / bone jarring. I guess that translates to on-road manners, and less of my spine being hit with a sledge hammer across potholes or rough road.

I have no intention of proper off roading or lifting the vehicle, it's my main run-around in fairly rubbish road conditions, but one that I'd like to preserve!

Mech is a Land Rover specialist and can fit anything I choose. I might even be allowed to watch.





Hi there, and welcome to AULRO,

There are so many variables in suspension set up that make answering your question very hard.

What do you want out of the 90?

Is it loaded? Empty? Towing? Do you want on road manners, or off road flex? Lift or standard ride hight?

There are many springs available for Defenders, as well as Disco 1 and RR Classic that will fit a 90.

Does you mechanic know Defenders? Or a general mechanic?

Knowing were you are would help.

LRA in Melbourne have a big selection of springs, if you go with them and happy, they will let you swap, they sell both Bilstein and Koni.

Les Richmond Automotive (https://lrautomotive.com.au)

Coil Springs (https://lrautomotive.com.au/contents/en-us/d665.html)


Tony

[TonyC]

Hi,

Are you sure it has stock springs?

Here is a list of Land Rover springs

land rover spring specifications (http://www.red90.ca/rovers/springinfo.html)

A Defender 90 uses the same diameter front and rear, and the same as a Disco 1 and RR Classic.

Defender 110's a d 130's use a larger diameter rear spring, fronts are the same

If you look through the list you will see RR and Disco 1 spring are softer the Defender springs, you could use springs from one of those.

I would give LRA a ring and see what they say, both springs and Koni V Bilstein.

Tony

[simonfish]

Don't forget your tyres, and tyre pressures, if you have a harsh ride.

I recently purchased a MY15 D90, and it had the original continental tyres (9years old !) , the ride was harsh, I put new tyres on, and the tyre guy even called me out the back to show me how hard the rubber on the old tyres was.

With new tyres, and tyre pressure set to what I use the vehicle for, the ride was noticeably 'softer' , less harsh.

Maybe check your tyre age and tyre pressure, that might help a bit.

[POD]

The airbags may well be contributing to the harsh ride, they prevent the coils working properly. I'd probably start by removing them. For your stated use you probably won't need them.

[lpmb]

I was told by the manufacturer to leave a little bit of air in them and leave them in situ. (5-8psi). They do help levelling out the car when towing so I'm not 100% keen on total removal.


The airbags may well be contributing to the harsh ride, they prevent the coils working properly. I'd probably start by removing them. For your stated use you probably won't need them.

[V8Ian]

Using airbags to level an overloaded car, is masking the primary problem.