A weighty issue, better springs at std. height?

[alien]

G'day troups,
Been thinking about this for a liitle while and watching all the spring threads for D2's.. As posted on another thread here is my setup..

I have a full lentgh steped steel roof rack, 4 legs each side with braces to each pair (TJM).
On rack...Front (lower).. 4.5Kg gas bottle and holder, 20Ltr water (Full or empty only).
Rear.. 2 swags,shade cloth ground sheet, Oztent(3 man).
Side.. High lift and shovel.
Inside.. (timber shelf and cage combo),
Usual tools, 5Ltr oil, recovery gear,20Ltr water, stove, cooking gear, food, fridge, 2 sleeping bags and matres's, cloths(4 people 4 days),4 chairs, 1 table and day back pack(1st aid ect).

Now heres the sums..;) Loaded for trip..
Gross..shade short off 3ton.
front axle....1.3ton (Bull bar with no winch fitted(To go back on,36kg.))
Rear axle.....1.96ton.
This was with 3 adults and 1 child w/end just gone(Melbourne cup 2009).
weight distribution feels good, Higher centere of gravity is noticable but only at highway speeds in tight quick corners, off road negligable(but I drive to suit).
Only option to loose weight is to loose pasengers and cloths,beding, food and water to suit.( At 23 he should have his own Landy;)).

I threw her over the weigh bridge tonight as it's in daily mode..
Gross...2.44 with no one inside.
Add family..2.75 ton
In this mode I leave all my tools, recovery gear, stove, oils ect, 20Ltr water,and the fridge is empty(If I want to play it's all in there:)).

So I know it's saged thanks to http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-2/79076-d2-stock-suspension-heights.html?highlight=gaurd.

OK.. so heres the what I'm thinking,GMV in book 2.8ton but i'll live with the extra if the springs take it.
Constant load springs and shocks to suit but has any one had problems at standard to 30mm lift?
I have 265/75/R16 tyres and happy with the diff lift they give:D
I have only ever done one trip were ramp over angle was a problem and it was in a 4B with lower sills and side steps, removed steps and no more issue.
With the roof rack ect. I don't want to go to 50mm lift unless you think it's worth it.
I'm not a big fan of lift for lifts sake, it's usually a diff crunch problem from what I've seen.

As a side issue thinking of hiring a caravan or camper about every 3-4 years also so add towball weight of up to 150kg to my 2.44 and people=2.9ton.

Thanks for taking the time to read my waffle and any input to this.

Cheers, Kyle.

[dmdigital]

On a D2 the OME coils will only give you about 30-40mm lift tops. I replaced my D2's with these to stiffen it up. Having looked around a lot for non-lifted coils for my Defender I can tell you it's actually easier to get 30-60mm suspension lifts than it is to get 0-30mm ones that stiffen the back end. For some reason all the coil suppliers think we want to lift our vehicles:confused:

[Slunnie]

That height is common. Have you looked at Polyairs as an option?

[Ean Austral]

Gday Kyle,
I have OME springs in mine and its not lifted but sits higher than standard if that make sense..Im happy with how it sits whether loaded or unloaded I dont have the numbers of the springs with me as im still on the boat but think the front was 150 and rear 280, but im sure others will correct them, but thats from memory.
I fitted polyairs to the rear and have been happy with the result.When we go camping SWMBO lives by the rule that if there is 1 spare ounce of room either on the roofrack or inside then we can fit more in, even if its something we wont use it comes along.
That plus 2 adults and 2 teenage girls and...Do I really ned to say more...

Dont know if i've helped much, but thats my set-up..

Cheers Ean

[Panya]

Kyle not sure if it helps but: I have a D2 with SLS in the rear. 480 HtG rear, 490 HtG front. Standard springs, 115K on them and had started to hit bumpstops every time I went over road bumps. So after reading many threads (and deciding not much in the way of choice here) put in standard Kings based on catalogue KRFS-06. Front HtG measurement went to 530mm! Scratch head, remeasure. Still 530 mm. So I got a 40 mm lift on standards! Even given the old springs were pooped I am now above standard height according to Slunnie's most excellent post. Go figure...! So the problem now is the rear. Fiddled with Nanocom, have set height so HtG is 520mm (ie same difference as before 10 mm between the two...) Am wondering if I need to get a 1" spacer or something in the rear so I can let my bags down a bit! So even a "standard" replacement coil may give you more lift than you thought!

[scarry]

Same as Panya,i put Kings standards in my fronts as the olds were sagged badly,& it came up heaps.Mine is coil rears,so i then put Kings standards in the rear,the vehicle empty rides around level,but are to soft for the weight you want to carry.With just two of us,on long trip,they only just do the job.



Both Slunnie & JC & others have said you need around 320lbs in rear if your gonna do a lot of fully loaded touring.The Kings i have are around 260lbs approx.

I have also noticed lately that the Kings fronts have sagged slightly at the front already.:(

[Panya]

Funny thing is when you stack the old spring against the King before install the King is shorter also...

[crash]

If it is a V8 you could stick the coils from a TD5 in as they are a higher rated spring.

[alien]

Looks like lift might not be an option;) even at std replacment thank Ean.
I went out yesterday for a pre trip recon and found as per Panya's post it's bottoming out in my std trim:mad:
So armed with the information from here and outher threads it's a choice of OME or Lovells (Kings out,thanks scary).

Still not shore about the polly air bags, simmilar to air shockers of the past.
Looks like a hybred spring/airbag thing to me, I would think you'd want one or the other, the polly would be doing the work and not the spring(cats in the hen house now).

Thanks for your input troups.

Edit...TD5 auto

[Graeme]

Still not shore about the polly air bags, simmilar to air shockers of the past.
Looks like a hybred spring/airbag thing to me, I would think you'd want one or the other, the polly would be doing the work and not the spring(cats in the hen house now).
I found airbag inserts with my HD std height springs quite satisfactory for carrying heavy loads on the road, but wasn't impressed with the bounce off-road. Letting the bags almost right down and having less bump-stop clearance allowed the springs and shocks to work over the undulations, giving a much more controlled and pleasant ride.

[alien]

Fitted OME heavy duty springs (constant rate 40mm lift) and "nitrocharger sports" shokies(latest upgraded ones allegedly) today:D

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/71.jpg (http://s883.photobucket.com/albums/ac32/aliend2/Disco2%20and%20modifications/?action=view&current=PICT1634.jpg) https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/72.jpg (http://s883.photobucket.com/albums/ac32/aliend2/Disco2%20and%20modifications/?action=view&current=PICT1638.jpg) (more pics in sig. link)
Road tested before fitting new steering damper and sits well on both blacktop and dirt.
Play time tommorow to check flex and tail shaft to x-member clearance.
I'll ree meashure after settling on this run:)


For any one interested heres the rough measurments...
Started using this post from Slunnie as my base point.
"The normal measuring method is from the middle of the hub to the underside of the wheelarch - ie hub to guard measurement.

Hub to guard specs are:
Front 485 - 515mm, with almost all delivered at 485mm
Rear coilers 468 - 498mm with almost all delivered at about 470mm.
__________________
Cheers
Slunnie from Simba "

Front before..467/450
Front after....520/525...lifted 53/75(@20 from std)
Rear before...465/467
Rear after.....530/535...lifted 65/68(@50 from std)

Now has the back up slightly look that it had when I got it:)
Front Radius arm now sits level again and the rear one slops to the diff..

Thanks for your input guys.

[Urban Panzer]

I fitted OME 779's on the front of mine (SLS spacers on rear) to cope with the winch and bull bar (eventually) very happy how it sits now, and seems to be better on road than it ever was !!.......even comparing to the genuine Land Rover winch springs I did have on there for less than a year :angel:

[adonuff]

Hi Kyle
looks good, you will proberly get over the 3 tonne gross now !:D