Classic Range Rover Suspension lift options

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Originally Posted by POD

Totally agree, my second RR had 2" longer coils fitted by a previous owner and had noticeably more difficulty on the same tracks than my first RR that had completely stock suspension.

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The strength of the Rangie suspension is the range of travel, both UP and DOWN. If you add UP by higher springs, you limit the DOWN somewhat, and certainly kill it if the springs are 'stronger'. Articulation is all about the amount of UP of one wheel, compared to the DOWN of the other. THIS is what keeps (at least 3) your wheels on the ground and with similar weight. That last bit is the key to your traction. No traction = Wheelspin, = Going Nowhere

X2 Dougal & POD. Go for an extensive drive or three over the kind of terrain you'l be traversing for 80% of the off-road time... Then do the hairy 20%, you know, 1.6 metre deep ruts on greasy mud along the side of a a 1 in 4 hill towing a loaded trailer, in pouring rain...

Most of our deserts were first traversed by locals in their 2WD pickups running cross-ply tyres, low range was spark plugs out and a crank-handle. They were too smart to bother with the hairy 20% above....

I took mine out to a well-known local boulder-strewn, twisting, narrow, hill climbing route.... Did over half hour of "interesting" progress (quite a few km's before the fuel tank leaked. :o) and let a couple of Tojo's and one Roll-Lux through. All were bouncing, roaring, sliding and carrying on like pork chops at a Bar Mitzva.

Me? Cheap Chinese highway tyres, TWO wheel drive (Transfer box stuffed) and did it in Hi Range. No wheelspin, bottoming out, going sideways or falling off the track...

In short, if money is short... work out what the limits of the Rangie and its driver really are, then work out the most cost-effective work-arounds. This may involve new or bigger wheels, but at least you'll know for sure your few dollars are well-spent...

That's the main differance between Land Rover and Jappy owners. :eek: The other one is... you'll need the money for more repairs and preventative maintenance than for ToyoMitsans...:wasntme:

On the other hand, if you just want the macho look of a tall Rangie on tractor tyres, there's lots of advice here on that and re-shaping and cutting your guards. - and rear doors.

'95 Classic Vogue SE, working EAS (which gives me 2" extra height on demand) and Cruise Control. Rear-Wheel Drive only...

I was recently chatting to John Pouros, the custom vehicles coordinator at 4WD Action. He absolutely loves his Rangie and raves about it. He has done similar to what you're talking about and fitted Landcruiser front springs to his Rangie. I,d need to confirm but likewise he was saying standard Landcruiser springs give a 2" lift and the wreckers can't get rid of them. Likewise the LC 2" spring then give 4" I'm not sure if he used standard fronts in the front and 2" fronts in the rear which should give a level 2" lift.

Likewise, it used to be a common modification with the LR classics (ie. RRC, D1, Def) to fit inverted Landcruiser shock absorbers also, but these need to be mono tubes, not normal gas twin shell or foam shocks as the gas ends up in the wrong part of the shock. Anyway, long travel shocks are easy to get now so you can run shocks to suit the springs and not be limited in the down travel after the lift

The reality however is that the ranges are sprung soft, but I really would debate that they have 50/50 suspension travel. They may do on the rear as Rovers have a lot of bumps top clearance here. The fronts however are a completely different matter, and even when new prior to spring settling hey only have about 2" of bump travel but much more drop. When you articulate the suspension the compressed side just sits on the bumps top while the other side continues to fall away. Lift it and you will get a travel balance closer to 50/50 if that's what you think is ideal. Personally, I think for a tourer you want a lot more than 50% travel in compression and as you become more hard core then it skews the other way tending to want more drop travel. The travel does not have to relate to ride height either.

Also re comfort, even with 2" lifted stiffer springs, you will probably find an increase in comfort purely because you're not jarring on the bumps stops when off road. I recall being in the desert in the disco2 with 2" lift and not long after designing up a 4" lift for it to increase bump travel and comfort. The next trip into the desert the suspension worked with absolute perfection - though shocks are also a big part of the equation. I'd not advise you go that far because it gets complex and expensive.

Reading that you want to fit 33" and 35" tyres immediately tells me that the terrain you want to play in is reasonably rough. The great thing about Rovers on 35" is that you very rarely hook up on the diffs cans will drive most things with ease while others are digging, winching, snatching and having multiple attempts. If you're looking at that type of terrain don't even think about running standard ride heights because you will also need the nose, belly and tail clearance. The ranges have a relatively low CofG and cope with lift better than most in my opinion. I think most of the ranges with 35" tyres have a 2+2" setup as you describe because its cheaper, more problem free and it works. Some over the last couple of years have been going to smaller or no body lifts and bigger spring lifts but again when you go beyond 2" in the suspension it becomes expensive and complex but admittedly you do get better clearance. To address the higher CofG many also widen the wheel track, mostly through offset wheels.

So, if you want to run 35" tyres on a budget, then I think absolutely with what you plan. With those tyres you'll also need to drive carefully and factor in driveline work.

... I stand corrected...:(

Should have made it clearer that I was talking about the relative travel around 'normal' ride height. - Bias that too far for one function generally stuffs things for the other role.
The car is a compromise, the further you move the goal-posts the more it will co$t... which is what I understand you to be concerned about...

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Originally Posted by Slunnie

Reading that you want to fit 33" and 35" tyres immediately tells me that the terrain you want to play in is reasonably rough.

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Or the OP just likes the look of 33-35" tyres or all his mates have 33-35" tyres on hiluxes. I have a mate who was convinced he needed 33 or 35" tyres. Not because he went anywhere that needed more diff clearance, just because he read far too many magazines with pictures of pimped up vehicles.

The other side of the coin. 33-35" tyres require significant driveline upgrades or a very sympathetic driving style.

I run 180 lb/in springs on my rangie, ride height is about an inch higher than original.

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Originally Posted by Dougal

Or the OP just likes the look of 33-35" tyres or all his mates have 33-35" tyres on hiluxes. I have a mate who was convinced he needed 33 or 35" tyres. Not because he went anywhere that needed more diff clearance, just because he read far too many magazines with pictures of pimped up vehicles.

The other side of the coin. 33-35" tyres require significant driveline upgrades or a very sympathetic driving style.

I run 180 lb/in springs on my rangie, ride height is about an inch higher than original.

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True. :lol2:

Actually a Hilux on 35's will probably have more clearance than a Rover on 35's.

Yeah, its interesting when making the comparisons. Rovers dont need tyres as big as Landcruisers or Patrols and they dont need as much lift either. They're just such long vehicles with such big diff nuggets when compared to Land Rovers.

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Originally Posted by Slunnie

True. :lol2:

Actually a Hilux on 35's will probably have more clearance than a Rover on 35's.

Yeah, its interesting when making the comparisons. Rovers dont need tyres as big as Landcruisers or Patrols and they dont need as much lift either. They're just such long vehicles with such big diff nuggets when compared to Land Rovers.

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About 10 years back me in the RRC (29" bfg a/t) and a mate in a series 3 (similar size SAT's) took a drive up a greasy and rutted clay spur.
We got to the top and then took the series back down to pick up the bumper endcap that I flicked off (as you do).
On the way we came across two people in a hilux and a surf.

The surf was seriously stuck after backing/sliding off the track and down a bank (driver error?), the hilux (big tyres, locking diffs, commodore v6 on lpg etc) was sitting waiting for him.

I found it funny at the time that a lifted, locked, gassed and big tyred hilux would go to play on the same tracks as a stock series 3 and 29" open diffed A/T shod RRC.
The surf driver was proof that no matter what you're driving, bad mistakes will get you stuck.

Thanks Slunnie and others,

Thanks for the feedback, im now thinking that running 33" tires might be suitable.

Please confirm this for me (if possible), For a total 2inch spring lift I would need standard 80LC fronts and the front and 2" lifted 80LC fronts for the rear??

Long travel shocks are something I will work out at the same time.

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Originally Posted by oversite

Thanks Slunnie and others,

Thanks for the feedback, im now thinking that running 33" tires might be suitable.

Please confirm this for me (if possible), For a total 2inch spring lift I would need standard 80LC fronts and the front and 2" lifted 80LC fronts for the rear??

Long travel shocks are something I will work out at the same time.

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My apologies, the LC front springs give 3" lift on a Disco1, and the rears are standard length also, but a longer spring for a different model Landcruiser.

Check this thread out from Bush65. He is an incredibly geeky engineer and really knows his stuff. He knows more about Rovers and engineering that the rest of the forum put together and he puts this into practice with some incredible projects - all of the tricky things Ive thought about, he has done. I've met John a couple of times, including in the desert where he was touring also - his vehicle gets used. You will also never meet a nicer person.

Here is the low down

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-...sco-1-a-2.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by oversite

Thanks Slunnie and others,

Thanks for the feedback, im now thinking that running 33" tires might be suitable.

Please confirm this for me (if possible), For a total 2inch spring lift I would need standard 80LC fronts and the front and 2" lifted 80LC fronts for the rear??

Long travel shocks are something I will work out at the same time.

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If you are willing to consider a 32" tyre (235/85R16) then all lift considerations vanish. You've just got some guards to clearance and steering-stops to adjust.
Some even claim they fit with no mods. Probably on vehicles which have 'self clearanced' the guards already.

I always end up running a size smaller tyres than can actually fit as I need clerance for snow chains occasionally. My next mud/snow/slush tyres (I run A/T's for dry stuff) will be 215/85R16.

My RRC is a different animal than what you are after as it is primarily used off road. I have 33" tyres on 15x8 rims and had to cut the wheel arches with a 2+2. I have also done 3 rear diffs as the standard gears don't like 33" rubber the way I drive. I have just sourced GQ diffs and am in the process of grafting them in. As this is not a daily or a tourer, it doesn't bother me that the rear tail shaft will run about 15 degrees off centre from the transfer case to the rear diff.

Suspension wise, I had 2" 80 coils in the rear with 2" RR coils with a spacer in the front. It lost a bit of articulation due to too short a shock, but I rotated the top mount of the rear shock forward on the holes so that the rear hole of the mount now goes through the front hole on the chassis. This gives me an extra 40mm of down travel and better articulation. I will be fitting 3" 80 coils in the rear and the rear 2" RR coils up front, this will give me more suspension height and body clearance for the 33's, as they still touch even after cutting the arches back about 20mm and rolling them.

I will also be fitting rose joints to the A frame and raduis rods to get my articulation so it should be pretty capable once I have it finished.