Thread: ACE and 2"+ Front Springs

Just a thought, I noticed a big difference between ace cornering feel from pre bull bar to after.

Its like the extra weight up front makes it feel a bit skitty when changing direction from turn to turn.

Hard to explain, but the missus hates it

Originally Posted by RRT

Maybe I think too much! Trying to decide on one of the last pieces for my D2 and that is the front springs.

Love ACE and I have only driven onroad at the moment but the thought of decoupled bars on the track gives me a grin. Standard the springs are relatively soft and then it goes all firm around corners and sits flat wow, compared to the D1 Tdi which feels like I need to have skid plates on my shoulder (but I might add is mighty in the bush - Dobinson 2" all round, but dont know the 'rate'.

Interested in what others have put on the front (putting back the SLS in the rear with 2"spacers and Conti's) as to spring rates and how to maximize the droop ACE should give for traction, ohh have 3+ Terrafirma shocks as well.

As to the hardware up front have MMC alloy bar and warn 9500 (all up in the air re wire or rope) but will be putting both batteries in the front corner and am fabricating a set up so the ECU will sit atop these without the need to relocate it elsewhere. Hence all the weight which I estimate is around 80-90KG will be forward of the wheels.

Logic, well mine anyway, tells me a hard spring will force its way down harder giving better traction but I still want compliance and soft, not Cadillac soft, but sort of Land Rover Discovery softness with the comfort it entails.

Looking at the springs ads, they tell me hard medium and soft but these to me are as meaningful as vapour water ice.

Am I just missing it but is there a company that makes a compound rate spring with the initial compliance that still allows for the benefit of minimizing bottoming out and shoves the wheel down when needed, sort of Utopia if you know what I mean!

Regarding ACE you might want to get longer anti roll bar links - front D2 links in the back and D3 links in the front. source: TF220 and TF220HD extended/longer Anti Roll Bar Links

Although it works fine even without them (just with a shorter drag link lifespan).

Originally Posted by pojir

Regarding ACE you might want to get longer anti roll bar links - front D2 links in the back and D3 links in the front. source: TF220 and TF220HD extended/longer Anti Roll Bar Links

Although it works fine even without them (just with a shorter drag link lifespan).

Thanks for the advice! Does this actually aid the articulation / control or is more a service issue? That asked, still makes a lot of sense to increase the height of the linkss


Love this test of the ACE against the others on the road, still for people who have never experienced the 'flat' cornering will never understand LOL


Land Rover Discovery II .Active Corner Enhancement.ns.wmv - YouTube

Originally Posted by RRT

the thought of decoupled bars on the track gives me a grin.

Just wire up a switch to turn the ACE off.

Originally Posted by RRT

Interested in what others have put on the front (putting back the SLS in the rear with 2"spacers and Conti's) as to spring rates and how to maximize the droop ACE should give for traction, ohh have 3+ Terrafirma shocks as well.

I run, and recommend the Les Richmond Automotive White Tiger springs, you can exchange them until you have the perfect height - I suggest selecting springs after everything else is done so that you have your intended weight and distribution there to work with.
I also run custom 1" front spring spacers and 2.75" rear spacers to achieve an overall 3" suspension lift. There's a number of other components also altered to suit this setup too though so that it all works properly without issue.

Originally Posted by RRT

ohh have 3+ Terrafirma shocks as well.

Get rid of and get some decent shock absorbers.

Why not just get an custom 3inch spring?

Originally Posted by RRT

Maybe I think too much! Trying to decide on one of the last pieces for my D2 and that is the front springs.

Love ACE and I have only driven onroad at the moment but the thought of decoupled bars on the track gives me a grin. Standard the springs are relatively soft and then it goes all firm around corners and sits flat wow, compared to the D1 Tdi which feels like I need to have skid plates on my shoulder (but I might add is mighty in the bush - Dobinson 2" all round, but dont know the 'rate'.

Interested in what others have put on the front (putting back the SLS in the rear with 2"spacers and Conti's) as to spring rates and how to maximize the droop ACE should give for traction, ohh have 3+ Terrafirma shocks as well.

As to the hardware up front have MMC alloy bar and warn 9500 (all up in the air re wire or rope) but will be putting both batteries in the front corner and am fabricating a set up so the ECU will sit atop these without the need to relocate it elsewhere. Hence all the weight which I estimate is around 80-90KG will be forward of the wheels.

Logic, well mine anyway, tells me a hard spring will force its way down harder giving better traction but I still want compliance and soft, not Cadillac soft, but sort of Land Rover Discovery softness with the comfort it entails.

Looking at the springs ads, they tell me hard medium and soft but these to me are as meaningful as vapour water ice.

Am I just missing it but is there a company that makes a compound rate spring with the initial compliance that still allows for the benefit of minimizing bottoming out and shoves the wheel down when needed, sort of Utopia if you know what I mean!

In terms of maximising droop, spring rates wont really alter this as the shock will top out. As you up the spring rate, its more the uptravel that you will lose when articulating. I don't know what the lengths are on the 3+ Terrafirma shocks, but my assumption is that they have a longer open length and if they're plus 3" then I'm also assuming that they needed longer brake and ABS line and needed the Xmember under the front proshaft spaced down or removed also. A harder spring wont give better traction for offroading, unlike on a race track where this has more to do with body control and weight transfer, offroading the softer springs will maintain more even weight on all of the wheels which will give better traction. The comfort however is largely controlled by the shocks rather than the springs. What you will feel in harshness (or not) has more to do with the bump shock rate. With all of the weight up front you really need to be in the territory of about 220-230lb/in otherwise despite spring scragging they wont maintain ride height and you will lose your lift after a year or so - this is beyond normal spring settling. There are a few spring manufacturers that make progressive rate springs, normally just for the rear though, where the spring at empty ride height will have a lower spring rate and it ramps up as load is added. Not always, but generally you can see a progressive spring by the pitch of the coils getting closer towards the top of the coil.

Originally Posted by Discosux

Just a thought, I noticed a big difference between ace cornering feel from pre bull bar to after.

Its like the extra weight up front makes it feel a bit skitty when changing direction from turn to turn.

Hard to explain, but the missus hates it

It may be hitting the bumpstops.

Originally Posted by pojir

Regarding ACE you might want to get longer anti roll bar links - front D2 links in the back and D3 links in the front. source: TF220 and TF220HD extended/longer Anti Roll Bar Links

Although it works fine even without them (just with a shorter drag link lifespan).

Just note, that if you do run rear links up front you will also need to run 50mm bumpstop spacers at the rear to prevent the ACE ram crashing into the Xmember and the floor of the vehicle. If the vehicle doesn't become twitchy and flighty then don't do this mod - this is what the mod was actually designed to correct. Also, only use genuine parts here for strength and durability.