Thread: D2 coils to D3 coils

Make sure you drive an air sprung version,you wont want to know coils again.
I went D2 coils to brand new D4.LOVE IT.
Andrew

Just to add on from the PM mate, The D3 Coiler has the same clearence as the air susp model at on road height, the advantage the air susp has, it has Terain Responce and can go to 50mm over on road height with the press of a button and if it gets stuck at that, the computer senses this and then goes to extended height (another 50mm) to get unstuck, you can also put it in extended mode manually by pressing the button down and holding it down till it does, works really well, trust me I know

The other advantage with TR is you can select different modes, depending on the mode, the computer adjust the throttle responce, how the gearbox and tranny responds, the traction control and ABS, this makes it a better offroad package, of coarse the downside is suspension fault, caused by faulty sensors and compressor failures, which can on rare occasions stop the car dead in it's tracks

With the coiler, the are a number of places that give the coiler a lift, usually 50mm to 65mm, at 65mm over a short period that will settle to around the 50 to 55mm, but as I said, you won't regret a coiler if you go that way.

Baz.

The other big advantage of air is that it maintains the ride height at the setting chosen regardless of load. Hence at on road height under load it will be higher than the same height coiler under load.

I had a TDV6 S with Dobinson 40mm lift in it and replaced it with a D4 SDV6 SE. Anyone that tells you that the air will ride better than aftermarket coil is on the crack pipe. I fully acknowledge the self leveling thing and the lifting at the touch of a button but I would take my D3 over the D4 for ride quality any day of the week. To top it off mine was a manual as well so a very unique vehicle. I believe that it has made its way to Melbourne with the new owner. He was a long term Defender owner so I will hit him up to see if he is happy for me to pass on his details so you can have a chat.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by nelpd96

Anyone that tells you that the air will ride better than aftermarket coil is on the crack pipe.

Oh well. Pass the pipe please.

Seriously though, you are not quite comparing apples with apples. The higher profile tyres on the 17" rims will always give you a better ride than the low profile 19"s. Also the D4's ride was firmed up quite noticeably from the D3.

I can certainly feel the difference between my D3 that ran on 18"s and my D4 running in 19"s. Even bigger difference when I had the 17"s on.

Cheers,
Jon

Originally Posted by jon3950

Oh well. Pass the pipe please.

Seriously though, you are not quite comparing apples with apples. The higher profile tyres on the 17" rims will always give you a better ride than the low profile 19"s. Also the D4's ride was firmed up quite noticeably from the D3.

I can certainly feel the difference between my D3 that ran on 18"s and my D4 running in 19"s. Even bigger difference when I had the 17"s on.

Cheers,
Jon

But that is exactly the point, if you want coils it will be on a D3 with 17" rims. It is the complete package that we are talking about and given that I have owned both feel that I am able to make a comparative assessment. I stand by my remarks above though fully acknowledge that I have not owned a D3 with air though I have a few mates that do and believe that the coils rode better. (disclaimer they also ran 18" rims though)

I have driven in several different coil sprung D3's on occasion, they are not bad, but I actually preferred the comfort and handling quality of the ride in our D2 to be frank.

Driving a D3 with air is just sensational, hard to find anything better, whether it has 17's or 18's fitted makes little difference, as playing with air pressures makes a huge difference in ride quality.
My D4 on the other hand with 20's is pretty ordinary in comparison on bumpy roads but rides so well on well maintained roads. Anyway I have a set of brand new 17's sitting in the garage ready to go for when I finally get sick of the bumps and want to spend more time off road.

I'm sure you are aware that air suspension is more expensive to maintain than a coil suspended D3 but I reckon most would agree it is worth it and TR makes a big difference if your into off roading, I would hazard a guess that most who buy a coiler without TR end up regretting the decision given time.

Originally Posted by nelpd96

But that is exactly the point, if you want coils it will be on a D3 with 17" rims. It is the complete package that we are talking about...

Fair enough. I wasn't questioning your assessment per se, but your post above is implying that the coils ride better than the air. I was just trying to point out that there were other contributory factors to the ride quality.

I found there was a noticeable difference in the ride between 18"s and 17"s on my D3 - better or worse is a matter of opinion.

It is of course somewhat subjective. Personally, I prefer the firmer ride of the D4 anyway.

Cheers,
Jon