Thread: D3 Fraser Island disappointment

For sand you are better on HT rather than AT tyres - the more aggresive tyres dig holes quicker.
It's all about the pressures not only creating a bigger footprint but also giving the ability for the tyres to deform more easily to roll over the lumpy bits rather than "bulldoze" up the soft sand in front of the tyre - think like a runabout boat when it gets up in the plane up on top rather than pushing a wall of water in front.
Doesn't help with underbody clearance on really deep ruts (same problem I had with our freelander 2)

Meken until you need to pull out of deep wheel ruts..then chunky is good otherwise you have to slow down a lot and power out. I prefer AT overall for sand.

Cheers

Originally Posted by shamirj

would the 265x65x18 be much taller then mine, currently on 265x60x18 AT. obviously the more aggressive tyres suitable for sand would work much better then my AT. i think i would need a much taller tyre if possible if this is only marginally taller. cheers

265/65 vs 265/60 is 801mm vs 775mm diameter, a difference of 26mm. So the total effective lift you'd gain is 13mm by using the bigger tyres.


Combination of a 50mm spring lift and bigger tyres will make a difference. And as some have previously mentioned that you would be able to run a bigger tyre than those with air suspension as the risk of a suspension fault and having it drop to the stops is eliminated with the coiler

Originally Posted by shamirj

hi all,

how do i achieve a D3 susp or body lift. not sure body lift available or permitted either.


2inch lifts are available for D3 but this will not alter the undercarriage clearance just the available space between top of tyre and guard? what would i need? please don't say a air susp D3 or D4. thx

Body lift is pointless unless used for the purpose of fitting bigger tyres to fit into the guards. I don't think its a legal option for cars with stability control and side airbags etc.....


2" lift will raise the undercarriage clearance by the same amount of the suspension lift

A 2" lift on a coiler may also affect the life of the CV joints,as the diff is attached to the body.

You have a heavy truck. So clearance and tyres are the key. You need to go as tall on the profile as you can to get a long tyre footprint and to increase clearance. So you are going about it the right way.

Cheers

Shamirj, in your photo your car looks very low. It looks about the same as mine in access mode, let alone off road mode. Also, with air, the car is maintained at the same height no matter what the load. Any load in the coiler will lower it even further than the unloaded condition. All this means that you would need a very large lift to get even close to what the air suspension gives you in off road height.

thx to all replies so far.

yes it is very low, the vehicle had minor things in the back not what i would call loaded. mainly clothing and some food, heaviest item the fridge and lightweight drawers.

its becoming apparent that if a D3/4 with air susp has 90mm max lift then i need 2inch lift + 2inch taller tyre to match. how uncomfortable this will make the vehicle not sure or how hard to climb into the vehicle??? i think the original owners moved from 17 to 18 inch wheels for the lift. my tyres are 30.5inch tall supposed to be 775mm high but more likely 740mm when i measured. so if i can get 32-33 inch tyres plus 2inch lift may improve somewhat but unsure if practical. may sort out the 2 inch lift first then move to tyres next.