Thread: How good is the D3 ride?

Hi Graeme,
I agree, it would be great if the 18" rims came to fruition.

Best of Luck,
Peter

After having retro-fitted both D3 sway bars to alleviate the tossing from side to side, I'm very dissapointed to find that the D4's ride still falls a long way short of what's needed due to the stiffness of the shocks, both bump and rebound stiffness although the rebound seems the bigger culprit. After a 400 km leasurely drive in the rain today around the higher country, what should have been a pleasant outing turned into a 'grit your teeth and wait for home' for my wife. I had hoped the ride improvement from fitting the D3 sway bars would be good enough, but not so.

It seems that $2K+ on new D3 shocks (fronts priced at $580 ea) is the only option, unless a test ride in a Koni-fitted D3 was available. I might have to see if a Koni importer can supply a test vehicle.

I think LR improved the handling of the D4 by lowering it by 20mm or so and then stiffening the sway bars.
I found out when measuring some D3s at the dealer for an average ride height.
This would result in a lower pressure in the airbags and hense less rebound pressure.
Get some adjustable rods and it would bring your suspension back the D3 specs. Or use your system to adjust the standard height +15-20mm
D3s were about 44cm from top centre cap to the bottom of the wheel arch the D4 was about 42cm.

My guard to the top of the hub cap is 43-44 cm. I tried my +30mm lift which slightly increased the hard-tyre sensation and slightly decreased the shock stiffness feeling but nothing worthwhile. The D4 shocks are definitely much stiffer than the D3's.

I'd be much happier changing to D3 shocks if they were to last a decent length of time, considering their cost. My LR and cheaper after-market D2 shocks have always been worn-out by about 60K (less than 2 years for me) and D3 shocks seem to be no different, but these D4 shocks, reportedly made by or in conjunction with Bilstein, might last a far greater time so stuck with them for longer. I'd expect to miss out on warranty replacements if they failed during the D4's warranty period, which has occurred on the occasional D3 shock. The Konis for the D3 might last longer than LR D3 shocks but I'd have to try before buying - frypans and fire! I really doubt the Konis are any better judging by their description of how they operate but would like to be proved wrong.

My rods were set too long at the back and I found it made a big difference to the ride and handling. Fine tuning in increments of 10mm may yield a better result. 30cm change may be too much.
You are probably right about the shocks settings but you may get an acceptable result with tuning the ride height. If others have the Konis on theirs they should be able to tell you what the result is.
The variables in suspension tuning would be spring stiffness = ride height, shock absorbers and sway bar stiffness. If should be able to return to D3 ride the D4 by replacing the sway bars and shocks but if the ride height is not tuned right then it still wont work.

I set mine at 44cm but figures for the rear were higher.

The others I measured to nearest 5mm.

Front 43.5, 44.5, 44, 44, 43.5,44, 44,43.5,43,44 = average of 43.8

Rear 44.5,45, 46,46,45,46,46,46,45.5,46,46 = average of 45.6

I only measured one D4 it was

Front 43, 44

Rear 46,46

It would be interesting what others heights are.
Anyone who who would like to measure theirs measure from the top of the centre cap to the underside of wheel arch, staing if D3 or D4.

My 30mm is 60% of the off-road height increase for each wheel as determined by the suspension ecu, so there can't be any inconsistency front to rear. When I was calibrating using programmed values I took many standard height measurements and almost always got a different height for each wheel even without moving the vehicle, but this logic has since been discarded. However I don't have a level parking surface so the suspension ecu has to be happy with approximate heights.

I could easily modify all my standard heights by any percentage of off-road height to raise by small amounts without compromising the existing options if it helped, but the shocks were still way too stiff with the 30mm lift so it would seem futile to try.

I'm thinking of adding some ballast (8x20L drums of water) to the rear for a drive in 10 days time so see to what extent that tames the rear, as there's quite a difference in ride between a full fuel tank and an empty one. Hopefully it wont be too long before ARB release their bull-bar and I'll install the winch too if it helps tame the front. However carrying extra weight might increase spring stiffness more than a bit of extra height and thus counter-productive, in which case I'll dispense with the ballast.

I am aware that I have given the shocks an opportunity to upset the ride by installing softer sway bars that allow more suspension movement, but the bars had to go and the shocks will go too if that's what it takes to soften the ride.

My D3 shocks are quite worn-out after 60K although they still handle gravel roads well. I was going to refit at least the D4 rears but after re-reading this thread I suspect I shouldn't as I had forgotten how much I disliked the D4 shocks. I really liked the D3 ride but the thought of buying another expensive set for only another 60K isn't very appealing.

Playing Devil's advocate here, wasn't all of this before you changed to 17" rims? Would that not make a significant difference to the D4 ride - have you used the 19" rims since changing to the D3 setup?

Cheers,

Gordon