Thread: Defender new suspension

Garry,

I've had this County a year, and it came with the poly's. The previous owner had them in for a couple of years before that. I haven't had any problems with the bags themselves. The only problem was a degredation of the air line, resulting in it leaking. After replacing that though, there has been no further problem.

Cheers
Andre

Originally posted by LRCounty
Garry,

I've had this County a year, and it came with the poly's. The previous owner had them in for a couple of years before that. I haven't had any problems with the bags themselves. The only problem was a degredation of the air line, resulting in it leaking. After replacing that though, there has been no further problem.

Cheers
Andre

I had poly's in my Rangie for 12 years never had a problem except for one airline early on that I didn't allow enough length and over stretched it. They should always be run with at least 4psi in the bag to stop it getting pinched by the springs.


Bushie

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Factory shocks are the best for ride and are good quality. Made by Boge who supply Merc, BMW and most other European cars. Nearly every other shock will have worse ride.[/b][/quote]

at least Td5 era 'fenders. Tdi's used English Woodhead dampers which are a fair bit stiffer in bump than TD5 ones, and hence not as good ride quality. The Woodheads surprisingly last well also.

Agree with your and Vlads comments re urethane bushes, with a couple of exceptions.
Urethane is generally poor in rotation, but works surprisingly well in compression, eg. chassis end of the rear trailing arms, where I've found Super Pro bushes far superior to OE ones. They use a peripheral groove around the bush to allow easier articulation compared to the OE solid bush while dramatically reducing rear steer from bush compression. I've also gone against my general rule of not using them in a rotating bush using Super Pro ones again in the chassis end of the A frame, again to reduce rear steer. They've only been there twelve months/40,000km, so can't comment on durability.

Originally posted by LRCounty
Garry,

I've had this County a year, and it came with the poly's. The previous owner had them in for a couple of years before that. I haven't had any problems with the bags themselves. The only problem was a degredation of the air line, resulting in it leaking. After replacing that though, there has been no further problem.

Cheers
Andre

And thanks Bushie as well - looks like the polys work pretty well in Landys - standard landy springs for a nice ride around town and polys to handle the little bit of load I might carry from time to time might be the go.

Thanks

In Perth try the guy's at West Coast Suspensions. I think they are in Freo on the road as you head out to Kwinana. I have seen a few different 4wds set up and the owners have been extremely happy. They will also talk to you about what your requirements are rather than just chucking you a set off the shelf. I know they do a lot of offroad racing suspension set ups here in the west. Failing that King springs are good with Koni shocks and you can buy the King Springs through Repco. You will however need to know what springs and rate you want as most of the people I have spoken too in shops like Repco, Supercheap, Auto One etc would not have a clue what they are talking about and usually only recite pamphlets. The best way is to go to a suspension specialist, but they are usually more expensive. Some will only supply a fitted kit and some will supply you the kit. Make sure that if you get someone to fit it and you are not happy with the ride that they will change the springs out for you.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Springs do not wear out. They may sag, but usually only if you overload or have fitted tonnes of extras like steel bullbars winches lR tanks etc.
[/b][/quote]

I have a steel bar and winch up front and a long range fuel tank.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah poly bushes are the most overrated, ane least understood, things on the planet.

Stick with rubber ones.
[/b][/quote]

Agreed!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I have ended up with a County 2" lift coil from Rangie Spares that are actually 2" higher than standard but about the same diameter coil as original. A bit light for loads so I have inserted 130 inner coils. The result is a compliant coil with good articulation and ride, but dont sag with a full load on board. [/b][/quote]

Interesting idea. Is it difficult to fit the 130 inners?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>If you think your springs are sagging, what is wrong with taking them out and going to a spring place and getting them reset to either standard height or even a little higher.[/b][/quote]

A good point. 8)


All food for thought.

I had Old Man Emu shockies and king springs on my old defender and the travel was not as good as the standard setup I have now on the Extreme. Coincidentally the pic below was taken over the weekend ... not a deep rut but as you can see the Defender didn't lift a wheel going through ... the standard Patrol and Pajero in our group both picked up a leg. I think LR got it right with the Defender suspension ... IMHO [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

I think you're right GreyLandy (love your vehicle BTW, looks just like mine! 8) ).

I just need something to get me back to standard ride height without compromising on travel.