D2 Spring rate dilema & options

**MickG** · 29th November 2005, 09:17 AM

I still have a few specific questions after searching older topics at length.

Originally I set my '99 D2 up for some touring and camping so went for a firmer set up, but recently I have been doing more off road stuff and generally driving around town so, I am looking at options for softening my suspension ride up considerably as it is too harsh. I'm off road regularly so it still has to perform well in the bush. I currently have OME springs and shocks giving me a 2" lift on my '99 manual D2 with ACE, winch bar (no winch) and run 265/75r16 Muds. Suspension specs below according to ARB.

FRONT
SPRING = Part no. 777/180lbs
SHOCK = Part no. N107/open 608mm, closed 373mm
REAR
SPRING = Part no. 762/300-340lbs
SHOCK = Part no. N108/open 593mm, closed 363mm

Given the fact that I have ACE and want a much softer ride (I am willing to sacrifice some ride height when loaded) what springs and spring rates would people suggest for front and back? Once the springs are in, depending on ride quality with the current OME shocks, I would then like to achieve more articulation if I can, so shock suggestions would be appreciated also. Don't want to extend ABS or brake lines but have heard I can unclip ABS lines in the wheel arch to give more travel.

Keen to hear from others who are pleased with their set up.

Aye, Mick

**MickG** · 29th November 2005, 11:08 AM

Quick update

Some more research has suggested my comfort problem may lie in my shocks and not the springs?? As this is an area I know very little about, your feedback is very much appreciated.

Aye, Mick

**seqfisho** · 29th November 2005, 11:35 AM

Mick,

A call to Les Richmonds will get you sorted, I think Andrew is the suspension whiz, he should be able to provide the spring rates and lengths your chasing as well as what valving you will require for shocks.

The other place to try would be Slunnie, Brooksy, or Gidget as they have all done lifts on their trucks with good results.

The D2 yahoo board might also be worth a try.

**discowhite** · 29th November 2005, 04:07 PM

Old man emu shocks are very stiff from what ive been told!
there are 108's and 108C's the ''C'' is softer.
i would change your rear spring rate to something closer to
250/280lb.
the front rate is bout right.
try these links.

https://www.expeditionexchange.com/ome/indexshocks.htm

https://www.expeditionexchange.com/ome/inde...ndexsprings.htm

slunnie
http://www.slunnie.com/

cheers phil

tombraider · 29th November 2005, 04:14 PM

Originally posted by MickG

FRONT
SPRING = Part no. 777/180lbs
SHOCK = Part no. N107/open 608mm, closed 373mm
REAR
SPRING = Part no. 762/300-340lbs
SHOCK = Part no. N108/open 593mm, closed 363mm

Mick

Change to N107C and N108C shocks. This will give a nice ride with your spring combo.

Been there, done that, then we upspecced again and run 107 and 108 Firm like you have and upped springs to 360Lb rears.

She still flexes but theres a lot mroe onboard now.

This is on a TD5 Auto Ace, with Bar, Winch, Rear storage system, Big tank, Custom rear bar etc...

Cheers
Mike

**walker** · 29th November 2005, 06:14 PM

Mick, hopes this helps.

I have a D2 with ACE, bar & winch.

I was running custom 150lb springs on the front. The were made by Brown springs in Melbourne (only cost $140/pair) and were just a bit over 2.5" longer than standard and gave me a 2" lift. I had these paired with Tough Dog shocks and they gave a fantastic ride. Across the Simpson Desert I had no fade and no bottoming out even fully loaded and unloaded on day trips they gave great flex.

I can't help out much on the rear as I have SLS but with ACE I would be going for maybe 20lb more than standard but longer.

If you are in Melbourne, I have the springs which I had in the front for sale - $80 and they are yours.

**MickG** · 29th November 2005, 09:07 PM

Cheers for all the input guys, very helpful.
Spoke with Andrew from Les Richmond today who was very helpful indeed. Have also spoken with Brooksy and Slunnie recently - they both know their stuff also.
I think I am going to try and do it in stages :roll: . Probably fit new shocks (Bilsteins) all round first as I suspect that the OME shocks in the front particularly are a bit too stiff. By all accounts, it sounds like the spring rate in the front is about right and depending on ride quality after fitting the shocks, I will look at doing the springs, probably end up with about 270lbs in the rear and 180lbs in the front although I want to go soft so maybe as Walker suggests, around 150lbs in the front might be the go with the ace. Do you have a contact number for the Browns springs Walker?
Question is though can anyone suggest what sort of valving and lengths I should consider for the shocks - are there many options for the Disco 2? If I do consider going for 150lbs in the front later, will I have to take this into account now when specifying the valving etc on the shocks? I don't know much but would assume that the shock should be valved to match the spring so if I try and fit the shocks first and keep the current spring in for the time being, I'm not really giving myself a true indication of how it should perform.
Hope you are all still following me and you can see I am pretty confused by the whole process

ops: . Think I will give Andrew at Les Richmond a call again tomorrow and get something going.

Appreciate everyone's input again and please keep all and any thoughts coming.

Aye, Mick

tombraider · 29th November 2005, 10:07 PM

You want it softer and are going Bilstein?
Hmmmm... OK! 8O

Billies are stiffer than the OME shock.

Slunnies were custom valved to suit his vehicle.

As for coils. The D2 with bar and goodies flex just fine on OME 779s and 300-340 rears.

Slunnie is running both those rates.

They are a brilliant compromise for all round use.

We have 225lb/360lb in the D2 with ACE and can still hit the bump stops with no worries.

I know it was asked, but what tyres and what pressures are you running?

Cheers
Mike

**walker** · 29th November 2005, 10:15 PM

Cummon, you can't even compare Billies to OME. If I could afford Bilsteins I would have them in a shot. And you would custom valve them anyway.

And with ACE you just don't need the springs that hard

tombraider · 29th November 2005, 11:02 PM

Here we go the great debate :!:

- Billies are monotube, prone to knocks which stuffs them instantly.
solution: fit heavy metal shielding which negates the cooling benefits of a monotube shock.

- Billies cost nearly twice that of OME. So working on 2yr/40,000km warranty I should get 4 years from 2 sets of OME at the least.

-Leading shocks eg... LR rear, are prone to stone damage, the twin tube is mroe resiliant to this damage.

- Billies are valveable, yes, at a price. The OMEs are pretty good value out of the box. Billies are valved rather stiff for D2a and experience on a D1 showed cracking on corrugated tracks to a Billie installed D1, the other D1 to same spec springs/load ran OME which worked fine with no damage.

A D2 owner running Billies suffered major cracking on a trip to the radiator support panel, he removed the Billies, fixed the panel and hasnt had a repeat incident.

Try getting a Billie in Pt Headland etc... OME has stuff everywhere most of the time.

As for springs. A soft spring with ace works fine on "side to side" rolling. But ACE bears no use under pitching or bouncing.
Not as pronounced on a SLS Disco as the rear bags are 'variable' rate. and counteract a lot of the pitching but a sprung Disco will slam soft springs down so hard it regularly hits the bumpstops. A laden disco 2 will always exagerate this effect.

Spring rates are not too hard if they ride the corrugations well and still flex when offroad and crossed up.

My defender had 295lb fronts and 360lb rears and would cross up to the bumpstops offroad (Ask Pete Sneig at MLR) The only specification change occured when I replaced the front bar/winch combo which reduced mass. And lightened the rear by modifying the cargo draws.
Now I run 220Lb fronts and 320Lb rears.

This setup still fully flexes offroad and is comfortable on the roughest tracks.

Considering I run Dual LTRs on each corner the ride is lovely.

To quote a Landy suspension specialist.
When fitting dual shocks we use OME or Koni.
The Bilstein shocks are valved so firm they become very excessive used in pairs. At best if a firmer ride is desired we run 1 Bilstein, 1 OME.

Cheers
Mike

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