Vehicle & Technical > Defender
2" lift verses spacers
timberdog:
Confused now can somone help with this i explanation?? :oops:
I want the get maxium lift combining Springs /Shocks and spacers /Tyres?
Budgie:
How large do you want to go? MM4x4 do upto a +3" lift kit and do a +4" for the Discos. These kits have springs, shocks, dislocaion cones, brake lines, check staps, bump stops & H/D spring retainer plates.
I used to run my 90 with 235x85x16 tyres on standard springs and gas shocks without problems, these are about 32" dia.
A few things to remember:
1. The higher you go on the suspension then the higher the CofG and the easier it'll fall over.
2. The springs are rated to cope with the height they were designed for, by adding spacers you stand a chance of making the vehicle "roll" more when cornering.
3. As you raise the height of the suspension, either with springs or spacers, you alter the geometry of the steering so it'll feel loose and tend to follow the lines in the road (tramlining) and the self centring will be less pronounced. This can be cured by fitting caster correction radius arms but these increase the angle that the propshaft U/Js operate at and set up a vibration so you also need to put a Double Cardan front propshaft on from a TD5 Defender to stop this.
4. Larger tyre effect the overall gearing of the vehicle and if you go too large then you find that it'll struggle to get up hills in 5th, you'll be doing 30MPH in 3rd or 4th and off-road you won't have a low enough gear to safely cope with hills. Also your speedo will read slow. You can alter this gearing by fitting new ring & pinions with a different ratio in both diffs.
5. Larger tyres can also reduce the turning circle unless you get the wheels with right offset or use wheel spacers. With standard offset they foul on the radius arms and sometimes the inside of the tyre will hit the suspension turret if you get into a crossaxle situation, ripping a nice hole in your tyre!
6. If you're raising the suspension, by whatever means, it's safest to put longer brake flexies on the front & rear, the last thing you want is for the axle drop to rip you brake lines out!!
7. A set of extended bump stops is also a good idea, they stop the tyres hitting the inside of the wheel arches.
There, I hope that lot helps. :wink:
timberdog:
I used to run my 90 with 235x85x16 tyres on standard springs and gas shocks without problems, these are about 32" dia.
So if i fitted above Tyres with 2" spring spacers and spacers to the wheel Hubs would this be ok??
Sorry for all the Dumb questions but i am crap with this stuff
I have Colways fittted at the moment and despite what people say they have served me well off road are their any other Chunky MTs i could consider that wont break the Bank? and any good links for them
Budgie:
I didn't have any spacers on my 90, it was just standard springs but I fitted ProComp ES9000 shocks to tighten up the suspension a wee bit for off-road. If you've got the standard rims with the 205R16 tyres then you may think about getting new rims but they don't need wheel spacers for the 235x85x16 tyres. There are plenty of places that do wheel & tyre packages.
The best thing to do is go back to basics and ask:
"What do I intend to do with my Landy?"
Off-road? How severe - greenlaning or competions?
Just want it to look cool but not much off-road?
How much am I willing to spend on it?
The best thing to do for the tyres is to get one of the Land Rover mags and have a look through the adverts then check their websites or ring them up for the prices, or keep an eye on Ebay. :wink:
Colways are ok, for a remould, bit noisy on the road but ok off it.
I've had BFG's, General Grabbers (2 sets & on the Disco now) Colways, Goodyear & Tacoma (don't go there - no grip on a wet road!! :evil: ) and for price and performance I'd say the General Grabbers are the best but others will say BFG's. BFG's are very good but a bit more expencive. The sky's the limit with tyres as are the sizes so you need to be clear about what YOU want before you start. You may find that you get a better choise by also looking at 15" rims as that brings in the American sizes like 33"x12.5x15 etc. These are easy to work out the size as it's 33 inch dia by 12.5 inch wide with a 15 inch hole in the middle. :D
As for spacers: Personally, I wouldn't even consider them. If you want to keep the axle articualtion then you have to get extended shocks for the rears & do the brake flexies anyway and you are spacing springs that may need replacing in a year or so. With the price of the lift kits you're better off getting the correct springs for the job with a good set of shocks. You can get them from +1" to +3" for the same price!
timberdog:
well i want to Greenlane most weekends nothing Savage but good clearance for ehrn i need it..
I also am worried about Diffs getting a smack off road i had a good knock a couple of weeks ago ..
Also the cool factor comes into it all bit it a Tad silly :oops:
But mainly to be able to clear those deep ruts ..And i know you shuld read the path and drive accordingly but still the same
I loked at MM4X4 and they do a good lift kit with Dislacation cones for £300 ??
Basicly i have about £450 to spend for lift and Tyres so on a budget any suggestions or links for both Tyres and Lift
Ps thank you for taking the time to explain to me so far :oops:
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