what mods are needed to lift a disco past 3 inch

[cooter]

other than an adjustable panhard rod what other mods are needed ie castor corection etc both my sway bars are already mia

[Loanrangie]

A decent jack ? Why do you want to lift above 3 " for, 2+2 is more than enough.

[Micka]

You need to talk to Slunnie.

He has a D2 with 4" lift running 35" Simex.

His website - http://www.slunnie.com/

Go for it. Looks awesome and from all reports goes exceptionally well off-road. Also put in a spring dislocation set up so that you can get another 3 or 4" of travel without losing your springs.

Micka.

[landy_man]

Also put in a spring dislocation set up so that you can get another 3 or 4" of travel without losing your springs.

Micka.

There has been much debate as to the benefits of running dislocating springs.. and most agree for that for offroad stability, springs that DO NOT dislocate are better than springs just dangling in the breeze

[cooter]

Go for it. Looks awesome and from all reports goes exceptionally well off-road. Also put in a spring dislocation set up so that you can get another 3 or 4" of travel without losing your springs.

Micka.

at the moment i have around 3 inchs of lift and rides and goes good but i want more and as for spring dislocation does it count if they fall out all the time hehe i am going to stretch mykings 3 or 4 inches giving overall 6 inches my inspiration is a 97 disco in 4wd monthly 4 some reason i cant upload a pic of it but will try later or can email it to you

[landy_man]

the only reason you would want to lift your truck any more is

A: your'e a maller
B: you want to fit bigger tyres
C: your existing big tyres dont fit.....

Incase you did not know, huge, lifted trucks are very 1980... keeping it as low and stable as possible to just fit your tyres is far more desirable than having a top heavy truck...

But..... to lift your truck to 4" above standard with springs alone
you will most probably need...
castor correction with bushes or swivel rotation(preffered)...
new driveshafts
a frame/ball joint spacer
most probably new trailing arms and radius arms to point pinion at transfer
longer brake lines
longer shocks

What size tyres are you running ???

[cooter]

i want to run 35s but do not want to spend big bucks so was merely doing resaerch at this stge but know of a disco with 6 inch coils and 2 inch body and he has only added an adjustable panhard rod and so far has only castor problems people tell what todo but not why

[DaveS3]

i want to run 35s but do not want to spend big bucks so was merely doing resaerch at this stge but know of a disco with 6 inch coils and 2 inch body and he has only added an adjustable panhard rod and so far has only castor problems people tell what todo but not why

If you dont want to spend big $$$ then you can't go past cutting the crap out of your guards - only a few dollards for jig saw, grinder or tinsnips or whatever tool you want to use

Rule of thumb----
The higher you go = more money

Dave.

[Suspension Stuff]

I have 3 and 4 inch lift springs I sell. If you want spring info send a pm or email.

Shane

[stuee]

Also put in a spring dislocation set up so that you can get another 3 or 4" of travel without losing your springs.

Micka.

There has been much debate as to the benefits of running dislocating springs.. and most agree for that for offroad stability, springs that DO NOT dislocate are better than springs just dangling in the breeze

I agree. The best way I have seen this described is here:

http://www.lrautomotive.com.au/215.html

It makes it seem quite logical and reasonable to me. If you have no downward pressure on a wheel its doing nothing for stability or traction.

Stuee

[cooter]

does any one have a lifted disco (over 3 inch) i can see pics of

[landy_man]

6" coils and 2" body is just crazy for a Rover...
In order to fit 35's you need 2" coils, 2" bodylift and some guard cutting...
This way you might retain acceptable castor feel...
No need generally for shafts or arms...

If you intend running 35's and not spending money you have bought the wrong vehicle... you will need to throw at least $2000 at your axles to enable them not to melt at the sight of big heavy rubber and another grand or so for gearing to turn them successfully...

Plus the actual cost of the tyres...
In my opinion and I am sure most others on this board... your next job is a bodylift... not more spring lift...

[cooter]

cheers heaps i have made dozens of calls to 4wd specialists and nobody has any idea they just say it cant be done but not why but i will keep looking as my best mate is an engineer and i am a mechanic so if we sit and drink enough piss we may be able to design new diff mounts so as to allow a bit more lift as i am a firm believer in bigger is better
i am not lookin to have a huge disco just a large one but the more people that tell me it cant be done just drives me harder but i am open to suggestios ideas and critisism cheers heaps fellas

[landy_man]

O God, its Grimace all over again....
Why do you want an unstable, top heavy, useles offroad POS when you could have something that actually works...
Listen to what people on this forum are telling you... they may actually know a thing or two about modding Rovers and what works and what doesn't....

[cooter]

yeah fair enough i think i will go another 2 for now and see how things pann out

[GRIMACE]

speakin of Grimace
d00d wat sorta of terrain do you preffer to drive?
5" lift is do able (forget about 6" cause that extra inch sends shiat WAY WAY out of wack) and for the 5" of lift your gonna need to spend afew extra $$$, you can think about it but if your located down south and do more mud style and slippery stuff i would keep it lower.

I originally purchased 5" lift springs (that lifted my RR 6.5" ) and until they settled no driveshaft mod or castor was gonna work well.

now the rear have settled to around 5" and the front is down to about 4" (after snapping both coils )

IMHO for 35s I would fit 3 or 4" springs and cut the shiat out of the guards, but only if you like to crawl rocks and bigger obstacles, if you like to plug mud and any form of speed stuff dont go over 2" in the springs and fit a 2" Bodylift.

I am Currently running 37s and even after loosing abit of up travel (about 3") i am still getting enough flex out of it.

no matter how high you go i would advise getting heavier offset wheels to gain much needed stance.

Dont be afraid to cut cause as many have said its the cheapest and best option for fitting larger rubber.

[Slunnie]

Hey thanks for the kind words Micka.

Coota, you can do a 4" lift but it just depends what you want from it. Depending on how hard you drive it, 4" and 35's is heaps for a Disco. It already gives the D2 a belly height of about 430mm over a 100" wheelbase. The rockcrawling buggies are at a similar belly height with longer wheelbases. You can get that into pretty gnarly stuff without grounding it, but to go higher you're sacraficing side angle ability which you will use for extra clearance which you may not use.

At 4" to do it properly it will be:
4x springs to suit - to lift it
4x shocks to suit - to suit new spring lengths
4x bumpstop extensions - so the long shocks dont get squashed
4x brake extensions - due to extra drop travel in the axles
ABS extensions - due to extra drop travel
1x Uni - uni tailshaft conversion rear - So the rotoflex doesn't break, strength
1x D2 Double cardin front tailshaft conversion - dial out vibrations
Castor correction - so it steers straight on the road
2x cranked rear lower links - reduce bind on rear drop travel and correct pinion angle
1x ball joint lower - sort out the angles
Sort the sway bar mechanism if you keep it
Possibly a X-member in the way of the front propshaft if its like the D2 - move it

A 2" spring lift will have the chassis 2" lower but it involves:
2" lift coils
Shocks to suit.
2" body lift.

To fit the 35's you will have to cut the guards irrespectve of what you do with the suspension.

[Slunnie]

Then to run 35's you'll need
Maxi/JM axles front and rear - so the axles dont snap
HD CV's - so the CV's dont shatter
4.1's or a Defender low range gear - To get the gearing remotely back to factory. You may get away with this if you have an auto, you wont with a manual.
Heavy duty diffs like lockers etc as the centres of the factory ones will crap themselves when the factory axles snap.

If you drive it easy you wont need this stuff, but then again if you drive it easy you wont need 35's and 4" of lift either.

[Micka]

Also put in a spring dislocation set up so that you can get another 3 or 4" of travel without losing your springs.

Micka.

There has been much debate as to the benefits of running dislocating springs.. and most agree for that for offroad stability, springs that DO NOT dislocate are better than springs just dangling in the breeze

If you fit cones to the inside of the spring they act as a retainer and your springs will not be dangling in the breeze. One of my mates designed them for his 4" lifted RR and there is another 3 - 4" of down travel available to him. I understand the point in the LRA article, but forward motion was not lost in the wombat holes where we tested the travel because the wheel was still in firm contact with the ground - and that was with road-biased rubber. Now there are 35" ETs helping the situation.

As for the vehicle being unstable...yes it is more unstable than standard, but IMO, driving to suit the conditions, the capabilities of the truck, and most importantly the ability of the driver will negate any issues raised by a higher centre of gravity.

As for Coota being another Grimace... relax LandyMan - the lad is just trying to get info using the tactic of "what if?". Brain surgery would never have been attempted if someone didn't ask "what if we cut the top off his head?"

Micka.

[Slunnie]

Here is a fella that has done a 4" lift on a D1 with King springs and a 3" body lift!

http://www.greylandy.com/lmts/mates.htm

[landy_man]

If you fit cones to the inside of the spring they act as a retainer and your springs will not be dangling in the breeze. One of my mates designed them for his 4" lifted RR and there is another 3 - 4" of down travel available to him. I understand the point in the LRA article, but forward motion was not lost in the wombat holes where we tested the travel because the wheel was still in firm contact with the ground - and that was with road-biased rubber. Now there are 35" ETs helping the situation.

As for the vehicle being unstable...yes it is more unstable than standard, but IMO, driving to suit the conditions, the capabilities of the truck, and most importantly the ability of the driver will negate any issues raised by a higher centre of gravity.

As for Coota being another Grimace... relax LandyMan - the lad is just trying to get info using the tactic of "what if?". Brain surgery would never have been attempted if someone didn't ask "what if we cut the top off his head?"

Micka.

Cones or whatever will not retain the spring... yes they are stopping the spring from falling out, but they do not provide the stability (especially in off camber situations) that a fully retained i.e. locked in spring will...

Yes the wheel with spring dislocated will have some traction as usually the other wheel will be pushing upwards therefore, due to a fullcrum effect, will be transferring some weight onto the opposite wheel... BUT.. the wheel still does not have the weight of the vehicle on it...

Forward motion might not be lost, but without difflocks the "lighter" wheel will still be getting more power transfered to it, thereby decreasing the amount of traction available and providing less power to the wheel with all the weight on it... But if difflocks are fitted... well then you could have one wheel on the ground and the other 3 in the air and still progress forwards...

As I said, this has been debated at length before and I dont wish to go through all this again...

Do whatever makes you happy and what YOU feel works for YOU...
I prefer a stable, totally retained system where MY vehcile feels controlled, predictable and sits flat even at full droop.. Yes, I most probably wont win any ramp queen events, but my suspension travel has never stopped me doing any tracks I want to do...

As for the comment about Grimace... well, you may have missed his first few posts where he asked for advice, was given the correct advice and then basically said, "well, i will do what I want anyway"... why come ask for information when you have no intention of using it if you dont like the response...

Dude, go buy your 4" or 5" or whatever lift springs if that is what you think you need... if it seems right to YOU on YOUR rig ... DO IT.. don't let anyone tell you cant or shouldn't... no matter how much experience or knowledge they have..

That is all

[Micka]

Point taken LandyMan...

But for me, a dislocating system that allows an extra bit of travel beyond the limit of the spring, and places a wheel on the ground - even if it is just enough to prevent spinning, is better than hanging a wheel in the air and halting forward/rearward motion.

As I said though...its all about where you put your wheels. All the lift and big rubber in the world wont replace the ability to drive.

Just remember Coota - all the experience and knowledge said that the Earth was flat in Christopher Columbus' day. Go for it, mate.

Micka

[GRIMACE]

Just remember Coota - all the experience and knowledge said that the Earth was flat in Christopher Columbus' day. Go for it, mate.

Micka

retain the springs thou

[Davidh]

As everyone has pointed out, the best combination is minimal suspension lift which means saving $$$ and putting a 2" body lift in and cutting your guards to suit your tyres.

I've got a D1 with 2" OME springs, 30mm spring spacers and 2" body lift and LOTS of guard cutting, and the 35"s fit really well.
Make sure you get offset wheels for the 35"s though, it really makes a difference to the handling and stability.
A body lift isn't hard on a Disco, and it will be cheaper than all the mods required for a 4"+ suspension lift.

Oh yeah, and Les Richmond's info is spot on I reckon!

[Aquarangie]

Okay, my turn to comment.

My 93 'Aquarangie' had a 2 inch lift with long-ish Rancho RS9000's (crap shocks, save your money and get something decent ) and also had spring retainers in to stop the springs falling out. off-road it was good and had oodles of travel in the rear.

The 83 Rangie I took a diffrent approach, using the same springs and OME shocks (slightly longer than standard) while it doesn't have the travel Aquarangie had, the vehicle is safer, more stable and a hell of a lot better on-road as well.

For me, the latter works better as an all-rounder than what I had pervious. I'm not an expert, just basing my comments on past experience.

Good luck with it anyway. Have fun experimenting

Trav

[tim]

I have masses of travel and dislocating springs front and rear. I find that there is some advantage of keeping wheels on the ground for traction and can drive up stuff without lockers whereas other trucks need to use them.

A really major advantage of loads off travel is that going over rocks or into holes, when a wheel drops in and is on the ground way before the body, the vehicle does not suddenly pitch around. It is possible to keep the body movements much more controlled as all the movement is damped. Poor explanation but hope it makes sense.

On a side slope, the uphill spring is the one that compresses until you reach the point the body starts to lean downhill and goes past perpendicular to the ground. At this point, retained or not, the body will not be pushing down on the uphill wheel. The weight of the wheel will be holding the uphill side down! PLus any fulcrum effect from the other side.

Tim

[Slunnie]

Do dislocating cones work on the front with the radius arm setup? I would have though bind would prevent them from being effective.

[tim]

I run rear (longer) dislocating cones on the front. I have eliminated the bind with the hinged radius arm and by running the shocks in front of the springs. I get the full range of travel out of 15" shocks front and rear.

Tim

[Micka]

I run rear (longer) dislocating cones on the front. I have eliminated the bind with the hinged radius arm and by running the shocks in front of the springs. I get the full range of travel out of 15" shocks front and rear.

Tim

Pics?

[GRIMACE]

I run rear (longer) dislocating cones on the front. I have eliminated the bind with the hinged radius arm and by running the shocks in front of the springs. I get the full range of travel out of 15" shocks front and rear.

Tim

I too find this very hard to beleive, exspecially if your using standard links at the rear.
Pics would be nice, aswell as a simple photo of your upper shock mounts and shocks