37's on a Range Rover Sport
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Kgh
Let’s go already!
Nice snark! Well done.
One does not need giant tires and a 6" lift to go offroad. Decent tires, a good spotter, and common sense to avoid the trail with the giant boulders is pretty much what my wife and I have used for going offroad. This is not going offroad with added ground clearance. This is a purpose built rock crawler and extreme 4x4. It is what it is.
I think I know why he asked, as it was my first thought... why? And why here?
I think it is great that the OP and some readers love this rig. I also think it is great that some people go to Moab to do named trails and get pictures of their rig on the same rocks as the Jeeps.
Probably would be a great thread for the audiences at IH8Mud or Pirate4x4. Part of a long debate, as this is expedition portal. Just seems like this is strange forum to post this stuff on. A lot of people here do mutiple country vehicle dependent travel, and a specific trip to rock crawl or go muddin' is not really within their/my concept of overlanding. To each his own.
OP - technically impressive build. Nice work.
Ray_G
Explorer
One does not need giant tires and a 6" lift to go offroad. Decent tires, a good spotter, and common sense to avoid the trail with the giant boulders is pretty much what my wife and I have used for going offroad. This is not going offroad with added ground clearance. This is a purpose built rock crawler and extreme 4x4. It is what it is.
I think I know why he asked, as it was my first thought... why? And why here?
I think it is great that the OP and some readers love this rig. I also think it is great that some people go to Moab to do named trails and get pictures of their rig on the same rocks as the Jeeps.
Part of a long debate, as this is expedition portal. Just seems like this is strange forum to post this stuff on. A lot of people here do mutiple country vehicle dependent travel, and a specific trip to rock crawl or go muddin' is not really within their/my concept of overlanding. To each his own.
OP - technically impressive build. Nice work.
This.
I'm impressed with the envelope pushing, even if I don't actually like the stance nor find it asthetically pleasing (personally), that doesn't mean it isn't impressive. Just not my cup of tea.
To KGH's point, in my opinion the holy grail of Land Rover offroading (and expedition travel given the forum we are on) is the Camel Trophy...note the tire size of those trucks.
Doesn't mean there is anything particularly wrong with this truck, nor does it detract from the technical challenges overcome to create it-just that I'd be interested in how it handles being used for long haul travel, what the shifts did to things like CV angles (& are the drivetrain components still stock?), how much those tires can stuff in terms of uptravel, etc.
r-
Ray
I know I was deeply interested in this part of the build, but after reviewing the other post on the lift I understand that the drivetrain is stock and this is simply a "body lift".
It might be pedantic, but the boost to ground clearance on a true 37" tire would be ~4" (stock tire size is ~29" OD).
Nice snark! Well done.
One does not need giant tires and a 6" lift to go offroad. Decent tires, a good spotter, and common sense to avoid the trail with the giant boulders is pretty much what my wife and I have used for going offroad. This is not going offroad with added ground clearance. This is a purpose built rock crawler and extreme 4x4. It is what it is.
I think I know why he asked, as it was my first thought... why? And why here?
I think it is great that the OP and some readers love this rig. I also think it is great that some people go to Moab to do named trails and get pictures of their rig on the same rocks as the Jeeps.
Part of a long debate, as this is expedition portal. Just seems like this is strange forum to post this stuff on. A lot of people here do mutiple country vehicle dependent travel, and a specific trip to rock crawl or go muddin' is not really within their/my concept of overlanding. To each his own.
OP - technically impressive build. Nice work.
No doubt one does not need giant tires or a 6" lift to go off road. This isn't about "need," it's about fun. People buy these very capable vehicles and never use them off-road. I do and I enjoy everything about it. I have a G63 with a slight lift and 33's. It's every bit as capable off-road for the most part so you're correct, 37's are not needed. This Range Rover is not a purpose built rock crawlers as it's still very comfortable on-road. That was the idea behind the build. I posted this build on this forum because I think some members will enjoy it. Feel free to ask a mod to delete the thread if it does not meet Expedition Portal standards.
Here I am on a named Moab trail. How lame.
With it being a unibody the frame and body are one in the same with self contained suspension carriages. A simple body lift does nothing with the driveshafts, steering knuckles, etc. All of that is addressed in this build. Also, the engine is directly connected to the suspension carriages so even that has to be addressed. This is not a simple body lift.
Thanks! I'm having fun with it.
It really drives well. Drives a lot like a stock Range Rover. This engine produces so much torque that gearing really isn't an issue.
I absolutely love it, it looks ************ and it pushes the normal boundaries. Are 37" tires needed?.....really depends on the application. I love the look but would have a hard time getting in and out on a daily basis compared to my stock height Rangie.
Even if you do not do the driveline lowering portion of this "lift", just learning what is needed to adequately trim and reshape the fenders and fender liners is of value to those of us that will never run 37" tires on our Land Rovers but want to run 33" without rubbing, etc. I would love to see more details on the fender reshaping as most of us could actually use this when staying at stock height and running a bigger tire.
Please keep the mods coming....it is good to see "something" being done to the platform that is out of the norm. Even if not all agree, keeping the Land Rover product out there and keeping the interest going only helps other manufacturers come up with new gear and advancement for our trucks. I look forward to more details as you post them.
Cheers
I just added the step which really helps when getting in or out of the truck. I'm 6'4" and without the step it wasn't easy.
As soon as I bought this truck I started looking to modify it. The lack of aftermarket support was frustrating. Fortunately Jack Auston, from Auston Fabrications, lives close by. He makes some of the best lift kits available for H1's and was able to apply the concept to the Range Rover. Jack's work is top notch and he's really a great guy.
More power to him - I don't know that I'd do it but he wanted it done and made it happen.
I'm one of those guys who pushes his LR3 more than average in the rocks, so I get wanting more tire. I run a 33" and would like more but I'm running into problems that I wonder if the OP isn't running into as well. Namely:
CV/halfshaft strength. I know the angles have been retained as this is a subframe drop instead of a suspension lift, but those are some big, heavy, grippy tires. More grip and weight means more stress on stock (?) CVs. I know I've broken a few CVs on my LR3 and wonder if the OP won't run into those problems as well with his added grip.
Gearing. At least on my LR3 there are no gearing options and there is a BIG difference now that I'm running a 10% larger tire but stock gearing. This alone is enough to make me shy away from trying to fit 35s even though I know Lucky8 made it happen on their rig. The 1-2 ratio just doesn't work well on the trail, and on the highway I have a hard time staying in top gear unless I'm running with no headwind and flat or down-hill at sea-level. Throw in any breeze, or just the slight up of an overpass, and it downshifts.
Those are some big issues to overcome and I'd love to hear more about how this was addressed during the build.
I'm one of those guys who pushes his LR3 more than average in the rocks, so I get wanting more tire. I run a 33" and would like more but I'm running into problems that I wonder if the OP isn't running into as well. Namely:
CV/halfshaft strength. I know the angles have been retained as this is a subframe drop instead of a suspension lift, but those are some big, heavy, grippy tires. More grip and weight means more stress on stock (?) CVs. I know I've broken a few CVs on my LR3 and wonder if the OP won't run into those problems as well with his added grip.
Gearing. At least on my LR3 there are no gearing options and there is a BIG difference now that I'm running a 10% larger tire but stock gearing. This alone is enough to make me shy away from trying to fit 35s even though I know Lucky8 made it happen on their rig. The 1-2 ratio just doesn't work well on the trail, and on the highway I have a hard time staying in top gear unless I'm running with no headwind and flat or down-hill at sea-level. Throw in any breeze, or just the slight up of an overpass, and it downshifts.
Those are some big issues to overcome and I'd love to hear more about how this was addressed during the build.
You're comparing two different vehicles. The power of a supercharged Range Rover makes gearing a non-issue. It's still quicker than an SUV should be. I have no issues on or off-road.
I've also had no issues with the CV's over the past year while running 35's. Are they the same as the ones used on the LR3? I'm not sure. If they're a weak point I'm sure I'll find out and we'll address it. I leave for Moab next week. I'll push it and hopefully nothing breaks.
stoicalpear
Member
Very good work! I am impressed... Do you have anymore action pictures of this beast?