Hi all,
Had a good deal of upgrades lately.
First got new wheels and ditched the spacers. Went for 16x8 steels, -25mm offset. To be fair, spacers never gave me problems but I prefer the simplicity of the directly attached wheel.
The 255/85R16s fit better on the 8J rims than on the former 6.5J Wolfs. Much better behaviour on the road.
Had to cut the flares a little bit.
Next was the suspension.
Got a set of Koni Heavy Tracks for free, as new. Hard to refuse that.
Then decided to throw the following into the mix:
- front 130 springs
- double shock, 50mm lowered tubular turrets to place the shock outside the spring (much prefer that, like the Japs and Jeeps have)
- Limiting straps on all corners
- rear shock dropers
- 25mm bumpstop spacers
- rubber spring isolators top and bottom on all springs
- rear HD Britpart springs
The math was simple, and probably the same on every Defender. I had 50mm of wasted upward travel past the bumpstocks on the shocks. E.g., 100mm bumpstop clearance and 150mm shock travel left. Allowing for 25mm of bumpstop compression, that lead us to 50mm lower shock mounts (droppers on the rear and turrets up front) and the said 25mm bumpstop spacers. The spacers are also handy for the already bigger tyres, and better yet for the future 315/75R16 upgrade.
And... voila
Results?
- got a solid 2inch lift
- Lots of wheel travel
- Using standard length shocks = much cheaper and widely available spares
- Suspension still bottoming up on the correct place, the bumpstops
- high load capacity
Also had to fit mudflatps, the underside was getting blaster for driving at 80km/h on dirt and gravel for hours.
Next was the front axle housing. The standard housing is enough for regular use and normal offroad obstacles. But on faster offroad scenarios it takes a beating.
Last month on a timed navigation event I hit a ditch at 90km/h. The impact was so hard the front of the car bounced off the ground. Everything was intact, but it's better to enjoy luck while it lasts.
Welding time:
TBC.....
