suspension springs, suggestions??

[alchilds69]

hi guys, got a little question about suspension springs. i'm building a kit car based on a 1995 disco v8 3.9efi. i am replacing the body with somthing much lighter and giving the vehicle an overall weight loss of around 800kg compared to a normal disco of.
i want to replace the suspension as its a bit worn out.
what springs would be suitable without giving it a very hard ride. and without raising the height too much.
any suggestions?

[andyb66]

RRC and Discovery V8 fronts are the softest OE spring with a 130lb/inch rate.

There is a full list here

http://www.members.shaw.ca/jbarge/springinfo.html

HTH

[alchilds69]

hi thanks for that,very helpful. seems like i might be getting standard v8 springs then.
ta al

[JimexPL]

I'm intrigued!

What type of kit car?

[andyb66]

I lay odds it a Dakar or a Blitz

[alchilds69]

It's a ncf sahara. And in using a 3.9efi disco as a donor. Ta

[300bhp/ton]

alchilds69 said:

hi guys, got a little question about suspension springs. i'm building a kit car based on a 1995 disco v8 3.9efi. i am replacing the body with somthing much lighter and giving the vehicle an overall weight loss of around 800kg compared to a normal disco of.
i want to replace the suspension as its a bit worn out.
what springs would be suitable without giving it a very hard ride. and without raising the height too much.
any suggestions?

This isn't an easy question to answer.

And the reason is, what do you want to do with it? Will it be for off road use? If so will it be trialling or more speed orientated?

Or will it be for on road use?

How important are looks, as in jacked up or slammed?

What size tyres will you want to run and rim width/offset?

What's your budget?

And not forgetting that a suspension setup is a system of parts. Changing the springs will also mean changing the shocks usually. Along with ARB's, bushes and even mounting points.

[alchilds69]

looks arnt too important i'm not a fan of massivley jacked up 4x4s. as it increases the centre of gravity.
it will mainly be used for green laning and pay and play days ect. im not really into challange spec or extreme winching at the the mo.
eventually it will be fully poly bushed and the shocks replaced to suit the springs.
i didnt want to fit any springs that are too hard with an already massive weight loss to the car. ie heavy duty ones that are advertised everywhere. as this will make the suspension a pretty rouugh ride.
i think ill be fitting some standard v8 disco springs as they seem the softest. if they arnt right i can always change them.
thanks andyb66 the chart was a big help!

[300bhp/ton]

alchilds69 said:

looks arnt too important i'm not a fan of massivley jacked up 4x4s. as it increases the centre of gravity.
it will mainly be used for green laning and pay and play days ect. im not really into challange spec or extreme winching at the the mo.
eventually it will be fully poly bushed and the shocks replaced to suit the springs.
i didnt want to fit any springs that are too hard with an already massive weight loss to the car. ie heavy duty ones that are advertised everywhere. as this will make the suspension a pretty rouugh ride.
i think ill be fitting some standard v8 disco springs as they seem the softest. if they arnt right i can always change them.
thanks andyb66 the chart was a big help!

I'm not sure exactly how different they are, but it might be worth looking at Ninety V8 springs. Some places do -1 and -2" drop springs if handling is a factor.

[100SRV]

Hi,
interesting project but I'd be amazed if you can lose 800kg from a kerb weight (kg) 1,986 for a Discovery - my 100" Bowler is about as minimal as you can get and that weighed between 1340kg and 1420kg kerb(public weighbridge versus weight pads at each corner). The critical thing is to get the correct rate springs at each end. Are you moving the powertrain back at all?

I have done a lot of work in the past with spring rates for friends with Bowlers - most of this is transferable to any rover coil-chassis based special, PM me if you want to know more.

[alchilds69]

hi, 800kgs seems a lot. thinking about it i must of got the original weight wrong. the manufacture of the kit says that when complete it will approx weigh 1850kgs. the weights for some reason are not stampded on the vin plate, so had to rely on the internet?

[300bhp/ton]

alchilds69 said:

hi, 800kgs seems a lot. thinking about it i must of got the original weight wrong. the manufacture of the kit says that when complete it will approx weigh 1850kgs. the weights for some reason are not stampded on the vin plate, so had to rely on the internet?

I think the Sahara adds a rollcage, so it probably adds most of the weight back that you've saved.

I'm doing something similar but using a Series III body.