De-Mumsifying a Disco2

[balls-out]

Deposit left on a lovely one owner Disco 2. No Tow bar and barely got its wheels muddy - its a school run queen
Whilst its probably too good for off roading, that's not going to stop me.
So I'm thinking about what I need to mod. The front bumper looks like its the most urgent item before I head off the blacktop, probably followed by the back one, with that rather long tail and poor departure angles.

So any experience/recommendation on replacement bumpers and possibly a steering guard?

Cheers,
Jim

[anonymous-user]

Why d'you need to replace the bumpers? Are you actually planning on ramming something?
Start with some better tyres, then upgrade as you discover the shortcomings in the wagon's ability to do what you want it to do. Bumpers ain't it.

[balls-out]

Crossflow Kid said:

Why d'you need to replace the bumpers? Are you actually planning on ramming something?
Start with some better tyres, then upgrade as you discover the shortcomings in the wagon's ability to do what you want it to do. Bumpers ain't it.

Looking at it the first incline will destroy the front bumper - all plastic and low. Far better to remove it before I break it.
Tyres are also on the list - but I know what I want there. Also getting stuck tends not to break thing - just means have to get out the winch....

Edited by balls-out on Tuesday 8th May 20:15

[anonymous-user]

If the first incline destroys the front bumper it's a) beyond the approach angle of the car or b) you're going at it too fast.
A standard D2 is a very capable beast, and other aspects of its design and make-up will stop it long before the bumpers fall off.

[100SRV]

balls-out said:

Looking at it the first incline will destroy the front bumper - all plastic and low. Far better to remove it before I break it.
Tyres are also on the list - but I know what I want there. Also getting stuck tends not to break thing - just means have to get out the winch....

Edited by balls-out on Tuesday 8th May 20:15

Image is everything when it comes to "off-roaders"; rarely does logic play much of a part in the choice of accessories - an example is the 3 door black V8 Discovery which passed me in the queue on the M4 this Tuesday which had nice alloys with MT tyres, a lift kit and roof rack but still had the standard track rod and track rod mounted steering damper. The car looked quite nice but wouldn't take long for the steering gear to be damaged on a rutted lane.

[balls-out]

100SRV said:

balls-out said:

Looking at it the first incline will destroy the front bumper - all plastic and low. Far better to remove it before I break it.
Tyres are also on the list - but I know what I want there. Also getting stuck tends not to break thing - just means have to get out the winch....

Edited by balls-out on Tuesday 8th May 20:15

Image is everything when it comes to "off-roaders"; rarely does logic play much of a part in the choice of accessories - an example is the 3 door black V8 Discovery which passed me in the queue on the M4 this Tuesday which had nice alloys with MT tyres, a lift kit and roof rack but still had the standard track rod and track rod mounted steering damper. The car looked quite nice but wouldn't take long for the steering gear to be damaged on a rutted lane.

I well remember what happened to the silly spoilers on my Classic on the first ruts I encountered.
I'm pretty sure that if I just fit a steering guard it will be protected by that nice plastic bumper, hence the need to replace it.

[topsparks]

Fit one of these in it 5L 300bhp,no cats or centre box!

[Psimpson7]

Changing the front bar (or trimming the original) on a D2 will allow larger tyres to be fitted which helps.

265/75 r16 are a good fit if you have a 2" lift

I did have 285/75 16's for a while which were fine, but the gearing was a bit hard work on the road so went down a size.

Few pics of ours in my profile.

2" lift, ARB front bar, My custom steel rear one, sliders, Kevlar MTR's, winch, snorkel etc etc. I think it looks pretty nice.

It is quite good offroad. Rear overhang is massive issue and you will damage the rear bar very quickly if you start using it... Ours lasted 2 trips I think.

[300bhp/ton]

Crossflow Kid said:

Why d'you need to replace the bumpers? Are you actually planning on ramming something?
Start with some better tyres, then upgrade as you discover the shortcomings in the wagon's ability to do what you want it to do. Bumpers ain't it.

Disagree almost 100%. Stock bumpers if you truly off road are a quick limitation and a easy area to suffer damage. Let's not forget V8 Range Rovers back in the 80's when the 5 door was released needed the front spoiler and foglamp panel removing for off road use, it even had a section in the handbook about it.

Tyres are a good idea, but if you plan to use the approach/departure angles, then bumpers very quickly become major issues.

[300bhp/ton]

Crossflow Kid said:

If the first incline destroys the front bumper it's a) beyond the approach angle of the car or b) you're going at it too fast.
A standard D2 is a very capable beast, and other aspects of its design and make-up will stop it long before the bumpers fall off.

Wrong (IMO).

[300bhp/ton]

balls-out said:

Deposit left on a lovely one owner Disco 2. No Tow bar and barely got its wheels muddy - its a school run queen
Whilst its probably too good for off roading, that's not going to stop me.
So I'm thinking about what I need to mod. The front bumper looks like its the most urgent item before I head off the blacktop, probably followed by the back one, with that rather long tail and poor departure angles.

So any experience/recommendation on replacement bumpers and possibly a steering guard?

Cheers,
Jim

I guess some pertinent questions are:

-do you have a budget in mind?
-do you want a winch bumper?
-and will you be competing in RTV trials? I ask this as bumper regs are quite strict and some bumpers might mean you can't play.

I quite like the tubular bumpers from these guys:

http://www.firstfour.co.uk/products/winch-bumpers/...



Rear bumpers you'll likely have less choice of though. There's some here: http://www.firstfour.co.uk/products/non-winch-bump...

None offer improved departure angles really, but at least they are a lot tougher and won't get bashed up. They also provide a place to mount a recovery point so you can ditch the drop plate and tow hook if you don't need them.


Steering guard and tank guard are also probably good things to consider if you are really going to off road.

Bigger tyres and steel wheels might well be worth a look too, personally 31-32" tall as a minimum, but you'll either need to trim the arches and buy some aftermarket flares or lift the Disco to get these sizes on.

Centre Difflock conversion is probably worth a look too.

[camel_landy]

Depends which D2 you're talking about...

The original D2 had a spoler which caught on things. The facelifted D2 didn't come with a spoiler, for this very reason so the bumper was re-designed to house the front fog lights.

Both versions are cracking off-road, in their standard form and don't really need any modifications other than fitting a steering guard.

Here are a couple of examples of mine in action...





The only modification over standard are:

• Steering guard.
• Fuel tank guard.
• 225 MTR tyres.
• Winch... But personally, I wouldn't bother fitting. Mine only had it as it was an ex-G4

M

[Bill]

Is there a decent removeable or high level tow hitch available? Mine sits quite low and causes all sorts of alarming bangs

[camel_landy]

Bill said:

Is there a decent removeable or high level tow hitch available? Mine sits quite low and causes all sorts of alarming bangs

If you re-locate the electrics, you'll probably find that taking the towbar off is just a case of undoing 4x bolts. A simple enough job to re-fit whenever you need to tow.

M

[anonymous-user]

300bhp/ton said:

Crossflow Kid said:

If the first incline destroys the front bumper it's a) beyond the approach angle of the car or b) you're going at it too fast.
A standard D2 is a very capable beast, and other aspects of its design and make-up will stop it long before the bumpers fall off.

Wrong (IMO).

So errr......if the entry and departure angles destroy the bumpers, surely someone at LR hasn't done their maths right?

[anonymous-user]

300bhp/ton said:

Disagree almost 100%. Stock bumpers if you truly off road are a quick limitation and a easy area to suffer damage. Let's not forget V8 Range Rovers back in the 80's when the 5 door was released needed the front spoiler and foglamp panel removing for off road use, it even had a section in the handbook about it.

How very out of character for you to disagree.
Let's not forget, removing the front spoiler improves off road ability, it's not essential though is it? So the real question is how severe is the terrain in question and will the OE bumpers really impede progress any more or less than say, the tyres.
But hey, go on.....tell us how it's really a Defender underneath and the best thing to do is jack it all up and fit stupid massive tyres whilst still convincing one's self that it's an everyday drive.

[300bhp/ton]

Crossflow Kid said:

How very out of character for you to disagree.
Let's not forget, removing the front spoiler improves off road ability, it's not essential though is it? So the real question is how severe is the terrain in question and will the OE bumpers really impede progress any more or less than say, the tyres.
But hey, go on.....tell us how it's really a Defender underneath and the best thing to do is jack it all up and fit stupid massive tyres whilst still convincing one's self that it's an everyday drive.

Convince who of what?

Funny how I've actually done the things I've said yet you still seem unable to grasp such bear essentials.

Edited by Bill on Thursday 17th May 11:34

[300bhp/ton]

camel_landy said:

The only modification over standard are:

• Steering guard.
• Fuel tank guard.
• 225 MTR tyres.
• Winch... But personally, I wouldn't bother fitting. Mine only had it as it was an ex-G4

M

Looks like fun, did it scuff the bumper doing that? Although I find it's the V shape channels or making a tight at the bottom of descents that cause the problems more so.

[camel_landy]

300bhp/ton said:

camel_landy said:

The only modification over standard are:

• Steering guard.
• Fuel tank guard.
• 225 MTR tyres.
• Winch... But personally, I wouldn't bother fitting. Mine only had it as it was an ex-G4

M

...did it scuff the bumper doing that?

No.

M

[Bill]

camel_landy said:

If you re-locate the electrics, you'll probably find that taking the towbar off is just a case of undoing 4x bolts. A simple enough job to re-fit whenever you need to tow.

M

You're right, of course, but I'm lazy and will end up leave it on and scraping a furrow every time I hit ruts