Old lady needs a little lift.
Discussion
I have a 96 Discovery (V8 
) which I have started to use for a bit of off roading as well as as the family car. I would like to get the advantages of a lift, principally the bigger tyres to get some more diff' clearance. However, as it is my day to day car I am reluctant to go for too much of a lift as I don't want to ruin the on-road ride or frankly to make it look too much like a wannabe monster truck.
So, I am thinking of getting some wheel arch extensions and maybe a smaller lift. Anyone know what sort of kit I could get to go with differing sizes of wheel/tyre and what sort of improvement I would be getting in terms of off-roadableness? Would a dislocation set up be a good move at the same time to get some more articulation?
) which I have started to use for a bit of off roading as well as as the family car. I would like to get the advantages of a lift, principally the bigger tyres to get some more diff' clearance. However, as it is my day to day car I am reluctant to go for too much of a lift as I don't want to ruin the on-road ride or frankly to make it look too much like a wannabe monster truck. So, I am thinking of getting some wheel arch extensions and maybe a smaller lift. Anyone know what sort of kit I could get to go with differing sizes of wheel/tyre and what sort of improvement I would be getting in terms of off-roadableness? Would a dislocation set up be a good move at the same time to get some more articulation?
You need to design the lift around whatever size of tyres you want to fit and that in itself raises several issues:
1. Tall tyres raise the gearing. Will they raise it enough to cause problems? The V8 has less engine braking than the TDi and if you go too tall you may find 5th unusable and have insufficient engine braking downhill. To fix this you may have to fit a lower transferbox ratio or diffs.
2. Wide tyres grip less. Seriously, they do! Wide is great on tarmac, but on mud and grass they often grip less because they reduce ground pressure to the point where the tread can't bite into the surface and grip.
Depending on what you need the vehicle to do, I would say the optimum size for an all-rounder is a 2" lift and then 235/85/16 tyres. The height gives plenty of clearance, you should get away with standard gearing and not need to trim the wheel-arches. Go any wider than 235 on a Disco and you will have less grip and more likelihood of things going bang, like halfshafts.
1. Tall tyres raise the gearing. Will they raise it enough to cause problems? The V8 has less engine braking than the TDi and if you go too tall you may find 5th unusable and have insufficient engine braking downhill. To fix this you may have to fit a lower transferbox ratio or diffs.
2. Wide tyres grip less. Seriously, they do! Wide is great on tarmac, but on mud and grass they often grip less because they reduce ground pressure to the point where the tread can't bite into the surface and grip.
Depending on what you need the vehicle to do, I would say the optimum size for an all-rounder is a 2" lift and then 235/85/16 tyres. The height gives plenty of clearance, you should get away with standard gearing and not need to trim the wheel-arches. Go any wider than 235 on a Disco and you will have less grip and more likelihood of things going bang, like halfshafts.
I've just lifted my '95 Tdi and fitted big 265/75/16s on, I don't think your V8 would have any issues pushing bigger tyres on the road, although your consumption will go down a bit and your speedo will under-read.
Unless you are going really big you won't need arch extensions, and unless it's a 3 door I would not bother.
In my mind there is no halfway house, it's all or nothing. Choose your tyres, choose a 2" lift to suit (don't go higher unless you want to change your hockey sticks and front prop as the steering geometry and prop angles will be out) and if you fit those you will need +2" shocks (there are kits out there that have gas shocks, but they are not +2", so they will give you no more articulation).
You will also need bumpstops (so your wheels dont hit the top of the arches), spring retainers (so they don't fall out), dislocation cones (otherwise the springs won't re-seat after full articulation) and extended brake hoses (so your brakes still work after full flex) and I personally don't really think you can miss any of that if you want to use your truck for what it was designed for!
Mine came from MM4x4 and was under £400 and seems pretty good...
Unless you are going really big you won't need arch extensions, and unless it's a 3 door I would not bother.
In my mind there is no halfway house, it's all or nothing. Choose your tyres, choose a 2" lift to suit (don't go higher unless you want to change your hockey sticks and front prop as the steering geometry and prop angles will be out) and if you fit those you will need +2" shocks (there are kits out there that have gas shocks, but they are not +2", so they will give you no more articulation).
You will also need bumpstops (so your wheels dont hit the top of the arches), spring retainers (so they don't fall out), dislocation cones (otherwise the springs won't re-seat after full articulation) and extended brake hoses (so your brakes still work after full flex) and I personally don't really think you can miss any of that if you want to use your truck for what it was designed for!
Mine came from MM4x4 and was under £400 and seems pretty good...
Thanks guys. Nice looking truck their hard-drive. One of the things I love about my disco is its ability to go and play muddy elephants and then drive home just north of the NSL in complete peace, quiet and comfort. How did the lift affect ride comfort and 'handling' (I use the term loosely obviously)? My intention was not to get any wider tyres but to use the arches to create space to allow taller ones to articulate into the bodywork, which would obviously need trimming.
It does feel a little different, obviously MT tyres are going to be a little noisier in the dry and need a little more respect in the wet. However my original plan was to have 2 sets of wheels/tyres, although I will not be bothering with this as they are fine really.
It is a little more wallowy, I've taken the rear ARB off (should do the front too really) but once you get used to a little more body roll it's fine. The steering does not feed back as much, there is a little bit less self-centering due to the new castor angle but again it's fine to live with.
It's not a daily driver, it gets used either for long trips to the coast towing, or for off roading. I certainly don't regret it, and I have all the original bits stored away just in case.
However, it does allow you to do this (mine is in 1,2 and 3), and this is a laugh!
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=iaindchristie
It is a little more wallowy, I've taken the rear ARB off (should do the front too really) but once you get used to a little more body roll it's fine. The steering does not feed back as much, there is a little bit less self-centering due to the new castor angle but again it's fine to live with.
It's not a daily driver, it gets used either for long trips to the coast towing, or for off roading. I certainly don't regret it, and I have all the original bits stored away just in case.
However, it does allow you to do this (mine is in 1,2 and 3), and this is a laugh!
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=iaindchristie
Agree with hard-drive - as long as you don't pretend you're in an MX-5, you'll find that even with a lift and mudders, they handle sufficiently well as the chassis is very heavy and the high up bits are mainly aluminium. If you don't go any taller than about 31" on the tyres you should still have enough engine braking off-road for very steep drops without the need for a change of underwear!
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