Discovery 2 off-road modifications

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D100

D100

Member
Posts
83
Hi all,

I think I have an idea what modifications I want for my discovery 2. My biggest query is the wheels/suspension set up. I'm looking to 32/33inch general grabbers/bf Goodrich or something along those lines. What sort of lift and clearance do I need?. I'm thinking 4 inch lift. I will be going over to aftermarket bumpers so won't have to worry about clearance with standard ones. I have been looking around for decent suspension kits for the discovery 2 and I can't seem to find many other than just "lift kits". Would like dislocation front and back. Mine has ACE and air suspension but I will get rid of those anyway.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony
 
VERY IMPORTANT Brake lines need extending.

Diff guards are usefull as are plates to protect steering gear

Can fit spacer for the bags. Cheaper than springs.

ACE is better off road than no ACE (they lock on side slopes)

But they are pretty competent as standard, would 2" be enough?
 
Got any pics?!
Sorry i can't advise on the suspension parts, but the very first thing i personally would recommend, (i havent got to this stage yet though myself) would be to ensure that you have enough protection from any and all things off road. By the sounds of it, wanting a 4" lift you either want an beast looking disco, or really am looking to go crazy off road. In which case, youre gonna wanna make sure that vital components are protected from damage, guards etc. Things like a snorkel obviously will give you the confidence that if you can drive it, its probably safe. I went to a quarry pay and play with a totally standard D2, the air springs lift it 1.6", which is significant and i even had a massive tow bar holding me back. It is extremely capable as standard but if i had the anti damage kit on, snorkel etc. I would have been much happier going for a splash and hitting obstacles. I would say that would be wise as you can still do some fantastic off roading without lifts, even tyres etc whilst you build up the prevention side, recovery gear etc. and once you have all that youll be fully set to go as mad as you like with everything else in confidence! You've probably thought about all that already, and btw im not an overly experienced off roader at all! :D
If you get that setup you mention thatll be a crazy D2,
Have fun with it! :)
Ps. Sorry for long message am bored...
 
Cheers for the advice guys, ace and air suspension has to go I think. My ace the pump is noisy and the hole system looks like it may leak any moment it's that rusty. Air suspension is ok but limits articulation. I had a disco 1 with 4" and it felt right. Doesn't seem to be too many full kits for 4" though. Discovery 2 doesn't seem as well supported aftermarket suspension wise as discovery 1 Range Rover classic. My first mod over Christmas is a manual conversion and discovery 1 CDL linkage. See my other thread for that lol
 

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D100 said:
Cheers for the advice guys, ace and air suspension has to go I think. My ace the pump is noisy and the hole system looks like it may leak any moment it's that rusty. Air suspension is ok but limits articulation. I had a disco 1 with 4" and it felt right. Doesn't seem to be too many full kits for 4" though. Discovery 2 doesn't seem as well supported aftermarket suspension wise as discovery 1 Range Rover classic. My first mod over Christmas is a manual conversion and discovery 1 CDL linkage. See my other thread for that lol
Click to expand...
Nice looker! Think you might find that if you do struggle with suitable kits for that much height a 2" plus taller tyres is gonna be more than enough maybe, even if you did stick with air, going with the spacer that MJ mentioned, as well as lift at front im sure that then means when you get off road you can go an extra 1.6", effectively 3.6" total, i assume, would lift the back on the button which is the important angle of a disco compared to defender, thatd be cheap, easy to find, fit and if you put all that together with tyres its probably 5" taller already. looks really nice!
 
Thanks mate, problem is I don't think 2" lift is enough to fit 33" wheels underneath. Can anyone clarify what is needed to fit 33" wheels under a disco 2?
 
The big question, as always with things like lifts, is what are you looking to achieve and what will you be doing with the vehicle?

My D2 is on fairly low-end road tyres, standard air suspension, and has a tow bar (aka plough) on the back. It has done pretty much everything i've asked of it, whilst remaining an excellent road car as well.

If you're planning to do some serious off road stuff at pay-and-play sites then a lift may well be worth while, but bear in mind the effect it will have on the car. Also bear in mind that if you fit 33" tyres you will need to have your speedo etc recalibrated. A lift like the one you suggest will also really alter the on-road handling around corners. If you're creating an off-road toy then fine. If you are planning to do serious road miles in the car and only use it off road from time to time then it may be worth reconsidering! (I do about 200 miles a week on the road, and most weeks maybe a mile or so around a muddy field!)
 
D100 said:
Thanks mate, problem is I don't think 2" lift is enough to fit 33" wheels underneath. Can anyone clarify what is needed to fit 33" wheels under a disco 2?
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Think that cutting up your fenders will be you best friend there, and if youre after full artic then even a lift wont help if you havent got a real chunky set of arches. Theyll probably let you get away with less lift, if youre on facebook it might also be worth asking the folks on the "landrover discovery owners club", there are some plonkers on there but i find there are a fair few folks that really have gone mad with lifts and anything they can throw at it, might be worth putting something up, gurantee youll get some fellas goin 'yeah mate got 6" lift n 40" tyres on mine easy', which might help :p
 
I think that before you start on such a project as this you really need to ask yourself exactly why you feel the urge to carry out such a drastic set of modifications to an already pretty capable vehicle.
If you intend to use it purely for serious off-roading, then OK, go ahead, but if all you really need is a "Tesco car park poseur monster truck" then I would advise that you have a serious rethink.
Any modifications to the suspension is going to have an effect on the handling characteristics of a vehicle, and pushing the mods to an extreme level, such as a 4" lift could even affect its safe operating specifications.
If the vehicle is to be on the road, then your insurance company will probably want to know what modifications have been made in order to stick you with higher premiums too.
TBH I will never understand the need to take a perfectly capable vehicle like the Disco 2, a vehicle with pretty good road manners and then modify it to the point where it becomes an absolute pig to drive at anything over about ten mph.
Another point to consider in your quest is that the vehicle you intend taking your disc-cutter to is a "face-lift D2" with a load more electrickery than a D1 and also in its unmodified state the maximum wading depth is a little less than 500 mm.
 
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Im not a Disco expert but can't you fit spacers that lift the body while leaving the suspension pretty much standard?

Also tyre wise I found 265/75, which would be about 31" tyres to be more than useful off road, only went for slightly larger ones this time as they help a bit in ruts. Shockingly the speedo is 100% bang on
 
Appreciate your feedback guys. I more than understand the pitfalls with the mods. I drove a disco one with a poorly fitted 4" lift. (Original radius and trailing arms etc) i still thought it was respectable. I do some on road miles too and an more than aware that it's road manners will change.
Other mods will be
Dislocation mods.
Change gearing in diffs for 33" tyres
33" general grabbers for the road might buy some moduars for off road.
Air lockers front and back
CDL linkage install
Manual conversion
Gonna build a top hatted 4.6v8 for it.
Front winch number
Rear bumper
Rocksliders
All asosciated guards and protection underneath
Light bars
Maybe a few other things.
Looking to complete it over a year.
 
I will be doing everything right to ensure it's road manners are acceptable. If I deem they are not I will have to revert back to something that is. I just like to push the envelope to see what is possible. Will be accumilating parts after Christmas for it.
 
Sounds pretty interesting! Though don't forget about extended brake lines and going that high you'll probably need new props. Though is all that actually worth doing for an extra 1.5" in tyre size?
 
Shouldn't need a front as that has double cardan. Will definitely replace rear as that has the rotoflex. Who knows if it's worth it. Is it worth not knowing what it would be like? Lol original wheels are 29" so 33" in theory will give an extra 2" under the diff for deep ruts. Also make it easier to get underneath it for maintainance. Haha
 
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