New Discovery Owner, with a few question on Oversized Wheels / Suspension

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panther-uk

panther-uk

Member
Posts
24
Location
Leeds, England
Hello all, I'm new to this forum, and to LR, just got my first LR a 1997 Discovery 300Tdi, and just turning 40 finnaly got a 4x4 which I've always wanted.

Ok the issues, and advice that I would appreciate on at the moment (as probable need more later on)

The discovery when I got it has oversized wheels on it (235 85 R16 General Grabbers AT2) which I've got to admit look really good on it, it doesn't have raised suspetion and to be honnest I'm not looking at doing and compertitions or hard off roading, and the main purpose will be normal driving, towing and load carry, so not really bothered about doing this.

I noticed that when turning on corners that also have speed bumps on them there is a scaping noise from the from when boucing down, it's had cut outs at the back of the wheel arches, but it looks like the wheel might be catching on the front standard bumper.

My first question is, if I trim this back of the standard bumper on a angle would this be fine ? as thats all that it seems to be.

My next issue is when I've got load in it and again lovely speed bumps the rear tyres is catching on the top of the wheel arch, and I wondered if people could give me some advice on views of the following :

1) Is it worth fitting extended bump stops to stop it before the wheel get to the arch.
2) does it sound like the shocks / springs might be weak (as I've just got it I don't know how old they are)
3) would it make sense to cut the wheel arch and fit a flare kit (I don't want to change the tyres)

Also as I've said at the beginning, I'm looking to use for towing and load carrying, and after just getting it, I put a load of flags in the back, ok after doing this I worked out there was 1/2 a ton in the boot, but the rear wheels was catching the arches quite a bit (lucky I didn't have the far to go)

I was looking around and was looking at the idea of putting the police spec rear springs in the back, and also putting air bag assist in as well (thought doing at the same time to reduce taking everything off again) does this seem a sesable way of going as want to make certain that it will not bottom out when carrying stuff in the back, possible camping (loads of kit) / diving kit for 3 people, and a 5.5m boat on the back !

Also since I've just got this car, what would people advice me to look at in regards things I might need to check / services etc, as I really want to keep her for a long time.
smile.gif


Thanks for reading, and your view, as I said I'm new to this, but looking forward to the adventure (of just owning a LR)
 
panther-uk said:
Hello all, I'm new to this forum, and to LR, just got my first LR a 1997 Discovery 300Tdi, and just turning 40 finnaly got a 4x4 which I've always wanted.

Ok the issues, and advice that I would appreciate on at the moment (as probable need more later on)

The discovery when I got it has oversized wheels on it (235 85 R16 General Grabbers AT2) which I've got to admit look really good on it, it doesn't have raised suspetion and to be honnest I'm not looking at doing and compertitions or hard off roading, and the main purpose will be normal driving, towing and load carry, so not really bothered about doing this.

I noticed that when turning on corners that also have speed bumps on them there is a scaping noise from the from when boucing down, it's had cut outs at the back of the wheel arches, but it looks like the wheel might be catching on the front standard bumper.

My first question is, if I trim this back of the standard bumper on a angle would this be fine ? as thats all that it seems to be.

My next issue is when I've got load in it and again lovely speed bumps the rear tyres is catching on the top of the wheel arch, and I wondered if people could give me some advice on views of the following :

1) Is it worth fitting extended bump stops to stop it before the wheel get to the arch.
2) does it sound like the shocks / springs might be weak (as I've just got it I don't know how old they are)
3) would it make sense to cut the wheel arch and fit a flare kit (I don't want to change the tyres)

Also as I've said at the beginning, I'm looking to use for towing and load carrying, and after just getting it, I put a load of flags in the back, ok after doing this I worked out there was 1/2 a ton in the boot, but the rear wheels was catching the arches quite a bit (lucky I didn't have the far to go)

I was looking around and was looking at the idea of putting the police spec rear springs in the back, and also putting air bag assist in as well (thought doing at the same time to reduce taking everything off again) does this seem a sesable way of going as want to make certain that it will not bottom out when carrying stuff in the back, possible camping (loads of kit) / diving kit for 3 people, and a 5.5m boat on the back !

Also since I've just got this car, what would people advice me to look at in regards things I might need to check / services etc, as I really want to keep her for a long time.
smile.gif


Thanks for reading, and your view, as I said I'm new to this, but looking forward to the adventure (of just owning a LR)
Click to expand...


Ok let's be clear, 235/85/16 do not fit correctly on a std suspension Disco I - fact. If you want to keep these wheels and tyres of the car, you will need to go for a 2" lift kit with extended bump stops, to avoid the problems you currently have.

Or, and this would be my advice, buy yourself a set of std wheels and tyres of Ebay. The std size is: 235/70/16. You can normaly pick up a set of 4 or 5 with decent tyres for between £50 and £100, just keep looking.

Larger tyres do have certain advantages offroad but they are have some disadvantages which you will feel onroad every day:

1. They change the final drive gearing so the car will feel more sluggish than it needs to;

2. Your speedo and mileometer will be out by about 10%;

3. Bigger tyres will stress all transmission components, particularly half shafts and diffs;

If you don't need these big tyres take them off.
 
I agree with thebiglad. Get a standard set of 235/70/16's and put the ones you have on fleabay and then your new ones will end up costing you nothing.
There are several sets for sale on fleabay and you can always use the LandyZone Courier Service is you are stuck for picking them up.A few BEER TOKENS are always appreciated by passing members.
 
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Thanks for all your prompt advice.

Sounds like I got a bit of a dud, with regards the tyres.

Although the mainly use will be on road, I was hoping to keep the tyre just for confidence as I might need to lauch the dive boat from sand etc, and thought the bigger tyres might be better, and also they have good tread on them, apart from looking good on the vehicle.

I guess cutting the arches and fitting the flare kit woundn't stop them rubbing then ?

I was a hoping not to have to get a lift kit, mainly because of towing, and raising the centre of gravity even more, and also the amount of ear ache I would get as my wife as she isn't that tall, and already complains about having to climb up as it is, but is this the only option if I want to keep the tyres.

If I went down the lift kit route, could anybody advice me on which would be the best to go for, like I've said, i'm not looking for comportition, and want to be able to tow, and carry load, so prefer to have heavy duty springs etc, if I was going down this route, also does anyboad know if it's still worth fitting lift assist bag at the rear to allow for a level vehicle when towing / load carrying.

The load carry level has come from a chrysler voyager that I used to own, which when fully loaded used to give very little spare movement in the springs, am I worring too much with the discovery ?
 
Last edited:
if you want to keep the tyres you will need to lift it and possibly fit extended bump stops not sure if flaring the arches will help as its not the outer edge you are catching.

If your wife is not happy then you could get some side steps or do what I did and get tree sliders (cheaper and will also give you extra protection if you do decide to go off road ;) ) which can be used in the same way.

If you just want to leave it as is then you would be better off changing/selling/swapping those tyres for the correct size.
 
oh and if you want the confidence then why not consider a set of muds? will still look good on your landy and work well when off road :)

Im currently the opposite to you lol, have 235/70 muds for laning and 205/80 road tyres for day to day but am currently considering larger tyres and a lift as we have another car for family runs etc. ;)
 
panther-uk said:
Thanks for all your prompt advice.

Sounds like I got a bit of a dud, with regards the tyres.

Although the mainly use will be on road, I was hoping to keep the tyre just for confidence as I might need to lauch the dive boat from sand etc, and thought the bigger tyres might be better, and also they have good tread on them, apart from looking good on the vehicle.

I guess cutting the arches and fitting the flare kit woundn't stop them rubbing then ?

I was a hoping not to have to get a lift kit, mainly because of towing, and raising the centre of gravity even more, and also the amount of ear ache I would get as my wife as she isn't that tall, and already complains about having to climb up as it is, but is this the only option if I want to keep the tyres.

If I went down the lift kit route, could anybody advice me on which would be the best to go for, like I've said, i'm not looking for comportition, and want to be able to tow, and carry load, so prefer to have heavy duty springs etc, if I was going down this route, also does anyboad know if it's still worth fitting lift assist bag at the rear to allow for a level vehicle when towing / load carrying.

The load carry level has come from a chrysler voyager that I used to own, which when fully loaded used to give very little spare movement in the springs, am I worring too much with the discovery ?
Click to expand...


Seriously mate, just get yourself some std sized tyres - if you like the look of the tread you could always buy some AT²'s in the size you need. I think they are about £80 apiece.

You could then sell your existing tyres on Ebay and if they are in good nick and have plenty of tread on them (you will need to measure them) you'll get a good price as they a well-known and a popular size for off-road people.
 
We also have a second car, so this is sort of my play thing, but use is as my day-to-day car as well, the other car is classed as the wife's, so apart from doing camping/diving trips or carrying stuff for diy, it's normally just me in it, but since it's the car I alway wanted, I don't mind 'slowly' spending the money to get it nice.

It is actually (or seems to be) the outer edge that is catching, on the back anyway, and at the front it's just the back part of the bumper end, that I feel I can trim back and make a nice job if it at the same time (the pastic bit at the side)
 
i just cut the bottoms of my bumper end caps very easy to do with a sharp blade / hacksaw / grinder and the centre valance just unbolts from underneath.

I dont know much about HD springs there are a few on here that use them and say they are good for towing but with no weight on the back there are better options. Have you considered just getting +2" springs if you dont need the extra articulation for off roading then this could be a cheaper compromise for you but any lift will affect the handling and raise your centre of gravity

i would be surprised if 235s were catching the outer lip which is where flaring helps they will more than likely be catching inside when the tyre goes into the arch. Have you looked to see if there are any wear marks from the tyre scrubbing?
 
Last edited:
bobbler,

This is why I think it's catching on the outer side, as when I had load in it, and going over speed bumps, it was the outer part of the wheel that looked like cut marks in it, and when I first noticed this I had 15 600x600 flags in the back, and rubber was flying a little from this outer edge. in the centre part of the treat it looks fine.
 
Edit: just re read your first post saying the camel cut has been done

are you using standard wheels or do you have non standard steels as these usually come with an offset pushing the tyre out further.

There is a bonus to lifting if you like the look of the tyres though. When you come to replace them you should be able to fit 265/75 no problem ;)
 
Last edited:
the cut has been done, as to the size / type of wheel, i'm not certain, will have to wait until I get home tonight and have a look.

I do think that if the best option is to lift it, to keep the tyres, I probable going to look at that, can you or anybody else bobbler advice on which kit to get? I'm in yorkshire, so know there is a few places around that do LR
 
The other question that I forgor to ask, is does anybody know if the insurance will go up if I put a 2" lift on, I'm with Lancaster Insurance if it make a diffrence
 
you will have to call the insurance as it will be classed as a modification and some will not cover it where others do so may be worth a call before you think about doing anything.

for suspension kits there are many about and the only one I keep reading not to get is the britpart version.
 
Hi there....where about in Leeds are you? Might be able to meet up, have a look at your disco and advice further. Am at Batley myself, with a disco with 235/85/16.......
 
kingsonlim said:
Hi there....where about in Leeds are you? Might be able to meet up, have a look at your disco and advice further. Am at Batley myself, with a disco with 235/85/16.......
Click to expand...

Hello Mate,

I'm just in Belle Isle, so not that far from Batley, so quite happy to pop over and get some advice, that would be great.

Just let me know when and where, Thanks again
Simon
 
it has oversized wheels on it (235 85 R16 General Grabbers AT2) :hysterically_laughi



now I'm Putin over sized tyres on my truck 36 an half inch special tracks :eek::crazy:
 
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