Recommend me a steering damper

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dag019

dag019

Well-Known Member
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6,154
Location
Warwick
As I am now back driving the 110 after driving the td5 90 I am noticing things that I have not noticed before. Although I have fitted a replacement steering damper to the 110 at some point in the past I cannot remember how long ago that was (certainly wasn't part of the rebuild). The 90 has a very strong return to center steering feel which I arrume is down to the damper fitted. When moving back to the 110 I notice there is very little if any return to center (RTC). I currently have a Britpart Cellular Dynamic Steering Damper (link) fitted which I do not know if it is a true RTC damper or not. Although this has clearly not been an issue for the many years driving before the the 90, and the series does not have a damper at all, I seem to think there should be some RTC action on the 110 rather than the none I have at the moment.

Can anyone confirm if on a 110 I would be expecting some form of RTC in which case the damper possibly needs to be replaced or if actually what I have currently is what is expected?

IF there should be more than no RTC my next question is going to be which damper do people recommend. I am not sure I want a very strong RTC like the spring loaded Terrafirma one (link) but a mild self centering back to what I was expecting would be nice.
 
Just for reference as I know it makes a difference I am now running brand new 265/75/16 BFG KO2 tyres whereas previously I was running 265/75/16 BFG KO tyres. so I am assuming these should handle and feel the same as are the same size and make just a different generation.
 
There was a yellow steering damper on the fokker when I bought it ... it was more like a damper requiring a force to move in any direction.
I fitted a Terrafirma unit ( TF835 ) which does the job really well.
The only complaint I have is that the paint is thin and fragile so the unit rusts readily, but as an RTC damper it does exactly that.
 
300bhp/ton said:
Steering damper is exactly what is says.... a damper. It should not have any RTC unless it is one of those dreadful ones with a spring fitted to it.
Click to expand...
I agree, it is there to stabilize and prevent wild movement on rough terrain, but I seem to remember there was at least some return to center feel from the steering previously whereas now there is none
 
300bhp/ton said:
Steering damper is exactly what is says.... a damper. It should not have any RTC unless it is one of those dreadful ones with a spring fitted to it.
Click to expand...

Thems' the ones ... with a spring,
The normal state for a defender is a slight toe-out with a flat castor so the steering doesn't want to get back to straight.
The spring helps (IMO), but it's not for everyone... :cool:

The Yellow ones are a damper which will (like a normal damper) returns to open. I think there is an internal spring so (I found) the car was being pushed left all the time.
The Terrafirma one was neutral, with equal damping in or out and the spring retuned to center nicely.
I found the car much more pleasant on longish journeys
 
Last edited:
Cheapest steering damper will do the job just fine, worked for me for the last 10 odd years.
 
No ‘natural’ RTC in a Defender other than suspension geometry - power steering looks after what ‘dead ahead’ there is in the setup.

I’ve used OEM and aftermarket and honestly, for Road and trail use there’s not much in it - when I had big Simex on my 90 it needed a bit more power to stop the steering suffering too much kickback, so went with TerraFirma. Always avoided the spring assist RTC Damper as didn’t like the feel when I tried others that had one fitted - strokes for folks!

Currently running a Britpart SupaGaz (it was on offer) on my 90 with 235/85/16 Conti’s - doing a grand job.
 
KISSMYAURA said:
Old Man Emu...... all day long, Terrafookwits is total pants, like most of thier stuff rusted out after 12 months.... RTC is a gimmick and not required.
Best upgrade you can do is Gwyn Lewis SUMO steering bars and a Disco drop arm converison = steering sorted!
Click to expand...

@dag019 , not quite sure how far you've got with your steering set up but as per @KISSMYAURA above this set up is truly superb. I have this on the Ninety and even with Discoverer Maxx Pro jobbies [and SuperPro bushes] the Ninety front end is near pin sharp on all road conditions. I have -Ve 0.5deg toe-in added to compensate for the large tread blocks and this really hones in the steering.
 
+1 for the suprapros, got em all round on myne...again had terrafookwits red polys, cracked after 1 year total garbage.

see here for OME and SUMO/ Drop arm conversion installs on my build page-32
 
v8250 said:
@dag019 , not quite sure how far you've got with your steering set up but as per @KISSMYAURA above this set up is truly superb. I have this on the Ninety and even with Discoverer Maxx Pro jobbies [and SuperPro bushes] the Ninety front end is near pin sharp on all road conditions. I have -Ve 0.5deg toe-in added to compensate for the large tread blocks and this really hones in the steering.
Click to expand...
Having now done a couple of thousand miles in it I have not done anything as I have now once again got used to it. The damper is functioning perfectly well as a damper and now I am used to it again I am no longer missing the self centering of the 90. I think it was just a change and having spent 18 months rebuilding it and not driving it had forgotten the differences.
 
l am going to disagree with some of the posts above!
l had a TD5 110 on standard wheels and suspension.
I had the swivels changed and preload done, new springs etc.
l was using the vehicle predominantly on road and there was very little RTC on the steering, although there was some.

I fitted....and here comes the flak....a Terrafirma RTC steering damper.

lt transformed the vehicle for road use, and didn't seem to affect the off road performance (although it only did mild off road nothing extreme)

The steering was much nicer with good RTC and it was less prone to wander on the motorway.

Make of that what you will , but my experience is over 90,000 miles with it fitted.
 
lightning said:
l am going to disagree with some of the posts above!
l had a TD5 110 on standard wheels and suspension.
I had the swivels changed and preload done, new springs etc.
l was using the vehicle predominantly on road and there was very little RTC on the steering, although there was some.

I fitted....and here comes the flak....a Terrafirma RTC steering damper.

lt transformed the vehicle for road use, and didn't seem to affect the off road performance (although it only did mild off road nothing extreme)

The steering was much nicer with good RTC and it was less prone to wander on the motorway.

Make of that what you will , but my experience is over 90,000 miles with it fitted.
Click to expand...
An RTC steering damper should make no odds to wondering in the motorway. That would suggest something very worn or lack of attentive driving ;)

Ultimately one has to ask, why did Land Rover never fit RTC steering dampers to any of their live axle vehicles if they make such a difference for road use?
 
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