Air Suspension

Tugela

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May 21, 2007
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So if you want to stay close to stock AS gives you a big advantage, but it also means you have no choice but to stay close to stock.

But do you need to put 33/35" tires on a LR3? In many cases, a close-to-stock air suspension Rover will be more capable than a modified solid axle Rover, so unless your goal is to crawl over large boulders there isn't much advantage. There will be other tradeoffs, but as I spend more time in the driver's seat of newer models I'm gaining a deeper understanding of what they can do. The versatility and capability is extensive.
 
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DiscoHasBeen

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But do you need to put 33/35" tires on a LR3? In many cases, a close-to-stock air suspension Rover will be more capable than a modified solid axle Rover, so unless your goal is to crawl over large boulders there isn't much advantage. There will be other tradeoffs, but as I spend more time in the driver's seat of newer models I'm gaining a deeper understanding of what they can do. The versatility and capability is extensive.
No, I don't NEED 33/35's. I think we're getting into "my favorite color vs your favorite color" territory here. If that's the extent of off-roading you want to do then that's cool, but to me, those are trails that take you to the trails I'm looking for.

>so unless your goal is to crawl over large boulders there isn't much advantage.<

Not necessarily true. Try following a trail made by one of these.
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Tugela

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I can see driving on a trail made by that machine being unpleasant regardless of what suspension you're using.
 
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DiscoHasBeen

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I can see driving on a trail made by that machine being unpleasant regardless of what suspension you're using.
It was a blast. It would have been around '85 to about 1990 when I had the CJ. There were thousands upon thousands of acres that had either been strip mined or were just sitting there waiting to be. On both there was logging going on so plenty of roads/trails made by rigs like the one above. Now any large tracks of land are leased by hunting clubs and mines have went back through and restripped the old mines and turned them into prairies.
 

MM3846

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It was a blast. It would have been around '85 to about 1990 when I had the CJ. There were thousands upon thousands of acres that had either been strip mined or were just sitting there waiting to be. On both there was logging going on so plenty of roads/trails made by rigs like the one above. Now any large tracks of land are leased by hunting clubs and mines have went back through and restripped the old mines and turned them into prairies.

Having starting with modified Jeeps from mild to wild, to the D1, some stuff between and now the D4.... all the good fun just fuck it up wheeling is best done on a SxS. Those machines are incredible. I don’t have a lot of interest in that type of shit anymore but that’s the rig to do it in. Then tow it home from a nice comfy seat.
 

DiscoHasBeen

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Having starting with modified Jeeps from mild to wild, to the D1, some stuff between and now the D4.... all the good fun just fuck it up wheeling is best done on a SxS. Those machines are incredible. I don’t have a lot of interest in that type of shit anymore but that’s the rig to do it in. Then tow it home from a nice comfy seat.

IDK about the SxS but yeah, doubt I'll ever wheel an SUV again. I had bought a Foreman to hunt with. Swore I'd never mud it. One winter day the kid was on mom's last nerve so I bought him some coveralls, a jacket, etc, loaded up the Foreman, and we went to the mines where I knew people to be riding. For the next four or five years after deer season ended and until spiders came out that's how we spent our weekends. More fun than the law allows.
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Blueboy

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Apr 20, 2004
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Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
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IDK about the SxS but yeah, doubt I'll ever wheel an SUV again. I had bought a Foreman to hunt with. Swore I'd never mud it. One winter day the kid was on mom's last nerve so I bought him some coveralls, a jacket, etc, loaded up the Foreman, and we went to the mines where I knew people to be riding. For the next four or five years after deer season ended and until spiders came out that's how we spent our weekends. More fun than the law allows.
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My concept of owning a Landy is loading it up, go where I want to, and get back home. That includes Interstate highways, off road trips in Moab or whatever including Europe, etc. That is their purpose.
 
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MM3846

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And mine would be to mod it to some extent and then try to drive it through the worst shit I could find. To each their own right...

that was me until I was on 3/4 ton axles and 37s breaking alloy axle shafts twisted up in rocks the size of volkswagens, saying "its ok, I have a cage now" when hammering up steps, and baja blasting through access trails because I had 2.5" shocks with 14" of travel... then making sure I could still drive home. I never wanted a tow rig and trailer, because that meant daily driving a 3/4 ton truck. mehhhh.

dont get me wrong, that was fun as hell. but it gives me anxiety now. when I got the D1 and just rolled around open/open on 245s it was like discovering wheeling all over again.
 

K-rover

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Jan 15, 2010
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I think I found a happy medium between offroad ability and comfort/drive ability. 01 D2 fully built with 35s, 4:11s Ashcroft air lockers, hd shafts, onboard air, 16 gallon fresh water tank. 100ah House battery with dc to dc charger. A 100w solar panel on the roof. Everything on the suspension has been changed. The engine has 100k on it since the rebuild. Truck has 200k overall..
I dont hesitate to drive it 6hrs to Windrock and wheel it all weekend and drive it back at 75mph. It's biggest limiting factor is getting 11mpg. It wasnt cheap to get to this point, but its like a swiss army knife and I love it!
 

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Howski

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Everyone does it a little differently. I’ve had built Rovers that I beat on and could get through a bunch. Kind of got tired with the endless projects and tearing stuff up so I’m pretty content with mostly stock vehicles now. In my neck of the woods, outside of dedicated OHV areas on public land (Uwharrie, Beasley Knob, etc) or private off road parks, there’s not many open public trails/FS roads a near stock Rover can’t get through.
 

MM3846

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Feb 18, 2014
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Everyone does it a little differently. I’ve had built Rovers that I beat on and could get through a bunch. Kind of got tired with the endless projects and tearing stuff up so I’m pretty content with mostly stock vehicles now. In my neck of the woods, outside of dedicated OHV areas on public land (Uwharrie, Beasley Knob, etc) or private off road parks, there’s not many open public trails/FS roads a near stock Rover can’t get through.

I'm 3 hours from a "trail" and all my local legal stuff is on the beach, which anything with 4wd can do. With the new kiddo I wanted something comfortable for road trips and camping.
 
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DiscoHasBeen

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dont get me wrong, that was fun as hell. but it gives me anxiety now. when I got the D1 and just rolled around open/open on 245s it was like discovering wheeling all over again.
Same here. Had the CJ to the point following established trails wasn't much of a challenge so started making my own. Then it got to be a weekend of wheeling and a week or two of repairs. Finally got tried of it and basically gave the thing away to a friend.

When I came back here in '16 it was with the intention of getting another LR. The kid had scored baseball and academic scholarships that amounted to about 90% tuition so I had all this college money sitting around. Then every time I found a candidate for a rebuild I'd talk myself out of it. I know how I am, the first time I have to turn around on a trail I'm going to bolt more shit on it and at some point I'll be right back where I was with the CJ.
 

p m

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all the air suspension vehicles on that trip (including stock D5s and LR4s on street tires) easily outperformed a built RRC.
While it may have been a fact, it is grossly misleading. What you should have said is
"All vehicles with independent suspension and traction control ..."
And that, too, would not cover all aspects of the difference.
 
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Tugela

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While it may have been a fact, it is grossly misleading. What you should have said is
"All vehicles with independent suspension and traction control ..."
And that, too, would not cover all aspects of the difference.

Peter, take another gander at my post. The sentence immediately following the one you quoted makes the same point - worded differently - as your proposed rewritten sentence. I'll even save you the trouble of scrolling back up:

Tugela said:
Some of that is likely due to Terrain Response vs. the VCU B-W transfer case

This not only speaks to traction control but also recognizes the wider array of factors in play.
 
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p m

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Peter, take another gander at my post. The sentence immediately following the one you quoted makes the same point - worded differently - as your proposed rewritten sentence. I'll even save you the trouble of scrolling back up:
<>
This not only speaks to traction control but also recognizes the wider array of factors in play.
Noted.
However, the original question was about air suspension. Could you say that D4/5 without traction control would have performed better than a Classic, or a Classic with air suspension would have performed better than (say) an identical Classic without?
The answer to the first question you don't know, and the answer to the second is most likely a "no."
Here goes the relevance.

The ground clearance, given the tires of the same size, is about the same between an independently-suspended and solid axle trucks, it's just the low and high points are in different locations. It helps to lift the body higher off the ground, but in vehicles with solid axles it is already higher off the ground.
 
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DiscoHasBeen

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Well shit, I guess I stand corrected.