3" Rovertym Lift + Tires

[nola000]

Hello.

Full-time lurker, part-time poster.

I have a stock 2004 Disco with heavily neglected stock 255/55/18 tires that are about to blow.

I have plans for several off-road upgrades even though I dont do any recreational off-roading, though that could become a hobby in the future. This truck was purchased for the purpose of going on deep-country camping trips and to get me and my family out of harms way should the need arise.

I would like to go as high as possible without creating reliability issues, looking ridiculous and making entry and exit difficult for wee ones and wifey types. The 3" Rovertym lift seems to be the consensus as far as springs go and I would like to go with 33" tires and 16x7 Gulf Coast Rover Black Nugget rims or the Atlantic British 3030 rims.

After doing much reading on the subject there seems to be no consensus on whether there would be any issues with driveshafts, axles, shocks, brake lines, ring and pinion gears, etc with the added spring height, tire height and rim offset. Some people say there are issues and some say there are none. Id like to hear from those that have done the Rovertym 3" inch springs, 33 inch tires and added offset ONLY on an otherwise stock suspension. In other words people with actual experience with the setup Im describing, not hearsay.

If this setup will assure problems without other upgrades then what problems would there be with 32" tires, added offset from said rims and a 3" Rovertym spring setup? Im not against going with 3" Rovertym springs on 32s but I have only found one picture of a Disco with such a setup and it was a Disco I. So Im not sure if 32s would look too small on RTE 3" springs.

I may, in the future, upgrade to heavy duty axles, driveshafts and 4.11 gears but I dont want to make a tire, rim and spring purchase and be forced immediately to spend money on other items not related to replacing my stock rubber and rims. Like I said I dont do any recreational off-roading and I can hold off on any off-road camping trips until then. I dont want to make a purchase decision and have to upgrade later or try to sell my new stuff on the used market. My main concern right now is just getting the old rubber off the road and future proofing.

Thanks,
Kyle C.

 

[achapman]

Gulf coast rovers wheels are for the D1 only. You can go with Pro Comp Rock crawler series 87 wheels or steelies from Lucky8 in any backspace you want.

Your front double cardon will be fine. ABS lines will be fine. I would upgrade the brake hoses anyways, but they can be fine with the 3" lift. You WILL NEED longer shocks.

Getting into the truck will take some effort. You won't be able to just hop in any more. I'm 6'3 and I have to hit my tippy toes to slide in.

32's will look too small on Rovertym 3" lift.

2nd, nobody can tell you if you will break an axle etc etc...Sometimes it just happens. The steering knuckles and hubs are your weakpoints after HD axle/CV (i think()

I have exactly what you want to do, except where you want 33s I have 35s.

Rovertym lift with 32's

Pro Comp Rock Crawler 87 at 4.75" backspace. I just put these on last night. I hate how it sticks out now, but I gained my full turning radius back with 35's.

 

[nola000]

Really? I thought the Gulf Coast Rover rims were 5 x 120MM. Ill edit.

I really thought there would be somebody or several somebodies that has this or a similar setup and has or has not had problems directly related to this setup.

I dont think the RTE lift with the 32s looks too bad.

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

I see you are on the North Shore. I am just across the Lake and could help you out with your lift. Me and a guy here at my school are about to put a 3in Terra Firma lift on his truck with 255/85r16 on stock 04 S rims. When the lift is put on we are just changing out the front radius arms and the panhard rod

I currently have a 99 D1 with what amounts to a 3in. lift on 255/85s with a 1.4 Tcase to help push the tires.

Pic of the 04:

Pic of the 99:

 

[KyleT]

35's.

At least don't get the rock crawler wheels.you need hub centric wheels or you will be chasing a vibration forever.

 

[achapman]

Really? I thought the Gulf Coast Rover rims were 5 x 120MM. Ill edit.
I really thought there would be somebody or several somebodies that has this or a similar setup and has or has not had problems directly related to this setup.

Unless they lied to me, they are d1 only along with their lugs. If you look at the GCR site on 16x7, they have them on a D110 which is 5on6.5 bolt pattern. Same as the 90,d1 etc...

I'm saying it might be fine on the road, but once you hit off pavement, they could break or they could be just fine. There is no definite line. If you are worried about them breaking, stick with 32's until you upgrade. I'd say that is a general consensus. 33's can go both ways.

I know you will def want 4.11 gearing when you go to 33's if you do. It is so sluggish.

 

[achapman]

35's.

At least don't get the rock crawler wheels.you need hub centric wheels or you will be chasing a vibration forever.

I have zero vibration. Tested all the way up to 80mph.... I probably read every thread on dweb about hub centric vs lug centric. Conflicting opinions. In my case, it worked out just fine.

Also, Lucky8 steelies aren't hub centric.

Where can you find a hub centric steel 16x8 wheel for the D2 without going custom made like those from Marsh racing? I looked all last week.

 

[wheelen disco]

I run a Rte 3" with fox shocks and a 1" spacer in the rear. You will need to correct the castor angle. I haven't broken a axle or cv yet, but I do carry spares. Your stock diffs will eventually wear out, the spider gears can't handle the traction control. If your not to hard on it you may be able to stay stock for awhile. Depending on how much droop you have in the front you may need to address the front shaft. And unless things have changed in 3 years with Rte you'll get 4" of lift in the front and 3" in the rear.

Good luck

 

[nola000]

@ Timmy!!!!!!
Yes. We need to hookup so I can pick your brain. I visit family in Lakeview/NOLA nearly every weekend. Maybe I can take a look at you rig in person. Its hard to get perspective with pictures. What school is that in the background? Baptist Theological Seminary? I dont recognize.

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

PM sent

I do attend the Baptist Seminary in Gentilly. I am here pretty much all of the time except I will be out of town next weekend. If you are down this way hit me up. Oh just to warn you with my truck I was charged the oversize vehicle rate when crossing the causeway but that may have been because I also had a bike on my roof rack...

 

[nola000]

Too much info too fast. I got a wee buzz.

KyleT and achapman are the prime example of conflicting info I mentioned. I would rather be safe than the other thing. So does that mean Atlantic British is the only option for black 16s on a Disco II?

@ wheelen disco
You say the spider gears cant handle the TC. What if I never engage the TC? I only do it once a month or so in some rocks to make sure its functioning properly and get the cobwebs out the ABS.

 

[nola000]

@ Timmy!!!!!
No chit! Thats funny. Oversized rate for a lifted 100" wheelbase vehicle. What crap. Didnt they pay for that bridge like 20 years ago? I cant imagine it costs that much to run.
Im out of town this weekend due to the Disco in fact. I have to go to Shreveport to pick up a rack for it. I guess it would have to be weekend after next.
On a side note, ~380 million people in this country and I always run into someone from the New Orleans area...and Gentilly to boot! I was living in Gentilly before the levee failure. Thats where my girl and her family are from. I used to pass the Seminary quite a bit going out to the yards on Old Gentilly and Almonaster.

 

[achapman]

Your 04 will hardly ever engage TC because of the CDL. Land Rover could not make them work together in 2004. So it pretty much disables TC when the CDL is locked. It'll be like a really dumbed down version of TC.

And you're going to get conflicting answers. It's not science. Laws of physics are always there.

I think that 16x7 steel wheel from AB is a genuine land rover part. NATO wheels are nice, but not sure if they can be ran on the road due to cooling?

Either way p38 steelies will work. Good luck finding a hubcentric in 16x8 if you decided to go that route.

 

[nola000]

Why are the RTE lifts for the DII off by an inch?
By the way, future plans include an ARB full bumper if I hit the lottery. Would that make up the difference in the front? Did they plan it that way?

Conflicting answers + laws of physics...I guess humans are the variable in the equation.

So what are my options for black NATO style rims on my Disco II?

@Timmy!!!!!
What is a 1.4 Tcase?

Would I need longer shocks even of I dont off-road? I would assume that if I dont articulate on basic street pavement that I wont bottom out my stock shocks.

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

The stock transfer case comes with a 1.2 ratio gear in high range. I put the 1.4 ratio tcase that is stock for defender 110s so I could get my rpms back to what it was stock with 29 inch tires. It is basically the same as 4:11 gears in the duffs except it doesn't change the low range gearing.

Your truck won't be hurting if you keep the stock offset 16s and 33s.

 

[jafir]

So does that mean Atlantic British is the only option for black 16s on a Disco II?

http://www.okoffroad.com/stuff-wheel-lr.htm

 

[nola000]

@Timmy!!!!!!
Did you replace the gear itself or the whole transfer case?
Were your RPMs higher or lower that you had to correct them?
Wouldnt you want to change the low range gearing with bigger tires?

@jafir
Thanks for the link. Didnt even know about that company.

 

[achapman]

So what are my options for black NATO style rims on my Disco II?

.

p38 spare tire wheel. Hard to come by. Why are you so against alloys? Serious rock climbing?

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

@Timmy!!!!!!
Did you replace the gear itself or the whole transfer case?
Were your RPMs higher or lower that you had to correct them?
Wouldnt you want to change the low range gearing with bigger tires?

@jafir
Thanks for the link. Didnt even know about that company.

I went ahead and replaced the whole tcase. My rpms went higher back into the area where the engine is most effective and gas mileage actually improved a little bit. I thought about doing the diffs instead of the tcase but I wanted to keep the stock 3.54 diffs because they are easier to come by than a 4.11 diff.

 

[nola000]

@achapman
Mainly aesthetics. I like the military look to them. But steels are more repairable and durable.
So other than AB, P38 and okoffroad there are no other black NATO style rim options for DII?

@Timmy!!!!!!!
So your RPMs went up and your gas mileage improved? I would think just the opposite.