98 Discovery 1 rear suspension advise

Steve M

Well-known member
Mar 11, 2005
107
2
HI Friends,

The rear suspension on my 98 D1 seems soft. I replaced the original HD springs with HD Bearmach's to maintain stock height, and the OME Nitro's with Bilsteins.
Now when going over speed bumps or rain run-off gutters at anything but slow, the rear end has a lot of vertical movement and can hit the bumps stops. I'm running an ARB flat roof rack and 1" spacers too to level it off. The top three coils seem to be almost touching each other when parked. Are the springs too soft and sagged, or the the Bilsteins too soft also? I'm guessing the springs are no good despite being only two years old. Thanks in advance.
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
562
Seattle
Recognizing that one data point does not make a trend, here's my experience.

I also have a 1998 D1. I don't have a lot of accessories on it, the main add-ons are a Safety Devices roof rack and factory brush guard. I installed TerraFirma light duty springs and Bilstein shock absorbers. The springs are roughly equivalent in rating (but not in quality) to Old Man Emu medium duty. I've had this setup on my truck for over three years and have given it a workout in that time. My ride height measures almost exactly what it did when I installed the springs and the ride quality hasn't changed as far as I can tell. Better than the springs they replaced, not as good as OME.

I have no experience with Bearmach springs but in your case they sound like they are not performing as intended. Bilsteins are on the stiffer end of the spectrum and are high quality, so I wouldn't suspect them to be a factor in the poor performance you are getting.

If you want uprated springs that keep you close to stock height, you might look for the factory spec Range Rover Classic heavy duty springs. I don't have a part number, but I put a set of these on my 1990 RR. The resulting lift was about 1" over the tired original coils. The ride quality was harsher when empty but with some weight in the truck the handling was great. I believe these will be compatible with the D1, but I'm not certain. You might find them from a UK vendor, but who knows, maybe one of the US retailers carries them.

Britpart also makes an uprated stock height spring for the D1, but I can't say I would have much confidence in the longevity or performance of those springs, either (says the guy who put TerraFirmas on his own truck...).

When it's time for new springs I'm leaning towards OME medium duty and will try to find a matched set of the shorter ones.
 
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Steve M

Well-known member
Mar 11, 2005
107
2
Thanks for the reply, you gave me a great idea, have a set of OME 2760's I never used. Those with the 1" spacers should take me to just about where I should be? Worth a shot for free :) If that doesn't do it then I'll look for a set of the ANR3477's I believer the OE HD rear springs.
thx
 

robertf

Well-known member
Jan 22, 2006
4,781
358
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Those rrc hd springs are nrc4304.

Im going to try switching from ome 751 and 762 to nrc 4305 And nrc 4304 with helper air bags to soften things up. Im finding those OMEs are too stiff without a departure angle killing bumper
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
562
Seattle
Those rrc hd springs are nrc4304.

Thanks for the part number, Robert. I googlefied it and LR Direct in the UK is selling these springs for $16.08 each (at least the rears - the Britpart version). Looks like there's also a "UKM" option for $55. Shipping 80 pounds of steel across the Atlantic might bump up the price a bit.
 

robertf

Well-known member
Jan 22, 2006
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The rears were $143 from bearmach including shipping and they were at my door in 3 days

I bought the fronts from a domestic, so Im still waiting