Ok, so I've just bought a 2004 Disco SE, 68k KM. It's my first LR, well, my first truck ever. Just looking on advice on what direction I should go with modding it.
My intent for the truck is as follows:
1) Must be capable of towing a car on a flatbed trailer. That was the #1 reason for buying a truck, to pull my trackday car around so I can bring my family with me to events and because sometimes the car doesn't run after a trackday. <cough> So nothing I do can make the truck unsuitable for this use. As a side note to this, might also use the truck as a recovery vehicle for rally cars.
2) The truck will be my daily driver. I have a 30 minute commute on a quiet country road. I don't want anything that will make it too loud/radical/unsafe for this.
3) Plan to use the truck for family holidays. This could be anything from a trip across country, or some "mild" off-roading. So, really I'm looking for more of an Overland setup than a rock crawler. I would like to be able to take the thing 1000 miles on the highway to the coast, or just driving around on some logging roads and easier trails locally.
4) Can't be too expensive. Trying to do it on a budget, I spend most of my money on the trackday car and my house.
Here's what I've been thinking so far:
-Trade the 18's for somebody's 16's, with some A/T tires such as General Grabber A/T or Kumho A/T tires... something like that. Are these reasonably quiet enough, or do A/T's make a lot of noise? Definitely don't want MTs.
-How about a mild lift? 1" spacers, or maybe 2" springs, would this violoate 1)? Can I do this without new shocks, for now? Would eventually like Bilsteins... I'm a Bilstein guy. I don't want to lift too high that it becomes unstable.
-I'd like to get a winch just in case I get stuck in the mud somewhere on a logging road or easy trail. I don't need to be able to winch the truck up a cliff. I was thinking of just something like a Mile Marker PE8000 for $380, and mount it on a discrete winch mount type of setup using the stock bumper? I can't really afford $2000 for a bumper and Warn winch... Would a PE8000 be completely useless?
-I figure the CDL, HDC and traction control should be good enough for now? Eventually might like a TruTrac setup. I have a Quaife in my car and sure like the way it works, basically the same diff.
-Again, don't really have the money for a whole new front bumper, but I know I will need some kind of recovery attachment points at the front. Either for pulling rally cars out of snowbanks, or on the trail, etc. What can I do without buying a whole new off-road bumper? Any way to get a proper tow hook on there? I already know I'll get a reciever mounted shackle for the back, that's easy.
Anything else I should be thinking of?
I also know I want some extra lighting. Not sure how I'll accomplish that yet... I do want a roof rack, but that won't be for a while. Might mount some foglights on brackets on the front.
Ideally I'd love some kind of solid A-bar that mounts a winch and some lights, but I really just haven't seen anything that I like. Most Abars are just cosmetic. And I just don't really like the look of a full bullbar bumper.
Stylistically, I'd love an Abar with the shape of the LR poly Abar for the 03-04 trucks, but made out of 2" square tubing instead, and integrating a winchmount in the base, with two recovery points on either side.
I have a welder and a lot of shop equipment, might try making something myself.
My intent for the truck is as follows:
1) Must be capable of towing a car on a flatbed trailer. That was the #1 reason for buying a truck, to pull my trackday car around so I can bring my family with me to events and because sometimes the car doesn't run after a trackday. <cough> So nothing I do can make the truck unsuitable for this use. As a side note to this, might also use the truck as a recovery vehicle for rally cars.
2) The truck will be my daily driver. I have a 30 minute commute on a quiet country road. I don't want anything that will make it too loud/radical/unsafe for this.
3) Plan to use the truck for family holidays. This could be anything from a trip across country, or some "mild" off-roading. So, really I'm looking for more of an Overland setup than a rock crawler. I would like to be able to take the thing 1000 miles on the highway to the coast, or just driving around on some logging roads and easier trails locally.
4) Can't be too expensive. Trying to do it on a budget, I spend most of my money on the trackday car and my house.
Here's what I've been thinking so far:
-Trade the 18's for somebody's 16's, with some A/T tires such as General Grabber A/T or Kumho A/T tires... something like that. Are these reasonably quiet enough, or do A/T's make a lot of noise? Definitely don't want MTs.
-How about a mild lift? 1" spacers, or maybe 2" springs, would this violoate 1)? Can I do this without new shocks, for now? Would eventually like Bilsteins... I'm a Bilstein guy. I don't want to lift too high that it becomes unstable.
-I'd like to get a winch just in case I get stuck in the mud somewhere on a logging road or easy trail. I don't need to be able to winch the truck up a cliff. I was thinking of just something like a Mile Marker PE8000 for $380, and mount it on a discrete winch mount type of setup using the stock bumper? I can't really afford $2000 for a bumper and Warn winch... Would a PE8000 be completely useless?
-I figure the CDL, HDC and traction control should be good enough for now? Eventually might like a TruTrac setup. I have a Quaife in my car and sure like the way it works, basically the same diff.
-Again, don't really have the money for a whole new front bumper, but I know I will need some kind of recovery attachment points at the front. Either for pulling rally cars out of snowbanks, or on the trail, etc. What can I do without buying a whole new off-road bumper? Any way to get a proper tow hook on there? I already know I'll get a reciever mounted shackle for the back, that's easy.
Anything else I should be thinking of?
I also know I want some extra lighting. Not sure how I'll accomplish that yet... I do want a roof rack, but that won't be for a while. Might mount some foglights on brackets on the front.
Ideally I'd love some kind of solid A-bar that mounts a winch and some lights, but I really just haven't seen anything that I like. Most Abars are just cosmetic. And I just don't really like the look of a full bullbar bumper.
Stylistically, I'd love an Abar with the shape of the LR poly Abar for the 03-04 trucks, but made out of 2" square tubing instead, and integrating a winchmount in the base, with two recovery points on either side.
I have a welder and a lot of shop equipment, might try making something myself.