Ready to lift ... How the hell do I do it?

[Great Pumpkin]

Hi all,

The time has come where I am finally going to pull the trigger, dent the credit card and lift and retread the Great Pumpkin (04 G4 Disco II). But, I am rather clueless on this stuff and am hoping the members here can help me out. I really need to know it all.

Luckily, a friend of mine is a mechanic and will pretty much do the work for me. He has a shop with lift et al, but is not a Land Rover guy. He used to run lifted Broncos and stuff a while back. Nevertheless, I am confident in his abilities.

That being said, I started this thread a while back inquiring about my options lifting with SLS ...

http://www.discoweb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=913

I have decided to KEEP the SLS (for now). So it will be the spacers in the rear under the bags -- which give me 2" lift max, right? 2" is a sufficient lift, right? I saw that rovertym sells SLS spacers -- are there other options out there? Do I need to buy anything else to get the rear finished?

That said, up front I really need to know what to order. I will be getting a new bumper (ARB I think and eventually I want to add a winch too) soon, so I want the front setup to be able to handle that weight without sagging too much or anything. Also, once I get a few more bucks (might take a while though) rock sliders will be added and, down the road, a SD roofrack.

SO, I need new shocks and springs, right? Old Man Emu? Which do I order? From where? What else do I need to buy?

As for tires, I really like the way that Jamooche's (Jamil Abbasy's) DII looks, and am looking for a similar look.

http://www.discoweb.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=133&stc=1

I believe he is running 255/85/16 -- can I run these tires with the 2" spacers? Will there be enough room and enough room for the suspension to articulate? If not, what can I do?

I have been reading many of the BFG MT v Goodyear MTR threads. I think I am going with the Goodyears for a few reasons, one being that they were the tires run in the G4 and it is a G4 edition. But, I am still debating. That aside, SIZE is my real question. What can I do? What should I do.

I am by no means an off-road expert or anything, but I am learning and YES, I go. On stock tires my outings have been limited, but I have been to Paragon several times with the R.O.V.E.R.S Club. I really love what my Disco can do and I want to make it even more capable. I was pretty much hooked the first time I took the Pumpkin to Paragon. But, it is also my daily driver - good thing is, my work commute is less the 3 miles ROUND TRIP! So shitty gas mileage doesn't totally kill me. However, I do some highway travel and a decent amount of on-road driving.

Whew ... Anyway, I hope you all can give me some help here. I want to make sure I order and have everything ready to go. I don't want to forgot to dot my Is and find myself starting the install only to be short a part or two -- especially since I am so new at this.

So, thank you in advance.

--Michael

 

[Str0ud]

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/disco2frontcoils/

Have a look at this. Good Luck.

 

[Panama Disco]

Michael,

I recommend OME Springs, 751 front and 781 rear (with Expeditionware 1.0" Spring Spacers under the springs) its better to take off does SLS there not reliable for off road situations. OME Shocks Front N107 and Rear N108 also a new steering damper wouldn?t hurt. I think this is good setup for you and if you are going to purchase an airbag compatible bumper go with TJM they have better approach angle than ARB bullbars, if you don?t care about the airbag then go with RTE bumpers.

With this setup you can run does 255/85/16 tires.

Peter

 

[Discojunky]

I guess its a budget thing! I would go with a three inch suspension lift and get the added articulation (You loose articluation with spring spacers). Then you will keep your wheels on the ground for better traction and be able to fit those 255's to boot. But, you will need a front drive shaft, radius arms, trailing arms, extended brakelines... to do it right. It will pay off down the trail (no pun intended) when you regear and add lockers. But, if your not frequently doing hard trails save your money and do the 2 inch lift and spacers and screw the lockers. Just my opinion- but it means a lot to me. P.S. I fit those tires on a D1 with a 3" lift and trimming and I gather from this site the DII's can take bigger tires so you should be fine with 3 inches however you choose to get it.

 

[Discojunky]

Loose articulation or lose articulation?

 

[LostInBoston]

3" lift on D2's you DO NOT need new radius arms. sure they would be cool, but not needed.

 

[Discojunky]

DII's don't have light steering due to the angle of the front axle & drive shaft after you install a 3 inch lift? I know a lot of people that don't put em' on D1's either but if you want it to feel closer to stock I would think you would need em'.

 

[dave_lucas]

"DII's don't have light steering due to the angle of the front axle & drive shaft after you install a 3 inch lift"

IMHO the DII does not feel as "light" in the steering as a DI with 3" of lift. I have owned both with 3" lifts and would say without a doubt that the DII is allot more road friendly and accepting of the 3" lift. With that said you will see a noticeable difference in the steering on a DII just not as bad as a DI.

Personally I think the 3" lift is ideal for the DII and it does not require nearly as much work as the DI to have acceptable results.

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Starting to understand it all ....

Honestly I think 2" will be the most sensible -- partially for financial reasons and partially due to mere practicality. Also, it will allow me to keep the SLS. I am pretty sure Lost in Boston still runs his SLS and says they can handle the off road situations just fine. I wonder why LR put SLS in the G4s anyway. I am not marketing genius, but why not have sold them with rear coils and with beefy MTRs instead of SLS with streetish tires?

Anyway, so far, this is my list of what to buy: OME front springs and shocks (751s/N107s) and the rear spacers from Rovertyme. Plus the tires. If I can run the 255/85/16s, do I have to adjust anything? I assume my speedo, but what about other stuff. I always see steering bump stops mentioned in the tire threads. How do I do that?

What else do I need to order? I assume there has to be more. My goal is to have this done in a few weeks -- before the end of the month at the latest.

Thanks for the help and please keep it coming.

--GP

 

[Disco Mike]

Michael,
I run 751's in the front of my 99D2 with the 2" RTM spacers in the rear. With this combination, I can run the 265's without triming. Yes the front will get alittle lite if you go to a 3" lift but it is OK or you can change out the radius arms or even better put in a True Trac diff and the steering will feel fine.
Good luck,
Mike J.

 

[LostInBoston]

I have a sensor spacer for my SLS, so its actually at about a 2.5" lift but i can lift it more with the compressor. You can put the sensor up to a 3" lift, but i didnt want to drive around with that much pressure in the bags. I also have a TT up front which keeps the steering tight. A 3" lift isnt much more then the 2" lift.

 

[LostInBoston]

GP,
i just reread your last post. TO fit the 255/85 i think you will need a 3" lift. also, you mayneed to trim your front bumper or get a new one. I would go RTE suspension with bilstein shocks.

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Maybe I misunderstood this thread (http://www.discoweb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=546) -- I thought Jamooche was running the 255/85s on a 2" lift setup. Maybe the ties in that photo are NOT 255/85s. Jamooche, maybe you can explain.

If I cannot run those tires, how big can I go? I would like to fill the wells pretty full (I really love the look of Jamooche's DII) . But, In don't want to deal with rubbing and cutting and whatnot.

I do plan to change the front bumper -- after I recover some from the financial chaos of the lift and tires. I am really considering the ARB -- I know the approach angle is not as good, but I want to keep my factory fogs and headlight washers, which the ARB allows. I saw that one TJM bumper allows to keep the fogs too, but I think the bumper does not look nearly as nice. Are their other bumpers out there with better approach angles that will allow me to keep the fogs and sprayers?

--GP

 

[Panama Disco]

TJM bumpers man, you can keep the factory fogs and headlight washers.

I?m running 255/85/16 with the 3" lift setup that I mention you before and had no problems so far. You have to relocate the washer bottle.

Peter

 

[Discojunky]

O.K. I plead ignorance to DII's but I do know tires. A 255/85/16 can vary a lot from one manufacturer to another. I know a Truxus is 32.7 x 10.1 on a 7 inch rim. A BFG/MT is 33.3 x 10.0 on a 7 inch rim. I know it doesn't sound like much but in a game of inches .6 or so makes a difference. Just something else to think about.

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

sls

i think rovertym makes some sls spacers for the disco 2

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Yes -- I planned on getting the spacers from Rovertyme. EE will probably supply the other things for me.

Besides the shock and springs up front, do I need anything else? Spring seats? Or shock mounts or any of that stuff?

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Ready to order ...

I am ready to call and order this stuff .. this is what I have on my list ...

SLS Airbag spacers (2") from EE

OME 751 Springs (x2)
OME N107 Shocks (x)

Really, is that all I need to put a 2" lift on my Disco II with SLS?

Oh, and tires too. Will get those locally I think.

There is no verdict on size though. How big can I go?

 

[Str0ud]

http://www.discoweb.org/tire.htm

 

[Great Pumpkin]

Pics of D11 with 265/75/16s

Anyone have a nice side photo of a D2 with about 2" lift with 265/75/16s on it? From that link, I am guessing the 265/75/16s may fit best with a stock drivetrain and a 2" OME (N107/751) lift.

Also, I guess in the rear, beyond the spacers, I need shocks too. N108s I take it on the OME route.

Lost in Boston mentioned BIlstein shocks. Are these better? If so, what part numbers are they for front and rear shocks? Do I still use the OME springs up front?