V6 LR3 Atlantic British OME coil spring conversion

Ol'Drippy

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Apr 20, 2004
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Just got the LR3 sitting up tall. Atlantic British told me that their OME spring conversion kit wouldn?t work with our V6 LR3(don?t know why).. I scoured the internet and found one person who had it done on their V6.. I had the kit installed today instead of trying to tackle in my garage, took them 4-5 hours. Looks great IMO. Just figured I?d share this here in case someone is looking to do the swap.
 

Tugela

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May 21, 2007
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Seattle
It does look good. I'm curious to know what motivated the decision to switch to coils. I would think that putting coils on a fully independently sprung vehicle would negate the performance advantages of the cross-linked air suspension.
 
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Ol'Drippy

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Apr 20, 2004
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Tugula, what motivated the switch is we?ve owned it for 12 or so years and it was a matter of do this and just forget about the air ride and throwing $$ at a 3-4K vehicle. This rig gets driven maybe 5-7k a year at this point. I had a bag go out on the L322 and I replaced that, but if I still own it in 10 years I?d likely do the swap on it as well.
 

Tugela

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May 21, 2007
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it was a matter of do this and just forget about the air ride and throwing $$ at a 3-4K vehicle.


Please bear with me if I'm being obtuse or missing something here, but I'm not following your reasoning. You paid $1,250 in parts and another several hundred for 4-5 hours of professional labor to replace your suspension, and you're worried about spending a lot of money on a highly depreciated aging Rover?
 
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Drillbit

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Oct 12, 2005
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Glasgow Ky
But its done now. Unless he does something crazy those springs should out last the Rover. Fixing the air suspension would leave a system in place that would still need regular service.
 

Howski

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Oct 19, 2009
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Alabama
I’ve never understood the coil conversion either Tugela. Negates one of the best pieces of off road tech on the LR3. Can’t say I’ve ridden in one but the ride qualify has to be a step down from air. My LR3 made my D2 feel like I was riding in my old D90 by comparison
 
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Ol'Drippy

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But its done now. Unless he does something crazy those springs should out last the Rover. Fixing the air suspension would leave a system in place that would still need regular service.


Exactly, what Marty said. Compressor would have been next to go, then valve blocks, lines, who knows.. I?m glad it?s done.
 

Ol'Drippy

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Apr 20, 2004
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I?ve never understood the coil conversion either Tugela. Negates one of the best pieces of off road tech on the LR3. Can?t say I?ve ridden in one but the ride qualify has to be a step down from air. My LR3 made my D2 feel like I was riding in my old D90 by comparison

Maybe because the air ride was in such bad shape, I think it rides very nicely now
 

Tugela

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May 21, 2007
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Seattle
I'm not talking about ride quality, although if this coil setup is anything like other OME products I've used then I'm sure it will be fine. The tradeoff comes in off-road performance. Cross-linked air suspension, for all its quirks and complexity, does what it's supposed to do very, very well. You lose all these advantages when you remove the system. If you're not going to drive the vehicle on terrain where cross-linked air suspension would shine, then this discussion is irrelevant. So if the OP doesn't plan to drive on this terrain then he rightfully should not care.
 

Ol'Drippy

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Apr 20, 2004
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Please bear with me if I'm being obtuse or missing something here, but I'm not following your reasoning. You paid $1,250 in parts and another several hundred for 4-5 hours of professional labor to replace your suspension, and you're worried about spending a lot of money on a highly depreciated aging Rover?


One dealer visit to replace any one corner or compressor would easily go near what I spent on the coils.. now I?m done and don?t have to think about it anymore
 

jwest

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May 28, 2006
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WA & NC
LOL this thread. It's so easy to replace a strut DIY that dealer bend-over is not part of the equation IMO. $1200 basically buys 4 new struts and the valve blocks just don't die that often. I'm on a 2nd compressor with 151,000 miles now.

By the low annual mileage math, air stuff would last 15-20 yrs. This was not a cost decision. This was a made up worries decision - which is fine of course.
 
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