bumpy bumpy 90

Is it just a fact of life that my defender will find craters on the smoothest of roads or is there anything i can do to soften the ride just a little so not all my bones, passenges and whatever i happen to have in the back is not shaken to pieces!? It seems an unusually harsh ride! I though at first the tyre pressures may be too high so lowered them to no avail, the shockers are all newish, what else can i do?! I am however aware that a defender of any descript will never have the ride of a sportscar but anyhow surely it can get better than it is?!

Well there are lots of facts we will need before being able to advise you.
1) How old is it,
2) What's the mileage,
3) Is it more front or rear that causes the problem.
4) What springs have you got fitted? (For this you will probably need to remove the wheels, one front one back, and clean the mud off the spring revealing a rough brush stroke top to bottom, in one to three bands)
5) When looking st the side of the Defender, with it parked on a level, flat surface is it higher at the back than the front, level or lower? (This is easily checked by measuring the gap between the top of the tyres to the bottom of the wheel arches.)
6) What tyres have you got fitted and what pressures are you running?
7) Is it fitted with a lift kit?

If it's any consolation I have the same problem with mine, and a plan to fix it. But I don't know if it will be relevant to you without answers to the above.

Cheers,

Thanks for taking the time to write that!
She is late 1997, 91,000 miles, both front and back cause the problem, haven’t got a jack at my present location but as far as I know they are standard fit springs, the back is approx 1 inch higher than the front, they are greenway macho mud/snow terrain tyres, 28psi front and 32 psi rear, as far as the lift kit goes.... I wish!!!
Hope this is what was required, thanks for the help!
Oli.

defender 90 300tdi said:

Thanks for taking the time to write that!
She is late 1997, 91,000 miles, both front and back cause the problem, haven’t got a jack at my present location but as far as I know they are standard fit springs, the back is approx 1 inch higher than the front, they are greenway macho mud/snow terrain tyres, 28psi front and 32 psi rear, as far as the lift kit goes.... I wish!!!
Hope this is what was required, thanks for the help!
Oli.

Click to expand...

Well at 91,000 it may well be that they are heavy duty springs as they are still longer at the back, unless they have been replaced. When you get a moment check for the colour stripes, you do have to wash them with a cloth to see as the green disapears under the mud. The ride will be harsh with heavy duty springs unless it's loaded up.

The tyres are competition off road tyres and therefore certainly aren't optimised for comfort on road. As such they are meant to be run at much lower pressures off road, around 22psi or so. So tough tyres somewhat "over inflated". I would get some advice either on the forum or from a tyre dealer on the pressures they should be run at on road.

Capable in extreme, hostile conditions, excellent self-cleaning capabilities and a scalloped shoulder system.

For safety's sake I suggest you don't just run them at a lower pressure, you get the correct figures from a pro. You might consider a second set of tyres for road use, as your current traction on wet tarmac will be down and noise levels up.

Cheers