Can I imrove my suspension or do I have to trade my Defender?!

I love my Defender (2003 110, chipped, 193,0000km)... is perfect for my needs now I've chipped it... EXCEPT...when it comes to heavy towing long distance, specifically horses. Towing 2.5 tonne 4 to 5 hours on NZ roads which aren't the smoothest...not fun.

I have spoken to my service guys who say that the shocks look original, and have an official life of about 80K...so well due renewing, but they're not sure changing them will change my towing experience.

Does anyone else have experience, opinion in this area... or am I trying to make the Defender something it isn't and have to trade it for a Land Cruiser...REALLY don't want to... but long distance towing of the nags is a regular thing so have to decide.

Thoughts anyone?

I'd replace shocks and spring and polybush.
If the shocks are original lol
Stick with oe unles anyone knows of any to make it more comfortable

there are loads of different springs and suspension setups for the defender.. from road to pure offroad.. however it'll be upto you to pick the correct stuff.

I take it you mean a lcrsr with coils? The defender should be just as comfortable a ride as the crsr from my experience . What tyres and what pressures are you running ? Are the shocks standard , are the springs ?

Mate, changing ur shocks and springs will make a massive difference. In ur part of the world I'd go for old man emu made in oz from memory 755 and 751 springs with nitrose sports shocks. Will make a massive difference to your Landy. Better for the soul than buying a landcruiser

that's interesting... the landcruiser has the following spec:

Suspension – Front – Fully independent double wishbone coil spring with stabiliser bar
Suspension – Rear – Four-link coil rigid suspension with lateral rod and stabiliser bar.

..me not very mechanical so I don't know if this is similar to my 03 Defender.

I am told my shocks are the original, out of the factory setup, my tyres are Dunlop Gran Trek ATB...I think about 40psi is what I was recommended.

The independent front suspension on the land cruiser will always give a better ride on rough roads.

However when it comes to offroading the twin solid axles of the Defender will always be superior.

It's why Toyota offer the Land cruiser with optional solid front axle.

DubaiLandy said:

Mate, changing ur shocks and springs will make a massive difference. In ur part of the world I'd go for old man emu made in oz from memory 755 and 751 springs with nitrose sports shocks. Will make a massive difference to your Landy. Better for the soul than buying a landcruiser

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Thanks for that advice... I will follow up on those. I agree, way better for the soul if I can find a suitable setup!

nesponge said:

The independent front suspension on the land cruiser will always give a better ride on rough roads.

However when it comes to offroading the twin solid axles of the Defender will always be superior.

It's why Toyota offer the Land cruiser with optional solid front axle.

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Thanks for that, yes....I understand. Fortunately for the horses, I don't do very much towing off road
If I can improve it enough, I'll be happy... but if I'm just trying to turn it into something it's not then I will end up changing no doubt.

LOUNZ said:

but if I'm just trying to turn it into something it's not then I will end up changing no doubt.

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Can you clarify what you mean by this, and what the actual issue is?

All you've really said is:

"Towing 2.5 tonne 4 to 5 hours on NZ roads which aren't the smoothest...not fun."

But that doesn't really say much about what the problem is. Are you talking vibrations, constant ride, or something when hitting pot holes/bumps? What actually happens?

If you are talking general refinement of a Defender, then that's something different, but you said only when towing, so I assume this isn't the case.

In terms of ride while towing, I doubt there is any other vehicle that'll ride any better. And if your ride while towing is far worse than when not towing, then something can't be quite right.

For the price of a set of shocks and springs, it's worth refreshing them.

Have you got the tow hitch at the right hight for your trailer and that the draw bar load/weight is correct,specs will be in trailer manual] to little or to much will upset both ride and handeling.

For the uninitiated here, NZ roads can mean miles and miles of gravel tracks, some with washboard type rutting.
As above, the independent setup on the LC will probably mean more compliance, BUT your existing setup is bound to be knackered, and a set of new springs and shocks will improve things greatly.

zeaphod said:

For the uninitiated here, NZ roads can mean miles and miles of gravel tracks, some with washboard type rutting.
As above, the independent setup on the LC will probably mean more compliance, BUT your existing setup is bound to be knackered, and a set of new springs and shocks will improve things greatly.

Click to expand...

IRS should give more compliance than a live axle on rough high speed terrain. However this would be true if towing or not. If the ride is substantially worse when towing than when not. Then that sounds like something else is up.

Worn dampers might not dampen very well under load, or worn springs might result in hitting the bump stops.

Overall, making it ride well when fully loaded, it will likely ride worse when unladen. But this won't be specific to the Land Rover, and will affect a Toyota, Nissan, etc exactly the same.

can always go with a progressive softer spring and then stick on rear 130 spring helpers to help with a full load.

What about a twin shock set-up? I am pondering doing this myself, anyone done it or know if it is worthwhile doing?

If you are comparing with a landcruiser with the independent set up then you wont get to that level of ride with a solid axle 110 , you need to be considering a discovery , or range rover.

Thanks 300bhp... appreciate your input.
I guess the reason why towing is the issue is that whilst I am perfectly happy bouncing around a little in the defender when driving, and the ride, whilst a bit rough and tumble doesn't bother me.... when I have my precious horse, a live weight on my tow bar, i find the feedback from the trailer (because it's sitting on my rear suspension) means I am feeling every deviation in the road three times. And to answer your question, it's mostly undulations and dips, pothole repairs etc.
For 30mins or 1 hour... again, not a biggie, but I do several trips a year of 4 or more hours and this is not much fun.
If driving slowly.... 60kph... or on smooth motorway roads, there is no issue at all. However in NZ, smooth roads are few and far between even on our #1 highway.

tottot said:

Have you got the tow hitch at the right hight for your trailer and that the draw bar load/weight is correct,specs will be in trailer manual] to little or to much will upset both ride and handeling.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Good point and I think it's spot on, but not sure how I could test this. The trailer is level when loaded, which is what I want for the horse.
It's a custom made trailer - proper engineers, but not a manual.
How would I go about testing this question?

zeaphod said:

For the uninitiated here, NZ roads can mean miles and miles of gravel tracks, some with washboard type rutting.
As above, the independent setup on the LC will probably mean more compliance, BUT your existing setup is bound to be knackered, and a set of new springs and shocks will improve things greatly.

Click to expand...

It's not quite that bad Zeaphod!
I'm not talking gravel roads at all here...I'm talking sealed roads at speeds of 80kph... we they just aren't very smooth...long stretches of single lane stuff and very buggered by lots of truck transport.

300bhp/ton said:

IRS should give more compliance than a live axle on rough high speed terrain. However this would be true if towing or not. If the ride is substantially worse when towing than when not. Then that sounds like something else is up.

Worn dampers might not dampen very well under load, or worn springs might result in hitting the bump stops.

Overall, making it ride well when fully loaded, it will likely ride worse when unladen. But this won't be specific to the Land Rover, and will affect a Toyota, Nissan, etc exactly the same.

Click to expand...

mmm... solve one problem, create another one....