P38 - air to coils?

Can anyone who has converted a P38 from air to coils give me a fair opinion of the result? Many throw their arms up in the air and shout foul, but have they done it?
My P38 has had new radius arm bushes, front shocks and steering damper, but it still leaps all over the road and the ride is disappointing. The ESA is working correctly, goes up and down on the button and on the move, tyre pressures at the book figure of 28ft/lbs front and 38 rear. I know Fen roads are lousy due to subsidence, but it does it on motorways, too.

PS. Ignore the "junior member" in my heading, at 70 years old I'd be the oldest junior you've ever met!!

ive done a few p38s and personaly i prefer coils but alot like air i prefer a firmer ride,gas shocks are better too ,its fairly easy to do and the kits ive used come with the bits to put warning light out,plus there are numerous springs to use to suit your preference,height and ride ,some will think its sacrilidge as my mate does but iam not keen on air suspension ride

fentigerover, I can understand the fen roads upsetting a P38, just a quick question.

What make/type tyres are fitted to your Range Rover and do you have all the same or mixed makes/types???

Steering ball joints, swivel ball joints pan hard rod bushs
Worn shocks
Worn steering box
Is the car on 18" rims

38 is to much in the rear try it with 32 all round, befor you start thinking of spending £400.

I think my Rangie is a better motor since I changed to coils :behindsofa:but yours should be quite a smooth ride on the EAS if its right, as James said its not a difficult task to change them but the downside is that the car no longer lowers and you will need to climb up into the car so its not so handy for anyone with mobility problems. Mine handles better with less wollowing and I would rather scrap it than change back but you will get the usual suspects telling you that it is dangerous, horrible and bad and that you should go to hell for debasing such a noble beast, so be prepared but if you can, see if you can try one on coils first before making the leap. It should convince you one way or the other, I was lucky to try one on coils before changing.
Davie

J not 32 all round, 28 front and 36 back, I tried 32 all round and it was horrible, got these pressures with new tyres from ATS, thats on 255 x 55 x 18.
Davie

fentigerover said:

Can anyone who has converted a P38 from air to coils give me a fair opinion of the result? Many throw their arms up in the air and shout foul, but have they done it?
My P38 has had new radius arm bushes, front shocks and steering damper, but it still leaps all over the road and the ride is disappointing. The ESA is working correctly, goes up and down on the button and on the move, tyre pressures at the book figure of 28ft/lbs front and 38 rear. I know Fen roads are lousy due to subsidence, but it does it on motorways, too.

PS. Ignore the "junior member" in my heading, at 70 years old I'd be the oldest junior you've ever met!!

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Thanks, guys, for the suggestions.

Tyres:- It's on Cooper Zeon XTS 255/55R18. I'll try 36 in the rears, but they already looks soft at 38!
Shocks are new, but I'll get ball joints etc checked.
The swap to coils still seems a bit iffy, plus, as you say, I'll lose the ride height adjustment, which as my wife is disabled would be a big drawback.
I'll see if I can con a ride in someones converted RR, see what I can make of it.
Thanks again.

I don't think changing to coils will stop it leaping all over the road. I think that's more a function of the tyres and/or steering play. Mines particularly bad on motorways in lane 1 due to the ruts from HGVs. It's on Goodyear Wranglers (255/60/18). I'll be trying something different next time but, from the posts on here, it does seem to be quite a common problem.

Indeed it is a common problem. I am slowly working my way through the whole front end trying to cure mine. It would seem that every part has to be spot on. Everytime I change a part it gets a little better but it is still there. Don't overlook getting the steering box centred. I've read a few posts on people giving the tracking a little more toe in which has helped.

Mine is on 18" Hurricanes with Goodyear Wranglers and it is reasonably good on the bumpy French lanes. An infantessimal amount of play in the drag link caused mine to wander, changed the drag link, problem gone. It will never be as precise as a Pajero though. Worth changing the shocks if the ride is bad, but personally I think the EAS is great, especially the ability to raise the suspension when the road is flooded. (I live in a water mill)

My P38 used to tram badly on bumpy roads.

Changed to gas shocks - marginal improvement.
Changed bushes - marginal improvement
Adjusted air suspension as reading indicated diagonal corners were riding high - made a differenceicing on the cake.

Changed to NONE directional tyres (Pirelli Scorpions, all pirelli's are none directional I believe) - Huge improvement in handling, no longer trams or wanders.

Hope this helps.

jamesmartin said:

ive done a few p38s and personaly i prefer coils but alot like air i prefer a firmer ride,gas shocks are better too ,its fairly easy to do and the kits ive used come with the bits to put warning light out,plus there are numerous springs to use to suit your preference,height and ride ,some will think its sacrilidge as my mate does but iam not keen on air suspension ride

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Are you saying gas shocks are better with coils, or generally better for both? I'm thinking of replacing mine soon and I'm still none the wiser about what to fit.

kooky_guy said:

Are you saying gas shocks are better with coils, or generally better for both? I'm thinking of replacing mine soon and I'm still none the wiser about what to fit.

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Hi Guy, for what it's worth, if you got the cash, I would go for adjustable shocks. You can then set them to give you the desired level of response.

Datatek said:

Hi Guy, for what it's worth, if you got the cash, I would go for adjustable shocks. You can then set them to give you the desired level of response.

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Hi Keith,

Hmm. I had a set of Spax adjustables on one of my old P6s years ago but they were impossible to set up and really put me off. I couldn't get any two behaving the same way. Eventually gave up and replaced them again with standard ones.

Perhaps they've improved a bit now?

Guy

You can get a pair of genuine Landrover fronts and a pair of OEM Boge rears from Island 4x4 for around £83.00 post free. Don't forget that shockers that have been stored on their side should be excercised in a vertical position through their full travel several times before fitting. Otherwise you will end up with a car that resembles Zippadee.

kooky_guy said:

Hi Keith,

Hmm. I had a set of Spax adjustables on one of my old P6s years ago but they were impossible to set up and really put me off. I couldn't get any two behaving the same way. Eventually gave up and replaced them again with standard ones.

Perhaps they've improved a bit now?

Guy

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I've used Koni adjustables in the past for competition with good results

wammers said:

You can get a pair of genuine Landrover fronts and a pair of OEM Boge rears from Island 4x4 for around £83.00 post free. Don't forget that shockers that have been stored on their side should be excercised in a vertical position through their full travel several times before fitting. Otherwise you will end up with a car that resembles Zippadee.

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Thanks for that. Might make that my next task after the rear disks...

gas are better on both i think

So I`me not the only one with this problem! On the plus side I found the answer as a result of the forum, change to 16` rims, the shake/wobble disappears. I`ve changed the lot and nothing made any difference, then I swapped wheels with a friend, bingo. It will not happen with new tyres but at 25% wear it starts and gets worse. Change to 16 and coils, the ride is not as floaty as Air but nearly as good and sharper.Oh, if you use the britpart kit, get HD springs and have decent shocks(not Monroe!).