Road-biased suspension setup

My 90 doesn't spend much of its time off road. It's mainly for towing trailers, carrying things and other Land Rover-type stuff.

What worthwhile changes can be made to improve the on-road characteristics of the suspension? Obviously it will never be a racing car, and I wouldn't want to compromise the off-road ability too much for the times when it does venture off the tarmac. Currently there are no anti-roll bars fitted (apart from the anti-roll properties of the front radius arm suspension itself) and there's a fair amount of body roll in corners. So presumably that would be the first place to start. Is there any difference between 90/110/Disco/RR parts? I know where I might get hold of some from a Disco...

It's also quite bouncy over bumps, so the dampers may be on their way out. Not entirely sure what springs and dampers are fitted right now, other than they're yellow.

If you really want to bend the plastic you could try this sort of thing http://jemotorworks.co.uk/ride-and-handling/ or Alive Tuning do something similar I see http://www.alivetuning.com/shop/defender-landrover/defender-td5/suspension-defender-td5/
I fitted Britpart yellow springs about two and a half years ago. Although they were 'standard' they are taller and stiffer than the ones I took off. So you may notice a change just going back to OEM ones, without having to shell out for fancy performance suspension packages.

Just use Armstrong dampers and OEM springs, you will be surprised how much of a difference new springs and dampers make. I wouldn't be using Britpart if you want the system to last as it should.
Old man emu if you feel like pushing the boat out for something decent.

http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/accessories/old-man-emu/

Standard fitment springs/shocks are more than adequate, you probably don't notice how knackered your old ones are until you fit new.

So apparently the standard springs are different on each side. What's the reasoning for this? I can only think it would be to offset the weight of the driver and full fuel tank when otherwise empty. But then won't this cause it to list to one side when loaded? Just about any other springs seem to be 'heavy duty' which for a non-expedition vehicle sounds like they'd give a harsh ride.

I've recently re-bushed the suspension- sounds like it's time to finish the job and fit decent (or at least not unknown) springs and dampers too.

I phoned up one of those awful companies churning out blinded up Chealsea tractor type Land Rovers, they have lots of standard new takeoff suspension at decent prices as they remove them to fit lowering/lifting stuff as per the terrible tastes of their customers. If they've still got some it might be worth a shot.

I got a set of standard springs and dampers off a 2015 90 last year (so brand new) for less than £100. I think it was Urban Truck I got them from.

FlyingPete said:

So apparently the standard springs are different on each side. What's the reasoning for this? I can only think it would be to offset the weight of the driver and full fuel tank when otherwise empty. But then won't this cause it to list to one side when loaded? Just about any other springs seem to be 'heavy duty' which for a non-expedition vehicle sounds like they'd give a harsh ride.

I've recently re-bushed the suspension- sounds like it's time to finish the job and fit decent (or at least not unknown) springs and dampers too.

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That's an urban myth, the stronger springs on one side are to compensate for engine torque when towing.

Dont fit HD springs unless you often carry heavy loads. They make the ride so solid its horrible

nobber said:

That's an urban myth, the stronger springs on one side are to compensate for engine torque when towing.

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That makes sense- torque from the props twisting the body to the right?

bankz5152 said:

Dont fit HD springs unless you often carry heavy loads. They make the ride so solid its horrible

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That could be the cause of the current rough ride. Most of the aftermarket springs seem to be marketed as heavy-duty, which I suppose sounds good but isn't necessarily what you need.

As far as anti-roll bars go, should there be brackets on the axle for them or do they fit to existing trailing arm/ radius arm mountings. There aren't any unused fittings on mine so if it's the former then I guess I can't fit them.

You've probably got the holes for them, as the axle casings and chassis tend to be the same whether or not anti roll bars were fitted. There's a thread I did when I replaced my suspension a couple of years ago here https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/springs-and-things.239690/ On the second page there are quite a few shots of places where you can see how the anti roll bars fasten onto the axles and chassis. A friend had a 110 Double Cab a little older than mine and that didn't have any anti roll bars at all and didn't look like they'd ever been fitted. But the holes were all there in the right places.

No axle or chassis mounting points on mine Suppose in 1988 it wasn't a particularly common addition. I guess the brackets could be welded on but it's looking like more hassle than simply bolting bits together. I'll have a look at replacement springs/dampers and reevaluate things afterwards.

My 85 90 didn't have the brackets.

bankz5152 said:

Dont fit HD springs unless you often carry heavy loads. They make the ride so solid its horrible

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Agreed. Mine came with HD springs and I had to take them off, makes it skittish when empty

Oh well, maybe there's just no provision for them on the earlier models. That's your problem solved then. A quick Google reveals that there's no particular consensus as to when they started coming in on the Defender and which models had them either. I also see YRM does some weld-on chassis brackets, but I can't see any brackets to weld on the axle casings. This is starting to look like a big job. Maybe just going for softer springs and more expensive shocks is the easiest solution.

It's definitely looking to be more trouble than it's worth. I'm thinking the current combination of stiff rear springs and dampers of unknown effectiveness are causing the pitching back and forth over bumps- effectively the front suspension is doing all the work. I'll try standard springs and renewed dampers at some point and see how much it changes