Disco 2 Suspension / Handling

The suspension (air and coil) on my D2 is perfect on flat roads, but whenever it hits any bumps, it seems to crash over them rather than smooth them out. I know it's a big heavy car, and I'm not expecting it to glide over the bumps like a Rolls, but surely there must be something I can do to make it nicer to drive over rough terrain.

I happened to be on an unpaved road the other day, hit a big dip in the road, and nearly smacked my head on the roof... the car literally threw me up out of the seat.

I've recently fitted new shocks on the back, and had new springs and shocks on the front, so it's not a case of the suspension being worn out. I'm thinking it's a mismatch of the springs to shocks as they weren't all bought from the same supplier, and at the same time (I did buy the pairs of each at the same time and from the same supplier though!). So, what will I be using the car for... 90% on road, 10% light off-road, however, many of the roads on the Island may as well be off-road tracks given the state some of them are in, so I suppose my figures need to be adjusted to 60% on, 40% off. Has anyone else suffered a similar discomfort and then found a good setup with regard to the suspension (I'm keeping the air bags )

As always, any advice is welcome.

Did it do it before you changed the springs and shocks?

What springs and shocks did you fit?

Cheers

I'm not really sure I can definitely say it did it before as it had a knackered clutch and flywheel, so I was driving it like a granny, but I would say it was never really comfortable.

The shocks on the back are these

http://www.paddockspares.com/dc6011-britpart-cellular-dynamic-rear-shock-absorber.html

The springs and shocks on the front are

http://www.paddockspares.com/rnb000270-front-shock-absorber-with-coil-springs-from-3a000000.html
http://www.paddockspares.com/reb000330-spring-coil.html and
http://www.paddockspares.com/reb000340-spring-coil.html

One thing.

Your front shock absorber states with coil springs, I thought they made different front suspension shocks depending on if fitted with Air or Coil on the back.
although I may be wrong, does yours have ACE?



Cheers

neilly said:

One thing.

Your front shock absorber states with coil springs, I thought they made different front suspension shocks depending on if fitted with Air or Coil on the back.
although I may be wrong, does yours have ACE?

Cheers

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No, it doesn't have ACE. I did speak to Paddocks before I bought the front coils about that, and they assured me that these were the right springs.

Shimsteriom said:

and they assured me that these were the right springs.

Click to expand...

I was asking about the shocks not the springs.

Cheers

neilly said:

I was asking about the shocks not the springs.

Cheers

Click to expand...

Sorry, that's what I meant.

The other thing is to check all bushes etc .
Also, you are running the correct tyre pressures?

Cheers

neilly said:

The other thing is to check all bushes etc .
Also, you are running the correct tyre pressures?

Cheers

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll check all the bushes. The tyres are all running the correct pressures, I'm quite religious about them since fitting new tyres.

16 or 18" wheels? Bit more sidewall compliance with 16" .

Spong said:

16 or 18" wheels? Bit more sidewall compliance with 16" .

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+1, wot he said.
I've certainly noticed the difference between the two rim sizes.

Spong said:

16 or 18" wheels? Bit more sidewall compliance with 16" .

Click to expand...

I've got 16's now.

I have the same suspension as you on my es and to be honest the ride feels a lot better than the classic Range Rover I have which is much better than a defender and light years a head of a series 2 Land Rover.

I'm saying this because when the discovery is compared against other 4x4's with very similar suspension you'll find the ride very good. Mine doesn't soak up big potholes like they aren't there and no car I've ever driven has been able to. If you have fitted standard springs all round I think you might be expecting too much. I have a lot of bumps in my road more like corrugations and the vehicle, I guess you could say, crashes through it but so has every other car and Land Rover I've owned.

The cellular dynamics shocks you have fitted are uprated so you can expect a firmer ride than standard ones

109inches said:

I have the same suspension as you on my es and to be honest the ride feels a lot better than the classic Range Rover I have which is much better than a defender and light years a head of a series 2 Land Rover.

I'm saying this because when the discovery is compared against other 4x4's with very similar suspension you'll find the ride very good. Mine doesn't soak up big potholes like they aren't there and no car I've ever driven has been able to. If you have fitted standard springs all round I think you might be expecting too much. I have a lot of bumps in my road more like corrugations and the vehicle, I guess you could say, crashes through it but so has every other car and Land Rover I've owned.

Click to expand...

Thanks, maybe I should stop expecting too much. I suppose I'm making too many comparisons with my old D1, but that had a 2inch lift.

johnlad said:

The cellular dynamics shocks you have fitted are uprated so you can expect a firmer ride than standard ones

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Ahh, i didn't know that. Maybe I could try some original shocks.

Buy a Series Land Rover and drive it on the island for 3 months - then go back to the Disco
By the way, l lived in Port Erin in the mid 90's - loved the IoM except for the weather!

neilly said:

The other thing is to check all bushes etcs

Click to expand...

All the rear bushes are in dire need of replacement so I'll replace all of them and see if it handles any better afterwards.