Suspension Upgrade

I am in the middle of doing up my 110 pickup, mostly engine work at the moment but I am thinking ahead to suspension. The plan is to turn it into a 110 hardtop overland camper. The original suspension was replaced with Terra Firma 2" lift shocks and springs which need to be replaced. It will do fine for another while on normal roads, but I would not trust them with a bit of extra weight or on rougher terrain.

I am a little bamboozled by the amount of options for suspension, has anyone got any opinions/recommendations/advice on what to go for.

ruairimccify said:

I am in the middle of doing up my 110 pickup, mostly engine work at the moment but I am thinking ahead to suspension. The plan is to turn it into a 110 hardtop overland camper. The original suspension was replaced with Terra Firma 2" lift shocks and springs which need to be replaced. It will do fine for another while on normal roads, but I would not trust them with a bit of extra weight or on rougher terrain.

I am a little bamboozled by the amount of options for suspension, has anyone got any opinions/recommendations/advice on what to go for.

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I have recently fitted a Terrafirma + 2" lift kit ( TF204 ) the wrong kit really for my 90 ( too stiff ) but been told the kit i have fitted is more for overland / heavy towing / carrying work rather than off road / road use so mite fit softer springs when we get chance

i fitted terrafirma big bore expedition shocks to mine, made a huge difference!
We carry a fair bit of weight in it when we go camping etc and it copes admirably.

Yeah not sure wether to go for Terrafirma ( TF202 ) or go for BP yellow springs but keep the Terrafirma shocks next time

ruairimccify said:

I am in the middle of doing up my 110 pickup, mostly engine work at the moment but I am thinking ahead to suspension. The plan is to turn it into a 110 hardtop overland camper. The original suspension was replaced with Terra Firma 2" lift shocks and springs which need to be replaced. It will do fine for another while on normal roads, but I would not trust them with a bit of extra weight or on rougher terrain.

I am a little bamboozled by the amount of options for suspension, has anyone got any opinions/recommendations/advice on what to go for.

Click to expand...

This all depends on several things:

-budget?
-full intended use, you said overland. Do you know what sort of terrain you are likely to be driving on, and what sort of weight you will be carrying?
-Is there something you didn't like about the current suspension setup?


To be perfectly honest, as an all round solution, 100% stock OEM suspension is perfectly fine. Not the best at anything, but very capable for a lot of uses. Tailoring the suspension for a specific use, should make it better for that use, but will compromise on other areas. So being honest with it's actual use will likely help you pick a good solution.

I have stock standard springs on mine with ProComp shocks. It's comfortable for normal road use and copped with a trip fully loaded across the Sahara. I don't have any lifts etc and I went everywhere the other guys went without any problems. One guy who had a two inch lift and top johnny Terra firma springs and shocks broke a shock and said if he was doing it again he wouldn't go for the two inch lift.

I got the entire Kit from Gwynn Lewis a few years back.
Installed easily and has performed flawlessly.

CHALLENGE SUSPENTION, LONG TRAVEL SUSPENTION ITEMS

I bought my second defender, 98 110 which has yellow shocks and yellow springs, been told by the PO it's BP heavy duty kit with a 4" lift.

I have only driven the Landy around the block and I can tell you it's like driving on the rims, I hate this kit and it and it has to go.

I don't know why people will install a heavy duty kit on a Landy for normal use but the person person who suggested it was a certified moron.
It dislodged every tooth filling and rattle my kidney stones to dust.

To the OP, if you do a search, you will find some recent posts where springs and shocked were discussed and even the suggestion of using some stock RR springs.

I will be pulling me engine out tomorrow and will take a better look at the whole suspension setup or lack of.