Defender 110 Which Shock Absorbers?

Hi All,
Told by garage rear shock absorbers need replacing and am looking for help/advice. Not looking for extra lift, etc. so do I go for standard shocks from britpart or similar or are their better options out there? If I use standard, any one know where I can get the best price for a pair and should I change front shocks at same time?

In addition, is it best practice to change springs as well??? Questions, questions, questions!
Thanks in advance.
Jonah

lt depends on what you want. lf you are happy with it, just go OE. You can buy new "take off" ones from somewhere like Twisted for about £20 each.

lf you want to improve the ride quality, l would recommend you try the Terrafirma 4-way adjustable dampers, which can be set to give a softer ride quality if you want.

Also if you fit Puma springs (unless yours is already a Puma) they are supposed to give a slightly better ride quality.

You can also buy these new "take off" at around £100 for a set of 4.

l've got both fitted to my 110 TD5 SW and the ride is definitely more compliant.

How are the springs ?
If they are rusty, paint peeling etc then changing them with the shocks would be sensible as they are not crazy expensive.
I'd also be tempted to change the front set too if they are the same age....

I'd reccomend Terrafirma over Britpart for both shocks and springs.
Springs: Medium duty on the front and light duty on the back (circa £200)
Shocks: All terrain front and rear (std are around £130 and 4 way adjustable £300)

You should also get new retainer and turret rings for the front and a rear spring seat kit and retainer (£25 ish) plus new rear shock retaining washers (£10)

Alternatively LRSoffroad do a std 'kit' for around £215 (eBay 224179763817) - you still should get the seat kit, retainers front and back and new washers.

I am going to buck the usual tend here and recommend the bottom end cheap britpart dampers. I had them fitted to mine for several years and a trip around morocco. at the time there were about £15 a corner and were perfectly adequate for the job. (look to have gone up in price and are now £20 form paddocks). I only replaced them because I was going back to morocco and renewed all of the suspension. I upgraded to OEM shocks all around but only because I had more money and did the whole suspension with oem spec parts.

jonah said:

Hi All,
Told by garage rear shock absorbers need replacing and am looking for help/advice. Not looking for extra lift, etc. so do I go for standard shocks from britpart or similar or are their better options out there? If I use standard, any one know where I can get the best price for a pair and should I change front shocks at same time?

In addition, is it best practice to change springs as well??? Questions, questions, questions!
Thanks in advance.
Jonah

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Shocks don't give lift.

No need to swap springs just because you are changing shocks.

Pretty much any standard shock will be fine. As for best price, how long is a piece of string....

I fitted Britpart springs and shocks/dampers when I rebuilt mine. It’s just gone through it’s 3rd MOT since the rebuild, and everything is still in decent condition. Yes the paint has started to flake, but no leaky shocks and springs still look and feel like they are doing the same job as when new.

Yes the Britpart are fine as long as you are happy with the standard specification and are not looking to improve the ride quality over standard,.

Fot standard car cheap and cheerful would be my answer.
I have terrafirma, and only reason dont go back to std is the mounts have been changed for the extra travel.

lightning said:

Yes the Britpart are fine as long as you are happy with the standard specification and are not looking to improve the ride quality over standard,.

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It’s a defender. The ride “quality” is, what it is. I drive mine down farm tracks, through fields, across rivers, and on the road every day to work. Mine does everything I ask of it, not sure what else could be asked of it?

lt's possible to make it better on road, if like my 110 that's where it spends most of its time.
Mine is quieter, faster, rides better, handles better and has improved self centering on the steering due to improvements l have made, all of which make it a better road vehicle.

lf it spent the majority of its time off road, it might not be so important

300bhp/ton said:

Shocks don't give lift.

No need to swap springs just because you are changing shocks.

Pretty much any standard shock will be fine. As for best price, how long is a piece of string....

Click to expand...

The spring changing was more a “is it best practice to do both shocks and springs” a bit like changing same axle discs and brakes!

Thanks for all your responses, as I do very little off roading and mileage will go with stock shocks and might change springs while I’m sorting, subject to budget! Been on Landy site re-shocks part number and being advised LR044348 110 from 2007, surprise surprise puma shocks most expensive! Seen on eBay a set with 3yr warranty Drexler brand(German) anyone know of/had experience of these?
Thanks in advance.

lightning said:

lt's possible to make it better on road, if like my 110 that's where it spends most of its time.
Mine is quieter, faster, rides better, handles better and has improved self centering on the steering due to improvements l have made, all of which make it a better road vehicle.

lf it spent the majority of its time off road, it might not be so important

Click to expand...

Each to their own, but I think you missed the point I was trying to make. If the ride isn’t “good enough” in standard form, for road driving, then a defender is the wrong vehicle for what you are trying to do.

What's wrong with trying to improve it? l love my 110 but if l can make it better, l will.

l know l could have a Disco or similar, but l like driving the Defender.