LR3 Coil spring conversion kit

randydandy

New member
Has anyone completed this lift? I've got a coil conversion with lifted profile from Atlantic British and would like to add the Toddco 2 inch spacers.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
I didn't have this lift, but I had a springer with 40mm lift, and then swapped in a 65mm lift using oversized coils. Not sure if my experience is relevant, but If I can answer a question, I will.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Wow that seems like a lot. I was 2.5" and while I didn't have much flex, the height was about perfect. I never had any ti-rod or CV joint issues at that height.
 

randydandy

New member
2.5 seems ok. I wouldn't mind a little more. Maybe a larger tire would do the trick. ;)

Any idea on where one would measure to determine exactly how much lift you currently have?
 
Last edited:
2.5 seems ok. I wouldn't mind a little more. Maybe a larger tire would do the trick. ;)

Any idea on where one would measure to determine exactly how much lift you currently have?

Center of hub (LR emblem in the wheel) to lowest portion of the wheel arch is probably doing to be your best bet for suspension specific. Tire lift can be calculated by tire diameter minus the sag for tire pressure of course.

You could measure unsprung weight on the suspension but that is not going to do much for you in the end. Hope that helps.
 

sdjp

New member
Hi everyone, experienced off-roader here with another brand. Completely new to LR, except for the 72’ series III I had briefly in high school almost 30 years ago.

just bought an 08’ LR3 HSE that already had the AB coil conversion done (air suspension failed the second time and previous owner had enough). It was a little old lady and the reputable Land Rover shop put in what seems like a lower than stock height coil/ strut.

QUESTION- to increase ride height can I just replace the coils with bigger coils on the strut or will I need to buy different sized struts too? Don’t want to re-buy something if I don’t have to. Going to do the 2” OME or 3” Lucky 8.
 

Jwestpro

Explorer
Has anyone completed this lift? I've got a coil conversion with lifted profile from Atlantic British and would like to add the Toddco 2 inch spacers.

Basically a terrible plan considering the angle that would put into the axle/hub connection. Anything more than about 2" over stock cannot be properly aligned either. 2.5 maybe about max but I be that's pushing it to just out of spec.

As mentioned by others, the higher it is set, the more it will be like on stiff stilts and basically suck off road any time the terrain is not flat/tame.

This entire approach is a bad idea without also taking the time do have a custom diff-drop and sub-frames job done which would get the axles back into a usable angle.

People who are dying for a modern suv with steel springs should simply buy one engineered to maximize that system such as a Land Cruiser or Jeep or G-wagon to name a few examples. The LC200 series has a sway bar disconnect for the front to help it's IFS get more range while having great highway handling, and classic solid axle rear design. Certain modern Jeeps have quite the articulation potential on solid axles. The G of course costs 2x but is awesome platform for the 4x4 aspect.

IMO the best Land Rover suspension choice is the air struts + strut spacers. This is because you give up nothing on strut movement range but you gain ground clearance while still being able to keep the normal ride height within factory alignment spec.

Other normal modifications allow a 34" tire to fit with no fender liner trimming and use with a basic bumper having full frontal coverage and most sliders. Larger than 34", or use of 34" + wheel spacers, requires a lot more cutting due to it hitting several fender liner points. 33" is even easier, and of course 32" is easier still.

Consider the factory height and stock size tire of 30", then add the 2" strut spacer and the 34" tire. This combination provides FOUR inches of 100% usable and trouble-free additional ground clearance. The highway handling is almost the same due to the struts not being stretched out at all but you gain all the extra height anyone could hope for on this platform without going to a body lift.

Very important is that full articulation is retained and that is what makes these so capable off road, that 13" travel range in the rear and I think 8" up front.

Bonus: You actually get an 'effective' boost in articulation when including the 4" larger tire which can now be aired down lower than a 30" could've been safely. If you don't believe that because you have not experienced it like I have, imagine the 34" tire at low enough psi in a cross axle scenario. You're basically going to end up with a sidewall measurement to rim lip about the same as stock tire, yet now the other two tires are 2" larger in diameter and can stay in contact with the terrain that much longer on those other two corners due to the stiffness of the tire carcass trying to hold it's shape vs now twice as much weight squashing out the other two tires. It's like magic sort of.

This combo anyway is better than the sum of its parts on paper and vastly more capable off road than any of the steel spring builds. I also tow often enough that I would sure prefer the awesome easy leveling it provides when pushing the tongue weight limit.
 

Jwestpro

Explorer
air suspension failed the second time and previous owner had enough

More like something simple that was made expensive by a dealer or went cheap on parts. I have not had one "failure" in 166,000 miles and it's a very heavy build. It may have the 2nd compressor, maybe even the 3rd, but I can swap one in less than an hour after removing the sliders which is actually the more difficult aspect. I can change any of the struts in about 30 minutes. All the valve blocks are original and the struts were fine when I replaced due them just being at 120k and having that upgrade itch when I replaced all the other suspension components - after which it felt like a new vehicle again!

So, if your plan is to not do anything rougher than a Subaru can do (mind you there are some beast Subies out there...this might be an exageration though ;) , then the steel springs are fine but your idea of even higher lift is problematic and asking for CV or other failures for no good reason.

If I were going to do steel springs though, I'd probably do the 2-3" and call it good. With that you could do the other mods and get a much larger tire in there which also helps without putting the CV into stupid angles and also keeping the system in a factory alignment range.
 

Ray_G

Explorer
Hi everyone, experienced off-roader here with another brand. Completely new to LR, except for the 72’ series III I had briefly in high school almost 30 years ago.

just bought an 08’ LR3 HSE that already had the AB coil conversion done (air suspension failed the second time and previous owner had enough). It was a little old lady and the reputable Land Rover shop put in what seems like a lower than stock height coil/ strut.

QUESTION- to increase ride height can I just replace the coils with bigger coils on the strut or will I need to buy different sized struts too? Don’t want to re-buy something if I don’t have to. Going to do the 2” OME or 3” Lucky 8.

To answer your question, without tangential views, yes-retrofitting OME springs to the AB stock height kit works fine. Depending on intended application you can choose between MD or HD from AB, and be done with it.

As an aside, just getting the struts for the HD, w/o the black box, was quoted at $750. I raise that bc you get the bolt in ease then without having to find a strut machine to swap out springs.
R-
Ray


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Wol_Rus

New member
I know there's a bunch of threads on this topic so instead of starting a new one I'll piggy back on this one...

Has anyone done a comparison between the Atlantic British HD springs and the OME HD springs?

AB is $100 cheaper and not sure that's enough for me to steer away from the tried and true OME. They also look like they have thicker coils. So may affect ride or spring travel (but that's purely an assumption). Their reps claim they are exactly the same but still would be nice to hear if anyone has had a chance for a real lift comparison.
 

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