LR3 Air to Coil conversion.....one year later.

[TheNextEpisode]

Maybe not super rare, I also did the 2" OME coil lift + SYAs. Thoughts:

1. Given the extra length on the 2" lift coil spring plus SYA, the struts become fairly hard to reinstall. It would definitely make an axle service in the field more difficult.
2. The more vertical a-arm angle results in what I feel is a much stiffer ride. The car feels much more like it's on stilts, including stiffness. I am personally not a fan, but to each their own.
3. I had about 1.5 degrees of positive camber on all four corners
4. 265/65s look kind of like furniture casters. 275/70s fill out the wheel well much better.

2" OME Coils + SYA on 33s








2" OME Coils + SYA on 31.5s








2" Coils, no SYAs, 31.5s







I'd like to reiterate from an earlier post: the bushings on the Atlantic British coilovers are terrible. They will fall apart in 20-30k miles, resulting in rattling and poor steering response. I really hope that my experience is an isolated incident, but it did happen to all four of my coilovers, so I suspect it isn't.

 

[sdjp]

Hello all, Brian from Military Mobility here; a non-profit which specializes in off-road expeditions for veterans and civilians. Recently we acquired two 2008 LR3 HSE's.

The Grey LR3 already had the coil conversion done but with normal ride height springs (it belonged to an elderly person). We had OME HD+2" springs (just the springs) installed on the existing Atlantic British struts that previously had the smaller springs. I asked the Land Rover shop if we needed new struts as the shock range (compressed and extended) would be different and they said no it's not, it's the same strut no matter what springs you get. To me if this is true there may be lost potential as the bigger springs can provide more articulation and the shock would be the limiting factor. Can't find any hard specs online for the shocks/ struts but research shows the stock shock may be 270mm or about 10.6" of available travel . Any insight is greatly appreciated.

The Black LR3 was donated to us and had the stock EAS but it wasn't working; We just spent the last 5 weeks troubleshooting it and boy do I know the EAS backwards and forwards now. Long story short after about $1000 in parts it's working beautifully. We also have the GAP iiD Tool with it.

It will be nice to allow course attendess to drive them both side by side to see and feel the difference. I haven't wheeled the EAS yet but am excied to do so after we put on new tires/ rims. We have wheeled the coils a lot in Moab and other parts of the country. Observations: 1) it drives smooth as butter on and off-road, no complaints here. 2) Not impressed with the clearance, would like another 1-2". We go over some fairly aggresive terrain and do realize these aren't dedicated rock crawlers but clearance is lacking. We may have to look into the SYE with the HD CV's. 3) If you're going to tow near the limit be prepared for some sagging (even with the HD's). 4) Reliability is KEY. Knowing this will not fail is nice.

Last thought: seems the limiting factor on the coils with SYE in no downward travel and with the EAS in extended/ super-extended mode it's no upward travel. Neither are good but at least with EAS you can gain some significant clearance to get you through some touch spots, although it shouldn't be driven like this all the time or at high speeds.

 

[Victory_Overland]

@sdjp where you guys located?

 

[garrycol]

Get LLAMs fitted to the EAS vehicle and you can realise its full capability without speed and height restrictions.

 

[Wol_Rus]

Looking for some insight here...
After a long (3 year) debate I finally made the moved over to coils for the added peace of mind. Went with the AB OME Heavy Load set. Unfortunately to my fear I've now got a decent amount of sag to the rear of the vehicle and it drives like crap (bouncing and body roll). The rears are sitting right around 2" lower than the fronts.

I do have quite a bit of weight on the truck with bumper, slider, rear tire/fuel, and rack, but I wouldn't think it'd be enough to make the car essentially not drivable, and not too far off from what I've seen others running on their vehicles.

Second disclosure is that the rear upper control arm bushings need to be replaced which could be contributing to some of the droop in the rear. I've got new ones of those on order, so we'll see if that helps.

Question would be what are my options at this point? I've gone ahead and order the SYA spacers and sort of a bandaid for the time being, but I can't imagine that's going to ride well at all being that the coil assembly could be essentially loaded at this point which the spacers would not get rid of. I've also seen someone replace the OME springs with Dobinsons, but that's sounds like a gamble seeing how far I'm off with the OMEs.

Is anyone else running a lot of weight in their coil sprung LR, or Has anyone noticed this amount of sag with the heavy load springs?

Here’s a photo of the vehicle as it sit without weight of personnel or gear.

 

[nwoods]

Well, I am not sure my experience will translate, but I was the original springer back in the day. I started with 40mm Peddars springs, from Australia, which had superb ride quality and spring rate, but I wanted something a bit taller, so I ended up with 65mm KingSprings, also out of Australia. These had a much stiffer spring rate, but worked out alright. Noticably bouncier than the original springs that's for sure! Anyway, I only mention them to give you some other options besides ARB if you were looking around. Note, I did this back in 2006, so current availability is not something I can confirm.

 

[Wol_Rus]

Thanks for those suggestions. I'll keep those in mind if I end up playing around with different springs, though I'd like to hope this doesn't boil down to scrapping the brand new parts I just payed good money towards. Ray_G earlier in this went with Dobinson for more stiffness, so those at the least should be available if it comes to it.

Contacted AB today so we'll see what they have to say.

Also keeping my fingers crossed that the new control arms resolve some of it, but won't have those until next week.

 

[gabrielef]

Well, I am not sure my experience will translate, but I was the original springer back in the day. I started with 40mm Peddars springs, from Australia, which had superb ride quality and spring rate, but I wanted something a bit taller, so I ended up with 65mm KingSprings, also out of Australia. These had a much stiffer spring rate, but worked out alright. Noticably bouncier than the original springs that's for sure! Anyway, I only mention them to give you some other options besides ARB if you were looking around. Note, I did this back in 2006, so current availability is not something I can confirm.

Wasn’t the original springer the 2005 LR3 V6 w/out air suspension?

I wonder if the OP could find one of those and just transfer the parts over.

Or got back to air?


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[Ray_G]

Dobinsons helped, spacers will help, but won't change is the driving factor of weight.

Sadly all the stuff may serve a purpose but also detract from the truck. Broadly speaking with every build I have done I have now come to believe that every mod is a compromise that impacts the system of systems.


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[SkiWill]

Dobinsons helped, spacers will help, but won't change is the driving factor of weight.

Sadly all the stuff may serve a purpose but also detract from the truck. Broadly speaking with every build I have done I have now come to believe that every mod is a compromise that impacts the system of systems.


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I agree. I'm figuring out how to shed weight on mine for that very reason.

While hard on an L319 series Land Rover, I think it's good to remember that other iconic British brand (Lotus) motto: "simplify and add lightness."

 

[Wol_Rus]

Dobinsons helped, spacers will help, but won't change is the driving factor of weight.

Sadly all the stuff may serve a purpose but also detract from the truck. Broadly speaking with every build I have done I have now come to believe that every mod is a compromise that impacts the system of systems.


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Yeah exactly, that's my understanding as well. Unfortunately this one tipped the drivability scale a bit too far towards driveway ornament. Just working on getting it to a state to get her back out on the road/trail.

Going to give the SYA spacers a shot this weekend, and AB was nice enough to send me some new struts to try out, then dial back in the alignment.

She's definitely not the lightest build, though I've spent a long time dialing in to make sure everything on board has a purpose for our extended trips on the road, so weight reduction isn't really an option at this point.

 

[Wol_Rus]

I agree. I'm figuring out how to shed weight on mine for that very reason.

While hard on an L319 series Land Rover, I think it's good to remember that other iconic British brand (Lotus) motto: "simplify and add lightness."

As you may have noticed I've started with the drivers trim panel

 

[SkiWill]

As you may have noticed I've started with the drivers trim panel

As the saying goes, don't look for 10 places to lose a pound, look for a 1,000 ways to save an ounce. Only 999 more to go!

I struggle with the same issue. Everything I have has a purpose so my options are limited as well but I keep ruminating on it. LR3s and 4s are heavy beasts. I'll be interested to see how the SYA and new struts work out. I think getting suspension tuning on heavy vehicles is tricky.

 

[Wol_Rus]

Long overdue update....
After a new set of rear coils, SYA spacers in the rear only, new rear UCAs, front tierods, and a good alignment she drives like she's fresh off the showroom floor. Really happy with the coils and the peace of mind they bring. Ripped down to the middle of Baja for a couple weeks and slowly made my way back though some good west desert terrain back up to the upper left corner of the US. Still have PTSD each time the temperature warning chime would occur thinking it was a suspension fault, but was nice to see that it was just cold outside.
Anyways, all in all very happy here and didn't have to shed any weight.

 

[Wol_Rus]

Obligatory photos so you can see the stance 😉