LR3 / Discovery 3 Coil Conversion +2" Question

[Eniam17]

One aspect I haven't heard anyone discuss here is losing the ability to enter extended and super extended mode when stuck. Losing downtravel due to the coil conversion is one thing, has anyone compared have the ability to enter extended mode vs not?

Ray G, given your your helpful and excellent comparison , any discussion or testing regarding this?

I know I have been stuck in mud and snow both numerous times and the vehicle being able to utilize extended mode was the difference in getting out IMO.

 

[zelatore]

Another possible issue with the idea of building custom long travel coil overs is that the suspension design itself isn't the limiting factor for down travel. i.e. a 2" longer strut would work fine. The worry is the rear CVs being exceeding their maximum operating angle when you use that extra 2" of suspension droop. This is why L8 supplies limit straps with their spacer kits.

I haven't seen anybody mention this and thought it worth mentioning.

I have broken a rear CV when at full droop though it was an original 120K mile part and I wasn't babying the truck on that particular climb. By the same token I have a friend with a coil converted truck and home-made 4" (?!?!) spacers who hasn't yet broken a rear CV...though he did recently loose a front. That truck is also relatively light as he doesn't run bumpers or armor on it. It does sit higher than my bagged truck with rods in off-road height though.

Lastly, just making spacers is an easy enough proposition. Any machine shop could bang them out for you. However I believe if you look at the L8 spacers you'll see they aren't flat. I forget if it's the front or rear (I think rear?) but they are angled around 15* to help correct the geometry of the strut. Another item to keep in mind.

 

[Ray_G]

One aspect I haven't heard anyone discuss here is losing the ability to enter extended and super extended mode when stuck. Losing downtravel due to the coil conversion is one thing, has anyone compared have the ability to enter extended mode vs not?

Ray G, given your your helpful and excellent comparison , any discussion or testing regarding this?

I know I have been stuck in mud and snow both numerous times and the vehicle being able to utilize extended mode was the difference in getting out IMO.

In short, no-we didn't deal with the delta in extended/super extended mode. Your point is well taken, in some circumstances that will make the difference between being stuck and not.

That said, the overarching reality is that any modification is a compromise. Of course so is wheeling a 5.5k pound truck (i.e. my coil sprung D1 is 1k lighter). I think a lot of it comes down to building a truck to handle what you are most likely to encounter, knowing the platform's strenghts and weaknesses. I mitigate what few areas I think were lost to the demise of EAS in other ways, i.e. going back to your point about super extended-that's why I carry maxtrax and have a winch. I'll pull cable if it saves abuse on the truck.
r-
Ray

 

[mpinco]

When parked beside an EAS Rover in offroad height they are pretty much the same; nearly identical. Here's a shot, exact same size/make of tires.
View attachment 383262

First, thanks Ray. Good data point.

In summary a coil sprung LR3/4 will be running at off-road height 100% of the time. Therefore plan for early CV wear and failure.

 

[Eniam17]

FWIW I've been running a 50mm IID tool lift full time with 1.3" spacers and 265/65 tires for close to 50k miles with no issues, original cv's. now at 70k miles on truck. I did do front wheel bearings about 5k miles ago which would more likely be due to spacers than the lift IMO.

 

[Eniam17]

In short, no-we didn't deal with the delta in extended/super extended mode. Your point is well taken, in some circumstances that will make the difference between being stuck and not.

That said, the overarching reality is that any modification is a compromise. Of course so is wheeling a 5.5k pound truck (i.e. my coil sprung D1 is 1k lighter). I think a lot of it comes down to building a truck to handle what you are most likely to encounter, knowing the platform's strenghts and weaknesses. I mitigate what few areas I think were lost to the demise of EAS in other ways, i.e. going back to your point about super extended-that's why I carry maxtrax and have a winch. I'll pull cable if it saves abuse on the truck.
r-
Ray

Great points again, and thanks for the info Ray. It certainly all depends on our individual uses and needs.

 

[KMET]

Here's a shot of mine, Old Man EMU 2" coils

265/65/18 LTX MS/2

...also, thanks to those who came before me.

 

[JackAttack13]

So here is a brief update. I spoke with Glenn at Radflo, he said they would love to design a performance coilover, but need a few measurements that I have no way of providing. He needs full up travel, and full down travel. I cannot seem to find this information anywhere and was curious if anyone had these numbers. To preserve driveshaft angles Super Extended mode would be enough travel, I would not want to go further than that number, but if someone has access to a lift and can measure full droop with the EAS in super extendedand fully stuffed would be great.



He said he could work with valving, but would have no idea what coil rate to use because that varies so much for each vehicle. As for the angle of the coil, he would machine a custom top hat to fit in the bucket and the uniball upper mount would angle to the correct degree for install.

 

[unseenone]

Dumb question... Would it help to have a couple of air struts to work from?

 

[Ray_G]

So I'm admittedly intrigued by the idea of a custom coil over for the sake of performance-but have to ask to what end, and of course there will be the inevitable at what cost?

In the end you are going to run into some limitations of the vehicle design as others have noted (CV angles, the nature of the IFS, etc).

Put another way, there is a strong possibility of getting to about 3" of suspension lift all told, or about 1" more than the OME kit gets you right now (and if you do go coil over, you are still going to need the black box for the suspension or it will lose its mind).

Oh, and the truck will still be pig heavy.

I'm not saying it isn't worth exploring, I mean it is your cash and time-but in the end what you may get back to is a slightly better version of what already exists that is serving admirably at a very reasonable cost.
r-
Ray

 

[Eniam17]

Is the consensus and idea behind this custom coilover that we want a full 2.5" or so of lift as we get with the off road height, and we want it to be consistent as opposed to trying the available coil conversion that's advertised as 2" but doesn't seem to give that much?

I have an extra front air strut for the lr3 used with 80k on it that I will "donate" in the name of science if radflo wants it

 

[Ray_G]

I'd be interested in hearing about those that haven't gotten 2" out of the OME springs. I'm sure in time, like all springs, they will sag-but thus far I'm pretty sure my truck is more/less at offroad height as she sits. To the point where in doing the comparison with the EAS truck we didn't even bother to measure static height b/c, well as the picture shows, they are pretty much the same.

I'm not sure there is .5" of delta; but by all means let us see what can come from custom coilovers...I'm keen since my truck already is spoofed into operating with terrain response on coils.
r-
Ray

 

[Eniam17]

I'm interested too, as it seems many have felt they didn't get the full lift but after ray g 's comparison writeup I don't see how people aren't getting the full 2". Perhaps the kits have been improved from a few years ago ?

 

[no-pistons]

I'm more interested in having a quality 2.5" diameter shock than how much lift I can get out of it. A reservoir will be nice too.

 

[JDoubleDuBB]

I decided to go with the Atlantic British +2 setup after making some phone calls to L8 and roverparts.com. Did the install/conversion yesterday... bit more difficult then I thought it was going to be due to one of the Coil/Shocks being twisted and out of alignment; those OME springs are challenging to compress to say the least. So far, the ride is a little stiffer but I like it, and the stance is exactly what I was looking for... Looks great with the new 285/60R18 KO2's that I put on!

Attempted to use the module in ReFlash mode last night after the install, but did not have any success. I think I will opt to try the more permanent install tomorrow and see how that goes. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any suggestions?

Also, for those that have done the conversion, did you leave your compressor/tank/valves in place? I was thinking of removing them and selling them. If not, is there any downside to leaving them in place?

As always, thanks for putting up with my questions and concerns.

Cheers,

Jared