 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Puma Standard Ride Height Springs |
 
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| Devon-Rover Member Since: 22 Jan 2015 Location: South Devon Posts: 913   
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OME do a range of Light duty springs
http://red90.ca/rovers/springinfo.html See There ^^^ you could closely match what OME offer to what you currently have in terms of spring rate, Many of us have gone down the OME route and maybe of comparisons of what springs have been fitted and the end result. Sadly I went down the trade off of the weight carried needed a firmer spring and the slight increase in height isn't a worry. RE dampers standard is fine for day to day applications and if you are not running over harsh terrain with lot's of weight then will suit you. Same for the rears if you tow a trailer of again rough conditions at max GVM then HD will cope with the extra work the springs are doing but if you are not working the springs then you don't need the firmer valving the HD damper uses. It's a missed point sometimes that the spring is what does the work in controlling the weight of the vehicle it's the dampers job to do just that, Damp the springs moment of inertia to give a controlled ride. It does boil down to what you want the vehicle to do or at least what you want the suspension to do in a condition and accept the compromise in other conditions. Also can be found on Fb, Ytube, Insta & Twitter @4WDSouthwest |
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5th Sep 2023 4:49pm |
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1025  
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As said it depends what you want, but with the Defender already not being on of the most comfortable cars, I would be careful with any heavy duty suspension. The stock springs are progressive so would in theory provide you with best of both...
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5th Sep 2023 5:16pm |
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| the_lincs_landies Member Since: 29 May 2023 Location: Boston, Lincs Posts: 230
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Thanks for the concise reply mate.
It’s been a long time since I worked with suspension tbh. I think the car was 1.8t when it was previously converted to camper with me in the cab so I reckon around 2-2.5t when I have redone it (with pop top) and it has water, Mrs, dog etc. inside. I’d be looking to use it for green-laning and off-grid camping, maybe a tiny bit of overlanding bull too but nothing particularly gnarly though.
I think that’s what I need really, “best of both”, it’s to be my off-roading/camping toy but I may have to drive on road for a while to to get where I’m off-roading/camping |
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5th Sep 2023 5:32pm |
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| StressedComa Member Since: 23 Jul 2022 Location: Wakefield Posts: 64 
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I have the Gwyn Lewis Adventurer kit on my 90. I have the GL2000 front shock absorbers and the GL2005 on the rear. You can also get a firmer rear shock absorber as well. These are pin to pin on the rear as well so you would have to convert the rear top mount.
I paired these with genuin LR springs I got from Twisted through their eBay page. They have more than advertised and they’re £55 a pair. The full set I got had done 13 miles and were like brand new. I fitted the standard 90 HD(2550kg) spring set and find it a great all rounder for on and off road. If you know what springs your’e after for standard springs it may not hurt to ask Twisted if they’ve got any. |
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5th Sep 2023 8:32pm |
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| the_lincs_landies Member Since: 29 May 2023 Location: Boston, Lincs Posts: 230
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Thanks StressedComa.
I am unsure whether to go down the genuine renewal route like for like on springs, or aftermarket to change the ride to something a little softer as (as we all know) the defender is quite a harsh unrefined ride. All I know of my current suspension is the options deciphered by the Vin Decoder which is "Rear Suspension Systems - Standard Suspension [027CP]" and "Suspension - 3050KG Suspension [027BA]" I had been looking at the Flatdog springs, but they seem to all be HD with varying ride heights. |
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6th Sep 2023 7:15am |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 707
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Are you sure the stock springs are progressive? If they are I hadn't realised. |
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6th Sep 2023 8:00am |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 707
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Stock suspension is usually a good all round compromise tbh. I suppose the question is, why do you want to replace it? Is it clearly worn out and riding badly compared to how it used to ride. Or due to the extra weigh is it riding lower than before? For slightly heavier loads twin tube shocks are probably the answer over a mono tube shock. A budget offering would be the Britpart Celluar Dynamic range. But you can spend more and there is quite a bit of choice. As you off road I'd be tempted to switch to +2" shocks, you don't need to change anything else in terms of shock mounts. They will bolt straight on and give you more wheel travel in the back. If you run a standard length spring you'll want to probably add some dislocation cones, as under full flex the spring will drop out of the upper seat. Or if you go for a longer spring this may not be an issue. At the front I'd still go +2" shocks as they will do no hard. Although in reality getting more suspension droop on the front is more challenging and the standard shock isn't the limitation like it is on the rear. You can again run a longer spring or as a dislocation cone to ensure the spring doesn't fall out, although a standard length spring would probably be fine unless you do other mods for more travel. In fact, if you Google and look at all the 4x4 sites, it is very rare to see a front spring dislocated. Even Gwyn Lewis' monster competition truck seems to keep the front springs seated. e.g.  Click image to enlarge As for choosing springs. Yep it is more of a difficult choice. I too like the Flatdog springs and run them. But not on a 110. The front isn't so bad, as the springs are the same as the 90, so you could just opt for a 90 spring (doesn't need to be a front, just pick the length and spring rate you want). e.g. They offer a standard rate +2" front spring: https://www.flatdoguk.com/def-90-%2B2%22-%2F-std~339 175lbs/inch where as the HD 110 spring is 225lbs/inch. Note a standard rate +2" will likely give less lift, but makes for a nice softer long spring. The rear you are more limited as the 110 uses physically larger springs due to its increased load carrying capability. If you can't find a longer standard rate spring, you could always opt for a 1 or 2" lift spacer to fit under the spring (pretty sure you can get these for the 110). Else you'll be looking at the HD values. I'm not sure what spring rate a stock 110 rear should be however. |
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6th Sep 2023 8:58am |
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| the_lincs_landies Member Since: 29 May 2023 Location: Boston, Lincs Posts: 230
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Cheers CD, if I am honest I don't know what I want to achieve...
I'm replacing as when it had the camper conversion in the back (which will be going back in eventually) it was really unforgiving, it'll have a roof-rack and a pop-top added which it didn't have before, and as I am going to the effort of Galv chassis etc, I figured I may as well renew things like the suspension etc (which I know I'll want to do) at the same time... Hopefully that makes sense. When I last had the defender (with its old camper conversion) on a weigh bridge it was 2,340 Kg including leisure battery, full tank of campingaz, a full jerry can of water, half a tank of fuel, and myself in the cab. So I imagine it will likely be there or thereabouts plus the weight of a poptop when redone. With the consideration that the pop top is 150Kg (based on AW4x4), and all of the others, maybe the FlatDog springs paired with either light-medium or-medium-heavy duty OME shocks wouldnt be such a bad shout after all... ? (I am going all out with this Defender as I intend to have it a decent amount of time. On the list alongside Galv chassis is Galv Bulkhead, Poptop, full respray, new suspension, galvanised tub cappings, gullwings.. the works... so yeah...  ) |
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6th Sep 2023 9:29am |
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| MK Member Since: 28 Aug 2008 Location: Santiago Posts: 2410  
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Softer suspension is a temptation, but you could expect more rollover and probably less handling on bad roads. IMO Puma 110" SW
............................................................. Earth first. Other planets later |
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6th Sep 2023 3:53pm |
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| db950 Member Since: 01 Feb 2012 Location: Lincoln Posts: 560 
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A lot, myself included with pop top Defender campers run the 130 suspension setup, due to the increased weight carried and higher centre of gravity.
I just use the genuine Land Rover springs… NRC9448 front drivers side NRC9449 front passenger side (although it’s worth noting I run the NRC9448 on both sides at the front, a slightly longer spring which was needed to level mine) RKB101111 rear springs RRC3266 rear inner helper springs On my first trip out I found it to be very top heavy and wallowing around corners so as a quick fix I removed the rear inner springs and fitted Airlift airbags, I’m still running that setup now 2 years later but intend to refit the rear inner springs and replace the standard rear anti roll bar with a heavy duty one and possibly fit a front anti roll bar. I’ve got Koni Heavy Track shocks on all round and have no complaints, others have the heavy track raid ones but my budget wouldn’t stretch that far! I’m only just north of Lincoln, your welcome to have a look  (mine is the Alu Cab roof though not the AW4x4 one)  1997 Ex-MOD 110, Pop Top Camper, build thread https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic72352.html
2014 Discovery 4 SE Tech Instagram @the110camper |
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6th Sep 2023 4:42pm |
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| MarkBrown Member Since: 03 Oct 2022 Location: Mid Wales Posts: 446  
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Well I have just received the front OME explorer kit from Gwyn Lewis, so +2 inch longer front shocks, dislocation cones and the brackets to hold them. These are going to replace my Monroe adventure shocks, which are of an unknown age - no leaks but a bit crashy over pot holes. I'm going to use the same springs which are bearmach heavy duty in standard height.
I've just painted the brackets so will report back when I've fitted them. The rear end will follow at a later date, but I'm using minus 1 inch progressive springs because I didn't want the back sitting high. These are great in my opinion, although I don't carry any weight on the back, just camping stuff. |
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6th Sep 2023 4:58pm |
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1025
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Anti roll (sway) bars help stabilise, wich obviously will be detrimental to off road axle acticulation. There are obviously cars with much better handling available, but with defenders ( the real ones ) you can have fun customizing to your needs. |
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6th Sep 2023 6:54pm |
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| NickMc Member Since: 01 Oct 2014 Location: Norn Iron Posts: 1622  
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As far as I know OME do standard length springs, I would ring Gwyn if you can and have a chat and tell him what you want to do and the sort of weight you’ll be coming in at. I would go for the pin to pin upgrade at the rear, it’s a much better set-up and lose the bush cups on the rear axle.
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6th Sep 2023 6:58pm |
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| MarkBrown Member Since: 03 Oct 2022 Location: Mid Wales Posts: 446
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We'll the OME ones are a great improvement, at the front anyway. They're bumpier, but the handling is massively improved, it doesn't hit the bump stops now either, very little roll and feels much more sure footed, especially in the wet. I haven't tried it green laning yet, we'll only our access track.
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14th Sep 2023 7:10pm |
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