 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > I know it's a Defender, but.... comfort |
 
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| Likeomg Member Since: 29 Jun 2012 Location: Lake District / Newcastle Posts: 2640  
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http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic21209.html
they've just brought out the comfort version... or are about too |
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4th Aug 2016 9:58am |
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| MartinK Member Since: 02 Mar 2011 Location: Silverdale (Lancashire/Cumbria Border) Posts: 2665  
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I've been working to try to get the Defender to drive more like my Disco2. Loads of soundproofing and comfort upgrades etc...
WRT the springs/shocks I replaced my USW springs with CSW ones (i.e. what you have now), and also the shock absorbers are now Koni Heavy-Track all round. I guess the USW is lighter at the back than the CSW so mine is better than original but still feels "choppy" Good improvement with the shocks. However I wanted to improve the ride further, so just ordered some -5cm, 20% softer springs for the rear. From here http://www.coilsprings.co.uk/ They should arrive soon, and once they so I will post an update. Previous write-up here http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic13312.html As they're softer, and also reduced the ride height (at the rear), I am thinking it may affect handling... The lower ride will help the centre of gravity, but the softer may affect wallow in corners, so dependant on some road-testing, I may uprate the ARB... Hope that helps. Defender "Puma" 2.4 110 County Utility (possibly the last of the 2.4's) |
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4th Aug 2016 11:31am |
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| Green Machine Member Since: 19 Nov 2010 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1226 
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As Martin suggests above, it becomes a balancing act between ride and handling. Stiff springs give you great cornering but a terrible ride, soft springs give you a comfy ride, but wallowy / rolly cornering.
The Alive comfort springs are designed to be a good balance between the two. I have the 90 version fitted and find them great. Definitely smoother and more comfy than the originals, but you retain almost all of the cornering / handling performance. I combined them with Discovery spring isolators at both top and bottom mainly to counteract the 1" lowering of the spring, but this may also help with comfort (hard to know whether they actually have any effect or not as haven't tried with or without comparison). I am running the springs with Koni Heavy Track shocks, but I'd prioritise springs over shocks in your case (unless you know the shocks are stuffed). The springs make the most significant difference to the ride. Shocks all do the same job, some just do it more effectively than others. Changing the shocks alone will make relatively little difference to the ride (unless the old shocks are past their best). I swapped my shocks for the Konis before swapping the springs and shocks alone made absolutely no discernible difference to the ride quality. One caviat to what I have said about the Alive comfort springs is they won't give you the comfiest ride you could possibly achieve. They will give a very good balance between ride and handling, but you could achieve a softer ride with a softer spring (but to the detriment of cornering performance). Also, my experiences are based on the Alive comfort springs for a 90, not a 110, so I can't guarantee that the 110 version will perform in exactly the same way, although assume they will be very similar. In terms of bushes, I replaced all of mine with genuine rubber bushes. After doing a lot of research, the general concensus seemed to be that rubber would give better comfort than poly (even the 'comfort' variants of poly). There also seemed to be a general theme of people saying they had tried polybushes, but then went back to rubber. If you do decide to go with rubber, it seems that genuine / OEM are considered to be worth the extra cost over aftermarket for better life / performance (particularly avoid the ones in blue boxes, but I apply that rule to pretty much everything). Again, I'm not suspension expert, just passing on my findings from the research I have done. 2005 Td5 | 90 Station Wagon | Tonga Green |
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4th Aug 2016 12:07pm |
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| corgi1 Member Since: 26 Feb 2017 Location: bucks Posts: 440  
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afternoon gents, would love a smoother ride, mainly on the road,but I think its going to cost me a fortune?? how much for a nicer ride for my 09 plate 90?
thanks Pete |
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20th Mar 2017 3:24pm |
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| zsd-puma Member Since: 09 Aug 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 2720 
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That's probably stretching it a bit. better cornering, but great? 
But no seriously it's true the softer you go the more sloppy they get. Have you tried playing around with the tyre pressures a bit? if you don't run it fully laden all the time, then lowering the tyre pressures can make a big difference. |
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20th Mar 2017 5:45pm |
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| mick Member Since: 08 Feb 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 2109 
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Can't beat standard springs and Koni shocks with 33 psi in the tyres Oh and the wheelbase of a 130
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20th Mar 2017 8:03pm |
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