[phil.]

finally got them put on over the weekend. i shortened the rods about 10mm which should equate to a 1.5" to 2" lift. sorry for the crappy camera pics. these ones in the garage are to show immediately before and after, with the slight difference being the front wheel turned a bit. if you look real close at the clearance on the rear wheels, you can notice the difference. i won't bother posting the comparison pics at each height, but you can check out the full set on Flickr. and now the pics, click thru for the fullsize pics.

stock offroad height


sasquatch offroad height


here's an old pic i dug up after i got my nittos


here's a similar pic with the new offroad height

 

[gooseyloosey]

:thumb:
Wow. That really makes a difference. I'm gonna have to do this.

So someone help me understand something since I'm not an air suspension expert. Is it possible to overextend the suspension using the rods? I ask cause I wonder what craziness the dealer might spew forth if I do this and then have some suspension issue down the road even if its not caused by additional height.

 

[TripleE]

Awesome. This might have to be my next mod. Talked to someone at the Rally and they said they could do the rod mod in 10 minutes since they've done it a few times - sounds perfect if you don't want them on full time!

 

[phil.]

Is it possible to overextend the suspension using the rods? I ask cause I wonder what craziness the dealer might spew forth if I do this and then have some suspension issue down the road even if its not caused by additional height.

Yes it is possible. I don't really know this stuff either, but the instructions say not "to exceed 13mm shortened due to the inability to properly adjust the Camber settings of stock suspension arms." Here's a pic of the front ones installed on an LR3. The top mount is a hanger that sits on the frame. The bottom rod end connects to the height sensor arm. This is where you gotta be a bit careful as to not break that arm as they're pretty expensive. But once you figure out how much force it takes to pull one end of the stock connecting rod off without damaging the sensor arm, then it's a piece of cake. I'll be running the stock rods full time and swap these out when I hit the trails. But for the hell of it, I'll be keeping these on all week and seeing what it's like to drive around in stock offroad height. If you run these full time, it's suggested to get a 4 wheel alignment. These are a must if you want to run 32s.

 

[umbertob]

Nice going phil! Those look like nicely machined rods (but way too clean...) Do you take off the wheels or jack them up to swap them? The front links look accessible enough, even on the trail, if you just steer the wheels out of the way, but the rear ones seem tucked away pretty good behind rims and tires. Any tricks there?

goosey, from what i read elsewhere on LR/Disco3 forums where this mod has been tested by quite a few owners, at a shortened length of 10mm or less I believe you may only get in trouble if selecting super-extended mode (meaning the car has already gone into extended mode automatically. You cannot "accidentally" super extend), although the electronics are designed to intervene and shut everything down before you can overextend and permanently damage the air bladders. As the EAS module detects the sensor arm exceeding its maximum travel limit it throws a fault and lowers the car to the bump stops to protect the air springs. That would suck if it happened on the trail since "real" suspension faults - not those generated by a low battery - do not usually go away with a simple ignition recycle, although a few owners have reportedly been able get the fault to clear and their car back after a hard battery reset. If you shortened the links any further you'd likely hit that wall sooner I think, one of the reasons why they probably recommend shortening by 10 mm or less. The long term effect of running these rods all the time may include messed up alignment / geometry, uneven tire wear, probably poor handling on the road. But if it's easy enough to swap them on the fly, why not?

 

[phil.]

they're easily accessible. pump it up to offroad height. turning the front wheels makes it easier to reach 'em and you gotta crawl under to reach the rear ones. i don't think it's worth the trouble to take the wheels off, but jacking it up may make it easier to reach.

 

[umbertob]

Next time you crawl down there, have your wife shoot a video for us, and please try not to wear shorts. :lol:

 

[littlehandegan]

Someone for the love of god make these for a regular HSE.....

 

[umbertob]

If by "regular HSE" you mean a full size Range, I think forum member Roger over on the MkIII forum came up with his own "home made" version for his 2006 RR several months ago, and can probably make you a set as well. Search the MkIII forum, the links are different (I think they need to be lengthened, rather than shortened, to raise the suspensions) but otherwise very similar to install and remove.

 

[littlehandegan]

Tried searching to no avail. Any help is apreciated!

Thanks

 

[umbertob]

viewtopic.php?t=19092

 

[vinniman]

How's it hanging everyone.

That's why I've been suggesting to all those Vogue and Rangey Sport owners replace their dampers as well as the tyre/wheel set so that changing the Bilstiens or new magnetic ride units together with the EAS modifications will not upset the vehicle !

It's all very well gaining an additional 2" of body lift, but as the driveline angles, CV Boot extremities, car garage clearance, brake line extensions, bushing angle, alignment corrections, future tyre wear issues or scrub radius parameters are all exceeded let alone changes to off-road gearing with larger rubber have not been discussed or resolved for possible effects ?

At Least by using the "Pre-runners" as attached they have built in bump stops so at maximum compression or extension, these can act as early stop devices by careful matching of the EAS modifications to points of greatest articulation or when bottom scraping load carrying situations arise, so that the 'progressive' improvement in ride and handling can be achieved.

Cheerio,


Vinniman.
'88 Highline
Perth, W.A.[attachment=0:4su4f630]Prerunr0.gif[/attachment:4su4f630]