To lift or not to lift, that is the question...

[simondarby]

I am planning to drive around and across Iceland next year in my standard 95 300tdi Disco.  My question is what does a lift give you?  I realise it lifts the body away from the wheels and axles but this does not lift the diffs off the floor does it?  I guess fitting larger diameter tyres will lift the diffs though.

I was kind of thinking of diff guards, steering guard and maybe rock sliders to protect the underside.  I am familiar with Icelands terrain as I have been before but I wasn't thinking of driving my car at the time.

I will be camping so I will be carrying a lot of gear as there will be two of us spending about 3 weeks in total so maybe heavy duty suspension will be man enough?

Any thoughts?

[Damonski]

Im still pondering over a 2" lift on mine in order to get bigger tyres on to lift the diffs up.

[thermidorthelobster]

It gives you more body clearance, and potentially (depending on how it's set up) more articulation.

It also may give you more body roll, depending on what you go for, particularly if you ditch the anti-roll bars for articulation.  It could also upset your steering balance, although I've never found it a problem.

I've been through Iceland twice, both times on lifted vehicles, and frankly it wouldn't have made much difference.  Go for it if you want to, but don't make the decision based on your Iceland trip.

The only caveat with that is that you may be able to get marginally larger tyres on, which I did on my TD5, which will also give you more ground clearance, but again, in Iceland, it's not really worth worrying about.  Ground clearance will be secondary to the comfort and durability of your suspension in those conditions.  Prepare to give the truck a good hammering!

[simondarby]

Thanks for the tip.  I have been wondering wether to spend money on lifting or other items such as underbody protection or vehicle comforts or maybe just better tyres...

[Range Rover Blues]

New standard springs will give you a bit of a lift over your tired old ones anyway.  Spend the money elsewhere unless you need a lift.

[thermidorthelobster]

Tyres will make the biggest difference and should be top of your list, if you're running road tyres at the moment.

I can't really criticise the idea of underbody protection, particularly on the diffs;  my rear diff guard in particular came back from Iceland with some nice dents and scratches showing it was doing its job, and I'm quite a careful driver.

[simondarby]

Decent set of all terrains should do the job don't you think?

[thermidorthelobster]

I took BFG All Terrains both times and they do the job very nicely, and last ages into the bargain.

Prepare to feel very inadequate and be laughed at by the Icelanders in their monster trucks, but unless you're willing to put a whopping body lift on and fit 42" tyres, you'll never be able to come close...  In the summer this isn't really an issue anyway.

[Cal]

Remember that you can put 245/75 R16 on a standard height Disco with a bit of rear arch trimming, but nothing drastic.

That will give you an extra 2cm height over 235/70s, but will reduce your turning circle.

Not done this to mine yet, but probably will when I need some new tyres

Cal

[simondarby]

Nice one.  Might give that a go.  I need to get some tyres so maybe now is the time to go that bit bigger...

I had a very good chat with some Icelanders about their "monster" size trucks.  Chap drove a rather pleasant Nissan Patrol that he had owned for 10 years with no major mishaps. Spent a rather spectacular day being driven over some incredible terrain that would have stopped my car within the first 5 miles I reckon!

Jolly nice bloke...  Can't wait to go back.

[Cal]

Sounds wicked - would love to go one day! (well, for more than one day, but you know what I mean...).

How are you finding your intercooler set up? Is that the full size effort?

Am finding myself tempted by more power!  :twisted:

[simondarby]

Yes it is the full width (Option2) Allisport effort.  It makes a massive difference to performance too!  I don't think I could go back to a regular 300tdi.  I had it fitted in May 2004 so it's coming up to 2 years old and I have never had any issue with at all.  I did have a little niggle when I first had it though...

My radiator was not looking too wonderful at the time so I asked Andy Graham (the boss if he would fit a new rad that I supplied at the same time which he said he would.  However, the truck overheated all the way back home from Gloucester to South Devon which really took the shine off the new toy as you can imagine.  Called Andy and double checked that the new intercooler wouldn't be causing the problem and he was really helpful in making suggestions but he was sure it was the rad rather than his intercooler.  Turns out he was right because I went back to my motor factors where I got my rad from and asked to try another one, which they let me do, and hey presto, no more overheating!  Must have been a duff new rad...

Wouldn't mind one of their hybrid turbos now!

[Cal]

I am definitely tempted - my only concern would be if having the full width intercooler can affect engine cooling if you are for eg: greenlaning  for long periods or in a hot country - spot of overlandin perhaps.

Any thoughts? Fit an electric fan to be on the safe side?

Cheers,

Cal  :)

[simondarby]

As long as your rad is in tip-top shape you shouldn't have any worries.  Standard viscous fan will cool the engine more than an electric one I would say purely because it runs continuously rather than being thermostatically controlled.

You have fuel saving benefits with the electric fan for this reason, as it doesn't run all the time it isn't robbing the engine of power.

Swings and roundabouts methinks...

[Cal]

Thanks Simon - I will have to see how my money saving goes, but am certainly tempted!