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Done spending money...? OK, I have another one for you....
Next thing you'll want to look at is the steering damper, with that lift and larger tires. Not absolutely necessary, and I've had no issues with the stock damper, but maybe for piece of mind. You hear a lot about the Jeep "death wobble", a buddy of mine had it, and I'd like to avoid that.
There's Fox (985-24-063 - $169) again, or King (STNR 080 - $253), or a lot of folks seem to like the Bilstein (24-105804 - $141).
I'm going with the Bilstein, and found a pretty good deal here: FCP Euro Car Parts - Connecticut. Even nicer, it comes in black as opposed to the yellow/bright blue of the original factory color.
Pretty sure this one will fit, I'll report back once I get it.
Actually was wondering about steering components. My last two LR builds I used all Terra Firma gear and the steering damper was night and day after the lift.
to have a cleaner reinstall of the new brake lines and diff lines
- Stronger wheel chocks to handle the weight of the tires on the ground during install.
Going to try to take a lot of images and notes along the way to help build a walk through for anyone else on the forums taking this on. I usually just put my head down and go to work, but going to make a point to document as much as I can.
Nice!!! I will defer to the veterans to answer the 325 question. I think @Limey Hooligan said he was going to run something larger than the 305's. He also has the 50mm spacers, which may come into the equation with rubbing on lock.
Yes, I’ll go to the 325/65R18’s in a few months, but it all depends on your lift and wheels. I have the G55 AMG 9.5 inch wide wheels that have a -50mm offset attached to 50mm wheel spacers and I have a 3 inch lift. I believe I can fit the bigger tires with minimal if no rubbing. With a 2 inch lift, depending on your wheel offset I would say that you’d have significant rubbing at full lock as well as with suspension compression.
I think for 325mm wide tires you’d want at least a 9 inch wide wheel as well...
Last edited by Limey Hooligan; 05-11-2020 at 11:28 PM.
So far so good... you may get some rubbing until you get that lift and wheel spacers installed. As mentioned, you'll like the spacers a lot, they will push the tires out to the edges of the fender flares and give it a wider stance.
Don't forget... your speedo will be off now by about 10% - you're going faster then it indicates.
Last edited by Limey Hooligan; 05-13-2020 at 02:22 PM.
Taking it for a short drive on my lunch break on some ****ty LA roads near my house to see how just the tire update helps.
Going to document the entire process this weekend with the install. If I didn't have a small film to prep/direct Friday I would be out there right now getting it all setup!
First impressions, this truck should come w this size tire stock! All of my LRs + RRs I had similar taller slightly skinnier tires and it just feels right on the road.
With the stock tires and the very uneven pavement throughout LA the stockers would literally pull in the direction of the creases and bows in the road. At speed and just cruising over the same streets the truck tracks straight and just goes over the inconsistencies in the road.
Tire noise negligible, although I did get a pebble stuck in the rear but I'm used to that.
Did scrub when I was backing out of a parking spot, but it was expected.
Can't wait to get this lift on. All my parts are starting to come in so I will make a working video of the process, tools, and supplies needed to pull this lift off yourself.
Fox shock settings: Soft to Firm (1-9 clicks) available.
Even though Viking Offroad recommends the softest setting (1 - all the way counter-clockwise) and the ride is very comfy, I found that my G would sway too much around bends and also when coming to an abrupt stop. It's a little unnerving to be pitching back and forth a few oscillations when you have to stop quickly... So, I've ended up setting my shocks to 2 clicks in from fully soft and that seems to eliminate 90% of that swaying motion while keeping the ride still very compliant. I've just kept them at that setting for both on and off road, and I don't think I'd go any softer. I may go a little stiffer on the back shocks if I end up loading up for an overland trip.
Also, you'll find that shock reservoir placement is a little tricky for the fronts, tight placement and you have limited options for orientation. Try to change the settings on the fronts before mounting, as they are a ***** to change once mounted. I think I primarily change mine from underneath the truck.
Last edited by Limey Hooligan; 05-15-2020 at 12:00 PM.
Just went out to the truck yesterday to set my plan of attack. Looks like the driver's side will require me to remove the steering shaft to get to the bolt for the shock mount.
Thanks for the tips on the settings, definitely want to avoid that sway. Used to get it a lot when I had my LandRover setup for overlanding and loaded the roofrack.
Likely not getting a rack until I relocate to Seattle in a couple of months.
I'll go w the reco of 2-clicks all around and I'll set them before they go into the truck.
I'll report back tomorrow afternoon after I have it all setup. Can't wait!
Also just got notification from JackWagons that my spacers will be here tomorrow afternoon, so I can have the truck fully outfitted once I get the lift on!
I've done suspension of 5 different LandRovers/RR's I've owned and this truck's shear weight and tight space makes it a bit more difficult, but definitely doable.
Tools Needed:
- Torque Wrench
- Breaker Bar
- 3/4 drive ratchet, only use 3/4” sockets, nothing smaller
- 24mm wrench * Shock Tower Bolts/Nuts
- 24mm Socket (Shallow and Deep)
- 19mm wrench * Shock tower connecting nut, also for the driver's rear caliper (could be 17mm though, can't remember)
- 17mm wrench * If you decide to remove brake line
- 13mm wrench Steering shaft
- 11mm wrench * if you decide to remove brake line (requires two wrenches to remove)
- 10mm wrench Radiator Overflow tank, AC Line
Additional tools:
- Optional if removing the brake line I like to use stoppers
- Wheel Chocks
- Truck Ramp, I only had the ramp for my E63, it was just enough
- 6 Ton Jack Stands
- 3 Ton Floor lift, w/ blocks so there is no metal on metal when lifting
- Spring Compressors
- G Wagon Bottle Jack
- Secondary floor jack if you can, use it for articulation to help get the springs out
- Gloves
- Rags
- Blue Locktite
- Penetrating Fluid
- Sturdy box to stand on to get to the top shock bolts, the truck is pretty high at this point
- A wheeled seat, because you will be sitting on your *** a lot.
This is by no means a step by step tutorial of how to change your suspension. Do so at your own risk.
If you have never done this before DO NOT DO IT. Get a friend that has done this before to help you.
I did this alone and it took a solid 9hrs. 6hrs for the front on Saturday, a lot of time to familiarize myself w the truck, and 3hrs for the rear, which were pretty straight forward.
The sheer size and weight of this truck is menacing, none of my Land Rovers or Range Rovers had came close. Also British engineering is like American engineering, there’s some forgiveness. The Germans don’t play that game.
First thing you will need to get additional ground clearance, the Jack Stands will need to get the truck up high, and you will need additional space to get the suspension lowered without it touching the ground.
Familiarize yourself with the lift points and jack stand points.
The main thing you need to be aware of are all of the hydraulic and brake lines. There are minimal tolerances here, so you have to make sure you use the floor jack to manipulate the suspension in increments.
If you can get the Panhard bar out, this will help with installing the passenger side front spring, but not 100% necessary.
Also, with these tires you are looking at approx 100lbs to lift up and down, so you will need some physical dexterity.
To prepare to remove the top bolts for the Shocks you will need to do the following:
- Remove the steering linkage connector on the driver’s side
- Remove the AC line bracket on the driver’s side
- Loosen the Radiator overflow tank on the passenger’s side
For the brake lines, the driver’s side front is the only one you will need to take off, and cap with a brake line stopper. Alternately you can remove the clips on the U-Joint at the bottom and top to get about 2-3” of space.
You will need to keep some pressure on the Diff Pumpkin before unscrewing the bottom bolts on the front shocks, as this is all that holds the suspension taut.
Once you release the lower shock nuts you will need to keep the floor jack on the pumpkin in some capacity to raise and lower the suspension.
The bottle jack comes in use when you need to get some precise up/down to get the springs out once compressed and to help put them back in.
The front springs need to be compressed to re-install. The rears do not. The THOR rear springs are actually shorter than stock, but a lot more stout.
Re-installation for the fronts is everything in reverse. If you took the brakes apart you will need to bleed them, but using the brake stoppers there should be no air going back up the system, so opening the caliper nipple and getting your wife to pump the brakes will work.
In the rear I found removing the Driver’s rear caliper helped with gaining more space to get the spring in and out.
The spacers were another task. The tires and wheels weigh close to 80-90lbs, so you will want to raise and lower the suspension so you don’t have to lift too high.
Clean both the mating surface of the Rotor and the mating surface of the wheel prior to installation.
Would I do this again… definitely. Will I be doing this again any time soon. Absolutely not
Great write up. I'm looking forward to getting under the truck to also tackle suspension, but looks like i'll probably need a whole new set of larger tools!
Ha, yea I've been building up my kit ever since I moved out to LA from NYC a couple years back, and with three LRs under my belt alone since moving here I've got everything I need.
The ride is great! I have it set at 2 clicks from softest on all four corners.
I will be looking to set the rears to about 3 clicks from softest as on really aggressive bumps I can get a bit of rear bounce, but it's very rare and I went over some seriously bad almost NYC quality roads yesterday.
Def had a pucker moment on one massive road dip, and the truck went over it with ease.
There is noticeable sway if coming into a corner to fast from the higher center of gravity, so I will have to be mindful of that, also I am still getting used to having a fast truck... so the learning is two fold.
I am going to look into getting the panhard bar installed this weekend, was just too beat to do it this go round. And waiting to hear back from Limey's experience w the steering Damper he's checking out.
There is some getting used to with the wider track with the spacers, but the beefier pan-hard bar should elevate that from all the research I've done. May also take off the stock steering damper and see if its in good nick.
Next thing I'm doing is re-greasing the Swivel housing, as there was a ton of grease on there that I cleaned up, which is normal.... but want to top of w new Mobil synthetic grease... again a project I was too knocked out to do this go round.
All in definitely worth the upgrade. Feels like a proper high end truck, while the stock G55 suspension was harsh on the most normal conditions. This feels like a luxury tank should
Awesome and detailed write-up, nice job! Glad you're liking the ride, it is nice to glide over those big bumps and dips with ease...
As far as the steering damper, I tried on the Bilstein shock that fits the G and it was fine. I would say a slight improvement over stock as the steering felt smoother especially when holding a straight line. However, if you read some online reviews on the Bilstein people talk about their steering being 'pushed' right or left (mostly right) by the shock since it's a gas pressurized shock. And that seems to be the case in the G that I noticed as well, an exaggerated tendency to push right when going straight. My truck already goes a little right anyway, but this exacerbated it. And yes, I had an alignment done last month (which is pretty basic on these trucks anyway). Eyelet distance on the mounted stock shock is right at 20 inches when going straight, and the Bilstein came packaged with a strap set to 24 inches in length. So you're already compressing it 4 inches when mounted when driving straight (assuming the packaged length is 'nominal'), and being pressurized it's trying to expand at that point and it puts noticeable pressure on the steering.
So, I decided to return the shock and went back to stock for now. I examined the stock unit and it seems fully functional and still pretty stiff, so I guess I'll stick with it until I notice any issues. If changing yours, I'd recommend the Fox unit.
Last edited by Limey Hooligan; 05-18-2020 at 06:13 PM.
05-09-2020, 11:54 PM
So, I've ended up setting my shocks to 2 clicks in from fully soft and that seems to eliminate 90% of that swaying motion while keeping the ride still very compliant. I've just kept them at that setting for both on and off road, and I don't think I'd go any softer. I may go a little stiffer on the back shocks if I end up loading up for an overland trip.
