After hemming and hawing and living on and off-road with my P300 D110S for 9K miles, for the time-being I am decided to have at the ready lift rods to put on the truck before I next head out go off-road for an extended time frame. This should give me an added an inch or two of clearance, and also let me understand their function better. I am not ready to invest the $ to install the selectable, electronic rods module noted elsewhere in the forum.

I am resolved for the time-being to keep running the OEM Goodyear A/T tires until the initial set is worn out, and not put on larger tires (so I do not need to suffer in ride quality the lifted suspension while on-road nor raise the tire noise and I am not concerned how the vehicle looks -- I agree the bigger wheeled, lifted trucks are prettier).

I will wait for some feedback from you folks on the Goodyear AT Duratrac tires as they age, as I am reading in Tire Rack they are somewhat noiser on-road than the base AT tires (but not as noisy as BF KO2s)?

Which rods are preferred:
Johnson Rods 1.5" (not sure why this one is more than twice the price of the Proud Rhino?)
Proud Rhino 1"
Proud Rhino 2"

Thanks!

 

I am in just about the exact same point you are. I really would like to get something "prettier", but I'm waiting until I need to replace the tires before I do it. I was super motivated to pull the trigger early and sell the current tires while they have value. Then I noticed this in the Defender literature. I have the "Off-Road" tires that came from the build (Goodyear Wrangler Adventure AT). The POR tires are the Goodyear AT Duratrac. I really think they look better and perform better off-road, but when I look at the stats and what I typically do - I can't drop the money yet. The Duratrac only out-perform the Off-Road specs slightly in "Grass, Mud, & Ruts" and "Robustness" (whatever that represents - puncture resistance I'm thinking). Wet, snow, sand - slightly worse. So, it's a trade off.

Right now I'm going to let my spending habits lust after the back-ordered Roo bars! I think either route is a preference (which means no bad choices at your own level), but I'm going to delay like you (and probably pull the trigger then anyway...)

 

I'm confused. They're saying the OE all-seasons are better in the snow than both the Good Year AT Adventures AND the Duratracs??
I'm leaning toward getting a set of Toyo Open Country AT3s before winter, and this chart kinda confirms my choice. I drove with the OE Good Year Adventures last winter and was not too impressed with their grip in snow.

 

I debated the same thing and came down to 2 things. 1. I had Johnson Rods on my LR4 and was very pleased with the product. 2. The 1 1/2" lift was in the middle of the Lucky8 options of 1" or 2" and I couldn't completely decide on how much lift it needed. That being said I've been very happy with the Johnson Rods. I currently have to put the vehicle in Access Mode to keep the roof rack from hitting my garage door, so in my case the 1 1/2" lift ended up being the maximum lift that was practical just by pure luck. I think the 1 1/2" lift is a good compromise as it seems to handle just as well on road, but have just a bit more clearance for off-road. If fitting it into the garage wasn't a concern, I might be tempted to do a 2" subframe lift instead.

 

There is this weird note in the JLR literature. It says that you can further extend the ride height 2.8" for extreme conditions to 5.8". The first 3" come from the Off-road mode. Since Dealers readily install lift rods for customers and before selling their lot vehicles, I always thought that the Lift rods were kind of designed in and had a limit of 2.8". So, up to almost 3" it's up to you and your preferences.

 

I won't be changing the tire size nor parking in a garage, and I only use these when I go off-road for an extended period -- I can align my tire rotations with the change, maybe. So, I am thinking maybe go with 2"?

Looking at the two brands, it seems the installation / removal effort will be similar? Any complaints or comments on the ease of removal / installation or quality of construction of OEM, Johnson or Proud Rhino versions?

 

For those who are contemplating the lift rods but don't "need" them to clear the tires you're running... why? Just like the look? (nothing in the world wrong with that if it's your reason -- I can't count the number of things I've done to cars for nothing more than the looks.)

 

I went with slightly larger than stock tire size with BFG ATs and got the 1in lift from Proud Rhino.

So what it comes down to is...yeah I just liked how it looks. It just gives it a bit more stance without affecting anything at all really. Plus, they are like $65 bucks. So I figured if I hated it or it changed some fundamental geometry, I could just toss them and call it a 70 dollar experiment.

 

i also am considering these because they are cheap, seem easy enough to install/uninstall myself, and will enable me to fit a slightly larger tire for a more aggressive look.

i’m still trying to research the long term effects of these cheap lifts though

 

Yes, there are plenty of reasons to fit a larger tire, and some larger tires require a lift-rod to avoid rubbing at full articulation or full lock on the steering wheel. But I was just wondering about people who will install them for an extended off-roading session then remove them for street use, indicating the rods aren't needed for clearance with the tires they're running.

If I start using this on terrain that warrants a larger tire, I may very well buy a set of 18" wheels with big tires and trailer them out west with my stock setup, then leave the trailer and stock tires in Moab and use the big tires and lift kit off-road. Unless the road penalty of the big tires/lift kit is so small I don't feel that I'm giving up anything by just using them all the time.