I've owned my stock 99sd for a few months now and I love her dearly. I've been making my way through the maintenance procedures outlined on this site and hopefully will have finished them by month's end. Looking ahead, I am wondering what mods I should do on the truck to optimize it for my needs.

My goals are to

• use it mostly for short commutes in the city during the week(less than ten miles each way but sometimes lots of stop and go traffic)
• use it on weekends for some mild trails and to take me into the hills to go mountain biking
• capable enough to follow my adventurous friend's bj40 wherever he feels like going(2.5inch lift on 33inch mt's)

Right now I have 235/75/16 BFG AT's on a stock truck. Call me crazy but it seems remarkably capable with that setup. What would you guys suggest to keep the truck streetable but a bit a bit more capable off road?

 

I went wheeling with mine first (stock on 16 year old suspension and stock street tires) -with a buddy to see what I wanted/needed - and was shocked at how well it performed...only had to lock the CDL twice, went through mud and had water go over my hood (not just a splash from going fast).

So I recommend seeing what your Rover can do first, and then seeing where it might need a little help...a lift for clearance, etc. I bet you'll come to love your Rover more this way, and might end up saving some coin on stuff you don't need - or you can put towards comfort features.


And FYI, since I needed suspension anyways I ended up getting a OME 2" used for a great price, and I've got tires on the way just because I want them and the stock highway tires are weaksauce.
DIIB

 

Brandon, that's what I was thinking. I was thinking of getting 2" springs and some mud terrain tires and calling it a day. Have you ever found yourself needing underbody protection while on trails?

 

Some new stock height springs will likely be better than your old sagging springs, and you could order stiffer ones for better on road performance. You could also do a 1 or 1.5 inch lift if you need, without sacrificing much on-road capability. A lift will not increase fender clearance at full articulation, and will not increase axle ground clearance, and will raise the center of gravity. Consider that.

Your tires are already larger than stock and a good compromise between on and off-road capability. A M/T will not usually work well for on-road driving and many have poor winter performance. A good A/T will work good for both. Check out the Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs.

One mild bumper mod that can help off-road is cutting the bottom of the plastic trim off the bumper. There are many threads on that.

Show your Jeep buddy what a Rover can do without dumb big fat tires.

 

Other mods you could do to show up the Jeep, and not sacrifice any on-road performance at all would be lockers or sway bar disconnect. Lucky8LLC sells both.

 

Personally I haven't, but keep in mind I'm in central FL were its mostly sand, water, and mud...not too many rocky area's where I've been.

I did the 2" for several reasons: the right deal was available, OME's trusted and much better than stock (love the on-road ride and off-road great), 2" requires nothing else to be modified, and I could fit a good selection of tires I would ever want.

There's definitely some advantages from extra height, but I bet you could do some serious damage stock with those tires. If they don't get you were you want to go and don't mind some M/T's on a daily driver, then go for it then...heck, I've got Treadwright Crawler M/T's in 235/85 on the way just for fun!

 

Your COG should not be an issue with any 2" lift. Especially since the OP said MILD wheeling. The COG looks really high on these vehicles but there is a lot of weight down low in the axles.
As mentioned. trim the air dam off your front bumper, replace your saggy springs and worn out shocks with a Terra Firma lift, make a set of sway disconnects, and get some 235/85/16 tires.

 

The first thing I would do is to make sure the CDL shifter does indeed function as it should. Take it off the pavement, make sure it will lock the center diff. You should get the dash indicator light on showing all four wheels on the two axles. You should notice the difference in grip and the steering. Wheel it a bit. Make sure it will shift high to low and low to high, lock and unlock. Get familar with it if you are not.

If it is sagging, replace the springs. For wehat you describe, stock is more than enough, but this is a great chance to beef it up. I second the OME springs. If you do raise it, you will need the longer shocks. A good set will cost you but a cheap set is throwing away good money.

I took all the plastic airdam off mine. I also had one running board come off on the trail (which I retreived and tossed in the back) and removed the other one once I got home. The stock running boards and brush guard are junk.

If you want better clearance, you can get aftermarket bumpers and trim the fenders accordingly. Not absolutely needed for milder off-roading.

Go to you tube and watch some Discovery Owners do things you will want to avoid.

Try to find a local club to join.

Click on the various links in my signature and have fun with your Rover. Drove her like you stole her.

 

First mod I recommend is the UltraGauge. Great for live monitoring of ECT and O2 and MAF.

 

ECT? What be dat?