I have put together the money to prepare my disco for moderate offroading around southern california which will mostly consist of driving in the snow near the mtns over winter and some offroading at a near by ranch. I'm looking at a complete old man emu lift kit 2 to 3 inches, getting larger tires and getting a new front bumper with a winch. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Why don't you send me your number cause there could be a lot to talk about.

 

In Southern California I suggest Tactical Rovers for their winch mount bumper. They may also be able to help with other aspects of your lift.

If you're looking at low traction driving in snow and offroad on dirt you should consider addressing recovery capabilities (recovery points, lift points, winch etc.) first, then tire type (not so much diameter) and then maybe add locker(s).

I still think the typical spring or spacer lifts that top out stock-length shocks so people can fit larger tires are just for looks and a tiny bit of ground clearance on a suspension that won't be expected to move much because it just goes on level ground.

You can go to a lift that gives more suspension travel and corrects caster and pinion angles. Besides the springs, it involves shocks that are actually longer than stock, caster-corrected radius arms, longer panhard rod, and a longer front driveshaft, cranked trailing links and a-arm extension to fix the rear pinion angle, longer brake lines, and re-positioned shock mounts. Beyond that, you go to 3 or 4 link and coilovers. It's costly and I don't really recommend it if you want to keep it as a daily driver and only moderately off-road. The stock suspension is so much better for the road.

The 2" lifts that give you stiffer springs and new but same-length-as-stock shocks like the OME and Terrafirma kits are popular so people can fit big tires, but they push the caster and pinion angles to the limits of the stock parts and don't offer any more suspension travel, just a firmer, harder ride a couple inches higher than stock. You would get way more out of some air lockers and a little armor-plating.

But first address the recovery capability. The stock Discovery is very capable offroad (just remove the sway bars), but the plastic bumpers and non-existent recovery points are a big liability. A winch helps too.

 

Just get a nice set of medium duty OME springs and shocks. As far as tires go, 245/75/16 will be fine in the vast majority of situations you're likely to find. (I was always a fan of BFG Trac Edge and Dunlap R/T/'s but both have been discontinued.) As far as a winch is concerned, I remember what a wise old off roader once told me. "The best winch in the world is the winch on the truck in front of you." Before making the rather large commitment in dollars that a real winch bumper and winch will cost, hit the trails first. See how you like it. See where you get stuck, how you get stuck and what it actually takes to free you up. You may find that you can get by without a winch and use the money you saved for other, equally important parts like skid plates and sliders.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Why do you need to lift your truck to go offroad?
Nothing wrong with wanting to lift your truck, but why not try it stock our first?

 

If you plan on putting a heavy bumper and winch on the front OME recommends the heavy duty springs. They make a 2" complete lift you can always check out Lucky8, Thats where i brought my lift, Great customer service!

 

i assume most of these parts have to be tracked down individually? or does someone sell some sort of kits that include more than just shocks and springs?

 

For a simple 2" lift, all the usual suspects, AB, RN, BP, ect offer packages that include shocks and springs.

It's only when you go up to and above 3" lifts that you start to encounter the issues Ben spoke of. For those issues, Justin at Lucky8 and the guys at Rovertym also offer a variety of solutions.

Getting back to my original point, if the OP hasn't had a lot of experience off roading, before he dumps a sizable chunk of change into his truck he should really see what the truck is capable of in it's original state. I suggested a set of shocks and springs first because, in all likelihood what is on the truck now is probably original and well past it's sell date. A nice set of shocks and springs from a reputable company along with new rubber will go a long way towards reinvigorating his truck.

Before I made the leap to an ARB, RTE or similar bull bar with a big winch on the front there are a whole lot of other issues I'd want to address first. Before adding the weight I'd want to install new bushings. I'd want to make sure that all of my brake lines are in excellent condition so as not to get stranded on the trail with a line perforated with rust and leaking. I'd want to check the condition of my wheel bearings, swivel seals, preload, ect. ect. These are not glamorous jobs but they are essential in preventing a problem when stressing a truck under off road circumstances. Nothing sucks more than having to leave a truck behind on the trail because some preventative maintenance wasn't done.

I may be old fashioned when it comes to these things but that's how I would proceed with my newly acquired Discovery.

 

They can be had as either kits or individual parts. The problem is the whole kits are expensive and nobody sells a ton of them as most Disco owners are content with stiff springs and big tires. Because of that, few vendors are keen to get into extensive kit building, and the few that do are free to deal with customers in a way that they make it worth their while. These things don't sell like tires. The vehicles are 10 years obsolete and they're getting well past their peak popularity for the aftermarket. In other words, a kit vendor isn't going to do you a lot of good compared to collecting the parts yourself or even doing custom stuff. More likely you will end up being sold something you never needed.

As far as what vendors for what parts, I suggest asking around sites where there's people that have gone at least that far in modifying their Land Rover.

Get current information because the aftermarket vendors that were big 5-7 years ago could have changed ownership since. When an aftermarket for an obsolete vehicle starts to die, you get vultures come in.

 

i like the terrafirma kit from Justin at Lucky 8.