I'm about to start building front and rear bumpers. But there are no vibrations at all. It rides way better than before.

I went and got an alignment today and the caster angle was off by 2 degrees. Is that anything to be worried about? The tech who did the alignment said it might vibrate at highway speeds but I've had it up to 80 and no
Vibrations at all.

 

I never caster corrected mine, in fact you may be better off without it. Changing the caster 2° means an extra 2° angle on your front-front U-joint.

 

Went wheelin today to test out the new suspension. It handled the rocks very well just like it did before but I can defiantly tell that the center of gravity is higher. There were multiple times where the rear wheel came up off the ground more than a foot and the truck felt very tippy when the trail was on an angle.

Also, the trim on my rear bumper got ripped off so I have an excuse to start building a new one. That along with a front bumper should weigh it down and make it feel more stable.

I will be getting tires soon and am thinking about wheel spacers or different rims to widen the stance of the truck a little bit.

If anyone else has had a similar experience please chime in with some advise. I am slowly trying to build the truck up and want it to be the best it possibly can be in the long run.

 

The tire lifting could well be caused by a higher spring rate. You can partly compensate for that by installing some swaybar quick disconnects and dislocation cones to free up axle articulation and keep the wheels on the ground. I've actually never wheeled a stock disco, since I bought mine with the OME +2 springs already installed. It really doesn't seem any more top-heavy than my +4" F150, just more nimble overall.

If it feels really top heavy, have a passenger hang out the window, camel trophy style!



Also, Lucky 8 sells steel rims and will make them with any backspacing you ask for, so you can easily compensate for the higher center of gravity by widening your your track a bit. Just be aware that depending on your tire size, and how much you widen the track, you may lose the ability to tuck the tires correctly. Then you'd need either extended bump stops (again limiting axle articulation) or trimming if you're willing to do that. With a skinny tire you could probably bump each side out .5 to 1" without trimming, widening the track by an inch or two.

Edit: just saw that you already mentioned wheel spacers/rims.

 

I had 4 guys standing on the bumper a few times to keep me from rolling, my wheel came up off the ground a little more than 2 feet they said.

Both sway bars were disconnected so that wasn't the problem.

Going to start saving money and will do tires and wheels (or spacers).

Going to start front and rear bumpers over spring break so that will help with the spring rate being too high.

 

Are you the "drive straight through" style of driver? Ever consider driving around some obstacles to save the rig? Or are these the exact same places you've driven through before, stock, without lifting a leg? I mean I guess the higher center of gravity hurts you a bit, but you should still be able to get some pretty good articulation before becoming a trike.

 

Definatly not the drive straight through guy, I avoid any unneccary obsticals that don't look safe but on this trail you can't turn around and go the way you came because of a long, steep, snowy decent that would be nearly impossible to climb in my truck. This was a trail I have run before just fine. I last time I drug the front bumper many times but this time none. The last rime I was never nervous about rolling over though.

 

Tradeoffs, I guess. Maybe you need adjustable height air springs? That would be quite the project in and of itself though.

So wait, were you concerned about tipping sideways, or end over end?

 

Also take into consideration that the truck is now lifted and has a totally different feel. I'd wager that in 6 months of wheeling and driving the truck it will feel completely normal to you. Just from experience it takes ALOT more than you think to roll your truck. I've been in spots where I SWORE I was gonna roll and didnt. Then again I rolled my blazer onto its side on a trail I've done many times before on the same obstacle.............

 

AKdisco I'm sure the different feel had a lot to do with me being more nervous on the trail. But, I have done a pretty good amount of tough wheeling with my disco stock, and have never had my wheel lift that high off the ground. I wish I could have gotten some pics, next time I will.