I'm considering upgrading my shocks and springs, but not sure what I want to upgrade to. My disco is manily an on road daily driver. I live in NEPA so have a lot of pot holes, rough road, hills and tight corners. But I also do a lot of highway driving.

I really don't know how shocks and springs play into ride handeling and comfort, but from my understanding, softer springs and shocks are more comfortable and absorb more bumps, but impact control around corners and breaking. (could soft springs and shocks cause the car to tip around corners?)

I'm not sure what i have at them moment, they've been the same for over 10 years. Going over potholes is definitely pretty rough. It makes the car bounce a lot. Corners handle alright, but i definitely feel a lot of body roll. Never felt like it might tip though.

From what I've been looking at I think I've landed on ​​​​​​OME Springs (Stock Load) with either Bilstein 4600 or OME Nitrocharger Shocks.

Are these a good choice? Would there really be a significant difference between the two? Would I feel a difference in what I have now?

 

Last year I installed OME 2” MD lift springs and the OME shocks that came with them. I’m really happy with the setup. It rides great on gravel and dirt roads and the articulation is really good. They are perfect for my 32” tires. If you’re staying with stock size tires I wouldn’t recommend the lift. (It looks a bit odd when I put on the stock size winter tires).

 

New shocks will reduce the pothole bounce. New springs will provide a bit of a lift, since old springs tend to sag. So, you will definitely notice a difference.

The Bilstein 4600 shocks are on my '94 D1 with new Bearmach uprated springs (standard ride height, ~196 lb/inch) and I really like the set up for the mild off-roading and pavement driving I do. My '96 D1 still has the original set of springs and shocks (212k miles) and I really like how it handles, although I am considering a mild lift to allow bigger tire sizes. Looking at Terrafirma kits, since they have done all the homework, are economical, and are tried and true. Would also consider original Boge shocks which have proven to be very worthy, especially on pavement.

If you are getting a lot of steering wheel swinging action at potholes, new bushings up front will help keep it more steady and prevent wobbles. For example, new bushings for the pan hard rod and radius arms.

 

I’ve done Terafirma springs and shocks on a couple D2s now. I did the HD ones in my current winter driver D2 (no winch or rack or anything) and the ride is quite firm- bordering harsh. I wish I had done medium duty and will probably get a front set of medium duty springs and transfer the HD ones to the other D2 when I start on it as it has a winch and rack and such.

In all cases, this was a 2” lift and I’ve never done much appreciable off roading. I also am on airbags in the rear with spacers for the lift. The look is perfect to me, and I’m well known for loving the airbag system as I do tow a decent bit.

Terafirma has a bit of a reputation of being cheap and not lasting very long. Maybe I’m easy on my machines, but I’ve never had a bad experience with their suspension stuff and based on the cost, I think quite good value.

Another thing to keep in mind is the tires: both brand/style and size as well as pressures. On my ‘00 I had Hurricane wheels (17”) with BFG K02s and I liked them fine, but they were not really that good in the snow (lived in UT at the time). Then on my current D2, I put a set of stop gap Coopers on 16” OEM wheels that came from D2 #2 I have. Surprisingly good in the snow, but ride wasn’t the best (I probably was running too high tire pressures, and again the HD springs). I’m currently running another set of BFG K02s on a set of 18” Comet wheels right around the OEM pressure.

The crazy part is on the 18” wheels I was fully expecting a much harsher ride, but in fact the ride is SIGNIFICANTLY better, and the traction is so much better, I’ve done some of the hardest off road I’ve ever done in a D2 with these tires and am excited to see how they do this winter. I think once I put in the medium duty springs, it will go to being downright nice in terms of the ride.

I do prefer a more positive ride characteristics from my racing days, so that is a caveat as well.

 

Same here. Very happy with my suspension now. The OME Medium is perfect if you don't have a winch in your front bumper imho

 

I installed a 2" medium Terafirma lift on my disco, the passenger shock blew in less than a couple of months (on brand new balljoints, bushings, etc..). Replaced with the same type, going strong for 8 months now.