Has anyone gone down the rabbit hole of custom tuned shocks for their D2? I know RTE sells Bilsteins that are valved to go with their lift kits. Currently I’m talking with Accutune who will custom valve specifically for my vehicle’s weight (have to go to a weigh station) and measurements.

I’ve got OME MD springs (spring rate is close to stock) on an almost stock 04 (just rock sliders on currently) with 31.5 AT Standard Load tires and have tried a couple different shocks. The Fox 2.0s from Lucky8 felt a bit overdamped for my spring setup and weight - harsh on and off road with a good amount of side to side body roll. So I installed the newer OME Nitrocharger Plus in the rear to see if I could feel a difference between the Fox in the front and OME in the rear. Seems about the same, a bit smoother on the OME.

Just wondering if anyone has had custom tuned shocks put on their D2 and if they found it improved ride substantially and worth the price.

 

Custom tuned gets pricey. I used adjustable Rancho's on my Duramax and they were much more affordable than the custom tuned variety. Honestly I find the stock valving to be the best compromise and my two current lifted had OME and TerraFirma, both too firm for my taste and we wheel pretty darn hard.

 

Yeah, no kidding, had a bit of sticker shock when Accutune gave me a price estimate. I’m happy to pay $2k if it’s going to ride like a 2025 but I don’t think any amount of money is going to get it there with solid axles and body on frame.

Interesting, so you went back to stock shocks? Can you even buy those anymore or do you have to pull them off another Disco? I guess my mindset has been I needed longer shocks due to the lift which was one reason I went with the Fox shocks. However looking at the OME shocks they pair with their MD springs, they look to be almost the same travel as stock. Damn wish I hadn’t thrown those old OEM shocks away now but the wife was getting on my case about the amount of “junk” in the garage

 

Even if you buy stock replacement they are close to the oem spec on valving. If your lift is 2" or under you should be fine on stock shocks. Or if you only want slightly heavier valving you can get something like Monroe HD gas shocks and they will only be a little stiffer. The TerraFirma seem to be the stiffest.

 

I think I commented on FB but throwing .02 in here too. Correctly valved bilstien 7100s are fantastic and there is enough data around to get you real close on the valving. I have a set of fox that I despise and hope to revalve them closer to being usable as they need to be rebuilt. I have a set of 4 way adjustable TF that for the money very pleased with but might be too long for a 2" lift. Tire choice is also going to play a huge factor in ride quality, too stiff a sidewall on a "light" disco is going to be miserable almost regardless of shock or spring choice in my experience.

 

There are some dirt cheap OE replacements made by FCS on rock auto for $30 a strut so I may pull the trigger on those to see how they compare. Thanks!

Thanks for the reply on fb and here! Apologies if I didn’t get back to you on FB, I try not to get on there too much, always some *** who can’t help himself commenting something negative.
I spoke with Simon at RTE a few weeks back around the 7100s and he made a solid case, albeit tried to sell me on the whole lift. Bit weary of his advice around getting his progressive springs which have a higher spring rate than my current MD OME. Concerned his lift packages including his shocks would suit a heavier disco.
However when I spoke to Accutune, one of the values they provide is they will revalve the shocks one time for free. So if I end up throwing a bunch of weight on or changing the springs in the future, I can just send the shocks back to them to retune for free. Also the fact that they want precise weights for the front and rear makes me believe it will be a more accurate tune.
I’m running 265/65r18 falken at3ws in standard load so I don’t think it’s the tires as the sidewall isn’t too stiff. Also I’m running them around town at 30 psi.
I wish I could make it down to MAR this year so I could maybe ride in some other people’s setups and see how it compares.

 

Can't blame him for trying hahah but yea I have a set of his springs and picked up some big progressives from a buddy waiting to go in one of mine. I have 7100s in the rear of my classic and love them. Have 2 or 3 friends that run them in their classics and they all ride amazing. The accutune free re-valve is pretty tempting but fairly certain they are gonna be higher than a set of 7100s in price and the difference might even be what it would be to have the 7100s re-valved. Those tires should be great. What I plan on putting on our green one (assuming we keep it).

We're actually moving back to VA mid Oct while we figure out what's next but won't make it to MAR this year either. At my own fault we had a major overheat event in our green one and trying to decide it's fate (it rides like *** currently so not worthy of offering a ride and our other 2 are very much not stock haha)

 

Yeah, he seemed like a nice guy and I always prefer to go with a shop that specializes in Rovers or whatever I’m looking at. His price was around ($1600 I believe) the same as Accutune’s $1500 for their remote resi Fox smoothies but it was $2k for adjustable Fox smoothies. There were a couple parts other than the shocks I had to buy from RTE as well to get his Bilsteins to fit (lower shock mounts and adjustable towers for the front). Just want to be sure I make the right choice for that kind of money. Probably going to mess around with some of the less expensive options first to see if I can find something I like - another pair of OMEs for the front and a full set of OE replacements. If those dont work out, I’ll pull the trigger from RTE or Accutune.

Congrats on moving back from Denver! My family is doing the same in October. If you’re ever in northern VA, happy to buy you a beer! I know my wife is sick of hearing me talk to her about the Disco so I’m sure she’d buy you a beer too for taking me off her hands for a bit

 

I will be at MAR as well around Lynchburg the following weekend for the Overland Expo, if you make it down to either I have several running trucks at the moment.

 

My brother is in Alexandria and never moving haha, I grew up in Oakton so will be back up in NOVA somewhat frequently and once we're settled happy to meet up!