I can see doing a lift as far as clearance, but I noticed a lot of the Camel Trophy Discos aren't lifted. Wondering if there is an advantage for those trucks not to be lifted or is it just not necessary?

 

Disadvantage = not being to park in a parking garage!

As it is I barely fit!

 

The biggest dis-advantage is a toss up between a better ride and better tire selections...(sarcasm)

A lift will give you a better ride than stock. Actually less wobbly. Clearance in garages is the only thing to worry about.

 

Yep, what they said. On top of that, it cosmetically enhances the appearance of the Disco. My wife who has always thought that the Disco was one of the ugliest s.u.v,ever since I started pointing them out on the road, was completely pleased with the new looks of my 2 inch lifted and 31 inch tired 2000 D2. She now thinks it looks damn good. She explained that the Disco is too low from the ground with too small tires for its size in stock form. Honestly, I think she's right. This compliment coming from her means a lot.

 

I forgot to add that being cooler than the people with stock Disco's might be a disadvantage as well....

 

Thanks guys...
Darover , I know what you are saying about the wife thing. Mine hates Discos..maybe a lift will change her mind

 

The Camels ran stock, Brand New Springs, not the warn out ones you probably have on your truck.

 

The lift its self will not give you more clearance, but bigger tires will. When you do a lift all that you are doing is making it farther from the ground to the bumper, the diff is the lowest point on the trk and the only way to lift that is with bigger tires.
So you put a 2" lift on your trk and now you have to lift your leg 2 more inches to get into the trk but your diff is still 10" off the ground. If you leave it stock your diff is still, guess what, 10" off the ground.
They didnt lift the Camel Trophy trks because it makes it more top heavy and in my opinion isint needed, if you like the looks then fine, but you do not gain any ground clearance.
If you want to go with a bigger tire then yes you will need to do a lift so that the tires dont rub on the wheel well.

 

Ya, I honestly think that with a mild 2 inch lift and 31 inch tires, the disco looks like it should have from the factory. As said, for my wife to actually say that a Disco looks very nice once lifted, that means a lot. Cause I don't know anyone who hated Discos more than her. Especially D1s which she said looked like big Lada Nivas !!! So I told her to stick with home decorating.

 

Camel trophy trucks were not lifted because they did not operate under any conditions that required greater amounts of clearance than the stock tires provided. With all possible due respect, the Camel trophy was not even remotely the "extreme" off road challenge it was touted as, even back then.

As far as the disadvantages of having a lift, they vary depending on the type of lift and type of driving you do, not to mention the height of the lift which makes a huge difference with regard to pros and cons. For example, a trail vehicle that sees maybe 5%, or no street life can afford more compromise, a taller lift and should be viewed in a completely different light than the majority of off roading vehicles that spend 95% of their lives on the street.

Some of the cons are fairly obvious and are more prominent the taller you go:
- Parking in garages is affected
- Higher center of gravity
- Body roll
- Other suspension parts are affected
- etc

The higher center of gravity means you don't have the same sidehill ability you once had. Depending on how tall you go, it may or may not be an issue. This also directly affects your body roll, though this can sometimes be dealt with by better shocks and stiffer springs. Lifted vehicles handle differently, again with direct proportion to the amount and type of lift. With a fairly high lifted vehicle headed for a collision on the street your best bet is to drive straight towards the crash brakes on full, try to swerve and you may end up on your lid.

Other suspension angles are affected by a lift, the higher you go, the worse they get. The obvious ones are the control arms and driveline angles, as they get more out of whack, heavier stresses are placed on them requiring upgrades in other areas previously not realized. Not upgrading some areas and upgrading just springs for example, could put excessive stress on your control arms as they bind up on you, or your driveshafts could create vibration and eventually fail due to the new angles. Anyway I don't mean to go off on the cons of a lift, if you're thinking about something in the 1-2" range you're really pretty safe. Personally I think most vehicles with a mild lift and slightly larger tires appear like that's how they should have come from the factory.

Cons aside, there are obvious pros and not just being able to fit larger tires; sure that increases your axle height, but things like your approach, departure and breakover angles are improved, you can gain more wheel travel if you don't use up all your extra space with larger tires and generally speaking quality aftermarket springs and shocks are always going to be better than stock.

Unless you're gearing up to start doing some more serious crawling work, I think a 2" lift and 31"s is the perfect size for a Disco. But that's just my opinion...

ps: Don't forget to lower your bumpstops if you're going to use up all your newfound space with bigger tires.