Only Rover I ever left stock height was my D2. Everything else got lifted. I have daily drove my lifted LR3 for nearly 3 years. My RRC's for probably 8 years combined.

 

Personally, l've been driving our 04 lately, no lift...and it just feels wrong. Granted, it probably needs a new set of springs anyway. Face it, these things are getting old and springs sag over time.



But, back to your question...

It's hard to recommend something like a lift, and possibly larger tires...if we don't know your driving habits. What works for me, may not for you. Do you off road at all? Or do you just want the off road "look"? Either answer is correct, no judging.

My last two Dll's were lifted and l drove them daily.

01, 2" lift (in this picture), daily driver +35K, drove reasonably well on the road, sway bars removed front and rear, and never had any issues daily driving.



03, 3" lift, daily driver, drove fine on the road. Liked the 3" lift the best, just felt right and looked the best...in my opinion.



So, l guess a lot depends on your needs/desires. If you feel like it just needs a little lift, new stock springs may accomplish this.

In this picture, you have my wife's 03 (left) with four year old standard springs and our 04 (right) with standard original springs, it sits about an inch and a half lower.



In my opinion, there is no better looking rover...than a well built Dll (sorry folks).

Brian.

 

Thanks for all the responses! Ok, so my normal day drive is only like 5 minutes to get to work. However, I do a lot of highway driving on the weekends, whenever this COVID 19 stuff settles down I will have to put some miles on the truck doing cold calls for my business. I bought the truck in November because I wanted a 4x4 to go offroading and two tracking, also I fish a lot and getting stuck on ravel roads sucks!(Volkswagen Passat) that being said I have added the Britpart front bumper and a led light bar on it (smittybilt X02 wench to come soon). I feel like if you have a rover it better be taken off-road and look like it. The main part of what I'm getting at is how noticeable or effective does a 2' lift improve off-road performance? It is 2002 without a CDL.

Thanks
Mark

 

I put a 2 inch lift on my 03 with HD springs and tf shock towers. Rides good I like it
it will give u a lift maybe to go over certain obstacles. But I don’t think it’s going to improve your off-roading much. Now adding a cdl and good tires will

 

Looks like you have decent life left in your tires. I would not do a lift until you are ready to get new tires in a slightly larger size to fill out the wheel wells if nothing else. Then do the springs and shocks... Dont put old shocks on new springs, or conversely don't put new shocks on old springs.

My only drawback has been parking garage access of 6'7" or less.

 

Yep if you drive into tight parking garages a LR isn't a good choice for many reasons.

All of my D1/D2's are lifted and I'd drive em all day and every day if I could. I see a lot of people slap a 3inch TF lift onto a 100% stock D2 and then complain about the ride. That lift is HD usually which means it is supposed go onto a D2 with a HD front bumper/winch, and it's either carrying heavy gear or a small trailer.

When I bought my 95 D1 it felt like I was getting in/out of a car. Now mind you it did have 25 year old coil springs that had certainly sagged on it. The ride was awesome, but the height was awful. When I added a 2inch OME set of coils it actually raised the 95 D2 3.5 inches so the OEM coils were beyond sagging.

Before I had my TF bumper and Warn winch mounted on my Kalahari I could feel the difference in the steering it was light, and the front end wandered a lot. Once I slapped the bumper on and the winch it went back to handling just like it had stock for the most part. I've never installed one, but TF used to make a 2inch Light Duty lift which was really meant for a 100% stock D2. All the lifts I've installed went onto modified D1/D2's so a Light Duty kit was never purchased. It was either the 2inch MD kit or the 3inch HD kit. I like the ride of a 2inch MD lift with 1inch aluminum coil spacers. I get the 3inch height, but a 2inch ride.

The parking garages in TX seem huge vs the ones I came across in say Seattle, WA. I had a Ford Fusion and I felt like I was driving a limo in the REI parking garage. It was crazy!!!! I laughed when I saw this long Chevy 2500 4DR Pickup in that parking lot! Especially when I saw the license plate was from TX. Poor guy probably drove in there thinking it's just a parking garage until he rounded the corner. He probably white knuckled that pickup in/out of that place.

 

The biggest advantage will be to run up to a 265/75/16 tire which will increase your sidewall size and contact patch. Best advice is to pick up a compressor (I run a Vair to fill tires, fairly cheap on amazon) and air down each time leaving pavement. Ride quality will improve exponentially and increase traction substantially.

 

Measure from the center of the hub cap to the lower edge of the plastic fender flare, frt and rear. I'll measure my wife's 03, if you'd like to have an idea how much yours is sagging. Yours looks to be sitting kind of low. This would give you a bit of an idea what just stock springs would do for you. And like Dave said...your tires look just about new...so, if you decide on a 2" lift...maybe wait until you've got your moneies worth out of these shoes.

Me, since it's an 02, without CDL, l'd just stick with new stock springs/shocks, might be enough of an off road look for you. Between the TC and your tires, you should be able to handle 90% of the two tracks you find. My wife's 03, stock, no CDL, is very capable off road and has great winter road manners, it's actually a beast in the snow with those BF Blizzards. Anyhow, if you want a bit more off road look and functionality, 2" lift with 265/75 is a nice look and will provide better clearance (frame and axle wise).

Granted, after the lift...won't be one bit surprised when you start asking about changing the transfer case to a CDL model. lt just happens...lol.

If you're not in a rush, keep your eyes peeled for a newer used lift. Guys build a truck, blow motor...out comes the lift and tires. I've seen plenty over the years.

Where are you located? You mention..."two tracks"...and that's kind of a Michigan/Wisconsin/Minnesota term for forest service roads.

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...k-silly-66045/

post #5

in case you stay with stock tire size, plenty of pics on net....

obviously, increased tire size gives you more clearance under axles, but a lift gives you more clearance under body....

a more aggressive tread without much increase in tire diameter may work for you....

 

@Mengels Where you are,what roads are like and your experience matters. Did a lot of traveling on FSR's with worn stock springs and shocks with no issues, once I added the 2 inch lift it just made things easier. Highway travel with the 2 inch lift is fine, I have run the Sea to Sky hi way (Vancouver to Whistler) here in BC at speed without issue.

I did this with stock springs and shocks - it was pushing though the crossbar took a hit nothing serious just a hard rub



These are more typical stuff 2 inch lift in place