Ok, so I've just bought a 2004 Disco SE, 68k KM. It's my first LR, well, my first truck ever. Just looking on advice on what direction I should go with modding it.

My intent for the truck is as follows:

1) Must be capable of towing a car on a flatbed trailer. That was the #1 reason for buying a truck, to pull my trackday car around so I can bring my family with me to events and because sometimes the car doesn't run after a trackday. <cough> So nothing I do can make the truck unsuitable for this use. As a side note to this, might also use the truck as a recovery vehicle for rally cars.

2) The truck will be my daily driver. I have a 30 minute commute on a quiet country road. I don't want anything that will make it too loud/radical/unsafe for this.

3) Plan to use the truck for family holidays. This could be anything from a trip across country, or some "mild" off-roading. So, really I'm looking for more of an Overland setup than a rock crawler. I would like to be able to take the thing 1000 miles on the highway to the coast, or just driving around on some logging roads and easier trails locally.

4) Can't be too expensive. Trying to do it on a budget, I spend most of my money on the trackday car and my house.

Here's what I've been thinking so far:

-Trade the 18's for somebody's 16's, with some A/T tires such as General Grabber A/T or Kumho A/T tires... something like that. Are these reasonably quiet enough, or do A/T's make a lot of noise? Definitely don't want MTs.

-How about a mild lift? 1" spacers, or maybe 2" springs, would this violoate 1)? Can I do this without new shocks, for now? Would eventually like Bilsteins... I'm a Bilstein guy. I don't want to lift too high that it becomes unstable.

-I'd like to get a winch just in case I get stuck in the mud somewhere on a logging road or easy trail. I don't need to be able to winch the truck up a cliff. I was thinking of just something like a Mile Marker PE8000 for $380, and mount it on a discrete winch mount type of setup using the stock bumper? I can't really afford $2000 for an Arb bumper and Warn winch... Would a PE8000 be completely useless?

-I figure the CDL, HDC and traction control should be good enough for now? Eventually might like a TruTrac setup. I have a Quaife in my car and sure like the way it works.

-Again, don't really have the money for a whole new front bumper, but I know I will need some kind of recovery attachment points at the front. Either for pulling rally cars out of snowbanks, or on the trail, etc. What can I do without buying a whole new off-road bumper? Any way to get a proper tow hook on there? I already know I'll get a reciever mounted shackle for the back, that's easy.

Anything else I should be thinking of?

I also know I want some extra lighting. Not sure how I'll accomplish that yet... I do want a roof rack, but that won't be for a while. Might mount some foglights on brackets on the front.

Ideally I'd love some kind of solid A-bar that mounts a winch and some lights, but I really just haven't seen anything that I like. Most Abars are just cosmetic. And I just don't really like the look of a full bullbar bumper.

Stylistically, I'd love an Abar with the shape of the LR poly Abar for the 03-04 trucks, but made out of 2" square tubing instead, and integrating a winchmount in the base, with two recovery points on either side.

I have a welder and a lot of shop equipment, might try making something myself.

 

Frankly, I'm not a fan of mods. Wad up a wallet full of money and throw it in the garbage. That being said, good tiresare a good investment because you need tires anyway. Good floor mats to protect the carpet. Good strong battery.

Doesn't sound as if you need much more.

 

Too many questions to type out replys for, call me if you want and lets walk you thru this.
303-862-7680 Colorado before 8 pm

 

I couldn't disagree with you more. If this is really your line of thought, why the heck do you own a discovery ??? with the depreciation of those things and the mileager you get out of a tank.....Talk about throwing money in the garbage!!! Your comment doesn't make sense.

On another note, if you decide to bite the bullet and become a Disco owner, might as well live this experience to the fullest and do what makes you happy with it. Heck, there's guys running huge roof racks that cost around $1500.00 just for the looks, cause you have more than ample room in the back for all the gear you can bring.

With this said, I think that the intelligent way to mod these trucks, would be a mild lift, like OME 2inch, and a tire that will not affect performance, braking and driveline strenght too much, like the General grabbers AT/2s in size 265/70-16. That way you get the best of both worlds.

 

X2. An OME lift will actually improve your ride. regular Bilsteins are too short for a lift. Check out lrrforums.com. Decent prices for the whole setup. Don't use spacers before the lift, you will just make it wobbly with the stock springs and shocks...

by the way, NWrover, didn't you buy yours all modded up? Lift, snorkel? Weird advice.

 

I have a Focus that's worth... crap I dunno... about $30-40k. But, it'll harass any supercar on track unless driven by a very good driver so...

I've got the mod bug bad, but everything is always done function before form.

Actually, I do need floormats because they're missing...

 

There you are. Function before form. You've got the right idea. My previous comment was pointed more towards the types that race out (no pun intended) to build the next camel trophy winner. Fact is, 95% of rover owners never even come close to using the stock potential of their vehicle. Unless you have a specific purpose in mind for your vehicle then wy dump an easy $10k (or more) into mods?

A previous poster made the comment about my disco being modified. You're absolutly correct, it's modified. I bought it that way with a specific purpose of having an expedition quality vehicle for a trip to the northern end of the Northern Territory. I didn't go out and drop a ton on money into the thing justto paste on the mods. My only other modification will be the addition of an adventure trailer.

Again, congrats on the purchase of the new disco!.

Cheers,

Curt