The 04 D2 is mainly used by my wife to haul our 2 kids around...I take it over on the weekends and play around a little...

It just surpassed the 100,000 mile marker and it feels (the ride) like it's time to invest in some new shocks and springs...I know there are a few different options for the D2 if I want to lift it a couple/3 inches, but I couldn't find very much on if I wanted to keep it at stock heights...95% of our driving is city/highway and it sees about 5% off-roading...nothing serious, more fire trails and the like...and of course the obligatory WI winter blizzard driving with 3'+ high drifts...

The wife already has a little bit of a hard time getting the kids in the car and if I were to lift it 2-3" I'd never hear the end of it...

What options do I have?...other than sneaking a lift in and hoping the wife doesn't notice?

 

With 100,000 miles on that truck, your suspension has dropped/sagged at least and inch and a half from new, so no mater what you do, installing new springs is going to raise you 1.5 to 2" even if you went back to Rover and bought another set of their cheap springs.
If you want to improve the ride, plan on the reality of the truck getting back some of it'
s original height plus.

 

Yup, I'm aware its sagged a little and it's going to get a little higher going back to stock, but adding 2-3" above stock and gaining 4"+ is not an option.

Do you have any suggestions Mike? I definitely don't want to go OEM...

 

I did Bilstein shocks and OME medium duty springs on my 87 Range Rover. Added about 1.5", but drove well, on and off road.

For my 04 SE7, I will probably go with LR Heavy Duty springs and Bilsteins. From what I have heard, that should limit the increased height to ~ 1", but reduce the sag when I am loaded up for week+ expeditions.

Let us know what you opt for.

Best,
Dave

 

A 2" lift usually gives you about 1.5" over stock height and you won't need to worry about brake lines or anything like that. Warning when you lift it by even 1.5" the stock sized tires start to look disproportionately small and you are going to start wanting bigger tires.

 

If all you plan to do is light off road duty and kid hauling then i would do the light duty OME kit and call it good. Then consider a set of steps if its still too high.

I have a medium set up and its sprung just right for the weight i carry on the truck. Anyone doing heavy duty springs had better be carrying a steel bumper and winch and a roof rack otherwise highwat driving and city streets will shorten your spine for ya.

 

Hey Joe,
I'm looking at the heavy duty for the rear, as I have the SE7 and a rack that usually also carries a couple of jerry cans off-road (plus duffels, tents sleeping bags, etc). I'm planning on adding under body protection, so want to account for that weight as well. My issue is that when fully loaded, it does sag in the bag, which makes it harder to get to a base camp destination.

I'm not looking for a lift, just less give. Plus, I don't ride in the back

I'm definitely interested in hearing how other people have accomplished a similar goal.

Thanks,
Dave

 

dave some guys have done med fronts and heavy rears. I would caution that unless your sprung weight is consistant its gonna ride harsh on heavy springs. Even my med/med set up is a bit bouncy on road. Not stiff. Bouncy. But off road and with the load i carry its perfect. Also another point is that no matter what route you go you will get at least a 1.5" lift. Its your decision in the end but i would weigh out what you realistically plan to carry. When i swap my bumpers to steels and add a winch i will swap springs to heavy duty. Knowing it is 3 hours to do the swap will be no biggy. Are you planning on steel bumpers, or just rack and camping gear?

 

That's what I want to avoid as well...I have a relatively new set of Nitto Terra Grapplers - 255/55/18 - on there right now and I'm a bit of a scrooge when it come to replacing things that are good/newish...

I'm torn, but will have to make a decision soon...we're heading over to the inlaws later this month and he has all the tools that I need (would ever need) for the spring/shock install...

 

After much humming and hawing I think I'm going to go OME for both springs and shocks...medium duty as we do load up the vehicle pretty heavily for roadtrips and I'm also on the lookout for a roof rack...plus, it looks like the OME's will lift the truck the least out of all the lift combinations available...

Does the combo of OME 777 springs up front and OME 781 for the rears sound right? I'll add a set of OME Nitorcharger shocks as well...