Howdy howdy.
I'm looking at getting my first LR3 and I found a well maintenanced 2008 HSE HD, but they've swapped out the air suspension with Emu Old Man HD Coils.

Besides general thoughts on the philosophy on the swap, does anyone out there have any real world long term experience to compare the before and after of this switch? Would someone who hasn't had the air suspension sort just not know what they were missing?

Thanks folks.

 

Military Mobility did a pretty good comparison test....just search that on Youtube.

 

This Military Mobility series is great so far, thanks for the recommendation!

Do you (or anyone here on the forum) know if there are any issues with any kind of coil maintenance on a converted rig?

 

If you end up running the typical 2” lift version of the coil springs you can expect your CV axles to wear out prematurely/quickly. The increased articulation puts a lot of stress on those joints.

Otherwise, expect the coils and dampers to last 100k, just about like any other shock system.

 

I'm not advocating for coils one way or another - but I had the standard height Atlantic British Coil conversion done on my 2007 LR3 a year and a half ago.. It never goes off road in any hard core way and I've been happy with it. I think the air was a slightly softer ride but that could just be me. I needed to make the decision because the air needed to be replaced and I just thought the coils would be one less thing to worry about and it was less expensive ( I was also doing a bunch of other things at the same time ). I loved the air but honestly , for what I use mine for - road trips, fishing - the coils are fine and I don't really miss the air.

 

This is going to be my first LR and while I'm reasonably aware of all the major things to look out for and be sure to know before a purchase, I occasionally have ran across some coil conversions that have a lot of other boxes checked.

I don't do any offroading as a hobby where I'm pushing the limits, but I do live in the Rockies and hit up dirt roads to get to fire lookouts, go skiing, fishing, hiking, all that jazz - but also sometimes need to make a 300 mile drive on pavement to get to some of these locales.

So I'm curious, what'd be your two cents on someone's first LR not having the air suspension? Think a person would "miss out" on the full experience by gettting something with a coil conversion?

 

If the coils place the suspension with more downward travel you can always install limiting straps. That will keep the CV's from going past their designed limits.

 

I'm not quite there yet in terms of being committed to one with a coil conversion, still leaning towards finding an enthusiast-owned example with air but in the slim pickings of enthusiast owned LR3s, the pickings are fairly slim so I'm sort of just dabbling with the idea more than the actual particular.

Things like, if generally folks would say something like "yes definitely go coils for your first LR3 to save hassle since the change feels mostly the same and it was the best thing I've ever done" vs people saying "the air suspension is such a benefit that even for your first LR you should make sure to have it, then switch to coils like most do if there's a major suspension issue and you're at a point of making the decision."

Been on these forums for a number of months now so I've read some of the posts but, haven't seen if there's "advice" on entering the LR world with coils instead of EAS so much as people talking about the process of switching to coils at a major mechanical juncture.

Thanks for the input!

 

Some people say absolutely no to coils. Some people think they are fine. Not sure that I'm absolutely opposed to coils, but I think the EAS is awesome and I wouldn't get a coiler if I could find one with he EAS intact. The suspension isn't really that hard to fix...

 

Do what ya want, really... I prefer the air for multiple reasons:
- I can level my truck for camping. I sleep inside and it has a full kitchen. So I like a level cooking surface.
- It has saved my truck twice in deep water crossings where the rear end started to float. The suspension went into extended mode, automatically, and got the more traction on the wheels so I could get out.
- I travel thousands of miles on trips, the air ride is comfortable.
- Actually easy to service. I dont mean a trail side issue, but just working on the suspension in general. No coil to compress. Just dump the air and while you have to fight the absorber a little it is not a big deal.
- As with water crossings, it is handy in other instances where one is hung up or in deep snow. Stuck in snow? Drop to access height to compress the snow underneath then go into off-road (or more likely, extended or super extended if you want) and plow yourself out.

And for those that say switching to coils was the same/better ride? Well I would hope not the same. And I would hope better. I mean one is replacing 20 year old shock absorbers after all. The conversion has little to do with it. Really one would need to compare new air ride (OEM) with new coils (OEM) to properly decide. You can not take two trucks out and compare if one system is old, etc. At least if anyone has any integrity in a test they would do it that way before casting judgment.

So I look at it this way, the air ride is more than just ride comfort. It is actually part of the Rover tool set that the truck comes with. And with any tool set, if maintained it is reliable and fine and will not let you down. It is rare to have an outright failure, there are always signs of something starting to go bad (compressor, leaking valve block, hole in reservoir, etc). And it is really not that hard to fix unless you toss cheap parts at it - then ask around, way too many times people toss on an eBay/Amazon part and have issue still. Then they get OEM and all is well. And speaking of tools, if you get a Rover with air, or not, you want a GAP tool. But the GAP tool can really do wonders with the air ride, including forced air up on the trail with an external compressor.