Advice on RRC Suspension and tires

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rayhyland · #1 Post by **rayhyland** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 7:41 pm

Hi everyone,

I have picked up a 1988 SWB RRC. The current suspension is stock coils. I am planning to do some touring with the family (5 adults, a 60lb dog, and all our camping gear) so I plan to upgrade my suspension to the ARB heavy springs. (1.5-2" lift).

With the lift, what size of tires can I install in the RRC without any rubbing during articulation? Will it safely fit a 235/85R16? That's a 32" tire. I assume it will fit with no issues but just wanted to check.

Cheers

Ray

red90 · #2 Post by **red90** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 7:57 pm

Spring lifts do not affect suspension travel and thus do not increase tire clearance. For that size you need to do a little bit of trimming.

rayhyland · #3 Post by **rayhyland** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:00 pm

Sorry Red, I'm not following you. In my 110 I added taller springs for a 3" lift and was able to run 35" tires. I changed shocks and trailing arms etc of course.

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red90 · #4 Post by **red90** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:04 pm

Compression travel is limited by the bump stops and not the springs. If you just change the springs the axle can still move up as far as when stock and the tire can still go to the same place.

rayhyland · #5 Post by **rayhyland** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:07 pm

Ah, so changing the bump stops as well, same question.

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red90 · #6 Post by **red90** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:14 pm

You can but I'm not sure it will affect the need to trim. Bump stops are not needed as the vertical clearance is okay. You would then want to change shock mounts to maintain travel and then you need spring retainers and brake lines.

Trimming is the simple and easy way that everyone has done for 40 years on Range Rovers when doing this tire size.

rayhyland · #7 Post by **rayhyland** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:35 pm

Okay, so then I guess the question I need to ask is a different one, if I fit 235/85R16 tires on a RRC will they rub, and if so likely where?

I don't want to trim the body in case I want to bring it back to stock in the future.

:-)

Rob · #8 Post by **Rob** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:12 pm

Hi Ray.

I have run 235/85r16 on a 1988 RRC with stock suspension and no body mods. The only rubbing I experienced was on the rear axle, The tops of the tires would rub along the inner top portion of the rear wheel well. This only happened on maximum axle articulation while off roading.

Regards, Rob

rayhyland · #9 Post by **rayhyland** » Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:21 pm

OK, I have a set of 235/85/R16s on one of my series 1s, I should probably just mount them on the RRC rims and run them a bit and see what I think. I don't plan to anything beyond logging roads with this truck, so they may be fine. I will probably just need to try them and see.

Thanks for the input guys.

red90 · #10 Post by **red90** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 10:37 am

Contact should only be under articulation, so on road use, it may never hit. Personally, I would properly check and trim. The trimming is easy and not noticeable.

Why a lift and large tires if the use is on road? It will detract quite a bit from the ride and handling.

HeadDamage · #11 Post by **HeadDamage** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 3:11 pm

I have tried 235/85/16 tires on my 1993 RRC and they fit and don't contact anything under full articulation when on Series/Defender Stock 5.5in wide rims. However, they do make contact when on the stock RRC rims. I suspect that Wolf/130 rims would be best.

The above is with stock suspension.

punkinracer · #12 Post by **punkinracer** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 3:20 pm

Ok after putting many different lifts on RRCs here is my advice. Don't go too big unless you change the rims. With stock rims, even 235/85/16s will rub the trailing arms before they hit the body with out a lift. You can adjust the stops, but that effects the turning radius of course. With out the lift they will rub under hard axle twisting but most people don't do that. 32" tires work well on a plus two inch lift, last ones I used were the terraferma ones and they worked well. On my truck I wanted 35" tires, so I had MRW make me a set of 10" wide rims rather than the stock 7" wide ones. The extra 3" was on the outside, standard offset on the inside. No rubbing with a set of +4" Rovertym coils, but of course the tires were wider so I needed flares and cut out the wheel wells accordingly. Another thing is a +2 lift it totally the limit on the front driveshaft with a Borg-warner T-case, perfectly fine on a LT230 as they sit back further. On mine I run a modified D2 front shaft (1-1/2" longer) on a LT230 and have no problems at full flex.

Hope this helps,
Pat

rayhyland · #13 Post by **rayhyland** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:05 pm

red90 wrote:Contact should only be under articulation, so on road use, it may never hit. Personally, I would properly check and trim. The trimming is easy and not noticeable.

Why a lift and large tires if the use is on road? It will detract quite a bit from the ride and handling.

Well, yeah, I started out wanting to put a heavier set of springs and shocks since we are a family of 5 (incl 3 teen boys) and a big dog, and for extended trips we will be carrying all our camping gear.

But when I started looking at heavier springs, they all seem to come with a 1.5-2" lift.

And I don't like the look of a lifted truck with stock sized tires.

So I figured if I do go that route I may as well see if my preferred tires (tall and skinny) will fit.

I guess I could look at an airbag system too and keep my stock setup.

Also since I will use this for skiing on occasion I should ensure I have room for chains...

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HeadDamage · #14 Post by **HeadDamage** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 10:25 pm

This is my RRC with 235/85/16 Hankook T24 tires on Defender stock rims. Rear springs are Disco rears and the front are stock I think:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/h ... RCmod1.jpg

This is it with the same springs, more weight in the form of the ARB bits, and 225/75/16 Goodyear Duratracs on stock RRC rims:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l38/headdamage/RRConiceb_zpse967430a.jpg

Being a 200tdi I found the bigger tires where a bit much for the stock gearing for regular road driving. Off road was fine.

red90 · #15 Post by **red90** » Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:11 am

rayhyland wrote:Well, yeah, I started out wanting to put a heavier set of springs and shocks since we are a family of 5 (incl 3 teen boys) and a big dog, and for extended trips we will be carrying all our camping gear.

There should be a load leveler that keeps the truck from sagging with up to 1000 lbs of load, assuming it is working. Otherwise, Airlift bags are a great choice.

Glenn D. · #16 Post by **Glenn D.** » Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:54 pm

I have used the 235/85 cooper at3's {that you saw on my defender} on my stock range rover with no rubbing with wolf wheels. But I don't have 3 extra people in the back!

Glenn

bhoult · #17 Post by **bhoult** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:30 pm

I ran 225/75-16 on stock rims and have put Dobison's heavy springs on the back (1" lift unladen) of my 1988 RRC. I don't think the taller springs are necessary because I see little use in the larger tires. In your case Ray - where you have multiple vehicles that can use the 235/85-16, it probably makes sense. Most everyone I know with a RRC runs either the 245/75-16 or the 235/85-16 with OME springs that have about 1.5" of added height. No rubbing occurs. With the added grief....er...I mean weight of the teenagers and camping equipment the OME heavy duty rears will probably help a lot.

If you don't want to go the taller route, I'd go with the genuine heavy duty springs - only about 1/2" difference from stock. Rovers North has these as RN046/RN047 for the front and RN041 for the rear. This is the route I plan to go for my 1990 RRC, as I go through the transfer of the bumper and winch from the older truck. I'll be parting out the rest of the 1988 truck soon - so let me know if you need anything.

-.b

rayhyland · #18 Post by **rayhyland** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:36 pm

bhoult wrote:I ran 225/75-16 on stock rims and have put Dobison's heavy springs on the back (1" lift unladen) of my 1988 RRC. I don't think the taller springs are necessary because I see little use in the larger tires. In your case Ray - where you have multiple vehicles that can use the 235/85-16, it probably makes sense. Most everyone I know with a RRC runs either the 245/75-16 or the 235/85-16 with OME springs that have about 1.5" of added height. No rubbing occurs. With the added grief....er...I mean weight of the teenagers and camping equipment the OME heavy duty rears will probably help a lot.

If you don't want to go the taller route, I'd go with the genuine heavy duty springs - only about 1/2" difference from stock. Rovers North has these as RN046/RN047 for the front and RN041 for the rear. This is the route I plan to go for my 1990 RRC, as I go through the transfer of the bumper and winch from the older truck. I'll be parting out the rest of the 1988 truck soon - so let me know if you need anything.

-.b

Awesome thanks!

And yes, I am looking for various interior bits, my rear shelf is missing, my driver's seat is split, the left rear seatbelt retractor doesn't work, and lots of the trim bits are broken. How is your interior?

Ray

bhoult · #19 Post by **bhoult** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:24 pm

[/quote]...my rear shelf is missing, my driver's seat is split, the left rear seatbelt retractor doesn't work, and lots of the trim bits are broken. How is your interior? [/quote]

The interior on the 88 is good and pretty much all there - even the head liner is intact. It's light gray. The seats are good (no rips) and the power functions all work. I have a few random seat belts in addition to what's in the truck. I never had the full shelf in the back - all that's left is the passenger side piece. I'll shoot some pics if you like.

rayhyland · #20 Post by **rayhyland** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:04 pm

Yes please!

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bhoult · #21 Post by **bhoult** » Tue Apr 25, 2017 9:23 am

rayhyland wrote:Yes please!

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bhoult · #22 Post by **bhoult** » Tue Apr 25, 2017 9:24 am

rayhyland wrote:Yes please!

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The Rover-Landers of BC

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