New member

[DISCONY]

Hi All,

I have been lurking around the forum for a while and want to officially introduce myself. My name is Klim and I have been a fan of land rovers for quite a while. I haven't owned one yet but more on that later. I have gained quite a bit of knowlege from this forum. Lots and lots of great info, you guys are priceless.

Like I said I havent owned a land rover yet but I have been around them. My best friend has had a 1996 D1 for 4 years now. It was nice and we had a lot of fun with it. Last year a lot of electrical problems started appearing and finally around this time last year called it quits and wouldn't start. My buddy decided to get a new truck and I found him a nice G4 and he has been loving and sporting it ever since. The problem is that he likes it too much and doesn't want to take it offroad.

So I am thinking of taking the '96 from him (it has been parked for a year) and reviving it. I will be a bit busy this winter and spring so I will have to see how far I will want to go with it. I will update you on it as I go but the plan is to put in the following items:

1.OME medium duty springs and shocks
2.Front/rear diff guards, possibly rock sliders (although they seem way too expensive, I am thinking of getting used ones or getting a kit and building them myself, any suggestions?)
3.15 inch steel wheels and 30x9.5 BFG A/Ts as I would use the truck for everyday and M/Ts would be a bit loud

I think that would get the truck in good shape to start doing some offroading next summer mostly in Pennsylvania and Jersey (I am in New Yor City). If I will have more time later on I will put more things but i think the listed items are essential.

Also I don't want to start a new tire thread since I read all of them here and pretty much set on my choice. I want to use 15 inch wheels because the tires are cheaper and with that tire size the tire will be about 30 inches diameter. I don't want to go bigger yet and I think it will be fine off road.

Well, looking forward to being a member here and I'll meet some of you guys later on when wheeling!

I'll also be posting on DII forum since we need to change the brakes on the G4 and i need advice.

[Disco]

Welcome aboard.

[kellijo]

Welcome!

[VArova87]

welcome!

Ill just comment on the suspension/wheels/tires deal. as far as suspension goes, if you plan on hauling anything, towing anything, or doing decent offroading, i would personally recommend the heavy duties for springs. the med duties will give you a mushier ride, but will sag more when loaded. also, if the springs are going to give you any lift, you might want 31" tires. witha 2" lift, 30" tires will be a little small. i ran 31s on a stock suspension for a while with no problems.

yes, 15" wheels provide more tire choices and are usually cheaper. working at a shop that does wheels and tires, i would say go that route. however, make sure the 15s you buy will fit over your calipers. also, if you want to keep 16s, nitto makes a great tire for 16" wheels called the terra grappler. its a popular tire, and ive never heard any bad things about them.

hope this helps a little! dont forget lots and lots of TLC.

[DISCONY]

Thanks Hamby,

I don't plan on hauling anything heavy, hence the choice for a soft suspention. If I later on decide to put an ARB or TJM with a winch and will load up heavier stuff for longer trips, I will swap out the springs for heavy duty ones.

As far as the wheels and tires. I really like the Nittos and want them. I actually posted in the tire thread because I haven't seen Nittos in 15 or 16 inch sizes. Can you let me know where I can buy them?

Also the 15 should fit the calipers with no problem. I think numerous people ran them without comlications.

[VArova87]

15s should fit. ive got 15x7 steels from GCR on mine, no probs.

The reason many people get the Terra Grapplers is bc they are one of the best tires for a 16" rim. We sell tons of them. I made up a chart below of available tire sizes in a Terra Grappler for a 16 inch rim and their equivalent size in other measurements. Hope this helps.



LT265/75R16 = 31.54x 10.75
LT265/75R16 =31.54x 10.75
LT285/75R16 =32.68x 11.33
LT285/75R16 =32.76x 11.42
LT295/75R16 =33.27x 11.73
LT305/70R16 =32.68x 12.40
LT315/75R16= 34.49x 12.32
LT325/70R16= 33.86x 13.03

[300bhp/ton]

Welcome.

I'd be tempted to look at running some 31.10.50 R 15's this is a common size for BFG A/T's. Although I will be honest I don't think all that much of the A/T's. But I do have a set.

If you run 15" rims with a decent off set they will work fine. You'll probably need to trim or remove the front bumper corners though.

The 31/10.50 will give you a meater tyre than a 30" one, with slightly better ground clearance and a wider tread pattern.

The wider off set of the rim will give you better/tighter turing radius, you'll need to wind the steering stops out though.

Here's my Discovery with the 31.10.50's on, as you can see I had to alter the front bumper a little:



However there are a multitude of chioces out there and none are wrong.

[Disco]

Nice truck 300bhp/ton. It's good to see another vehicle that drives on the correct side of the road. I see from your smilies your still celebrating (stir, stir), the cricket!

[DISCONY]

Now I am really tempted to go 16...I didn't know Nittos came in 16 inch size and I really like them. Now you are going to make me spend extra $$$.

If I go 265/75-16, how much stress am I putting on the CVs and the rest of the drivline? That's 31', would I have to do further modifications?

Nice truck 300bhp. I would have no problem trimming the bumper. Other than that do you rub anywhere else? How big is your lift?

[SCSL]

You won't have CV problems with 265's. (Though CV damage on a DII is always possible due to fatigue) No other modifications should be necessary to run these tires, depending on the lift, with the exception of extended brake & ABS lines. You may rub a bit up front if you're running stock air dam. Though that's typically more a problem w/ the next size up (285/75)

[300bhp/ton]

Originally Posted by DISCONY

Nice truck 300bhp. I would have no problem trimming the bumper. Other than that do you rub anywhere else? How big is your lift?

That was stock ride height, I just run HD shocks/springs.

I'll be hoonest I didn't get much opportunity to use it off road with those tyres like that.

It looks like this now (well fairly similar, must get some more up to date pics ) I run 33.11.50R15's on 15x8 rims. Still STOCK ride height and a little surguary on the wheel arches. I had to trim the front flares a little as under lock and full articulaiton they still rubbed a little. Plus under full articulation it's possible to get the top of the tyres to rub on the top inside of the arches, but it's nothing major.

[300bhp/ton]

Originally Posted by Disco

Nice truck 300bhp/ton. It's good to see another vehicle that drives on the correct side of the road. I see from your smilies your still celebrating (stir, stir), the cricket!

Cheers.


And, lol

[Funrover]

Welcome!!!!!

[VArova87]

Originally Posted by DISCONY

Now I am really tempted to go 16...I didn't know Nittos came in 16 inch size and I really like them. Now you are going to make me spend extra $$$.

I certainly wont advise you against the Nittos. They are great tires.

300bhp/ton also has great points. 15x8 rim choice with the right offset and 31x10.50s will do lots of good. i ran 31" BFG ATs for awhile and loved them. only minor trimming to the front needed. your money, your call.

[Kevin88RRC]

Welcome!!!

Originally Posted by DISCONY

Last year a lot of electrical problems started appearing and finally around this time last year called it quits and wouldn't start.

Have you addressed the No starting problem???