[SwedishChef]

Hi all, I'm about to get my first LR on Monday. I'm doing a bit of research on thing I'm interested in doing and I'd love some feedback.

Firstly, I've found some hub PCD adapters from Terrafirma that will change the PCD from the old 5x165.1 to the modern 5x100. These appear to add a significant amount of width to the hub — almost like adding wheel spacers. Is this safe to assume? I suppose I need to do the legwork and calculate it all out once I get my LWB. I'm looking at putting some 19" RR Sport wheels on it — the simple ones, mainly in order to improve the look and handling. I know they're a huge step from the 16" stocker "Cyclone" wheels but I guess it's just a taste thing. I won't be offroading that much, but I plan to upsize the tires as well to fill out the wheel wells a bit more. Comments welcome.

Secondly, I'm mainly interested in on-road handling of the car. I know it's not a Porsche but I'm driving 99% of the time on decently paved roads, so handling is sort of a safety feature to me. I'm looking at the standard OEM spec Bilstein struts, and have heard people say to use the factory springs on them. Can I expect a significant improvement in cornering compared to the standard shocks? (Already converted from Air to standard OEM springs).

That's it for now — I'm happy to join a more 'adult' forum. My previous car was an Audi S4 and I had a really hard time relating to those guys. I guess I'm getting old.


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[SwedishChef]

Little update

I've pulled the trigger on some wheel hub adapters to convert the existing 5x165.1 PCD hubs to the modern RR 5x120 PCD hubs. The set from Terrafirma we're in the ballpark of $800 USD so I shopped around a bit more and ended up buying from Lenny at motorsport-tech.com in Reno, NV. He was very helpful and reassuring. 7-10 business day turnaround.

I haven't received them yet but will report when I get them.

I also pulled the trigger on a set of Range Rover Sport wheels, 19x9 so it's a pretty big jump, but Lenny says he's done this a thousand times and not to worry, they will fit. So I'm waiting to see what happens. Here's a stock picture of the wheels I bought.

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[76FJ55]

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Depending on tire size and the thickness of the adapter it will probably be a reasonable conversion. Aside from the bolt patern, the offset for the wheels are different. The REC is 33mm and the RR Sport is 53mm, so if your spacer is 20mm it will negate the offset difference. The rim is significantly wider 9 vs 7 for stock so there may be issues there, but it will come down to tire size. What size tire are you thinking of running? Let us know how this turns out.

 

[SwedishChef]

Yes the offset is the clincher. I ran some rough calculations on it but I found it all a bit difficult to keep track of. I'm hoping to run 355/60/19's which I suspected may be a little ambitious, so I bought a used set for $170. I will report back with pics when it's all together

 

[76FJ55]

A presume that that tire size is a typo? Guessing it should have been 255/60-19. at 255 it will be on the wide side but I'll guess for street use it will probably work okay. You may have a bit of rubbing at full lock, but you could always fix that by adjusting the steering stops.

 

[SwedishChef]

A presume that that tire size is a typo? Guessing it should have been 255/60-19. at 255 it will be on the wide side but I'll guess for street use it will probably work okay. You may have a bit of rubbing at full lock, but you could always fix that by adjusting the steering stops.

Yep that's a typo! 255/60-19

I like the wider look of the tires and the rig is mainly used for DD 99% and then the occasional road trip and light duty off road work. For the latter I'll be keeping my stock 16x7" "cyclone" wheels with some decent mud/snow tires. Bring on the anti-seize for those hubs adapters ;-)

I'm pretty much making it an on-road touring rig, with some caveats. Still can't wait to take her off road though. Better have a good go through the suspension first.


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[SwedishChef]

It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Depending on tire size and the thickness of the adapter it will probably be a reasonable conversion.

I will keep you guys updated. The adapters from Motorsport-tech are very thick, so they're compensation for the offset quite a bit. Of course with tire sizes not being exact, it's always kind of a trial and error thing, which is why I'm experimenting with some used tires first. I don't mind a bit of rubbing Neil I can adjust the steering stops. It's really the height I'm concerned about, but if my calculations are correct, the height of the tire is under 31" (which has been known to fit without modification) so I'm hoping its ok.


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[SwedishChef]

Getting the hub adapters on Tuesday. Will try to get them all fitted same day. Will report back!


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[SwedishChef]

Reported back here http://www.rangerovers.net/forum/showthread.php?t=53706

 

[SwedishChef]

My other thread disappeared in my forum app, so updating here.

Just started installing my new OEM springs & Bilstein shocks. Rear passenger corner went without a hitch. Started on rear drivers side tonight and hoping to finish in the next few days.

Much easier than I was expecting. Will report back as it progresses.


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