Expedition Portal Project: 2008 Range Rover Sport

Chris Cordes

Expedition Leader
Current Progress


Every auto manufacturer produces at least one vehicle that just doesn't seem to fit in. Whether it's a big car trying to be small, an economy car trying to be roomy, or an SUV trying to be a sports car, purists often shun these “frankenmodels” and tend to discount them without a fighting chance. The Range Rover Sport is one of those vehicles. Wander into any Land Rover off-road rally while talking about your Sport and comments about getting groceries and taking the kids to soccer practice will be let fly quicker than blame at a congressional hearing. I admittedly was one of those purists who thought that the modern Land Rovers, especially any bearing a sport badge, were nothing more than a stylized shadow of their predecessors. Luckily for me, the sale of my Range Rover Classic and the search for a new vehicle led me to discover just how wrong I was about not only modern Land Rovers in general, but the Range Rover Sport as well.




When I began my hunt for a new adventure vehicle, my thoughts lay with trucks like the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota Land Cruiser 60 Series; but for all their capability I really didn't enjoy driving them. If I'm honest I found them top heavy, narrow, and truthfully uncomfortable and slow on long trips. Which brought me to a key question; why am I buying a vehicle that's frustrating on pavement if that's where I spend 95% of my time?





My thought process quickly switched to finding a vehicle that was very comfortable, had enough power to cruise at 75 on the highway, and handled as well on the road as it did off it. My logical conclusion was a Range Rover. A white 2008 Sport model to be exact. Now let me explain myself before being hurled into the volcano. First I've always loved the look and feel of the sport so personal preference did play a factor. There's something about the short slanted lines that attracts me to these things like a fly to honey.



Second, and more importantly, is the off-road capability. While the Sport isn't a direct competitor with the LR3 in the off-road category, it does share many of its features and much of its performance. Besides the frame and suspension system borrowed from its Discovery brother, the Sport utilizes many of the same four-wheel drive components including the terrain response system. This means that all the fun modes and computer settings that help the LR3 conquer obstacles are also on the sport.



Additionally the sport packs a little extra punch on certain terrains due to the 5.5 inch shorter wheel base that helps it clear obstacles and avoid high centering.



So great, all that being said its still the soccer mobile right? Not so much. Even in its stock form I found this car to be extremely capable. On 20” wheels I was able to take it through some of the hardest passes in Sedona and over a few obstacles that even my former vehicle, with front and rear lockers, struggled to overcome. That being said it does have some weaknesses in its stock form which throughout this build I will be addressing. Things like the original low profile street tires, marginal clearance, and lack of reserve cargo space.

Over the next few months I'll be continuing to update this vehicle and its build thread so stay tuned! It should be an interesting ride.
 
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Colin Hughes

Explorer
Couldn't quite stretch to one of these so it's a 2007 LR3 HSE which I'm very much enjoying. Here's a couple shots of a friends Sport, with the Fi-Fi street tires on it. It still did amazing! DSC_1584.jpgDSC_1583.jpg
 
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Eniam17

Adventurer
Look forward to seeing what you do and how far you push the Sport. I think they get a bad wrap due to the people that drive them most of the time and their limited cargo room; personally I like them a lot and love driving ours. Looks like you put 18" LR wheels on it in that first picture, correct?
 

spikemd

Explorer
I drove my buddy's 2010 this weekend for a day and really liked it. Definitely smaller on the inside than my LR3 but felt more nimble than its Lr3/4 brother. Modern rovers are an incredible blend of comfort and capability. My only real gripe is with rear cargo room, but it isn't much less than my P38 range rover. Not sure what size tires you can squeeze under or what trimming needs to be done like the LR3. Its a beautiful truck.
 

Chris Cordes

Expedition Leader
Thanks guys they really are amazingly capable stock. I do enjoy the seating position on the inside more than the LR3 for some reason. It could be because you sit more inside the vehicle than on top of it.

Yea those are 18" LR3 wheels... more on that later ;)

The cargo room is definitely an issue to consider but it could be a lot worse. After driving a truck for five years I am grateful to have any interior storage. I have resolved this issue for myself and will continue my update of it very soon!
For reference here is the rear cargo room
 

jh.

ambitiose sed ineptum
Been waiting for a thread like this. The RRS may be the boss's next vehicle and I will have to borrow it for weekend trail riding if I get rid of my Disco in the process. Tire size/choice and interior space have been important considerations as I've been thinking that I will need a MKIII or LR3 if she goes the RRS route. Nothing wrong with 2 Rovers however...except the expense.

Good luck and I look forward to the updates.
 

Chris Cordes

Expedition Leader
Hey the sport is very capable and has a fair amount of space. You're not gaining much room with the MKIII inside. That being said the more rovers the better!
 

St.-Newfie

New member
Thanks for putting this out there - I'm currently flip flopping between the LR3/4 or RRS as my next expedition vehicle. Had an '03 DII (slightly mod'd :D) and absolutely loved that vehicle...my wife/kids not so much. Fast forward many years later and I'm back in the market again. Can't wait to see how this unfolds.
 

Chris Cordes

Expedition Leader
The LR3 and RRS are both fantastic choices. Though I will say that if you're trying to win the wife over I've yet to find a woman who didn't love the sport
 

Chris Cordes

Expedition Leader
NOTE: SORRY FOR THE POOR QUALITY CELL SHOTS ON THIS SECTION

Upon receiving the Sport it was painfully obvious the low profile street tires and the 20” wheels were going to have to go. The tires, which weren’t rated for the weight of the vehicle anyway, were already balding and would never stand up to a dirt road much less a serious 4x4 trip.

To really get the most use out of this vehicle I needed to fit an 18” wheel and a set of all terrains large enough to allow for a respectable drop in air pressure. The sports lower stance didn’t allow for anything like that so my first modification was to start out with a set of Johnson Rod sensor arms to give the truck some extra height.

I can say I was very impressed at how well the car articulated while we raised it up to remove the tires and swap sensor rods. For an independent suspension it’s really hard to beat.

Due to a camera malfunction, which is why you’re viewing iphone pictures, I’ll have to skip the shots of the install and just describe it. The process was very simple and just required a little finesse, a screwdriver, and some noncorrosive lubricant. Essentially you lubricate the stock sensor rod, which is attached to a small plastic arm, and use the screw driver to lightly pry and pull them apart. If you do it correctly it should just pop off and you can put the new rods on. The hardest part was trying to hold the plastic sensor arm still and prevent it from breaking. If it does happen to snap you’re in deep trouble and will need a tow to the local dealership for a new part.

Although the plan is to switch to 18 inch wheels, we hadn’t had the chance to pick up a new set of tires yet. As a temporary solution for the weekends upcoming trail run, we borrowed a set of 20” wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson tires.

The extra height and bigger tires immediately changed the cars entire look and feel. Its appearance became more aggressive yet styled, like a proper Range Rover, while the ride improved tremendously from its pavement pounding street tires.

It didn’t take long for us to get this truck out on the trail. In the first few days we were on our usual test track on which the Sport performed flawlessly. Its traction control system was definitely different from what I was used to however once I figured out the proper change of throttle everything went smoothly.

Of course we couldn’t pass up the first free weekend after for an overnight adventure in the Sedona area. The truck impressed me on this trip more than I could have imagined by making it over some serious obstacles without even spinning a tire.

Oh yes during the johnson rod install I happened to find an interesting foreign object lodged in my wheel well

 

jh.

ambitiose sed ineptum
Nice work...getting more comfortable with the RRS each post. :costumed-smiley-007


Edit: How'd the screwdriver get in there??
 

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