That bumper was an adapted standard bumper, very flimsy.
I ended up installing a proper one
Say hello to the White Camel - Defender 90
- Thread starter ze_zaskar
- Start date
That bumper was an adapted standard bumper, very flimsy.
I ended up installing a proper one
Then it was time for proper shoes.
It was a very a tough tough decision, spent many months considering different tyre and wheel combinations.
I wanted rims with a reasonable offset, but wanted to keep the genuine LR look. Wolfs are, IMO, the prettiest of them all and can fit (with some good faith) up to a 285 tyre. With spacers they get equivalent to a -10mm offset, so thats about what I wanted. Also, being a standard rim (instead of some obscure sourced modulares with a specific offset) they're easy to replace.
On tyres, I wanted height, but had little interest in width. Checked the 285/75R16s but the height advantage to the 235/85R16 seemed small. Was even considering 35"s, but they were too wide. Also, measuring some units in the real world, they were barely 34" tall, so hard to justify the investment and disadvantages.
I'd go for 8.25R16 or 9.00R16s, but theyr are too rare and expensive.
Ended up choosing 255/85R16, specifically the BFGs KM2, as they where the cheapest ones.
Pros
- narrowish
- not too expensive
- not too punitive to stock drivetrain
- keeps the LR look while improving performance
- tall
Off the car, at 2.5Bar on the Wolf rims, my units measured 33,5" tall. Most 35s I measured were about 34,2" or so, so we are talking about a 0,7" diameter difference here.
Old vs new
Please ignore the roof rack, it was a cheap Bearmach one I got to take some measurements to build a custom one (and yes, that bumper is "somewhat bent")
The Disco keeps getting smaller
It was a very a tough tough decision, spent many months considering different tyre and wheel combinations.
I wanted rims with a reasonable offset, but wanted to keep the genuine LR look. Wolfs are, IMO, the prettiest of them all and can fit (with some good faith) up to a 285 tyre. With spacers they get equivalent to a -10mm offset, so thats about what I wanted. Also, being a standard rim (instead of some obscure sourced modulares with a specific offset) they're easy to replace.
On tyres, I wanted height, but had little interest in width. Checked the 285/75R16s but the height advantage to the 235/85R16 seemed small. Was even considering 35"s, but they were too wide. Also, measuring some units in the real world, they were barely 34" tall, so hard to justify the investment and disadvantages.
I'd go for 8.25R16 or 9.00R16s, but theyr are too rare and expensive.
Ended up choosing 255/85R16, specifically the BFGs KM2, as they where the cheapest ones.
Pros
- narrowish
- not too expensive
- not too punitive to stock drivetrain
- keeps the LR look while improving performance
- tall
Off the car, at 2.5Bar on the Wolf rims, my units measured 33,5" tall. Most 35s I measured were about 34,2" or so, so we are talking about a 0,7" diameter difference here.
Old vs new
Please ignore the roof rack, it was a cheap Bearmach one I got to take some measurements to build a custom one (and yes, that bumper is "somewhat bent")
The Disco keeps getting smaller
Last edited:
Victory_Overland
Explorer
Great choice, keeps with the classiness of your build.
I am going with the BFG KM2 as well when I get around to my 17" wheel mod on my NAS Disco 3. The tire is proven around the world and we can keep them skinny.....hahaha
I keep on following, loving the D90!
I am going with the BFG KM2 as well when I get around to my 17" wheel mod on my NAS Disco 3. The tire is proven around the world and we can keep them skinny.....hahaha
I keep on following, loving the D90!
Kgh
Let’s go already!
My wife kept remarking how big Defenders were, and considered them very wide for the road. I looked online to compare with other cars.
Defender 90- 1.79 meters wide. 4.04 meters long
Discovery 2 - 1.86 meters wide. 4.71 meters long
Ford Focus 1.72. 3.96
It is the height that makes the 90 look bigger, when in fact it is about the size of a Fod Focus, and smaller than a Disco II!
In my opinion, a 90 is a great size for driving and actually finding parking here in Europe.
Back to topic, some nice mods and good maintenance on your truck!
Defender 90- 1.79 meters wide. 4.04 meters long
Discovery 2 - 1.86 meters wide. 4.71 meters long
Ford Focus 1.72. 3.96
It is the height that makes the 90 look bigger, when in fact it is about the size of a Fod Focus, and smaller than a Disco II!
In my opinion, a 90 is a great size for driving and actually finding parking here in Europe.
Back to topic, some nice mods and good maintenance on your truck!
Factoid
Three criminal heroes
Excellent upgrades and well executed. I have the same tires and size going on a black wolf rim for my 1976 Series III 109. I debated white letters out or in for about a nanosecond and seeing yours mounted really help seal my decision - no white letters.
Keep up the great work and posting pictures!
Keep up the great work and posting pictures!
Hi guys,
Keeping on with our story, it was more or less about this time that we decided to take part on a 11.000km Africa expedition, the Sahara Desert Challenge. It's an organised expedition that follows a rout inspired by the old Paris/Lisbon-Dakar. We'll depart on the 27 of December.
http://www.saharadesertchallenge.com/ensdc_index.html
Now with 20% more wheels on board:
The second spare wheel is mandatory for the expedition, ad the bonnet seems to be a nice place to have it on a space challenged 90
Installed a pair of Paddock Spares galanized rocksliders, dirt cheap, great fit and finish. I painted them black for aesthetic reasons
Next in were a set of hubcentric 30mm wheel spacers
Before:
After:
They made an amazing difference cornering, feels much more planted. Also feels better offroad, better traction as the wider stance seems to bite the edges of the trail
Makes one wonder why LR always was so conservative with wheel's offsets. The wheel bearings are actually quite oversized, considering the Defender weight
Keeping on with our story, it was more or less about this time that we decided to take part on a 11.000km Africa expedition, the Sahara Desert Challenge. It's an organised expedition that follows a rout inspired by the old Paris/Lisbon-Dakar. We'll depart on the 27 of December.
http://www.saharadesertchallenge.com/ensdc_index.html
Now with 20% more wheels on board:
The second spare wheel is mandatory for the expedition, ad the bonnet seems to be a nice place to have it on a space challenged 90
Installed a pair of Paddock Spares galanized rocksliders, dirt cheap, great fit and finish. I painted them black for aesthetic reasons
Next in were a set of hubcentric 30mm wheel spacers
Before:
After:
They made an amazing difference cornering, feels much more planted. Also feels better offroad, better traction as the wider stance seems to bite the edges of the trail
Makes one wonder why LR always was so conservative with wheel's offsets. The wheel bearings are actually quite oversized, considering the Defender weight
Hi all,
This was the very final stage of the preparation before the big trip.
I already got the winch for some time, a Superwinch Tiger Shark 9500, but it took me some months to gather the budget for the bumper. Went for a FirsFour bumper.
Also really wanted a Camel style bull bar, but they were impossible to find in PT. Some pop up from time to time in the UK, but nobody was accepting to ship them here.
So I did a little transformation to the existing bullbar.
The day the goods arrived
Time for a facelift
And.....done
Next to it's younger brother
It' absolutely amazing how two vehicles with similar engines, drivetrain, suspensions and chassis behave and feel so differently.
This was the very final stage of the preparation before the big trip.
I already got the winch for some time, a Superwinch Tiger Shark 9500, but it took me some months to gather the budget for the bumper. Went for a FirsFour bumper.
Also really wanted a Camel style bull bar, but they were impossible to find in PT. Some pop up from time to time in the UK, but nobody was accepting to ship them here.
So I did a little transformation to the existing bullbar.
The day the goods arrived
Time for a facelift
And.....done
Next to it's younger brother
It' absolutely amazing how two vehicles with similar engines, drivetrain, suspensions and chassis behave and feel so differently.
Last edited:
That was quite a complicated affair...
- The bonnet striker spring was too weak to lift it on release - my mechanic found out a 300Tdi valve spring is a perfect fit, both size and strength wise
- The stock articulated bonnet stay was too weak to the wheel weight - had to fit a straight rigid military stay
- The big 255/85R16 was hitting the roll cage when opening the bonnet, making it impossible for the new stay to pass over the radiator and into it's socket - had to shorten the stay
- The front of the bonnet was flexing too much under the weight - had to fit an extra pair of bonnet bumpstops (or whatever they're called)
But now it works pretty well
- The bonnet striker spring was too weak to lift it on release - my mechanic found out a 300Tdi valve spring is a perfect fit, both size and strength wise
- The stock articulated bonnet stay was too weak to the wheel weight - had to fit a straight rigid military stay
- The big 255/85R16 was hitting the roll cage when opening the bonnet, making it impossible for the new stay to pass over the radiator and into it's socket - had to shorten the stay
- The front of the bonnet was flexing too much under the weight - had to fit an extra pair of bonnet bumpstops (or whatever they're called)
But now it works pretty well
