Ray_G
Well-known member
Figured I'd add a little to the DiscoTech portion and address something a lot of owners may look at, dwell on, and then digest the internet's vast amount of...opinion...on the matter. In this case, I'll share my actual experience for those wanting that level of granularity. First off, gratuitous shot of my baby (the younger of my two Rover mistresses):
Since many LR3s are now over 10yrs old, some owner's are buying them at great initial price points but with the necessary maintenance that follows as we've been discussing, some may logically look at the EAS coil conversion kits that entities like AB offer. ( http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/L319SRK-OME)
This contemplation often happens when the truck keeps dropping to the bump stops because of suspension failures that can be a product of the compressor going, or an EAS block leaking, or a strut failing, or a brake switch going bad, or a brake light going out, or the wiring harness in the passenger side canal, I mean channel, having been immersed in water at some point corroding. The point with that is that while most of the reasons why the EAS can fail are well know, the diagnosis can be frustrating, time-consuming and/or expensive. For me I decided that I was removing the variable when the truck decided to drop to her bump stops...on the edge of the Empty Quarter on the UAE/KSA/Oman border...and it was 120 deg so we pogo sticked back to the Oasis we were staying like the world's heaviest conestoga wagon. It was hot, there was a LOT of sand:
So should the average LR3 owner consider the coils?
Probably not, admittedly the EAS is a robust system that isn't too expensive maintain.
Well, maybe not.
Definitely not if you tow.
Likely not if you have kids, elderly, are shorter than even I am, or have midgets (i.e. you use the access mode, a lot).
Other reasons you will hear:
-It will ruin the ride. No, in fact, it does not.
-You will destroy its amazing off-road capability. That is relative, you will lose some rear droop, the degree to which that will stop your 5k+ lb vehicle's offroad prowess depends on a lot of things.
Here's a write up from my LR3 build thread over on ExpO: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/143540-NAS-LR3-build-with-an-overseas-twist/page36
What I have found is that the install was easy, in my case I paid my Emirati (read: Lebanese) to have his shop (Phillipinos) do it-but they said it wasn't hard and from what I've read it is rather straight forward unbolting of EAS struts and then backfilling with the coil overs. The flash module sold with the kit works well. I will note that I've never been able to get the hardwire option of it to work-thus I have a constant red suspension warning light on in the lower left corner of the instrument cluster. I can accept that since it retains terrain response and all the other programs, all of which function well.
The ride is actually quite nice now that the truck has settled in on her springs. To the point where my buddy John who owns Twin Mountain Offroad, and more specifically an owner of a still EAS LR3 actually is adamant that my ride is better than his. I think much of that ties to the need to replace his air struts since the truck is at ~150k but the point is that the quality of ride is not truly negatively affected till you start talking about towing and such, which is a legit concern for many.
To take it a step further, as the link above shows, we did a head to head with his LR3 and mine to examine the commentary I'd been getting about how I'd have 'literally zero' travel (not my words, foolishness on the book of Faces).
So we took both to his offroad park (Eldest daughter in a pink bunny suit is a long story).
Where we put both through their paces on his obstacle course with the specific intent of measuring suspension flex.
Specific measurements found that the front was nearly identical EAS to coil.
Rear on the other hand was a significant delta, 2.5"
What we found, given that both trucks were running the same tires (Terra Grapplers) was the major difference in capability tied more to the fact that his is an HSE with the HD package and thus his locker was the difference in certain sections (mind you we were deliberately pushing the trucks, not picking lines).
If someone is going to wheel one of these as a primary offroader I'd suggest becoming very familiar with trail repairs of the EAS; likely retaining it mind you since it does add some good suspension travel and the cross-linking features.
In my mind I wanted something where I could reduce variables and retain the positive attributes I liked about the vehicle. At the time the cost to upgrade to an AMK, based off parts cost/availability in the UAE, was nearly equal to the conversion kit; and in the back of my mind I knew the nickel and diming of a 100k truck was going to hit again with strut replacement, or EAS block failure, etc. So in my context-for my application-it made sense and I have no regrets. Hopefully this helps others a little if they are thinking about pros/cons and want to get more than just platitudes, I'd stress that my logic isn't universal-it made sense in context, and it may well for others.
r-
Ray
Since many LR3s are now over 10yrs old, some owner's are buying them at great initial price points but with the necessary maintenance that follows as we've been discussing, some may logically look at the EAS coil conversion kits that entities like AB offer. ( http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/L319SRK-OME)
This contemplation often happens when the truck keeps dropping to the bump stops because of suspension failures that can be a product of the compressor going, or an EAS block leaking, or a strut failing, or a brake switch going bad, or a brake light going out, or the wiring harness in the passenger side canal, I mean channel, having been immersed in water at some point corroding. The point with that is that while most of the reasons why the EAS can fail are well know, the diagnosis can be frustrating, time-consuming and/or expensive. For me I decided that I was removing the variable when the truck decided to drop to her bump stops...on the edge of the Empty Quarter on the UAE/KSA/Oman border...and it was 120 deg so we pogo sticked back to the Oasis we were staying like the world's heaviest conestoga wagon. It was hot, there was a LOT of sand:
So should the average LR3 owner consider the coils?
Probably not, admittedly the EAS is a robust system that isn't too expensive maintain.
Well, maybe not.
Definitely not if you tow.
Likely not if you have kids, elderly, are shorter than even I am, or have midgets (i.e. you use the access mode, a lot).
Other reasons you will hear:
-It will ruin the ride. No, in fact, it does not.
-You will destroy its amazing off-road capability. That is relative, you will lose some rear droop, the degree to which that will stop your 5k+ lb vehicle's offroad prowess depends on a lot of things.
Here's a write up from my LR3 build thread over on ExpO: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/143540-NAS-LR3-build-with-an-overseas-twist/page36
What I have found is that the install was easy, in my case I paid my Emirati (read: Lebanese) to have his shop (Phillipinos) do it-but they said it wasn't hard and from what I've read it is rather straight forward unbolting of EAS struts and then backfilling with the coil overs. The flash module sold with the kit works well. I will note that I've never been able to get the hardwire option of it to work-thus I have a constant red suspension warning light on in the lower left corner of the instrument cluster. I can accept that since it retains terrain response and all the other programs, all of which function well.
The ride is actually quite nice now that the truck has settled in on her springs. To the point where my buddy John who owns Twin Mountain Offroad, and more specifically an owner of a still EAS LR3 actually is adamant that my ride is better than his. I think much of that ties to the need to replace his air struts since the truck is at ~150k but the point is that the quality of ride is not truly negatively affected till you start talking about towing and such, which is a legit concern for many.
To take it a step further, as the link above shows, we did a head to head with his LR3 and mine to examine the commentary I'd been getting about how I'd have 'literally zero' travel (not my words, foolishness on the book of Faces).
So we took both to his offroad park (Eldest daughter in a pink bunny suit is a long story).
Where we put both through their paces on his obstacle course with the specific intent of measuring suspension flex.
Specific measurements found that the front was nearly identical EAS to coil.
Rear on the other hand was a significant delta, 2.5"
What we found, given that both trucks were running the same tires (Terra Grapplers) was the major difference in capability tied more to the fact that his is an HSE with the HD package and thus his locker was the difference in certain sections (mind you we were deliberately pushing the trucks, not picking lines).
If someone is going to wheel one of these as a primary offroader I'd suggest becoming very familiar with trail repairs of the EAS; likely retaining it mind you since it does add some good suspension travel and the cross-linking features.
In my mind I wanted something where I could reduce variables and retain the positive attributes I liked about the vehicle. At the time the cost to upgrade to an AMK, based off parts cost/availability in the UAE, was nearly equal to the conversion kit; and in the back of my mind I knew the nickel and diming of a 100k truck was going to hit again with strut replacement, or EAS block failure, etc. So in my context-for my application-it made sense and I have no regrets. Hopefully this helps others a little if they are thinking about pros/cons and want to get more than just platitudes, I'd stress that my logic isn't universal-it made sense in context, and it may well for others.
r-
Ray
