2013 Land Rover LR4/Discovery 4 Build Thread

[finlayforprez]

Hello Overland Bound Friends,

Greetings! I have been an Overland Bound member for quite a while (#ob0001), but have not been on the forums much recently. I wanted to start this thread to chronicle the build of my 2013 Land Rover LR4/Discovery 4 and have a place where I can post the progression of the build over the past few years. I will be working on putting the initial thread together over the next few days and then update regularly with relevant information. Looking forward to connecting with other members, as I love all sorts of overland vehicles.

Thank you in advance and I always welcome questions on the build on this thread or on my Instagram page. Happy and safe overlanding!

Regards,
David

 

[Mike W]

Awesome. I also have a white 2013 LR4, and as you know fin, same wheels, and a lot of other gear. When my rover grows up it wants to be just like your rig!

 

[finlayforprez]

Awesome. I also have a white 2013 LR4, and as you know fin, same wheels, and a lot of other gear. When my rover grows up it wants to be just like your rig!

Howdy, Mike! So glad to have you responding to my thread. I would greatly appreciate your input to the thread as I post the progression of the build. You have really helped me out over the years and it should be a great collaboration! Thanks, buddy!

 

[Steve]

Hey, stranger! Looking forward to seeing lots of photos of the LR4 again. As you know, that's the direction that I originally wanted to go after my Outback, and yours specifically was my inspiration. No regrets with the T4R, but every time I see photos of yours, I think what might have been... Especially now that the LR4 is the last of its breed.

 

[finlayforprez]

Hey, stranger! Looking forward to seeing lots of photos of the LR4 again. As you know, that's the direction that I originally wanted to go after my Outback, and yours specifically was my inspiration. No regrets with the T4R, but every time I see photos of yours, I think what might have been... Especially now that the LR4 is the last of its breed.

Hi Steve,

So glad to connect with you again, as I know we follow each other on Instagram. I definitely remember your leanings toward the LR4, but decided to get the T4R. I don't blame you at all, it's an awesome choice and I actually almost traded in my LR4 for a TRD Pro last year. Almost! You are absolutely right, the LR4/Discovery 4 is certainly the last of its breed, with the new Discovery taking on more of a luxury/soft feel, though will no doubt be very capable off road. I just think even less people will take that rig offroad than the current platform. We shall see what the future Defender brings!

Looking forward to keeping in touch!

Regards, David

 

[finlayforprez]

So, my 2013 Land Rover LR4 started off stock. I actually had a Land Rover Discovery many years ago, but it was a giant piece of crap and I took a long break from anything Land Rover. I decided to lease a 2011 LR4 and loved it, so I took the plunge and ordered a 2013. I was going to wait until 2014 when my lease was up, but I did not want the updated version with the supercharged V6 (among other things). I am really happy I got the last year for the 5.0 V8. I ordered it in Fuji white (hides everything), black design package, Arabica interior, HSE Lux, and heavy duty package (extra locking diffs). Here are a few photos of my stock LR4 before I started my journey of modifications and updates. The first two updates were the addition of the GN Vehicle Protection sump guard skid plate (I had this on my previous LR4) and the OEM G4 sticker set (came with my LR4).

 

[finlayforprez]

The next updates on my LR4 were the installation of an OEM rear ladder, OEM tail lamp covers, Urban Offroad rock sliders (with outriggers), and a full-length Urban Offroad roof rack (including FarmTek chicken coop flooring). I am posting these photos with these accessories; however, the only one left on my current build is the OEM rear ladder and OEM tail lamp covers. I have since removed the Urban Offroad accessories because they did not suit my needs, which I will go into in more detail later when I post pictures of the rock sliders and full-length roof rack that I ended up deciding upon. The topic of rock sliders and roof racks is near and dear to the LR4 overland community; second only to wheels/tires, which I will get into in a later post.

 

[finlayforprez]

Wheel/tire post 1 of 2...

As all of you know, one of the first updates that folks do if they want to overland their vehicle is to select a more appropriate tire for off-the-pavement use. There are dozens of options available, as well as what seems like hundreds of different opinions. For the LR4 platform, the options are quite limited if you choose to keep your stock 19" or 20" wheels. There are more off-the-pavement options for the 20" wheel size than for those with 19" wheels, but nothing compared to going with an 18" wheel option. Unfortunately, no North American Spec (NAS) LR4s have an 18" wheel option available from the factory and switching to an 18" wheel can be a little challenging due to the size of the calipers (they are huge!) and potential rubbing on wheel wells/AC lines/etc. depending on the size of the tire. Trust me, the LR4 forums are saturated with discussions on tire size and what needs to be done to fit each type/size. A lot of LR4 owners who want to switch to an 18" tire option will purchase one of a variety of available height sensor rod lift kits (these rigs are fitted with an adjustable air suspension, not coils). Basically, these rods work by tricking the height sensor to keep the truck about 2-2.5" higher than standard height. There is a lot of discussion about these lift rods, and several options, but I chose to forego that option because I wanted to stay at standard height and still fit an 18" all-terrain tire with minimal alteration to the stock configuration. If an LR4 owner wants to switch to an 18" wheels, there are a few options below (I welcome additional comments if anyone has another option):

1) Use an 18" wheel (typically from an LR3) and then install spacers to properly clear the brake calipers.
2) Purchase an 18" wheel, I've seen people use FUEL wheels, and then alter them (grinding, drilling, etc.) accordingly to fit their LR4.
3) Purchase a wheel that was intended for use on the LR4/Discovery 4, with the most popular option being from Compomotive (PD1881) out of the UK. These are the wheels that I purchased and I have been extremely happy. They are very pricey, but when it came to this modification, I was not going to skimp.



I think there is also a steel wheel now available from Lucky8 Offroad, but I believe you need to do a little bit of grinding of the caliper to properly fit or use spacers.

Before I post photos of my Compomotive wheels and go into details about tires in another post, I should mention that I kept my 19" stock wheels for a few months and decided to switch to Cooper Zeon LTZs, which is one of the few off-road (somewhat) options if you keep your 19" stock wheels. here are a few photos of the Cooper Zeon LTZs (255/55R19) on the stock black-design package 19" LR4 wheels:



This photo is from my 2011 LR4, but it gives a good view of the design/tread:



Below are a few photos of the 18" Compomotive PD1881s fitted first with BF Goodrich A/T KOs in 265/65R18. I picked these tires for a few reasons, they were E rated (my rig was going to be heavy), blizzard rated, strong sidewalls, and decent on most terrains I would want to tackle. I chose the 265/65R18 size because it was the largest size I could do without doing a lift or modifications. I had the BFG A/T KOs for about 1.5 years and then ordered the KO2s as soon as they were available, in the same size. I have to say, the KO2s are light years better than the originals and I have been EXTREMELY satisfied in all terrains. Sure, I would love MTs just for the looks, but it is not going to happen on this rig.

Here are the Compomotives with the original BFG A/T KOs, before updating to the next generation KO2s. The guys at the tire shop mounted them white lettering out even after I told them I wanted the black lettering out. They switched it out, but I snapped a few photos with the white lettering out (it's a matter of preference):







Now a photo of the black-lettering out:



Next post.... KO2s!!!

 

[finlayforprez]

Wheel/tire post 2 of 2....

So, when I bought the Compomotive wheels and BFG A/T KO tires, I opted to buy five (5) for a spare. Since I have the heavy duty package on my LR4, it included a full-sized stock spare under the truck. You can technically fit an 18" wheel with 265/65R18 BFG A/T KO tire underneath, but it must be fully deflated and logistically just does not make sense to change it out on the trails. So, before I installed my current rear swing away, I stuck it up on the roof (as you see in my icon picture).

As I mentioned in the previous post, I switched to the BFG A/T KO2s once they were available in 265/65R18 and have been extremely happy with their performance on and off the road and in many different terrains. Here are a few photos of the KO2s - this is my current setup and plan to keep this tire long term. I do rotate about every 3,000-5,000 miles and did a bit of research and testing to fit just the right pressure to run them on the road. Depending on the trail and condition, I air down to about 18-20PSI. I have a portable ARB compressor with an ArkPak portable battery setup. A lot of folks use the Traxide dual battery setup, but I have not installed that yet and may not at this point.

 

[Rob Bunch]

Sweet thread!! I have a O6 LR3 that I recently inherited from my dad who passed 3 mths ago. His goal was to Overland and only had it a year before he got sick again do it my journey to continue it. Dad got the 1/4 rack and ladder and thus far I have gotten Crawolados blackout hood and Proud Rhino lift rods. Trying to save for Ko2. Those suckers are not cheap. lol. And Hella 700ff driving lights

 

[Rob Bunch]

Your rig is looking great!! Love the rock guards and black grill.

 

[finlayforprez]

Your rig is looking great!! Love the rock guards and black grill.

Thanks, Rob! Check out my instagram feed, as that has some recent photos of my rig that I have not quite posted here yet with my build story. Nice to meet you!

https://www.instagram.com/finlayforprez/

You will not be disappointed with the KO2s - they are awesome!

 

[Mike W]

I am still running Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor 265/65R18 on my compomotives. They wear like iron.. which kinda sucks because I actually want to get KO2's also.

I am still not sure what size I want to go with. I was thinking I might get 265/60R18, which looses me .5" in height, but makes fitment better, and the spare fits.

I hope to get the tactical 4x4 rear bumper, but I would still want to keep the spare under the car and not use a swing away carrier unless I was on a trip or something. When towing my boat, that would get annoying.

Yes... endless tire debates on the LR forums. But screw those rods, $185 for a little piece of wire and some rubber grommets.

 

[finlayforprez]

I am still running Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor 265/65R18 on my compomotives. They wear like iron.. which kinda sucks because I actually want to get KO2's also.

I am still not sure what size I want to go with. I was thinking I might get 265/60R18, which looses me .5" in height, but makes fitment better, and the spare fits.

I hope to get the tactical 4x4 rear bumper, but I would still want to keep the spare under the car and not use a swing away carrier unless I was on a trip or something. When towing my boat, that would get annoying.

Yes... endless tire debates on the LR forums. But screw those rods, $185 for a little piece of wire and some rubber grommets.

Wheels.... Tires.... Rods..... HAHAHAA --> this is a huge topic on the forums and everyone has an opinion. It actually boggles my mind a bit, but I did do quite a bit of research. In the end, I had to go with what was useful for me and what I wanted out of my LR4. I would say 0.5" in height would not be a deal breaker for me, especially if you do want to store the spare under the truck. From what I have heard, it does make a difference. The Tactical 4x4 bumper is really nice, and at the time, was not really available for the LR4. I am happy with my Kaymar, but if I ever switched, it would be to the Tactical 4x4. Tire carriers are really nice to hold the spare, but they can be a pain when it comes to towing or even day-to-day use if it's your daily driver. I custom fabricated my tire carrier (more pictures and stories to follow on this thread) with a friend of mine, so it suits my needs, but I could never imagine removing the carrier regularly. I know it is possible, but removing these things is annoying and not that easy. A friend of mine went with dual swing aways from Kaymar (before they stopped exporting to the US) and he had big plans to remove the second tire when it was not needed, but quickly realized it was a huge effort and now drives around with both tires back there. I know the Tactical 4x4 tire carrier is meant to stay on there permanent, but you can certainly remove it if needed for a few trips a year.

Rods.... I have the green oval adjustable rods, which are sitting in the box. I have never used them and actually have little interest in raising my truck up on a permanent basis. While I do like the look of the lifted LR4, it just does not fit my needs. I am perfectly happy with my 265/65R18 BFG KO2s and using off-road mode when needed. To be honest, and I know many will disagree with me, I personally don't see the LR4 as a rock crawler or to be used in crazy technical terrain, it just does not have the clearance and it's way too many computers for my comfort. Don't get me wrong, the computers are brilliant and the 5.0 V8 is probably the most reliable rover to date, I just never see my rig as a crazy trail rig - way more of an overlander.

I am happy trying most trails or obstacles and don't care about scratches or trail rash, but I know my limits and not afraid to take the easier route. ;-)

More coming on this thread..... Thanks for your contributions, Mike!

 

[The_Just]

I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of a '13 LR4 w/ HD, Lux, Vision, Black pkg. Thanks for the great build thread. The wheel info is already helpful!

-Just

 

[finlayforprez]

I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of a '13 LR4 w/ HD, Lux, Vision, Black pkg. Thanks for the great build thread. The wheel info is already helpful!

-Just

Howdy Just!

I hope to continue the thread tomorrow and dive into more or the build. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions at all, I am happy to help. You made a great choice with the 2013!

Regards, David

 

[Vyscera]

Good looking rig, tasteful and useful!

 

[finlayforprez]

Good looking rig, tasteful and useful!

Thanks buddy!

 

[finlayforprez]

Roof racks... This is another huge topic of discussion for the LR4/Discovery 4.

I know I posted photos of the early build of my LR4 with Urban Offroad rack, but here are more details about my journey with roof racks.

My current build has a standard basket Baja Rack, but this is my third rack and I will detail why I eventually chose the Baja Rack. On my 2011 LR4, I had a half-rack, which was a Voyager Rack and before the Baja Rack on my 2013, I had a full Urban Offroad (not sure if they are still around, no website right now?) rack. I liked the Voyager rack, it had a great fit and was well made, but I just had a hard time fitting all of my stuff properly. I ended up leaving it on my 2011 LR4 when I traded it in and then bought the Urban Offroad rack for the 2013 LR4. I initially went with the Urban Offroad rack on my 2013 LR4 because it was a relatively local company in CA, the owner Derek seemed to take a lot of pride in his work, it fit with my stock full-length roof rails (came with the black design package), and he installed it for free. At the time, I also bought the OEM rear ladder and his rock sliders with side steps, but rock sliders are another post for another day. I plan to do an entire post on rock sliders and overall skid plate protection.

Why did I switch to Baja Rack from the full-length Urban Offroad, well for a few reasons. The main reason was just the use of space, ability to mount side brackets, wind noise (there was no real wind fairing and it sounded like a jet engine flying above my rover), and the rack flooring sat very close to my roof top glass (the roof of the LR4 is all glass. I also did not care for the fact that there was nothing in the front part of the rack over the sunroof. Sure, I know there needs to be room to accommodate it opening, but all the other racks had a flooring in that area.

Here is a photo of the Urban Offroad rack when I removed it from my LR4. The weird wind fairings actually worked a bit better than other ones I tried, but I decided to give up since I knew I was getting the Baja Rack.



I looked at a few Baja Racks on other rovers in my local Land Rover club and I really liked the design/look and overall usefulness of space. After some consideration, I ordered the Baja Rack with shovel, Hi Lift jack, and jerry can mount. Looking back, I would skip the latter, as the nice thing about the Baja Rack is that it has built in holders for 2 jerry cans in the rear. The additional 2 jerry can holder bracket is nice, but it takes up way too much space. I guess if you were doing a long distance journey and really needed fuel, it would be great. Not to divert from the topic of roof racks, but I also bought a long-range fuel tank from Australia (before Outback Proven in NV closed their doors), but ended up giving it to @BEAR since I was going to move. It would be really cool if you were doing long-distance trips since the range in the LR4 is terrible. They have a much smaller gas tank to save weight. Bleh.

Now back to roof racks. The one thing about the Baja Rack is that it is made for an LR4 without roof rails or half rails, they stated that it would not work with full-length rails like I have on the LR4 with black-design package. Despite this, I was going to make it work, even it meant removing the full-length rails.

Once the Baja Rack arrived, my buddy and I got busy installing it... So, if you have the full length roof rails, it's really easy to remove the front leg platforms and the Baja Rack fits just fine. We also installed all the accessory mounts and stuck the spare tire on the roof as well until I could get to the rear bumper and tire carrier (more on that later).

There are just a few screws to remove the front feet, it's very easy. Once removed, the rails look like this:



Some people may not actually like it once the rack is on, but you really can't see these rails at all - especially if you have accessory mounting brackets.





I really love the fit and look of the Baja Rack, and most importantly in my eyes, it's extremely functional and lots of room and space for everything. If you plan on using a roof top tent, then they make another version with a flat back for that purpose.

 

[JimmyPresley]

Enjoyed seeing your build in progress. How is the road noise from the Baja rack?