Thread: Which shocks for African expedition

Wolf have wider offset than std alloys. They are also a better fit. The centres if almost all aftermarket rims don't locate on the hub at all and only rely on the eheel studs for centring.

Jc

I tend think if you drive it responsibly the standard kit will do. After market stuff is really just a industry hacking out an existence with only slightly better results usually. But a lot of hype and wishful thinking chucked in generally to make you feel good about buying it.
The standard OE shock are light and cheap to replace, and will do the job if your not pretending to be competing in the Dakka. I have a friend who did the madigan in a GVM 110 with them and they worked as good as all our more expansive replacements.
I have Koni 90, big heavy things full of oil designed for busses. And though happy with them they are over kill and expansive. Also hard to replace if you ever needed to. I'm not sure they are valved correctly for a defender as one gets a thud if you drop off a gutter. So while loaded they operate nicely, but if you get air it sounds like the springs beats the shock to the ground. They have seen a few hours of a GVM 130 on corrugated roads at 90km/h and barely got warm however.
Koni 82 series I believe are better suited for a Defender. They are a gas oil combo, cheaper, but also would not be easy to replace. I would not get hung up on being rebuildable if you go this way as it cost the price of a new shock. The vehicle should ride like OE on Koni's, and it's nice they are adjustable.

Nothing wrong with Bilstein but they will give you a firmer ride. Also get them early and run them for a bit. Out of the 3 people I know who bought a new set of 4, all of them had 1 leak but was easily replaced on warranty.

From what friends have told me and my own set of Old Man Emu, they will do the job but will die around 80K km. They are a fair shock for the price and capable of getting a flogging and still work.
Koni and Bilstein should last significantly longer so is reflected in the pricing.

Stick with your alloys mate. You have a 90 with limited payload, every extra kg is going to matter. Loading it up with wolf rims because they are tuff as nails only risks breaking other stuff if your overloaded. The alloys will work fine. All rims break if you hit a BIG rock. It really comes down to speed, tyre pressure, and you chosen speed; the you have some control over your luck.

Thanks for all the great advice,

I'm leaning to keep my current shocks and carry a couple of spares.

Newhue, actually my current rims are 16x7 +8 offset. I'm replacing them because they're rusting and they're the ones with the fake plastic rivets, which I hate.

Ok, just remember there are ways, then there are ways.
Eg, I put 80kg and $2000 worth of sill tanks under my truck to gain 140lt of diesel. I like them for low and central weight distribution. They dont get hung up and give me a pritty big range. However there is also the equilivant of 80lt in plastic jerry cans which weigh nothing once emptied sitting under there. 3x 20 jerries sitting on either side of your internal gards is achievable in a 90. You can free up the space carting them on a roof rack when not in use. Sill tanks, inner guard tanks are good, but there is a price and weight that comes with the convienance. Add a couple wolf rims as spares and there in another 10kg over alloys to be carried around. But the again out of sight fuel tanks are perhaps a better option in Africa, don't know. Just things to ponder and match up with ones wants and expectations. Water can be in the same thought process.