Shock Absorbers

[Loubrey]

Guys,

I know this has been discussed at length over the years, but searching the forum I could only find peripheral information on the topic.

I've been invited on a Gun Barrel Highway trip and Im starting to plan and budget to replace some of the OEM items now 4 years and 65,000km old...

My question then... Is the hype and price of Koni shocks completely justified? I'm not talking specific application big bores or anything, just the best option for replacing the OEM shocks at standard height on my 90.

I believe that you usually get what you pay for and often paying a bit more once saves you replacing cheaper items twice. So, is paying nearly twice the price going to give me twice the life or at least a significantly better ride over the anticipated corrugations?

If not, what brand would be worth spending the hard earned on, or just another set of OEM's?

Advice and opinions will be appreciated.

Cheers,

Lou

[steane]

I can only go on my experience with Koni. I wanted a shock that would handle rough roads and corrugations and fitted Raids last year. In combination with reasonably soft springs they are very good on and off road and handle corrugations well although with the softer springs I did have to adjust the rebound to its max setting.

Once sorted they are very impressive.

I expect they'll last a long time. There is a long term online review by an outback tour operator who runs them on a Defender and they seemed to take plenty of punishment.

Having said that, if you got good service out of the standard shocks and are happy with the rest of your suspension setup then I couldn't say that a set of Raids would be worth the premium over a new set of oem shocks unless you hit the outback tracks regularly.

[justinc]

Factory shocks for all puma models are gas charged, a good improvement over the earlier models. They seem also to last well, I have seen a few sets still working well after hard use and 150k +. They are however about $220 a shock, about half a raid. In a 90, I would think raids would be a bit of overkill, they really suit heavier vehicles, like fully loaded 110 and 130's. They are a brilliant shock though.
Ultimate suspension in nsw make a good unit, and at about $140 per shock are very good value. They will need your axle weights (loaded preferrably) to choose correct valving as they make them to suit individual applications.

Jc

[AndyG]

I have set my heart on a set of Bilstein B6 off-road, mainly because of the superior handling when touring, getting to the start point.

Of course your old shocks become spares.

[Drover]

Hey Lou,

Just over 12 months ago I bought a pair of Raids (not to be confused with the smaller "Heavy Track") for the better rear damping control.

The pair cost nearly $1000. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Honestly they were bearly an improvement over the TF Expedition's.

I ended up going to Ultimate Suspension. They weighed and measured my defender, then custom made springs and matched length shocks for all four corners. All for around the $1600 fitted.

I am so happy with my suspension and I can't speak highly enough about the service and product supplied by Ultimate.

I know they ship across Australia and I know they have done lots of defenders. I'm sure they can sort you out over the phone.

The moral to the storey.....you don't always get what you pay for !

The Ultimate Suspension : Custom Built Suspension for all Vehicles (http://www.ultimatesuspension.com.au)

[Sly]

The eastern end of the Gunbarrel (Gero bore to warburton turnoff) is extremely corrugated . In some places there are multiple chicken tracks running along side the original road giving a choice of roughness.
for what its worth I would stick to a set of OME shocks and just change them out when they are rooted !.

[steane]

Hey Lou,

Just over 12 months ago I bought a pair of Raids (not to be confused with the smaller "Heavy Track") for the better rear damping control.

The pair cost nearly $1000. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Honestly they were bearly an improvement over the TF Expedition's.

I ended up going to Ultimate Suspension. They weighed and measured my defender, then custom made springs and matched length shocks for all four corners. All for around the $1600 fitted.

I am so happy with my suspension and I can't speak highly enough about the service and product supplied by Ultimate.

I know they ship across Australia and I know they have done lots of defenders. I'm sure they can sort you out over the phone.

The moral to the storey.....you don't always get what you pay for !

The Ultimate Suspension : Custom Built Suspension for all Vehicles (http://www.ultimatesuspension.com.au)

Ive never read a bad thing about Raids and had a chuckle when you swapped yours for ultimates as I did the opposite having run ultimates on the 110 and my previous 4wd. I wouldnt swap back however I had to adjust their rebound to get them working right in my application.

Not knocking ultimates either, especially their pre and post sale service, it is second to none. I've done more kms with ultimates than Raids and they work well although I would be very surprised if they ever outlasted a set of Raids. In that regard and given my own experience you get what you pay for. Dunno if its worth all the extra money though, I guess that is up to the individual to decide. I know I spent a fortune getting the 110 to ride and handle how I wanted it to and tried three sets of springs and three brands of shocks before I got what I wanted.

I'm enormously impressed with the Raids so it would be good to hear why you had the opposite experience. Not having a go, just interested:)

[PAT303]

The eastern end of the Gunbarrel (Gero bore to warburton turnoff) is extremely corrugated . In some places there are multiple chicken tracks running along side the original road giving a choice of roughness.
for what its worth I would stick to a set of OME shocks and just change them out when they are rooted !.

It was corrugated to hell when I did it,my TDCi runs original shocks,I think they are good but tyre pressure,weight and speed are just as important,I would be ruthless on weight,that track will test any shock.OEM,Koni,Billies are all good choices. Pat

[Drover]

Ive never read a bad thing about Raids and had a chuckle when you swapped yours for ultimates as I did the opposite having run ultimates on the 110 and my previous 4wd. I wouldnt swap back however I had to adjust their rebound to get them working right in my application.

Not knocking ultimates either, especially their pre and post sale service, it is second to none. I've done more kms with ultimates than Raids and they work well although I would be very surprised if they ever outlasted a set of Raids. In that regard and given my own experience you get what you pay for. Dunno if its worth all the extra money though, I guess that is up to the individual to decide. I know I spent a fortune getting the 110 to ride and handle how I wanted it to and tried three sets of springs and three brands of shocks before I got what I wanted.

I'm enormously impressed with the Raids so it would be good to hear why you had the opposite experience. Not having a go, just interested:)

I had extreme oscillation in the rear with the TF HD springs and TF Expedition shocks. The bounce in the rear over "whop-d-doo's" was terrible, to the point of lifting a rear wheel.

I fitted the Raids to control this bounce. They didn't. I adjusted them through their full range of damping adjustment with minimal improvement.

The Ultimate set up is spot on. Flex, handling and comfort has never been better. On their first attempted they hit the ball out of the park.

Will they last as long as the KONI's probably not. But will the KONI's last 4 times as long as the Ultimate shocks, because I can buy 4 set of Ultimate for price one set of Raids, I think not.......

[Loubrey]

Thanks for the replies guys!

The OEM ones are actually still fine, but while I've done lots of kilometres touring South Central Africa, I've not really done more than 250km at a time on really bad Aussie Outback roads. I've read horror stories about complete failures on shocks and while the 90 will be loaded for the trip, I won't be exceeding book weight.

Based on Justinc's advice (which I didn't know about!) it might be worth changing the OEM's over when she goes for her last service and check over just before the trip...

Cheers,

Lou

[isuzurover]

I have done over 200000 km and 8 years on a set of Bilsteins. This includes plenty of offroad and long distance touring including the Canning Stock Route.

[steane]

I had extreme oscillation in the rear with the TF HD springs and TF Expedition shocks. The bounce in the rear over "whop-d-doo's" was terrible, to the point of lifting a rear wheel.

I fitted the Raids to control this bounce. They didn't. I adjusted them through their full range of damping adjustment with minimal improvement.

The Ultimate set up is spot on. Flex, handling and comfort has never been better. On their first attempted they hit the ball out of the park.

Will they last as long as the KONI's probably not. But will the KONI's last 4 times as long as the Ultimate shocks, because I can buy 4 set of Ultimate for price one set of Raids, I think not.......

Interesting... The adjustment on my Raids made a BIG difference and fixed the issue you have mentioned completely. In my opinion they must be adjusted before fitting or you will not like them half way through the first trip and in my case the adjustment made them ride and handle in all conditions really nicely.

As far as what will last and for how long, I'm quietly confident that I will get value out of the Raids compared to what I've previously run ;)

[PAT303]

I have done over 200000 km and 8 years on a set of Bilsteins. This includes plenty of offroad and long distance touring including the Canning Stock Route.

I had the same experience,I only changed them because the bushes wore the stems so they looked like hourglasses and the right side one snapped,they did more outback K's than any other shock I've ever run. Pat

[Sue]

I did the Gunbarrel last year (on the way home from the Canning Stock Route), before I left home I had Bilsteins fitted and they served me really well.. I took my original shocks as spares (and still carry them in my car today as back up).. The rear Bilsteins were replaced for a set of custom made shocks two months ago when they started leaking - now don't get me wrong as those shocks did some serious work in that year so I'm not complaining about how long they lasted - the only reason I didn't fit Bilsteins this time around was because the ones I have now came with a three year unlimited km warrantee whereas the others only seem to cover for one year.

I'm heading down the abandoned section of the Gunbarrel tomorrow for a weekend trip out of town.. if you can get a permit to do that section you won't be disappointed - and don't be put off by the reports that the abandoned section is hard driving as I personally found it the easiest and nicest part of the track.. probably because there wasn't as many idiots ripping it up. :)

[PAT303]

Sue,what keeps you in Warburton?,Nurse?. Pat

[Sue]

Sue,what keeps you in Warburton?,Nurse?. Pat

We wanted a seachange Pat.. so swapped the beaches of the Gold Coast and two very stressful jobs, working long hours with long commutes for the desert and assisting in the community store for 38 hours a week... and we are loving it! Accommodation, electricity, internet, phone etc is included, it's stress free and we get to explore while we are over this way. We should have done it years ago!

A few pics from our trip up the Abandoned section of the Gunbarrel this weekend.. just to wet Loubrey's appetite.. ;)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/12/57.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/Bindiime/media/3H7A9273small_zps726aa2e9.jpg.html)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/12/58.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/Bindiime/media/3H7A9253small_zpsac90fddc.jpg.html)

[Loubrey]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for that! :-) I've been working in the Pilbara for almost 5 years now (living and FIFO) and I'm constantly astounded by its stark unforgiving beauty.

I'm really looking forward to a chance to do some proper long distance travel at a suitably leisurely pace.

Karratha to Newman via Millstream and Auski on the Roebourne Wittenoom Road doesn't really count if you do it every Monday morning and Friday afternoon...

Cheers,

Lou

[PAT303]

We wanted a seachange Pat.. so swapped the beaches of the Gold Coast and two very stressful jobs, working long hours with long commutes for the desert and assisting in the community store for 38 hours a week... and we are loving it! Accommodation, electricity, internet, phone etc is included, it's stress free and we get to explore while we are over this way. We should have done it years ago!

A few pics from our trip up the Abandoned section of the Gunbarrel this weekend.. just to wet Loubrey's appetite.. ;)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/12/57.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/Bindiime/media/3H7A9273small_zps726aa2e9.jpg.html)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/12/58.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/Bindiime/media/3H7A9253small_zpsac90fddc.jpg.html)

Jealous as hell Sue,I love the interior. Pat

[PAT303]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for that! :-) I've been working in the Pilbara for almost 5 years now (living and FIFO) and I'm constantly astounded by its stark unforgiving beauty.

I'm really looking forward to a chance to do some proper long distance travel at a suitably leisurely pace.

Karratha to Newman via Millstream and Auski on the Roebourne Wittenoom Road doesn't really count if you do it every Monday morning and Friday afternoon...

Cheers,

Lou

I think Sue could do with some guests next year for a week or two,hint,hint. Pat

[Sue]

I think Sue could do with some guests next year for a week or two,hint,hint. Pat

Come on over.. :)

[Tote]

Resurrecting this thread... My raids on the back of the 130 are leaking and need replacement. Not particularly impressed, they have not lasted as long as the OEMs which did about 100,000 KM . I'll follow up with what I replace them with.
Edit, it seems that I had heavy tracks, not raids, that complicates things :-)

Regards,
Tote

[shack]

Resurrecting this thread... My raids on the back of the 130 are leaking and need replacement. Not particularly impressed, they have not lasted as long as the OEMs which did about 100,000 KM . I'll follow up with what I replace them with.
Edit, it seems that I had heavy tracks, not raids, that complicates things :-)

Regards,
ToteThey should be able to be rebuilt.

I've found the Koni to be excellent.

I have what I believe to be an early version of a heavy track and they are pretty good.
I've just bought more for the back of another vehicle, it'll be interesting to see how they go