Thread: Took my Bilsteins off today for testing

is there a reason you steered clear of adjustable billies (if they make them) or koni's or other reputable brands. i would have thought it takes the worry away from getting the valving correct. maybe there are some known issues with adjustables? (obviously which i don't know about!)

I bought Billies on the recommendation of Graeme Cooper who recommended them as the only shocks that he knew of that could handle corrugations over a long period and return to their original damping specs.AND one of the few brands that you could get a valving spec near to OEM. In fact even the comfort spec is quite a bit choppier on sharp bumps due ( I think) to the high pressure gas.
I do not agree with Bilstein's curent marketing , with the "reduce Body roll" bit as it is NOT the role of a shock to reduce body roll.

I am a bit wary of buying Konis as previous ones I bought were quite a bit stiffer as in the above post, and recently Koni revamped their range into Heavy Track etc , and as I had seen no feedback on their performance , I suspected that Koni too had bowed to buyer pressure and made their shocks even stiffer.BTW AFAIK you cannot even get Bilstein comfort any more without paying $317 EXTRA per pair for revalving.

Having been in the car industry a large part of my life I am also aware that nearly all other brands are just rebadged units form major manufacturers eg TJM was COFAP Brazil, OME was Monroe ( now made in Mexico I think) ,and so on, or they were very cheapo brands marked up double or so in OZ eg Rancho.
I will never buy one of these "Australian" brands, such as TFS, Powerdown( although these may be the best of a bad lot as I have met the guy, and he has a lot of experience with mining vehicles) and so on as you don't know if they are quality or just marketing.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

I bought Billies on the recommendation of Graeme Cooper who recommended them as the only shocks that he knew of that could handle corrugations over a long period and return to their original damping specs.AND one of the few brands that you could get a valving spec near to OEM. In fact even the comfort spec is quite a bit choppier on sharp bumps due ( I think) to the high pressure gas.
I do not agree with Bilstein's curent marketing , with the "reduce Body roll" bit as it is NOT the role of a shock to reduce body roll.

I am a bit wary of buying Konis as previous ones I bought were quite a bit stiffer as in the above post, and recently Koni revamped their range into Heavy Track etc , and as I had seen no feedback on their performance , I suspected that Koni too had bowed to buyer pressure and made their shocks even stiffer.BTW AFAIK you cannot even get Bilstein comfort any more without paying $317 EXTRA per pair for revalving.

Having been in the car industry a large part of my life I am also aware that nearly all other brands are just rebadged units form major manufacturers eg TJM was COFAP Brazil, OME was Monroe ( now made in Mexico I think) ,and so on, or they were very cheapo brands marked up double or so in OZ eg Rancho.
I will never buy one of these "Australian" brands, such as TFS, Powerdown( although these may be the best of a bad lot as I have met the guy, and he has a lot of experience with mining vehicles) and so on as you don't know if they are quality or just marketing.
Regards Philip A

What about Dobinsons shocks, Phillip. I had these on a L/C for aprox 150,000ks and they were still good after 5yrs. Just a querie after your statement that you would not buy any Aussie brands. You seem to have much more exp than me in these matters. Bob

What about Dobinsons shocks, Phillip.

I do not know much about who makes them but I have seen a few people have had good experiences.
My rule of thumb ( except for Rancho) is that I like shocks to be manufactured by the people who own the brand. So I recently bought Armstrong even though they are cheapies, I think they are probably as good as rebranded ones twice the price.
Using that criterion , I would buy Boge , Koni, Bilstein, KYB,Armstrong, and even Monroe.( well not really)
Tell me who makes Dobinson and I will give an opinion if I know of the company. I just looked at Dobinsons website and it is pretty clear they do NOT manufacture shocks. Have a look on the shock and it should have the maker stamped somewhere.
Regards Philip A

I only live a few km away from the dobinson spring factory and have done a bit of work on their phone system. Next time I'm there I'll see if I can find out. I've seen them making the springs but yeah don't think they do the shocks.

Three yrs ago I fitted a set of Koni heavy track to the P38. (30-1597/1598)they're gas charged and have 3 settings which can be adjusted prior to fitting.

First off, the gas charge was so strong it was impossible to compress the shock and hold it with the standard wire "S" retention band used by Bilsteins...it just deformed, so I ended up using the RR jack to compress the the shocks against a G clamp fastened to the garage upright and securing them with 4mm SS rope and clamps... should have stopped there.

Although the pins are OEM length, they are threaded only part way (insufficient to compress the bushes) and there's no captive nut just above the casing to prevent them turning while screwing down the nut on the pin... the bushes supplied in the sealed box were thinner than I expected and certainly thinner than the OEM product.

Once these hassles were overcome, and I got them fitted properly, the ride, on the softest setting was abysmally hard...if I'd been seeking a rally car or OR Racer then maybe...

So they're sitting there with 3,000km on them (a return trip to Sydney) ...
I bought a set of OEM oil filled... the magic carpet ...to an extent...was back

I've been advised that the Konis can regassed to a lesser extent and the valving reset to decrease the compression damping ... which seems logical ... maybe I'll get around to it!

Thanks Hoges that is great input and confirms my gut feel.
Regards Philip A

One of your previous posts in this thread mentions Rancho's - what's your thoughts on those?

I ask as I've got billies on my 90 RRC, revalved to comfort when purchased two years ago; I also bought a set of billies early last year direct from Sydney Shocks for my D2a with ACE and they are purported to have some special valving. Just after buying I noted the price of them in the US - d'oh!

All told I'm not happy with them. The RRC is only OK if I'm driving really quickly over rough ground but on the whole I'm not sure they're that great - no different to a set of Boge I had on it immediately before the billies went on and both were terrible compared with the ride from the old Land Rover branded shocks they replaced. The D2a is terribly harsh too though I'm of the impression that 18" wheels and ACE does that; surely LR didn't sell a truck with such a horrible ride though.

I've persisted with the billies because of the reputation and I suppose they're dependable (dependably uncomfortable) on corrugations but on the whole I'm thinking of going back to OEM or an adjustable shock - my mate has Rancho's on his Surf and it rides beautifully and is adjustable. Have you tried them on a RRC?

cheers,

bidds