Thread: Which shocks should I run for soft plush ride

A vote here for Billies.

If you want it to have the best standard height ride quality for the road, and you're not planning on taking it on anything more than gravel roads, my personal preference would be:

1: Genuine
2: KYB

Also, to try and emulate the OEM ride quality, keep the tyres load rating not much above standard for suppleness and lower unsprung weight.

Originally Posted by discorevy

If you want it to have the best standard height ride quality for the road, and you're not planning on taking it on anything more than gravel roads, my personal preference would be:

1: Genuine
2: KYB

Also, to try and emulate the OEM ride quality, keep the tyres load rating not much above standard for suppleness and lower unsprung weight.

Yeah righto I shall have a look at the Kyb and get back to you😁👍

Originally Posted by discorevy

If you want it to have the best standard height ride quality for the road, and you're not planning on taking it on anything more than gravel roads, my personal preference would be:

1: Genuine
2: KYB

Also, to try and emulate the OEM ride quality, keep the tyres load rating not much above standard for suppleness and lower unsprung weight.

Yeah just had a Look at the Kybs and that might be the way I'll go I'd completely forgot about kyb thankyou very much for help

The ones in a D4..... Sorry, I had to

Thing is, D2 is live axle, and soft and plush are not usually associated with live axled 4WDs. If you really want it soft then you need to include springs in your research. If you have stiff springs there's not much a spring damper ( which is what a "shock" really is ) can do about it.

Also, does the car have SLS?

Originally Posted by Tins

Thing is, D2 is live axle, and soft and plush are not usually associated with live axled 4WDs. If you really want it soft then you need to include springs in your research. If you have stiff springs there's not much a spring damper ( which is what a "shock" really is ) can do about it.

Also, does the car have SLS?

The other thing is (the original thing), the OP stated he had Dobinsons standard rate springs, so not too stiff.

The way I read it was that it is springs all round.

A lot of D2's suspensions have been butchered over the years by those that have gone the "lift it and stiffen it " path, without proper research.

A standard suspended D2 without Bullbar, winches LT tyres etc, while not as compliant ( or complex ) as a D4 in the suspension department, is still a nice ride, just the standard front sway bar makes it feel harsher than Classic Rangie or D1, under some conditions.

The biggest influence on ride harshness is the shock bump rate and I think the next biggest influence is the tyre carcass, tyre pressure, then the spring rate. The problem is that when you buy shocks, the only info for most shocks that you will get is anecdotal information from users of the shock. The problem is that the feedback is subjective and this is compounded by the variability in vehicles. My heavy vehicle might like Bilsteins, but your like vehicile might not. You will also be hard pressed to get the shock rates out of the manufacturer, and if you do, it probably wont be in a comparable form.

I would look to buy one of the many adjustable shocks on the market (that are not foam cell), and click the clickers until you find a rate that you like. But you have to check that the clicker will adjust the bump, and not only the rebound.

Some manufacturers like ARB/Old Man Emu have a comfort spec shock and an alternative control type shock, so the comfort spec there might also work.

This said, the rear of the D2 needs a lot of damping because of the weight on it and it being further behind the axle which makes it harder to control. The front is normal.