Thread: Replacing air suspension struts - who's done it?

Originally Posted by Graeme

My country usage shocks get a harder life than city vehicles but I only got 70K out of a set of genuine D3 shocks. The Britpart-sourced Delphis after 40K are barely satisfactory with the vehicle empty but with any weight at all in the back the front floats so I'm starting to consider what to fit next. Maybe I'll return to genuine D4s even though I didn't like their stiffness without a load in the vehicle because of other suspension related ride softening changes made since. Just fitting the spare to the RWC permanently might soften the ride enough anyway.

With 145K on the airsprings I would urge they be changed at the same time and if not fitting genuine, the extra cost over just the shocks is minimal.

I noticed my 08 RRS has Delphi struts all around.... does this mean they have been changed at some point? I bought at 140k, strut change is not noted anywhere on service paperwork. Now at 201k, about 10k of that on very rough roads. The car drives quietly, handles and rides well. Comments?

Do they have a sticker with LR and a LR part number? My Delphis didn't, only a Delphi sticker on each. Mine also had a stamped LR part number mostly ground off prior to painting. As they felt softer than what I remembered the LR D3s were when I fitted them, I suspect that Delphi use slightly different valving specs to LR or even early D3 valve specs, perhaps to avoid violating contractual arrangements.

Originally Posted by BSM

I gather Graeme, you've had both d3 and d4 shocks on your vehicle. I didn't know there was a difference. How do they differ?

My 2009 MY10 D4 shocks were definitely firmer than the MY09 D3s that I fitted, for both slow and fast movement. Note that several early D4s had shocks fail very early and perhaps mine would have too if left fitted a little longer. I didn't read of any particular reason but I have to wonder if the valving was firmer on the early D4s.

My D4's ride was too harsh for my wif'e injured back and I wasn't fussed at their excessive stiffness either. Firstly I replaced the anti-roll bars with D3s which removed a lot of the side to side tossing on uneven roads but the shocks still jarred and snatched the vehicle down into depressions or on the down side of bumps, so the D3 shocks were fitted. But the ride improved signifi8cantly when 17" rims were fitted in place of the 19s even though the 17s were LT with 3-ply sidewalls, although Pirelli ATRs were fitted immediately after taking delivery of the vehicle and the Pirellis were advertised as having stiffer sidewalls so they probably made the 19" ride worse than the original tyres. The D3 shocks were useless by 65-70K so refitted the D4s (the ride was very good again) as they had only done 30K but they failed totally within 1 week - they had been stored on their sides for 18 months so I suspected dried-out seals, but perhaps not. As the Delphis have now gotten to the point of my wishing they weren't there, the difference the 17" LT tyres made and that now I run P-rated 265/65-17 for daily use, I'm inclined to give the D4s another try. I've always been fussy about shocks and would love to try CVDs on the rear at least but would probably need to retrofit a RRS CVD controller and all 4 shocks to get the best ride rather than build a basic version so that's not lilely to happen.

My 2009 MY10 D4 has now done 165,000km and I still have the original front shocks, which still seem OK. The rears had very little control after about 80,000 and I replaced them with aftermarket Delphi's at about 130,000. To my mind, these were and are similar to my worn D4 shocks but just a bit more control with a trailer on. The worn shocks don't seem to affect the ride or handling much but they get bouncy on rough roads where more control of the body is needed.


I would love to fit the Koni shocks as they sound like the perfect compromise. However, they seem to fail (leak fluid) very quickly according to those on the forum that have tried them, so they may be an expensive experiment.


My indie got the Delphi struts from England at about half the cost that LRA wants for the D4 struts. The aftermarket Delphi's don't seem to be made to D4 specs, just D3, although that could just be the indie not ordering the correct part. Do you know if there is an aftermarket D4 Delphi, Graham?


Bob

Originally Posted by BobD

Do you know if there is an aftermarket D4 Delphi, Graham?

I haven't looked for a couple of months but at that time I couldn't find any.
In Dec 13 when I urgently needed shocks the Melb Koni importer was working with Koni to discover why the front Konis were failing. No ETA for revised versions was given but maybe they've developed one by now.

I did the Koni all the way around about two years ago now. They've been fine. It took forever to get them, special ordered from the UK. I suspected at that time the delay was due to working out the issues. Of course, Bilstein are also an option.

My take on the Koni is that they are a bit of a softer ride on the rough stuff, which should give you a smoother ride when you are in the bush.

Koni Australia recommend this.

Toperformance - Specialist in KONI Shock Absorbers

Fitting instructions

[ame]http://findershop.koni.com/files/pdf/2100-4069-manual.pdf[/ame]

Baz.

Unless something has changed the Australian importer of Koni stopped importing FSD shocks about two years ago for D3/4's after quite a number of failures.

I had them fitted and when they were new they were brilliant, totally transformed the D3 into a very sweet handling vehicle, after about 5,000 k's they had died and all four were leaking profusely inside their airbags. Mine got harder than normal treatment because I was towing a 2.5 ton van a lot on rough country roads and I reckon that killed them off faster.

The importer replaced them with a later spec Koni shock which was meant to be improved for Disco's but they didn't handle anywhere as nicely as the first set and unfortunately they only lasted about 3,000 k's from memory. The third time he offered me Delphi replacements which I accepted.

I have the importers direct number I will call him on Monday to see if anything has changed and if they are selling the FSD's once again and if so what has been done to improve long term reliability and ride quality.

By the way the replacement Delphi's are not great even from new, better than blown Koni's but leave a lot to be desired and they to don't last long.
The D4 with 20's definitely riders a lot firmer than a D3 with 18's but handles no better, if anything at speed on country back roads I reckon the D3 has more feel and is nicer to drive and would get you from point A to B quicker. It would be interesting to see how the D4 handles with a set of Gordon's 18's and some decent A/T's fitted. I would hazard a guess that it handles and rides way better than with the 20's.