Thread: D4 ride difference 2010/11 to 2013?

I have had a 2009 d4 and now have a 2013 d4. I thought the shocks in the 2009 were to soft especially once the arb bar was added and the vehicle fully loaded. I dont have the bar on the 2013 but find the front behaves better without the bar. The 2013 also only has 24k kms the 2009 I had until it hit 63k kms. I don't think the 2013 is harsh at all, I think it is better behaved but its nit apples and apples and the difference so small it needs to be an apples to apples comparison.

The bigger difference between early and later d4s is the later is quieter and seems more refined, some of it is eelated to engine tdv6 vs 3.0l, 8 speed box, I have also noticed sound insulation in floor and other places seems thicker and there appear to be different body pressings perhaps contributing to the feeling of refinement.

It's funny you should ask this question Graeme, I've been meaning to do the same. But I think I may muddy the waters.


I had a 2009 build D4 and now have a late 2013 build. Both are SE with the 3.0L 600nm engine.


I asked my wife to see what her opinion was, shortly after I bought it and we both feel the new car has softer (read ... too soft suspension) compared to the older one. It just seems bouncy.


However, I did run Scorpion ATRs for the best part of the ownership on the older one .... and I do remember them being much more firm than the Wranglers ... so maybe that's all it is?!

Thanks for the replies. Ride quality is quite a personal preference.

I don't like bouncing and wallowing but don't like following every surface undulation either, just looking for a suitable compromise. I thought about fitting CVDs but too much involved in fitting the wiring, ecu and replacing the height sensors with no guarantee that the ride would be any more to my liking.

I too had Pirelli ATRs fitted from day 1 and acknowledge that their stiffer sidewalls probably contributed to some harshness. However the biggest concern at the time was that the suspension didn't allow reasonable movement over bumps and undulations causing the vehicle to continually be tossed left and right and jiggled on poorer country roads where the shocks were barely moving, much like the ride from locked D2 ACE bars.

The new part numbers could have been allocated for a number of reasons and the valving could be unchanged. I'll find out soon enough whether I should have gone for another set of D3 shocks instead.

The new D4 shocks arrived today so I'll fit at least the rears when the showers stop. They have a BWI Group label rather than the previous Dephi but maybe BWI is just a Delphi subsidiary.

Edit: BWI, not BMI. BWI is BeijingWest Industries.

Graeme,


If you don't like them I will buy them off you and you can have my rear Delphi D3 shocks, which are way too soft for me. I still have the original fronts at 170,000km and they seem OK to me, although I would no doubt notice the difference if I put new ones on.

Thanks Bob for the offer to swap - you are so kind, but been there done that with Delphis and wouldn't go down that path again. The rocking to sleep has been scary of late even without considering the wheels flopping about the place on rough spots.

If you had refitted D4s to the rear you may have found the fronts lacking in comparison. I have a short drive in the morning with only the new rears which I expect will really show-up the fronts before they're replaced shortly afterwards.

It seems that LR has improved on the original D4 shock significantly. The ride is now great - good control over bumps and potholes yet the original sharpness hitting a bump then snatching back down after the bump no longer occurs. The D4 now rides quite rough tracks well at any speed. The D3 shocks that I fitted because I got sick of the race-track ride introduced some wallowing at higher speeds but no wallowing is evident with these shocks. The fuel tank is full but no other weight to smooth the ride.

Sorry Bob, they're keepers.

I have the MY13, and have driven Tombies MY11 recently.

Apart from the obvious differences due to tyres, mine are still standard, and he has a more AT tyre, I didn't really notice much, if any difference in the ride quality at all.

Now, to keep it equal, his car is carrying a bit more weight. Plates underneath & rear wheel carrier, which may soften a slightly firmer ride.

The 2 cars feel different, but it is hard to describe just how. I wouldn't say one rides better than the other, just different.

So, after all that, not sure if I helped at all... Lol