How good is the D3 ride?

[Graeme]

2 years ago we had a drive of a new D3 to test how it rode bumps and broken surfaces and liked the ride. Now we have a D4 and find the ride very harsh and not at all to our requirments. Having replaced the front sway bar with one from a D3 and even though it now could do with the D3 rear one too, the ride has significantly improved by the elimination of the tossing that occurred by the body following the front wheels up and down. However now the shocks feel way too stiff on corrugations and country backroads with the vehicle being shaken terribly. The ride is unsuitable for our purpose, partly because I don't like being shaken about all the time and making for tiring driving, and because my wife has a back injury where bumps cause a lot of pain.

How do D3s really ride the backroads and corrugations? I'm wanting to fit D3 shocks but need confirmation that I'm not chasing something that doesn't exist.

TIA

[jonesfam]

Like your on AIR man!
In all seriousness, I find our 09 D3 has excellent ride at normal hight.
I live with loads of corrugations, humps, bumps & holes & the ride is IMHO very good.
I have driven a 200 series Land Cruiser out here & it road very softly, more so than the D3 but it was also wallows & sort of not as controlled as the D3.
The D3 is far, far better than our ex Pathfinder R51, Terracan or Patrol. I have had a short drive of 1 Prado & the front end seemed to bounce a lot, not harsh but bouncy.
I find the D3 very good on corrugations, no bashing & no skittering about but in off road height it seems a little harsher though not that much.
Compared to all the wagons I've owned or driven the D3 is the best, compared to the utes I drive for work - best left unsaid, boy they are rough.
Jonesfam

[chuck]

Graeme,

They ride on gravel roads very well.
On one particular road 60 - 70 kmh was comfortable with the D2 in my D3 100kmh with comfort and control.
I would say that the single biggest improvement over my D2 is dirt road ride & control.

If you are coming down to Melbourne you are welcome to drive mine - I am in the northern Suburbs.
We could take your D4 & my D3 & you could do a direct comparison.

Regards

Chuck

[gghaggis]

My wife also has a bad back, and won't go offroad in anything but the D3 - I'm actually wondering how I'm going to get her in the new RRS, which is much firmer!

Gravel roads are glided over, pot-holes don't exist (well, not really, but you get the point).

Cheers,

Gordon

[ADMIRAL]

2 years ago we had a drive of a new D3 to test how it rode bumps and broken surfaces and liked the ride. Now we have a D4 and find the ride very harsh and not at all to our requirments. Having replaced the front sway bar with one from a D3 and even though it now could do with the D3 rear one too, the ride has significantly improved by the elimination of the tossing that occurred by the body following the front wheels up and down. However now the shocks feel way too stiff on corrugations and country backroads with the vehicle being shaken terribly. The ride is unsuitable for our purpose, partly because I don't like being shaken about all the time and making for tiring driving, and because my wife has a back injury where bumps cause a lot of pain.

How do D3s really ride the backroads and corrugations? I'm wanting to fit D3 shocks but need confirmation that I'm not chasing something that doesn't exist.

TIA

Graeme- Doesn't sound right. I can't compare to a D3, but my D4 is far more controlled and an easier ride than our old Patrol.

Something doesn't gel. I have read numerous comments on D3 vs D4 on this site, and almost all seem to feel the D4 is softer ? I would take up the offer of a comparison drive in another D4......or ask your dealer for a test drive in another vehicle.

[rmp]

I think the answer may be tyre profile. The lower the profile, the rougher the ride. If your D3 was on 17s and the D4 is on 19s that won't have improved the ride at all. Also check tyre pressures as some idiot shops simply put them at max-inflate. I'd do those before changing swaybars or shocks.

[Graeme]

Thanks for the replies.

Fast gravel is fine - I do 100 kph on our lane but its smooth. Its the constant bashing that occurs on older sealed roads and picking my way along forest roads and tracks at 30-60 kph where the shocks seem almost locked. Its very much like the ride from a damaged Koni that was on the rear of my D2 where the bump valve was jammed shut. The shocks seemed to get stiffer/worse during the drive but maybe my discontent and my wife's pain had well and truly set in - she had her seat out flat by half way.

Front tyres are at 30 psi and rears 32 psi. I'm sure its not just the 19" tyres, as even at 100 kph if there's a little dip in the bitumen the back-end is snatched down with a thump by the stiff shocks.

Jonesfam - I'm encouraged by your comments.

Chuck - Thanks for the offer.

One particular motoring journo's report from the UK that country drivers wont like the D4 suspension changes makes me think that D3 shocks will be a big improvement, but its an expensive step that I don't want to take without knowing that the improvement will be worthwhile. The D3 sway bar only cost me $77 delivered and less than 2 hrs to fit, so was an insignificant cost if it didn't do the job.

I was hoping to spend a few days touring around Alice Springs later this year but that wont be happening with the suspension the way it is.

[rmp]

In offroad mode the ride hardens. If you are going to change the shocks then use aftermarket ones like Konis. But before you do anything check another D4 and make sure it's not a problem specific to yours.

[Graeme]

I can't imagine that what I'm experiencing is a fault with my vehicle (eg 1 shock with a stuck valve) because its even for both front and back pairs of wheels. The wheel alignment doesn't appear to be grossly out as tyre wear looks acceptable and cornering feels quite good, with higher speed cornering on smooth surfaces quite like a sports car. I don't think the Pirelli ATRs can be blamed but they may contribute along with the already short 19" sidewalls.

Why not D3 shocks, too expensive or not so good with a heavily loaded rear? I'm not concerned about the loaded rear as I could refit the originals for any desert trips where the vehicle is carrying lots of fuel and water and no wife, although changing shocks is not as simple as the D2.

Do you know if the Konis give as good a ride as the D3 originals when lightly loaded? I don't recall reading any reports on their performance. I had my D2 front Konis revalved to reduce the bump resistance because of the thumping (had rears done too but they had to be reset to std) so would need to know how the D3/4 versions ride. I fitted Bilsteins to my 1st D2 and even after they were revalved softer, they were still too harsh so I took them off to refit when it was sold.

[jonesfam]

I have 19" tyres on my D3 but still can't fault the ride compared to other wagons I have driven or owned, which doesn't include the D4.
At the correct pressure the 19's ride pretty darn well.
Last time I came home from leave we were doing 90kph between Normanton & Burketown with over a tonn of trailer on the back, 30psi in the front 35psi in the back & over the corrugations & bumps the ride was grouse.
The road had not been graded for a while & was pretty corrugated, in places really bad and some places were scoured out which is normally very rough - not in the D3!
Even around the paved back roads of Ravenshoe (our Country Seat) the ride is terrific, & despite my best efforts in the House of Lords the roads there are rubbish.
Jonesfam