Shockers & Coils?

[10G]

Need some advice about shockers, valving and so on.

The Patrol has a 3" lift with all suspension components sized to work with a lift of that size.

Problem is, on road, normal country driving, unloaded, when we hit a bump, the thing just goes straight up, it's like there's no absorption of the bump at all. I do have adjustable shocks which I have set stiffer, but if I don't have them set stiffer, the thing just seems to wallow all the time, like a ship at sea.

Should I be looking at shocks or coils to fix this?

Can I get shocks revalved so they are more absorbant or is it just something I have to put up with?

Thanks for any help.

[PeeBee]

Set the valving stiffer, or send me the money for a new suspension and then set the valving stiffer - which is the cheaper option. The shockers do the deceleration, the coils provide the lift and the load carrying, simples!

[10G]

You're no help Phil, um, what are your bank details??? ;-)

[PeeBee]

OK, so they are set at the highest setting and still unacceptable? There are a range of shocks avail with different valve codes. I run Koni's for example and they are great. The ARB BP's are good I here. There are a range of suspension places to contact. they will probably/should ask you how much weight you have over the rear axle and at what speed you are travelling and what sorts of road conditions, corrugations/ lumpy roads with intermittent potholes, undulating choppy etc. If they don't ask these questions they are giving you a catalogue sales answer, so hang down on them and ring the next guy. I will PM my bank details next!!

At the end of the day its about energy transfer, nothing more. Stiffer coils will absorb more and deflect less, giving the shocker less time to react, bearing in mind its a tube filled with oil pushing thru disks with holes for metering. This another reason why shockers fail, as they get hot, the oil thins, the rapid cycling gives rise to aeration and the oil loses its viscosity, with air bubbles generated, the air being compressible and the oil not, so the performance becomes variable and goes downhill from there.

[10G]

I was just thinking, If I set the shocks to a softer setting, that should allow for the shock top absorb more bump. If I then were to get thicker/stiffer anti roll bars, that should/may fix the wallowing?

I wonder if that's worth looking at?

I've had Koni's before on a Mitsy L300, made a massive difference.

[PeeBee]

I initially went for Dobinson coils when i did my GVM upgrade. They were fine and got me thru the compliance test. When they sagged I went to them and asked for a suspension upgrade, gave them all the data above and they stared back like mullets - could not use it, went straight for the 'purple' section of the catalogue, so i walked out. years later I followed up with them and they had upgraded their technical side and when i arrived they weighed the vehicle,(front and rear) looked at and measured bump stop heights, assessed shockers, asked about my driving style, punched this into a spreadsheet then pushed the calculate key. out came two spring shocker combo's for the rear and one for the front. I aready had a matched setup for the front, so they swapped out the rear coils and it sat at just the right attitude, with zero psi in the boss airbags. i handed over my cash happily. Maybe give them a call. I went thru the dandenong Vic branch

[MudRunnerTD]

What have you got for Caster Correction? Offset bushes or Drop boxes?

[10G]

drop boxes

[10G]

I initially went for Dobinson coils when i did my GVM upgrade. They were fine and got me thru the compliance test. When they sagged I went to them and asked for a suspension upgrade, gave them all the data above and they stared back like mullets - could not use it, went straight for the 'purple' section of the catalogue, so i walked out. years later I followed up with them and they had upgraded their technical side and when i arrived they weighed the vehicle,(front and rear) looked at and measured bump stop heights, assessed shockers, asked about my driving style, punched this into a spreadsheet then pushed the calculate key. out came two spring shocker combo's for the rear and one for the front. I aready had a matched setup for the front, so they swapped out the rear coils and it sat at just the right attitude, with zero psi in the boss airbags. i handed over my cash happily. Maybe give them a call. I went thru the dandenong Vic branch

Thanks Phil, appreciate the help.