Suspension upgrade for safari

[curly12]

Looking at lifting the Whale to fit some 35's under her.
Probably go with a 2" suspension lift and 1" body to hopefully fit some creepy's underneath(along with gaurd cut).

What brand of coil's and shocks do you recommend?? Any brand to avoid??

[albundy]

I found Old man emu collapsed on themslves after a couple of years. Steer clear of chamberlins if in CHCH. I have just fitted TJM LWB to my shorty and they seem to be doing alright so far. Big test for them this week over Reefton. You will be able to get the 35's under without cutting anything, I have. If you are in CHCH, 4WD Accessories have some sharp deals on TJM stuff at the mo.
Al

[PR]

I have the same set up as Al (TJM) with a 2" body lift, when on the coast for easter found that they went bloody well

[curly12]

Cheers

[nstg8a]

I found Old man emu collapsed on themslves after a couple of years. Steer clear of chamberlins if in CHCH. I have just fitted TJM LWB to my shorty and they seem to be doing alright so far. Big test for them this week over Reefton. You will be able to get the 35's under without cutting anything, I have. If you are in CHCH, 4WD Accessories have some sharp deals on TJM stuff at the mo.
Al

how much to do it?

[albundy]

Got the suspension at a sharp price, about $1K I think, plus tyres 25%off, think about $410 each. Spacers about $90. Haven't had the final bill yet and had some credit owing. Did all the work myself about 6 hours worth, had a lend of a workshop for the day.
Al

[PigFmr]

Got the suspension at a sharp price, about $1K I think, plus tyres 25%off, think about $410 each. Spacers about $90. Haven't had the final bill yet and had some credit owing. Did all the work myself about 6 hours worth, had a lend of a workshop for the day.
Al

i am going to be fitting TJM springs very soon just rang today for a sharp price,front raduis arm spacers was well worth doing if you are running 35's and want a bit more clearence and only for $90.00 cheap way to shift your front axle forward, and did not take long to fit but i did cheat a wee bit,spoke to PR last night about his TJM springs he well pleased so just need to have a chat with Al
Vince....

[albundy]

so just need to have a chat with Al

Will let you all know next week. Heading off to Reefton tomorrow afternoon and not back until Monday arvo. Doing a Landrover club trip easy and hard tracks. Might show them a few of my own over that way, especially the wee little quarry that is a little nasty to get into.
Al

[darinz]

TJM are cheap and they will last accordingly.
The first 2" lift I fitted to my SWB was a TJM kit and it was not very impressive. I replaced with Old Man Emu 2" and that lasted much better. I have now fitted the 2" springs with new shocks into another truck and it is still going very well and it is about 5 years old.
It has been said many times, do you want the cheapest, the best, or the best value for money as they are all very different things. In my experience and opinion TJM does not rate in the later 2 but it is cheap. It will do the job for a while but it has been built to a price rather than a specification.
I would rate OME, EFS and Tough Dog as better options.

[DaveM]

I guess every brand will have its lovers or haters.
I've never tried TJM, but have used OME (didnt like them as they sagged quickly), Tough Dog (no sag, but no flex either), EFS ( sagged quickly and unevenly, but a nice riding coil) and I'm back on the original 3" Dobinsons, which have been the best by far, and the cheapest.
I'm considering trying the OME L series shock with the doby's as I have yet to try these shocks, but will probably bring back Pro Comps from Oz on my next holiday, as I've had a great run with these in the past.

[albundy]

Yep, your right there Dave. Time will tell I suppose. My last OME shocks collapsed on themselves. OME and EFS are made by the same factory. Mate in Oz used tough dog, swore he would never fit them to a truck again. The TJM were cheap as the shop got a special deal on some old stock.
Al

[darinz]

GQ front shocks will die reguards less of what shock you put in. That is why anyone that is using it seriously needs to consider at least fitting 80 series Cruiser shocks or twins. The 80 series is good as it has the same valving but is 30% longer so gives greater oil capacity and so better cooling and life. To fit is pretty simple if you have a body lift.
ie unbolt shock tower.
grind welds that hold bolts in.
Replace bolts with longer bolts and get spacers made to extent the tower.

This will make any brand last longer.

Twins are a bit harder but the difference in handling and shock life is huge.
The twin OME "L" series, (N76) ie 80 series Landcruiser shocks I'm running have done 3 competitions and all other 4x4. With the same shock but the GQ model, I would get 1 comp and they were stuffed. ie over heated and valves killed.

The other thing to consider is spending some real money and getting a good shock that is rebuildable. Costs more upfront but ultimately it is cheaper. That's what I'm doing with my next set, but these are lasting so well I don't know when that will be needed!

[darinz]

I guess every brand will have its lovers or haters.
I've never tried TJM, but have used OME (didnt like them as they sagged quickly), Tough Dog (no sag, but no flex either), EFS ( sagged quickly and unevenly, but a nice riding coil) and I'm back on the original 3" Dobinsons, which have been the best by far, and the cheapest.
I'm considering trying the OME L series shock with the doby's as I have yet to try these shocks, but will probably bring back Pro Comps from Oz on my next holiday, as I've had a great run with these in the past.

Just trying to point out I've used TJM and OME last longer, and that is on a SWB GQ that is used offroad.
"L" series are good but will they match the springs you have?

[Dak]

will they match the springs you have?

Thats a good point, matching your springs and shocks is the most important part, makes a big difference.
My 2 cents but I'm with Darin, I've used OME for about 5 years now, never had any spring sag and have only
had one shock fail, it leaked. And the truck rides very nice and does exactly what I want it to do off-road. Not bad in my opinion.

[curly12]

Thanks for the input guys. Lot's of choices out there!!!

Next question is would I be better to look at a 75mm suspension lift and no body lift??

[nstg8a]

Thanks for the input guys. Lot's of choices out there!!!

Next question is would I be better to look at a 75mm suspension lift and no body lift??

do both.... 3inch suspension lift and two inch bodylift....

[curly12]

Thanks for the input guys. Lot's of choices out there!!!

Next question is would I be better to look at a 75mm suspension lift and no body lift??

do both.... 3inch suspension lift and two inch bodylift....

Did I mention it is a high roof Don't want to have to go to high, only enough to allowed the creepy's to clear

[PR]

Since its a whale shane has proberly the best set I have seen in one of those 100mm suspension 50mm Body

[nstg8a]

Since its a whale shane has proberly the best set I have seen in one of those 100mm suspension 50mm Body

haha, a six inch total lift? mean, got any pics?

[Dak]

Next question is would I be better to look at a 75mm suspension lift and no body lift??

In my opion, yes. Safari's generally don't like body lifts, mounting points crack etc. A lot of comp trucks don't have a body lift.

[curly12]

Since its a whale shane has proberly the best set I have seen in one of those 100mm suspension 50mm Body

haha, a six inch total lift? mean, got any pics?

A couple of photo's here of one or two wagons
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3470

[turoa]

nigel, have a talk to my dad as he knows exactly what he would do to a nissan if he had to do it all again

[curly12]

Will do

[darinz]

4" total is what you need but as it is a whale then do it all with suspension or just do a 1" body lift. Body lifts have other advantages like easier for maintenance and cleaning and they also keep a lower centre of gravity. Maybe 3" + 1" is what is needed?
I am currently running 3" OME springs but due to weight I'm getting more lift than that. They seems to be very good but they have only really down 1 year as my truck has spent sooooooo much time in the shed since they were fitted.

One thing to consider is with 4" of suspension you need to do panhard rods and castor correction. 3" and you may get away without. MAYBE, but it will depend on tyre size. If you are running 33" or bigger onroad then castor will be OK with 3". Smaller than 33" and 2" is the limit before castor correction.
The best castor correction is to use drop boxes, the worst option is offset bushes.

The cheapest option is 2" +2" which is why most do it. My opinion is that a 3" + 1" would be a better option for you but other will argus a 4" suspension is better. Such a subjective topic and very few of the opinions are wrong. So much depends of what you actually do with your truck.

[Shane]

Since its a whale shane has proberly the best set I have seen in one of those 100mm suspension 50mm Body

Very close,I dont have a body lift,5 inch EFS spring in front with 4 inch EFS sping in rear which makes it sit pretty level.

The LWB work well with that size lift(3-5 inch suspension)helps with the ramp over angle and is still quite stable because of the longer wheel base compaired to a shorter wheel base vehicle.I find it to be a good club truck

3" sus 1" bL like Darinz said would be a pretty good combo,well need panhards,caster,etc with lift 3" or over.

[PigFmr]

well i managed to snap my front rancho 9000 this weekend,looks like i will be putting my 80series crusiser shocks back in till i get it sorted

vince

[curly12]

Thanks guys for the information.
Have decided on a 3" suspension lift.

[coxsy]

and a 12,000lbs winch? lockers ?

[PR]

How about a 13" lift

[safari_mulisha]

body lifts keep the wight low exactally where you want it
cut the gaurds out if you need too... mine are chopped 75mm running 2inch body lift and 3 inch sus lift and my 35" jungletreckers flex up inside the gaurds nice