Shock Absorber Replacement for D40

It's come time for me to upgrade my shock absorbers.

The front right shock has destroyed its lower mount - it's starting to come apart - so we have to spend some coin on it.

I went to Opposite Lock who could sell me some Bilstein rebuildable shocks for $940 plus $140 to fit. They also have Tough Dog and Dobinson (I think), but recommended the Bilsteins.

I dropped in to the Newcastle ARB store and they only had Old Man Emu shocks. It turns out that they're made by ARB - that's a bit of a plus for me, actually, because I have a bit of faith in their products. Peter (if you're in Newcastle ARB and need something, tell Peter I sent you, he will look after you) told me that the Nitrochargers were his recommendation and I got a price of about $840 for the four corners plus $220-240 fitting (can't remember clearly).

So, they're coming out about the same in terms of price. What I would like is some feedback on their longevity and performance. I've already seen that I can easily replace the bushes in the OMEs but there was no stock of these in at Opposite Lock.

Bilsteins are supposedly rebuildable and OMEs are not - but the OMEs are double-valved blah-de-blah-de-blah and sometimes it's a complete shit that I am mostly deaf because I didn't want to look stupid by asking him to continually repeat what he said.

So I've got some sales-talk about OME and Bilsteins. The guy from OL didn't want to discuss Tough Dog or Dobinson a lot, because I said to him "I just want good shocks".

What I'm interested in, in creating this thread, is to get some better feel for how all the different brands perform, in both response and longevity, from non-sales people.

Which brand is best and why?

I have bilsteins in mine and wouldn't trade them for anything. I'm drive. 22s with toughdog and efs and neither compared for comfort and handling. Rebuilding was a big thing for me.
Dave will back me up on the bilsteins

Why do the OME's cost an extra $100 to fit? Is the ARB mob doing such a great job their fitting rates are worth extra or do Opp lock do a cheap job of installing.

I can understand different items having different costs but if one fitter itemizing their rates charges $100 more for labour to do basically the same job I'd want to know why.

FatBoy89 said:

I have bilsteins in mine and wouldn't trade them for anything. I'm drive. 22s with toughdog and efs and neither compared for comfort and handling. Rebuilding was a big thing for me.
Dave will back me up on the bilsteins

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Hi Tony

I have Bilsteins in my d22.All good, best part they can be rebuilt.OME shocks are made by Monroe Shocks.I had EFS shocks fitted original but when they started to die I fitted Bilsteins.I agree with Fatboy's comments.

For the price plus fitting I would get Bilsteins from from Opposite Lock

Shane

Bilstiens, then come the rest. I havn't got them on my Nav- yet but have had them on other vehicles. They do last longer. Although they can be rebuilt it s probably just as econmical to replace them when worn out.
In the past I have found on small iregularites on a bitumin road they may not be quite as comfortable but hit a big hole or even a big hole mid corner and the difference is astounding.

Look just swerve at 100 with one and then try bilsteins. It's probably saved my Nav 3-4 times

I chose Ultimate shocks because they can be re-built, they valve each set of shocks to suit what the client wants and to match what they carry with what sorts of roads/terrain they will travel on.

Im going with Nathand
custom valving and rebuildable is nice but 80,000km warranty wins me

ULTIMATE SHOCK ABSORBERS

Aussie Ryder Gas - 80,000km or 24 months from date of purchase (Which ever comes last)

Gibson Ryder Foam Cell - 80,000km or 24 months from date of purchase (Which ever comes last)

AUS Monotube - 80,000km or 24 months from date of purchase (Which ever comes last)

Exclusions: Accessory fittings such as bushes, washers etc.

Good Idea for a thread Tony, I'm looking at new shocks as well.
My D40 seems to wanna skip in the rear on some rough corners.
Tell me that's not normal for a dual cab.

jjohn said:

Good Idea for a thread Tony, I'm looking at new shocks as well.
My D40 seems to wanna skip in the rear on some rough corners.
Tell me that's not normal for a dual cab.

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John, mine would skip a fair bit in the rear on the dirt road to home, particularly around one of the slower bends. A lot of that stopped when the canopy went on & a little weight in the back.

I run billsteins in the front and tough dog adjustables in the back, and they both seem like a great shock.

Mmm, thanks Joe.
I did wonder if it was normal d/cab behaviour.
Saves me replacing them for no reason.
Cheers

My 4WD shop is recommending Koni Shocks, Anyone had any experience? They are meant to be rebuildable as well.. Oh yeah, should say, will also have a 2 " lift and has bar/winch on front, so need some heavy duty shocks... I was leaning towards Bilstein, until he threw in Koni..

Those who have Koni seem to really like them. I've had them on two road vehicles, and can't complain with the quality.

That being said, I can't complain with the quality of the Old Man Emu stuff I have on the D40 either.

I've got OME's & very happy with them, they're done us well the 5,000 or so kms we've been 4wd-ing, done some tough stuff, no issues at all. I'd had bilsteins recommended but they were so pricy that I went for OME. We also had them fitted by a local independent mechanic as I didn't want to have any work done by closest ARB who are a pack of shysters. Have since found another ARB in the other direction who are a bunch of good guys & pretty knowledgeable & get work done there if needed

I should have revisited this thread myself - my new shocks have been on for some time now!

I went the OME Nitrocharger Sports. Yes, manufactured by Monroe, but to ARB specs.

We've now subjected our vehicle to quite a few environments and it's come out brilliantly:

* Rock climbing
* Steep ascents/descents
* Heavily rutted tracks
* Muddy tracks
* Water crossings
* towing - highway
* towing - forest
* dirt road @ 90km/h with the van attached

We noticed the difference straight away when we approached the first suburban speed hump. Normally I had to slow down to approach them, but doing that - which normally still gave us a jolt - made us wonder if the hump had been drastically changed. I now regularly hit speed humps at the speed limit and barely blink. Very, very happy with the OME gear - including the HD coils up front and the dual-rate Dakar leaf springs in the rear!

Good feedback Tony.

Although I haven't fitted them to my D40 yet, I have no hesitation in fitting OME to my D40 when the time comes.

Having been in the industry as a suspension design engineer (at Monroe - even offered a job as OME Design Engineer) I know what they do at ARB is good stuff.

From my recollection Billstein are monotube shocks which offer better damping control in the rough stuff, but if they suffer a rock strike, it can severely effect the operation of the shock.

bsp said:

<snip>From my recollection Billstein are monotube shocks which offer better damping control in the rough stuff, but if they suffer a rock strike, it can severely effect the operation of the shock.

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And THAT is one of the main reasons I have always avoided Bilsteins on my 4wd's. Monotube may be great on a road car, but on a 4wd - not a real good idea...

Has anybody had any experience with the Maxi flex suspension? Who makes them etc, I am finding that the more I look into shocks, the more confused I become, ie gas, nitrogen, foam cell, monotube, double acting etc. I mainly drive on the black top, but I do drive on corrugated dirt roads quite a bit, and find the back of my Nav steps out a fair bit with no weight in her, any suggestions, thoughts would be appreciated.

Mate, ignore the hype. Apart from Koni basically all common manufacturers use gas presurised designs.

Nitrogen is the most common charging (or prssurising gas).

Foam cell is a method some manufacturers use to try and resduce the aeration of the oil.

Having springs and dampers (shocks) matched to the load you are carrying, as well as using the correct tyre pressures for the situation is the best way of getting a good handling vehicle.

On the question of tyre pressures - what do you run? (And what tyres?) Road pressures will always provide an uncomfortable, unstable ride on corrugations.