smoothing out the ride

[nicknav]

Hi all

I recently got a 2005 D22 pretty much stock with about 140k on the clock, so far i'm pretty happy with the rig although i would like to soffen up the road driving if possible.
I will do some off road but nothing serious and mainly gravel tracks but i find it feels every bump and crack on the sealed roads and i think mainly on the front end.
The shocks look ok but would i gain a smoother ride by replacing them with new ones and if so with any particular type.
I think its all stock suspension and i think the previous owner done a lot of towing with it as it had electric brakes installed i am sure and it was removed when i brought it.
Cheers
Nick

 

[d22dave]

It's a torsion bar front end, there not the softest ride around. But the first thing I would do is check your tyre pressure, depending how much pressure is in your tyres you might be able to let 5 psi or more out, And it can make a huge difference. And the best part is it's free to do.

 

[bods]

Yep tyre pressure is good to play with. Also, if it is the stock suspension it will be well and truly knackered with 140k on itor so I'd definitely look at changing the shockies at a minimum...

 

[Steve-D22]

I had my suspension upgraded at 140,000 and wish I had done it earlier. It's like a different car.

 

[Jased22]

Get new shocks mate!

 

[her.d22]

I had my suspension upgraded at 140,000 and wish I had done it earlier. It's like a different car.

What suspension have you got? I'm looking Dobinson the kit has 4 x shocks
Torsion bars, leafs, Bushes, Shackles and the Pins. $1600 delivered.

 

[mike1303]

Ring John at Zordos suspension

 

[her.d22]

I was going to go through off road life 4x4.

 

[Steve-D22]

I just shopped around and got some quotes first. There wasn't a great difference in price but went with Fulcrum Suspensions because that's what they specialise in and their kit offered a full 50mm lift. ARB were the most expensive and only offered 30mm lift. I ended up with EFS springs and Raw shocks for $1450 fitted.

 

[fzrr]

What suspension have you got? I'm looking Dobinson the kit has 4 x shocks
Torsion bars, leafs, Bushes, Shackles and the Pins. $1600 delivered.

I got a 2inch Dobinson lift kit off Zordos 2 years ago and it was definitely cheaper then $1600 fitted at the time. Give him a call he's a top bloke.

 

[her.d22]

I just shopped around and got some quotes first. There wasn't a great difference in price but went with Fulcrum Suspensions because that's what they specialise in and their kit offered a full 50mm lift. ARB were the most expensive and only offered 30mm lift. I ended up with EFS springs and Raw shocks for $1450 fitted.

I was originally looking at Tough dog, had a look at Raw too - how do you rate them? I can get raw stuff at cost price so it could save me some money if I go with that option. Did the springs make much of a difference?

I got a 2inch Dobinson lift kit off Zordos 2 years ago and it was definitely cheaper then $1600 fitted at the time. Give him a call he's a top bloke.

I'll talk to him and get off road life to price match.

 

[Steve-D22]

Springs are +150kg for towing and are excellent. Barely even drops when I put 170kg on the tow ball. Raw shocks are aussie made and were $400 cheaper than bilsteins, can't fault them, great improvement.

 

[nicknav]

Thanks for the help all and great advice, i took the advice and lowered the tyre pressure, it was at about 40 and i took it down to 36 and it make a huge difference.
I will look into upgrading the suspension though in the near future but the tyre pressure now has brought me some time to spend some money on other upgrades

Cheers
Nick

 

[d22dave]

Thanks for the help all and great advice, i took the advice and lowered the tyre pressure, it was at about 40 and i took it down to 36 and it make a huge difference.
I will look into upgrading the suspension though in the near future but the tyre pressure now has brought me some time to spend some money on other upgrades

Cheers
Nick

Good to hear some positive feedback mate, you can't beat a good suspension setup, but even great suspension is uncomfortable if your tyres are pumped up to rock solid

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Just throwing my hat in, the standard shocks are garbage. I bought my 04 new and the shocks were shite from day one, there was so little damping that aside from wallowing around and rocking, small bumps in the road were exagerated into big bumps, big bumps downright violent. Dont ask me the physics of how that works. Long story short, new shocks gave a much smoother ride not to mention the improvement in handling.

 

[Rabbid-chop]

Was following another zd30 d22 home from work the other day in mine, the poor bastard was bouncing around like a yoyo, making the typical suburban street we were driving down look like the Canning stock route or something. I was thinking, yeah mine was like that once. Its just shockers!

 

[gadgets]

I changed my factory shocks at around 240000ks, they pretty much had no resistance left in them!
I changed to raw shocks and there still like new after 50000ks. great warranty too.
I still have the original leaf springs helped out by firestone air bags that I put in 100000ks ago. Great for towing.