What Struts and shocks are people running.

[Snooozy]

I ran std springs with upgraded shock for about 4 years. It was much better than original, but anything is better than the std door closers Mitsubishi call shockers

have recently upgraded with full Ultimate lift & love the feel now.

[diver albie]

Just, yesterday, had a full dobie front and back 2" fitted and couldn't be happier. Ride is better, body roll is gone, off into the hills tomorrow to punish her for a full review

[CDT015]

I just had Lee and the boys install a complete Ultimate Comfort lift 2 days ago.
Couldnt be happier, body roll all but gone, no more pogoing over speed bumps and handles the way it should.
Great products and great service, cant ask for more than that
Wish I'd done this years ago.

[mad992]

Bump

Im still standard 85000klm

maybe i need to spend some coin

[thatguydrivesatriton]

Bump, to get more info. Please put up what you have, how many km's and how you rate it.

Still running original equipment, and will do for the next three months or so. Doing as much research into this as I can in "free" time. I'm getting a fairly good list, and feel, for what's on offer, and am only missing a bit of feedback from reviews for stuff. This is what I have so far, if anyone wants to add what they have.
Note - I'm only looking at kits, as that's what I'm after.

Before reading - most kits sit around the $1200-1500 range, going up to about $2200 (dobinsons remote resevoir) or even over 3 grand (for a freakin' 5" lift).
Shock absorbers work by transferring the kinetic energy from the springs and wheel vertical motion to heat. Bigger bores do this better (more oil), and more resistance from piston head. Most twin tube shocks are gas charged, to pressurise the oil and stop it from foaming up under high stress conditions (read: high heat loads). Monotubes and remote resevoirs do this better than twin tube, but are more expensive, and generally have a lower warranty period. Monotubes also higher pressure nitrogen (n2), so pose a slightly higher safety risk if the integrity of the strut is compromised. If you want to read more about it, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_(vehicle).

If you think this is BS, let me know. Let me know if you think I've missed out on stuff as well.

Raw 4x4
• Australian Owned (Powerdown)
• Warranty – 3yr
• Predator is monotube, 46mm bore
• Nitromax 41mm bore, gas charged twin tube
• Cheap kits online
• 0-50mm lift

Outback Armour
• 54mm gas charged twin tube
• 3yr unlimited km warranty
• Manufactures/rebrands springs
• Australian company
• 0-35/50mm lift kits

Bilstein
• 1 yr warranty
• The “best” - pioneered monotube struts for Mercedes in the '50s. Has 20yr R&D head start from patent.
• 46mm monotube
• German
• 50mm lift kits, usually paired with king springs

Oztec
• Australian company
• Products under licence from Sachs and Cofap
• Cofap generally regarded as crap south American stuff (from Beetle resto forums)
• 41mm gas charged twin tube
• Standard and raised height kits
• Lifetime warranty
• Usually paired with king springs, website has polyair bellows on cargo kits
• Apparently (found from forums, not on website) do warranty work on most other offshore suspension brands.

Anarchy Offroad
• Revalved OEM
• Cheap (ebay) <$1000
• No customer talk found. Either OK or not bought by people who care… Probably the latter.

Old Man Emu
• Expensive ARB stuff.
• ARB stuff is usually pretty good.
• Nitrocharger sport – gas charged twin tube, no info on bore
• 10-20mm lift
• Have monotube strut, no info for Triton though.

TJM
• 36mm bore gas charged twin tube
• Offer an adjustable 40mm bore twin tube as well, no info for triton online
• 3yr/60,000km warranty
• Small to average lift
• Probably expensive, not as much as ARB though

Lovells
• 36mm bore, gas charged twin tube
• 3yr/70,000km warranty on struts
• 5yr warranty on springs
• 2yr warranty on bushes
• Own springs
• good reputation

Dobinsons (probably don't need to put this here, you guys have a handle on this brand)
• Offer monotube remote reseveoir, adjustable, 50-60mm bore. Lift unclear, probably 40-50mm.
• Also offer twin tube, gas charged struts with kits, about 40mm lift. Unsure of bore, probably 36-41mm.
• 2yr warranty on struts – as long as your exhaust is stock (wtf??)
• 2yr warranty on springs

Ironman
• 3 types of strut, gas, foam cell comfort and foam cell pro comfort
• Gas is a gas charged twin tube, 36mm bore (piston measurement given, this is an assumption)
• Foam cell is 40mm bore twin tube “foam cell technology” – different way of holding n2 charge, according to marketing on site does better heat transfer, less chance of oil foaming (probably marketing BS). Longer shock.
• Foam cell pro is 45mm bore, longer shock again, possible not available for triton.
• Own springs
• 40mm estimated lift
• 3yr/60,000km warranty
• Cheap to average price range

[NowForThe5th]

Well, certainly you seem to have put a bit of work into all that. I'm somewhat surprised that you've missed not just one but any forum sponsors here, one of which is arguably the biggest supplier of aftermarket suspensions for the Triton, in this country.

You also appear to have not done a lot of research here on the actual experiences of owners with some of those suspensions that you've mentioned.

I'm not aware of any glaring errors of fact in your post but you have made some assumptions that don't quite fit the experiences people have had.

[Cowboy Dave]

Sounds like it needs a spreadsheet.

Experience on the bilsteins has been mixed. See posts by 4wd26 on this.

I'm running ultimate gear and happy with it. After that I reckon you'd also find the outback armour to be good gear. Then dobinsons who do a few different set-ups these days

The thing is anything over stock will feel like an improvement. Unless you hang with a bunch of triton owners and get to experience the better set-ups you might remain perfectly happy with one of the cheaper deals.

[L200Shogun]

Raw 4x4
Pass

Outback Armour
Yes

Bilstein
Yes

Oztec
Pass

Anarchy Offroad
Pass

Old Man Emu
Pass

TJM
Maybe but pass

Lovells
Maybe but pass

Dobinsons
Normal Maybe but Pass. If I only wanted to spend $1450 then these would be on my list.
MRR Yes please

Ironman
Pass

Ultimate are popular here. The guys are very helpful here and on forums. Well worth sending a email or phone call.

http://www.dmshocks.com/home_2.htm

The Non adjustable damping kit looks like good value to me.

[thatguydrivesatriton]

Sorry - should have mentioned I deliberately left off some stuff that has it's own thread here, and it's by no means complete. I'll be trolling through the forums, and might collect all the different threads and posts into one - if I have time. Might be a good procrastination project (currently studying a subject I feel very meh about).

A point about bilsteins... They have the shortest warranty period out there. Lovells puts a better warranty on their bushes, which are designed to wear out. For every post I've read that sings their praises, I've read another where they failed after a short period. Mostly from a few years ago and on Prado's, so it seems like they had a bad batch... But the failures were always within the average warranty period (3yrs/60,000km). If I'm going to be sinking upwards of $1500 into this, I want to know that it's a product the manufacturer will stand behind.

Anyway, if you want to help me make the list better, put up what you have, anything else you've had, and how you rated it. Only way to stop people buying shit (and, hopefully, from shit being made) is to get the info out there.

Reviews I'm looking for particularly - Outback Armour, Tough Dog, Raw4x4 Predators.

[thatguydrivesatriton]

Ended up getting excited and blowing my wallet earlier than planned - sending my cash towards the Outback Armour kit; as well as 6 new, bigger tyres to replace the Dunlops that came with the car. Getting it on the 4th, with a trip up around Killarney on the 9th.

[mattz]

That didn't take long.

[thatguydrivesatriton]

That's what she said!

...wait....

[thatguydrivesatriton]

So, had the good gear fitted on Wednesday, due to the mob who installed it having a bit of an F up and not actually having the kit when I went in on the 4th, and not being able to get it that day.... I was pretty annoyed, and almost bought another kit online to fit myself (I'm an aircraft mechanic). But, free installation was too good to pass up so I gave them a second chance - if they didn't have it in when I went in the second time, I was going to drive out.

So, Outback Armour struts and springs, and it rides beautifully! Drastically reduced roll when going around corners, and she sits level now - the steel bullbar put on when I bought it dropped the front by 13mm on stock struts and springs. Combined with the bigger boots, the whole car sits 2.5-3 inches higher. The side steps are level with the top of my knee! A better review to come when I've done much, much more than 70km.

[Top End Wrangler]

So, had the good gear fitted on Wednesday, due to the mob who installed it having a bit of an F up and not actually having the kit when I went in on the 4th, and not being able to get it that day.... I was pretty annoyed, and almost bought another kit online to fit myself (I'm an aircraft mechanic). But, free installation was too good to pass up so I gave them a second chance - if they didn't have it in when I went in the second time, I was going to drive out.

So, Outback Armour struts and springs, and it rides beautifully! Drastically reduced roll when going around corners, and she sits level now - the steel bullbar put on when I bought it dropped the front by 13mm on stock struts and springs. Combined with the bigger boots, the whole car sits 2.5-3 inches higher. The side steps are level with the top of my knee! A better review to come when I've done much, much more than 70km.

Pics ?????

[andrewc]

I replaced front and rear shocks with Monroe Magnum gas shocks using the original springs.
cost was just over $500 (ebay) and the difference is well worth it. front wallow and rear judder have gone.
Just done the plenty hwy, Oodnadatta and Strzelecki tracks and couldn't be happier. honestly the original stuff is crap that could have been fixed at the factory for a couple of hundred bucks.
If I was paying someone for fitting I probably would have bought better shocks and possibly new springs but for a cheap diy I highly recommend the Monroe option.

[MADMETHBANSHEE]

I had two inch bilstein on my 07 sr5. Did 70k and still rode like the day I installed them.

[PixelPaul]

so i noticed my rear left is sagging a bit. I do have the large fuel tank and it sags a noticable amount when that is full.
I also have a tool tray on the left side that i can slide on and off. I am planning to have another tool tray on the right in the future. but moving the left to the right for now will require a bit to much rework i think ( to balance it out a bit )

So i was wondering if anyone has any recommendations... i am new to dealing with suspension so a bit of a noob.
Is it possible to make it a bit more stiff on one side compared to the other or will that cause issues with handling and the likes?

I do a little off road ( mostly fire trails ) so need something to suit onroad and off.
Or should i just get a new kit allround..... i was looking at ultimate suspension which seems nice for their full kit, but it might be a little out of my price range. can anyone recommend any other full kits that are heavy duty and maybe even to be installed ( i am located in Sydney )

[L200Shogun]

In Sydney Ultimate would be my choice. Great before and after sales service.
Really not a lot of difference in price between the better kits when paying for fitted kits.
The most complaints you see are about the cheaper kits.
Suspension shops can rework your leaf springs and add a leaf. However the standard shock absorbers are pretty ordinary in operation.

also see viewtopic.php?f=37&t=20024&p=524499&hilit=ultimate#p524499

[colin b]

My Triton is an MN twin cab manufactured in early 2013 and has only done 30,000ks with probably only 10,000 or so of them towing a caravan weighing 1800kilos laden. At my last service the mechanic warned me that my rear suspension was starting to sag and I should look at having it beefed up.

This is pretty disappointing as the vehicle is barely run in and has not been used to tow or carry anything close to its maximum claimed capacity. Should I have a friendly word with my local dealer and see if they can offer some sort of deal on a fix or go for broke and make it a warranty issue?

[ag9111]

I wouldn't bother with the OEM rubbish or a warranty claim
The OEM shocks are terribly undersized and cant handle weight for any period of time. Stuffs up your rebound rates and the vehicle starts to wallow around like a boat, even unladen.
It will ride better, handle weight better and be all round safer if you dump the originals and go after market. Especially as you tow a significant weight.
Not what you want to hear I know, but..........!!

[catchya]

Those comments about Anarchy Offroad shocks are a bit misleading. They are not a re valved OEM Shock . The Platinum series of shocks share the exact same specs as the Lovells 36mm bore gas charged twin tube shocks with Fuchs premium damper oil in them. They are also perfectly mated to the Lovell spring rates.
3 years or 60,000k warranty on them

[colin b]

Just an update on my problem:

ARB suspension in Osborne Park examined the Triton's suspension and told me I needed heavier springs and shockers and a weight distribution hitch at a total cost of around $3,000

The car had to go in to the dealers for the signal light recall so I asked them to check the suspension while they had it. According to them there is nothing wrong with it and, certainly, I have not noticed anything wrong with the car's handling when it is towing the 'van

Not being a mechanic I do not know if I have an over-eager suspension guru trying to sell me gear I do not need or a dealer trying to wriggle out of a warranty claim.

I have now booked it in to R.A.C. to have an independent assessment of the matter before I spend any money. If there is a problem so early in the vehicle's life I would expect it to be covered under the warranty or, failing that, they should come to the party on an upgrade of the suspension.

[mad992]

[explorer.dave]

The bloke from ARB is probably doing both, telling you that the sus is shot (because it most likely is given the OEM rubbish installed), and trying to sell you a new kit. Why not give Ultimate4WD a visit in Bibra Lake? Forum sponsor and from experience good service. l had a Doby lift fitted by them and very happy with it.

I don't like your chances of getting the dealership to warranty an upgrade, good luck with that one

[colin b]

Thanks Dave. That last sentence is pessimistic but quite probably true, especially as I am not the original owner - the car had 12,000 on the clock before I bought it.

However, the Mitsubishi dealership where I bought it is just up the road from me and they have been quite helpful on other matters so I will line up all my facts and try my luck. Failing that, R.A.C. have recommended complaining to Mitsubishi's head office in Sydney and/or involving the Consumer Protection people as a last resort. It really is not good enough for a car so lightly worked to need its suspension upgraded this early in its life.

Bibra Lake is a fair way from where I live but there are a couple of other 4WD places nearby and if I do end up having to do an upgrade I will certainly shop around before parting with my hard-earned.