The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby McNODDY on Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:14 am

Hey Mcnoddy, how much did you pay to paint the flares? I hear going rate is about $250?

Came with the car when I bought it
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby brownegaz on Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:22 pm

I tow a camper trailer occasionally and the rear end sags a lot with the camper on, I was toying with the idea of fitting airbags but no so sure now after Rats problems with the bent chassis.I am now considering fitting a suspension/lift kit.
After lifting the ute by around 50mm or whatever, I would assume that the geometry of the CV joints, steering arms etc would alter because of the steeper angle, to compensate for this I would be looking at fitting larger diameter tyres, not sure just what yet, currently running the standard 245/65/17 Duellers.
Is there room to go much bigger than these without tyres rubbing on the chassis ? is anyone able to run with 285s ?
I have done 15000km and measured the distance from wheel centre to the top of the wheel arch
RF 537 LF 545
RR 540 LR 525
I have a canopy, ARB steel bullbar and baysies bash plates fitted also have approx 300kg of roller drawers with tools and recovery gear etc in the back
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby snowman on Sun Oct 17, 2010 9:02 am

brownegaz wrote:After lifting the ute by around 50mm or whatever, I would assume that the geometry of the CV joints, steering arms etc would alter because of the steeper angle, to compensate for this I would be looking at fitting larger diameter tyres, not sure just what yet, currently running the standard 245/65/17 Duellers.


running a bigger tyre has no impact on this steering geometry and wont compensate for anything. it will give you a greater lift as the tyre radius lifts the whole vehicle off the ground due to deeper sidewall.

there is heaps of info on tyres already. in fact there is another thread running on this topic right now.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby hxshagginwagon on Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:58 pm

After research via NT and word of mouth from other outside 4wd enthusiasts the dobinsons 2 inch (45mm) lift kit sounds like the kit for me and with that I'm going to make a purchase next week and fit the suspension myself.

I'll be going with the constant load front due to bullbar and accessories and medium load rating for the rear.

Before I make my purchase I was hoping there was someone who could help me with a few queries;

- I've been to a dobinsons dealer and in the kit I've been quoted there is no tailshaft spacer as mentioned in kits that previous NT members have purchased and fitted. " Do I need to ask for these components when placing my order?"

- I have a 2008 ML MY09 with a one piece tailshaft and I'm interested to know if there is any dramas with vibration/shudder throughout the driveline after the kit has been fitted. " Do I need caster plates to adjust the rear diff angle post suspension fitting?"

- Is there any recommendation on where the best place is to purchase extended rear brake line?


As this thread has been going on for sometime, are people still happy with their dobinsons suspension after many KM's later and years down the track.

Any feedback is appreciated as I'm keen to have all bases covered before I start turning spanners.

Cheers
Mat
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby daryn on Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:23 pm

I will answer the shudder question for you: one piece driveshaft means no shudder, you don't need castor wedges, spacers or anything else. You should be happy with that.

The dobinsons dealer should be knowledgable enough to tell you exactly everything you need.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby Joe on Mon Jan 07, 2013 10:20 pm

I had dobies in for awhile. Shocks started leaking after 40000k or so and the front springs sagged a far bit. Ended up changing over to Ultimates after about 50000k.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby hxshagginwagon on Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:50 am

Joe wrote:I had dobies in for awhile. Shocks started leaking after 40000k or so and the front springs sagged a far bit. Ended up changing over to Ultimates after about 50000k.


Joe, did your dobies suspension have a tough 50000km or did they break down under normal use? Are you happy with the ultimates at the moment?

Great to hear about the one piece tailshaft.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby Joe on Tue Jan 08, 2013 5:05 am

They did a fair amount of offroad work but not enough to cause them to fail prematurely. The Ultimates are a vast improvement even from what the newly installed dobies were.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby snowman on Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:05 am

i dont know of ANY shocks that last that long.

almost everyone i know on here has had their aftermarket gear die, in what i would consider fairly quick time.

dobbie, ultimate, you name it.

shocks ARE a consumable (but probably more of a consumable than most of us would like to think).

The only thing i can say is this. The aftermarket gear such as Dobbie and Ultimate is MUCH better than OEM for ride and handling.

Ultimate DO have exceptional aftersales service. and before sales for that matter but dont they all. :lol: :lol:

So you can't put on Ultimate or Dobbie and expect no hassles for 100k.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby al coholic on Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:21 pm

HX, pretty much like Joe mentioned above, my dobi's kit was replaced by Ultimate after about 40k.

I had a number of issues, cracked leaves, centre pins sheared off leaf pack, leaf pack sagged, front shocks leaking, rear shocks stuffed and stripped thread on the u bolts.
Actually....unlike Joe, the coils were the only good parts left :lol:

It has been said to me since that the problems were probably due to the weight I was carrying at the time (a large aluminium toolbox/canopy on the tray with approx 400kg of tools)
It's a fair point too.........but I spoke with Dobinsons numerous times before purchase knowing how much weight there was going to be on the tray and was assured it would handle it without a worry.
I never drove offroad with this amount of weight either.....tools were always removed........maybe a fridge and swag was the extent of it for 4wding trips.
So this most of this damage has occurred on road???

What I do know is Ultimate is a much nicer lift kit than the Dobi's ever were.
They basically fit and tweak the springs and shocks to suit your vehicle and its application ;) instead of an "off the shelf kit" and she'll be right attitude
Ultimate were able to custom make springs to actually handle the same load I had when the Dobi's kit was on
I have since changed my setup and they were once again able to change the leafs and re valve the shocks to suit having just an alloy tray but towing frequently ;)

Ultimate can also supply your spacers and extended brake lines for you too :D
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby hxshagginwagon on Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:41 pm

Thanks guys for all the feedback. There has been some really valid points to consider and has given me 'food for thought' in regards to going down the 'ultimate' track.

And with that I'm going to make my way the ultimate thread and research there with maybe a few questions thrown out there.

Cheers again
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby Turbo Timmy on Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:45 pm

How did you go with insurance? not too worried about the DOT just insurance wise if god for bid... something did happen?
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby iliketoride on Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:13 am

Anyone with Dobi's all round have any issues with the front wallowy over undulating roads?

I've got my MN set up with bullbar and winch which was apparently accounted for considering they fitted it but it just feels wallowy over dips in the road.

Only put 15k km's on it but felt like that when i first got them installed. Was told that they are fine but just doesn't feel right.

cheers.
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Re: The Dobinsons Suspension Thread

Postby seischeck on Mon Nov 23, 2020 8:17 am

Hi ail, I had a Dobinson kit fitted to my 2012 GLX R back in 2016, it's only done 40K since then, never been off road and always garaged. Recently the bushes on the back springs had to be replaced, one a complete failure and front seems to be very spongy, just keeps on bouncing. Paid $1900 for the lift and fitting. The only other mods are an Ironman bull bar, steel canopy and 265 65 17 tires. Anybody else had a similar experience ?
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