Suspension Survey

[Adz]

You could put 'Original Fitted Height' and 'Height after 'X' amount of km's' too tex, for amount of sag....just a thought.

[joker]

Spring Brand - Tough Dog

Shock Brand - Tough Dog 40mm Adjustable

Lift Height - they reckon 25mm, mine ended up 40mm after standard suspension had sagged.

Cost (if you want) - $2300 fitted

Good/bad points - a million times better than standard setup on every road condition.
No SHUDDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No bad points yet.

[Greedy]

Spring Brand - Dobinson. Heavy front (bar) and medium rear

Shock Brand - Dobinson.

Lift Height - 45mm front and 55 rear

Cost (if you want) - $1470 fitted. I fitted most myself though. $20 to get springs fitted to struts and $50 for a dodgy wheel alignment. $1400 for the kit including castor wedges and tailshaft spacer.

Good/bad points - Way better ride in all types of driving. No major sag as yet after 30K.

[daryn]

Spring Brand - Ultimate Suspension
Shock Brand - Ultimate Suspension
Lift Height - 582mm Front 630mm Rear
Cost (if you want) - NewTriton Special Price (one of Dave's sponsors)
Good/bad points - No Bad points, Good points - They listen and give exceptional service, cant fault product.
Amount of Sag - 0mm

-------------------------------------------
Tex,

Me being the Devils Advocate, I think this is just going to add to your confusion, the majority of us here who have done suspension changes have gone through this ourself, I went through your pain for over 8 months.

I think you should consider asking some specific questions whether they be to us or to yourself:

What is your intended use for your vehicle eg. tradie, rough 4wding, touring, around town, beach etc. ?
Load carrying ?
What type of ride do you want ?
Do you see adjustable shocks as a benefit or an eventual feature not used ?
What tyre size do you see yourself sticking with or upgrading too ?
Do you want a lift ?
If so how much ?
If so, how will this effect passengers ?
Do you want the shudder problem, if not, that restricts your heights ?

I am sure you can see where I am going, but maybe more of these type of questions and we can comment specifically on your situation.
----------------------------------------------------

[patto]

Up Front - Dobinson Springs constant load - with Tough Dog adjustables

In the rear - Dobinson Leafs with Tough Dogs

Personally now i would not touch tough dogs ever again. 3 out of 4 seals have blown on them. Of the 1 shock thats not leaking ( left hand rear) the push rod arm snapped. Not happy with the product at all. wasted my money there.

[Quinny23]

patto, I'm the opposite...

I cant fault my shocks yet (TD 40mm front and rear)... they have been awesome.. and the ability to adjust when airing up or down is a bonus...

I was a little disapointed in the springs I used as they sagged with the weight of the bar and winch more than I expected. I had to use some shaved down snake blocks to get the height back...

And although mine have only done around the 12K klms they have been offroad with almost every tank of fuel and Im not the most casual driver I've been told.. ... not sure what they mean though...

[snowman]

Quinny - brand of springs? also do you actually use or notice the adjustability of the TD shocks?

i am like Tex currently - dobi's have had sagging issues - although no one has complained about their 'decarbon' type shocks, just the rear springs.

with TD fitted at about $1000 more than Dobi's (lets be honest that is almost a new ARB fridge) i am struggling to justify the Tough Dogs. this is money you never get back.

[Quinny23]

Springs are Dobinsons... They apparently have a newer longer spring... (Phuqit)

And yes.. when running the shocks on 9 you'll want the tyres aired down... around town I sit them on 3 and that stops any body roll and keeps em soft(ish)...

My rear leaves are stock Lux spring that have been reset (well worth the money.. now its all said and done with most of the mods done I'll add 1 more secondary and get some more rear lift to account for the front)... Suspension Cetre in Kealba Melbourne... Top Blokes, great service,

Around $2K for front and rear TD's, Dobi HD springs, reset rear leaves and greasable shackles... Would go again with no issues at all... (But I reserve judgement somewhat untill I pass the 50,000 klms mark... If they can do that eaasy enough wtih my abuse then I'll definately vouch for em')

[patto]

Mate i clocked up 48000km in my first year of ownership. 28000km of these have been on the TD's. I was impressed with the shocks in the first month. On my second trip i tore of the rear right adjustable knob on the shock (it faces forward). After 15000km i noticed the front 2 struts were leaking, shortly followed by the rear right.

My truck sees dirt weekly a combination of high speed unsealed roads, and heavy off road on my hunting and family owned blocks.

If your running constant load shocks i find it pointless to have adjustable shocks i found no difference in ride when adjusting them.

My rear left will be taken off the car tomorrow, to show that the rod is broken. will put some pics up.

I can say that if i took you for a ride, you would be more comfortable in a go kart.

Snowman buy the ARB Fridge. better value for money there

[Urshtnme]

OME's, sagged after about 5000kms. Over priced and no after sales assistance or service.

Still hanging out to get rid of them.

[sam]

Well I'm going Koni's all round this time on the new ute
I kept the rear shocks ( koni ) of the blue ml and have just bought the fronts and king springs last week
It;s all sitting on the workshop floor atm so will give a full report when they're in but to say I was impressed with the rear Koni's would be an understatement they are just that good imho.
Used RA9 Rodeo shocks in the rear as they are 2" longer than stock they but did need spacing away from the mount top and bottom a little bit .
Will be going for a hot spring reset for the rear as well

[sloppyjoe24]

am going in for new shocks on tuesday, tough dog shocks and struts/springs, rear shocks re-set and strengthened, all u bolts, shackles and bushes $1400 for 50mm lift cant wait!
will report back on tuesday let ya no how it all goes

[Quinny23]

am going in for new shocks on tuesday, tough dog shocks and struts/springs, rear shocks re-set and strengthened, all u bolts, shackles and bushes $1400 for 50mm lift cant wait!
will report back on tuesday let ya no how it all goes

Good price mate... you should be happy with it....

[patto]

do Puppy dog (TOUGH DOG) do a 50mm lift now?????

[Narloo]

Hi Tex
I have TJM all through now as I did not want a major lift and I wanted to deal in S.A. (because if we don't we may dissapear along with all our water! ) - even though all the gear comes from Qld. at least some of my $$ stay in S.A.. In the end, after the original gear sagged with the wieght of ARB bar etc., I got closer to 55mm front & 75mm rear. Front HD Springs and their new Gold XGS shocks (part no. 659GE15OL), rear medium springs and Yellow XGS Shocks (part no. 650XGS13182),after a try with their 'comfort' spring which lost the plot real early but all replaced by TJM under warranty. Overall I am very pleased, but due to more lift than expected I have very minor shudder under heavy first gear acceleration, I am working with TJM on this, the idea is a 3degree castor wedge and see how it goes. At rear the measurements from bottom of rim through centre to under guard is: Rear - Before springs - 775mm, after - 850mm (this = 75mm lift), & Front - Before springs - 735mm, after - 790mm(this = 55mm lift). So far I have done about 5000km on fronts and only about 1500km on rear since they were exhanged for the medium duty ones, some further sag may occur with extra Kms but so far it's all good. Ride is firm but much more controlled under rough conditions than the original crap - definitely ironed out the floating sensation the stockies gave after the ARB bar was installed. When empty it bucks a bit if you take a spoon drain too quick-but with a load all is good, but remember it's a ute not a limo. If you decide this way do not even think about the rear 'comfort' option, especially as you have the canopy. The TJM blokes at Adelaide are worth a look, the gear was ready inside 2 weeks from order-talk to Michael, he did good by me, I recommend them, for what that's worth. If you want a look PM me, I will be down during the week after long W.E. for a week, staying at west beach.

[MR T]

i might see you around narloo im at brighton

[Narloo]

Never know T...That would be great to put face to name. We are staying at the Adelaide Shores Holiday Village - I have to work but family are just hangin - not a bad gig though as work is paying the accom. We hope to poke around a bit after work - may bump into each other (not literaly though )

[snowman]

hmmmmm.....well the special price on Dobi's ends at the end of the month.$180 off supply price if anyone is interested.

on this thread we have two people with tough dogs in oppsite corners of opinion. i did ask around and you can tell the difference with the adjustable shocks but it is more apparent on coil sprung vehicles than leaf sprung.

currently the difference in price is $1200 between the dobi's and TD's fitted. This is my car fridge (wife see's it as something done on the house but i am not quite sure what she was talking about.... )

i have had some PM correspondance to say the Dobi's shocks are a bit wallowing in the front end, particularly when towing.

TD is only 1" lift. Dobi's is 2". so i probably need to price in some extended brake lines for the dobi lift.

So, to you Dobi an TDog owners (i have noticed a couple more fitting TD lately) can you give me some direct feedback of any issues with either setup and also TD owners, also if you think the adjustables are effective.

if you have stated before then dont repost, i have been through the threads - and if you are critical please feel free to PM me if that seems more suitable.

thanks for your assistance.

[boycee]

Has anyone got the EFS kit. I have been quoted $1300.00 installed and that is for a 1" lift and constant load front springs shocks and all the goodies. I was told efs only do the 1" lift due to the amount of people complaining about the shudder. 1" suits me fine but I just wanted some opinions if possible.

Cheers

[sam]

Spring Brand - Kings
Shock Brand - Koni
Lift Height - 10 mm so are going to replace springs with KCFR-55 H's for approx 40mm lift
Cost (if you want) -
Good/bad points - Awesome handling and absorbs big bumps like curbs very well / A bit firmer on road but not to bad
Amount of Sag - N/A

Haven't been off road yet so will see how they go but indications are they will be good

[Dylan 191]

Dobinson 50 mm lift ( was more like 70 mm ) constant load front and medium rear
Love it , maybe a bit stiff for the ride quality concious but it doesnt bother me
Awsome offroad no boat like swaying
Looks great and can fit bigger tyres now
Would buy again

[sloppyjoe24]

its been not quite one week with the new tough dogs in and shit wot a difference!!! it gave me a 2" lift from where it was but it had sagged a bit from original9not sure how much) the new height is 610mm on the rears and 560mm on the front. i took it up for a quick bash today and just the handling difference wen going over corrugated roads is enough reason to get new suspension. but then i surprised myself with some of the tracks it got over with ease so definitely worth the money. i didn't get adjustables as the mech said u pretty much only adjust it once anyway so wasnt worth the extra $200. plus no shudder to be heard of. as for sag the mech said to allow for 5mm max otherwise give him a call. so i'l give it a few weeks n measure it up.

[snowman]

thanks boys appreciate the feedback....

[Stevo8]

Has anyone got the EFS kit. I have been quoted $1300.00 installed and that is for a 1" lift and constant load front springs shocks and all the goodies. I was told efs only do the 1" lift due to the amount of people complaining about the shudder. 1" suits me fine but I just wanted some opinions if possible.

Cheers

Boycee my efs was 40 mm and I got shudder, but your price is good, mine was $1550.

[boycee]

cheers stevo, reckon I'll stick to the 1".