I was asked this question by signman and thought I would open it for all to answer.
I have only had the Troopie for 20 months and have never owned a Troopie with coil front end.
We have had a lot come through on
driver training with leaf and coil front ends, so I can compare them to each other from what I have seen on the
test track.
The leaf front end vehicles are very ridged with little wheel travel. They do tend to lift wheels very easy. They also tend to lean over a bit so they do take a bit of getting use to.
The turning circle is very close to the Queen Mary and stops just as quick. They are not sports cars.
They are huge inside. Most have two post codes they are so big.
They will take a lot of weight and with the right
suspension and will carry it with out sagging.
They tend to be hard on tyres because the
suspension can be hard. You will feel every bump. They also tend to handle the corrugations very
well.
Shackle bushes would have to be change on a regular basis. I have just changed
mine after 12 months/ 50,000klm. "U" bolts would also have to be checked.
From what I have seen of other vehicles with coil front end they will also lift a wheel. This would have something to do with the leaf rear end not having as much wheel travel. The rear springs are longer and give a better ride. The coils in the front also stop the fillings from falling out.
Apart from the fact that the coil front end Troopies have the newer diesel motor and a few other features there is not that much difference body wise.
Do I think that the leaf is better that the coil front end?
For what I use the vehicle for at this time I would say the leaf is better for me. I will have to go coil front end one day, but I am not about to do a swap just now.
Owners of coil front end Troopies feel free to give your opinions on your vehicles.
BTW, When the new Troopies first come out we had one on a
driver training course. Because it was new we all had a good look at the front
suspension set up. While I had my head under the front guard I looked at the VIN.( Vehicle Identification Number). I then had to
check the compliance plate under the bonnet.
The VIN went something like this. Model prefix then 00000000. It was the first 78 Series to have a compliance plate in Australia.
Wayne