Forgetting price - what are the BEST 4WD shocks

Koni 90 series raids,
I have these on a Patrol that is heavy all the time, Just get them to adjust to suit your cars weight.
Cheers Dave

Ya realy going to have a long hard look to find anything better than bilstien.

Bilstien are a company that actually make shock absorbers and have done so for decades.

They have built high end shockies for motor sport for decades.

So may of the brands of shock absorbers are badge engineered product that you have not a clue who made or designed them.

Bilstien have the factories and the research facilities to make realy good shock absorbers.

Along with the likes of Koni and a few others.

there are also a couple of proper suspension manufacturers who have the resources to design and test shock absorbers, but subcontract out their manufacturer.

Ther rest are just people who sell shock absorbers...and some of these run under brands that where previously manufacturers, but have not been for some time.

consider that in your deliberations.

cheers

Similar answer to what tyre is best, depends on how you drive, where you drive and how you personally like the vehicle to handle.
The best shock for corrugated offroad use is not the best for blacktop use, likewise if you are looking for big articulation there is going to be a different favorite again
It is all compromise based on what you can live with.

Phill,

I have had Old Man Emu, Tough Dogs and now Koni's. They are fitted on a LC 76 series and are excellent shocks. I would not recommend the other two brands.
As stated already Koni or Bilstiens.
A mate of mine has Ridepro fitted to his 100 Series and also highly recommends them.
I recently did the simpson with another vehicle that had tough dogs fitted and had only done 30,000km and we had to make some bushes to replace his that didn't make the trip.

Regards Will

Koni............

G'day Phil,

I'm no expert in shocks but I can refer you to a comprehensive treatise on Koni shock absorbers prepared by Mick Hutton.

Mick, together with his wife Connie Sue Beadell, operates Beadell Tours and spends 5 to 6 months of every year touring the outback including off-track expeditions. I cannot think of anyone more experienced than he in matters of reliability of 4WD vehicles.

I can tell you that I will not continue to use Top Dog after one of mine totally failed after 6,000km and Top Dog would not recognise a warranty claim. I had fitted a new full set and had simultaneously purchased a set of four as spares. Eight (8) purchased and they would not even discuss the matter! My next replacements will be Koni's.

G'day Phil,

I have an 80 series Landcruiser diesel.
I travel about 50000 kms a year woith travel and work.

Travel is usually dirt road touring with bitumen to get there close to fully loaded. Other times is playing on Newnes Plateau, Watagans or similar.

Work is carrying bricklaying tools and towing a trailer often loaded.
I've had Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Shock Absorbers and OME Springs - mediums front and 2nd heaviest in the rear.

This setup has been excellent for the last 150000 kms. Never failed me and actually saved my hide a couple of times on outback roads.

That's my thoughts.

Steve

Seeing money is no issue I would recommend Ohlins, Fox, DMS (Drummond Motor Sport), Proflex or Reiger.... you can't go wrong.

If you want second best Bilstien or Koni.

But suspension is like most things, are you going to see the benefit of expensive suspension over the likes of EFS, Lovell or ARB.

Why don't you get the Bilstiens rebuilt?

BTW adjustable spring seats is the best way of setting up suspension from corner to corner so it's not a gimmick, again would you benefit from it with the type of driving you do...... probably not.

Sorry for taking a long time to get back. Watched the race in Surfers. Why do they let them get away with driving off the track and basically straight over the corners. Anyway that's OT.

I started responding to all and stopped after a few.

It seems that Bilsteing and Koni are mentioned the most so far and then we have a single mention of some popular racing company brands that I have heard of but not looked at yet.

Interesting, even though it is early, but few mentions of "popular" brands. That was what I thought would happen. Maybe taking the money parameter out of the equation was a good idea. We should not get performance guidance which is what I want.

Dinner to be cooked.

So far so good. Thanks all.

Question: We are told that Bilstein are shock absorber specialists. Would you say that Koni is also?

Phil

google's your friend.
http://www.koni.com/us-na-redirect/

G'day Phil,

We also have had very good experience with Koni shock absorbers (car and trailer).
To your question as to whether Koni are a shock absorber specialist I would say definately, yes.
In another life I was involved in an organisation where we needed to adapt shock absorbers to various (heavy) vehicles due to the different operating conditions found in parts of Australia. On many occasions we sought Toperformances' (Koni Distributor)help in identifying the solution. This involved providing them vehicle details, spring rates, current shock absorber performance details, operating weights and conditions experienced etc, and with assistance from their supplying factory and local input they provided us with shock absorbers that worked.
Plenty more to such a story but I trust this confirms to you thay are a product supported by very specific engineering input.

Rgds,

Rob.

Here's another that I was referred to in a PM. Kings shock absorbers. I am not really after adjustable ones. They go on and that's it.

It's bad enough to have to get out of the car to adjust the tyre pressures as it is. I have in the past driven vehicles where you could do this on the run.

They are directed to 4WD racing mainly but what do you brains trust think?

Link: King Shock absorbers

Phil

Are these the Koni's that those above who emntioned Koni are talking about?

Item 1: Limited detail and from seller user id: climaxsuspension

Koni Heavy Track model from a UK seller.

Phil

Koni and Bilstien have always running kneck and kneck.

Bilstien have always been considered the leaders is gas shock absorber technology, while in the past Koni where the oil technology leaders...but koni have made both for over 20 years now.

The biggest difference between the two, that has always been the case is.

Bilstien have always had the edge in control, perhaps at the cost of comfort.

Koni have always had the edge on comfort, they have been the ones who did the work valving and damping rates, may be at the slight cost of control.

I remember being told that the Danish royal family, had connections with Koni.....and they are a bunch of rev heads that like their comfort.

It is almost a matter of national pride that Danish princes all needed stern talking too about speeding from time to time.

Its been a long time since I have owned a vehicle with Koni shocks.....but I remember they did live up to their reputation of comfort.

cheers

I have read in a form that the WA Police use the Koni shocks in there troopys

G`day Phil,
I`m surprised nobody has mentioned the difference between the koni`s & billi`s, though you probably know they built quite differently to arrive at each of their high stature in the 4wd world. You have the best mono-tubes now. If you go with Koni`s you`ll have the best twin-tubes. I ran Billi`s on my 100 series and couldn`t fault them but next time I`m going to try the Koni`s, just for the sake of trying something different. I ran koni`s on my old street car and they were perfect for such a heavy bus but I`m yet to try them offroad. No doubt Koni couldn`t wish for a better plug than that by Mick Hutton.

Cheers Rog

You don't measures shocks by some of the posts above reasons.

Kings off road racing shocks are simply the best - you will see them on many comp vehicles and are both fully rebuildable and fully definable with large remote resoviours and with the maximum travel for any given mounting length.

Fox or Kings

G`day again,
That`s fair enough Robin but Phil`s original post implied he wanted to keep it simple. While no one would argue offroad racing shocks "aren`t" the best at what they do, they`re not simple when a remote canister becomes involved. And even though we were advised to forget about price, I don`t think Phil would find the cost of these things forgettable. There was an interesting comparison done by the Australian 4WD Action crew, last year I think. Bruce Garland was the test driver and all the popular brands were installed onto the vehicle, (not at the same time) while he was kept in the dark as to their names. I know he chose Tough Dogs as the winner, I think Billi`s & Koni`s came second & third. It was an interesting read, maybe Phil should check it out if he hasn`t already.

Cheers Rog

Phil,

when I got a 2" lift on the Disco 2 I was advised to get Bilsteins and King Springs. The car certainly rode well on the bitumen. However, on the first significant trip of corrugated tracks (west from Alice to Yuendumu, then Nyrripi, across to Kintore, then down the SBJT) saw the most comprehensive equipment failure I have ever experienced.

The section of the SBJT just to the south of Kintore is pretty bad, and I drove fairly slowly as I have done many times before without issues, and no-one else in the group had issues. But before long I was alerted to smoke coming from under the bonnet. On inspection, both Billies were smokin'. With little option other than to slow down even further I drove on. Before long, one of the Billies had let go completely, and was no longer absorbing shocks. Possibly because of increased front axle travel, the other side let go too. In these conditions the front of the vehicle, completely undamped, was bouncing wildly.

Because of where we were, I could either park the vehicle or press on. We decided to find a place to camp and ponder what to do in the morning. Suddenly, one of the Billies disintegrated and got itself jammed sideways through spring against the tyre. Our choice of camping site had been made.

My conclusion about the Billies is that while they may be a fine shock on the bitumen, they cannot tolerate corrugations, and are prone to excessive heat build up and catastrophic failure.

I have since done the same trip again with adjustable Tough Dogs. At least they got me back home.

This occurred at about the same time as Mercedes Benz did a publicity transit of the CSR, and all of their vehicles were afflicted with shocker failure. Maybe it says something about the corrugations and sand dunes in Europe!

Bob

Strange that no-one mentioned Lovell's Gas.

I had them on a Prado for 60,000k with no problems. They had HD standard Lovell's springs with them. The ride was firm but you got used to it.

I am thinking that Lovell's must have an affiliation with a manufacturer?

bill

Phil,
I have a 2004 100 series auto t/d with a 50mm lift and other suspension mods for touring. I spent a lot of time (and $) fiddling with things before I got the right compromise for on/off road. I ended up with Bilsteins all round after trying 2 other brands, OME and ?. The Bilsteins have been excellent and I have not experienced failure or overheating even on bad corrugations. I had the Bilsteins altered after about 3 months to firm them up a bit and since then I have been very happy.
cheers

Phil
Go to LCOOL forum and search in there for responses by DAZ - should answer your question.
Hard for any one individual to say what is best for a particular vehicle given none of us have tried every shockie available. So the answers you've received are generally biased by the individual's experiences and don't necessarily answer your question. Not everyone has experienced the driving you want the shockies for. Suggest you find out which of the members/posters on here actually are experienced in desert travel and see what they use and recommend.
The above mentioned DAZ probably has more experience with shockies than most given his involvement in the industry.
Shockies - not an easy one. Bit like tyres and batteries and most things 4WD related. Good luck with your research and decision.

Hey Robin,
I`ve seen those Rox shocks advertised in the mags I think, but never followed them up. After your description of them , maybe I should. Like Phil said, it`s good to take the plunge away from "popular" if indeed they prove to be as good ,if not better. Unfortunately my pocket always has the last say. Going by your last post you seem to know your shocks, are you in the game?

Cheers Rog

Well I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Dobinsons shocks. Had them on a 80 series and some Land Rovers and could not fault them. Just my 2 cents worth. Bob