Suspension Upgrade GU

Deano,
My 2000 GU has Lovells springs, but is also pretty heavy, with Opp Lock dual rear wheel carrier, long range tank, steel bullbar, winch, steel roofrack, full recovery gear etc (3.28T before I load it up with gear). The Lovells are 4" front and 5" rear. The actual height increase (measured against a stocker) is 3" back and front. I have made no other changes at this stage and it seems to handle okay. IE: I have not changed the castor/camber angles or lengthened the the brake hoses. I was running without both sway bars for many months, but recently decided to re-fit them, adding Snake Racing quick disconnects on the front one.
I also have Polyairs in the rear springs just to be sure.
I can thoroughly recommend the Lovells. I also currently have Koni shocks which have been on it since almost new. At first, I had OME springs with the Konis which gave me a 2" lift, but as I kept adding more heavy stuff, those springs started to sag and I was back to the same height as a stocker......hence the need to add longer/heavier springs to take the weight. I've done over 117,000klm on those Konis now and will need to replace them in due course (after next trip to the Cape in September if they last that long).

Stick with any of the well-known brands and you should be okay; but be fair dinkum about how much stuff you will be carrying (maybe load it up like normal and put it over a weigh bridge). That way you'll be able to tell the supplier the right info for them to help you make a decision.
Cheers,

Roachie

Deano,
TJM and ARB both King Springs,
Lovelles Springs, all go stuff and a lot of them around.
The shocks are the real big decision. A lot of posts are out there and the finial choice is yours. The shocks on a coil sprung vehicle have to work very hard. My postion on shocks is Koni's.

Wayne

Try Ride Pro.

IMHO they seem to be good shocks; fat buggers which should = lotsa oil & gas, which should, if they get the valving right = good performance. certainly they have improved my GU's handling.

All for a fair price, too, I thought

When I asked them about coils to replace existing ones, they were very interested in how/what/why I used the bus. From there they made suggestions, including recognising the need for camber adjustments

Deano, you may like to look up reinforcing the rear spring towers on the GU for heavy loads and shocks too. Have 12 mm plate over the top of mine side to side bolted into the towers using the provided bolt holes. Mind you mine is in a traytopper and I don't know how you do it in a wagon.

There has been some discussion on the www.outerlimits4x4.com site and I have pictures there too. It is best to put in the extra when you have it all bared.

Theres about a trillion threads on GU suspension on the forum, try the search function

I bought my '02 GU s/hand with the TJM 50mm lift & XGS already fitted. It's was soft in the rear & sagged badly when loaded. I have fitted the polyairs and upgraded the shocks with adjustable foam cell Tough Dogs. This way I can maintain the softer domestic ride, screw them up for the heavy stuff and the poly bags add support especially when I've got the 2tn boat behind.
Check at Opposite Lock & this site

http://www.rancho.com.au/webpages/shock_absorbers.htm

has some good info about suspensions, phone Kirk.

I have just had mu 2000 gu fitted with Old Man Emu LTR's, and it was not cheep but theres no looking back they are great.

Just to add fuel to the fire I put Tough Dogs on our 3.0ltr & 50000 k later still going strong.