New suspension for a D-Max

I had the ARB GVM upgrade done pre-purchase which give an extra 270kg payload along with around a 40mm lift.

This uses the Old Man Emu parts.

I have bullbar, canopy, drawers and dual battery so the additional weight balances out the ride, my earlier rides where Patrol & Challenger and the D-Max is on a par with them.

Just make sure the springs are rated for the max weight you will carry. I had an ARB GVM upgrade on my D-Max with springs rated to carry a 600 Kgs load. After 20,000 k's they were bent the wrong way and the bushes had flogged out. Put in springs rated to carry 800 Kg's and so far 8,000 k's, alls good. When I take my camper off, if I let the rear tyres down to 30 psi the ride is OK. Had the work done by Robson's in Perth, they did a great job. If you go there tell Craig the bloke with the D-Max and Gecko Camper from Melbourne sent you. He might give you a better deal.

A guy at work went through a few different kits (single bloke that was happy to throw $$ at his ride) and he ended up sticking with a kit from EFS.
What sold him was that they mixed and matched their gear to get what suited him, rather than selling a kit off the shelf because that was easy for them.

OME is a pretty firm ride.
Bilstein is more compliant.
Koni for lots of outback driving.

I have OME 300kg constant. Happy with the ride and handling. Now have 60,000km under it and would go same again.
The only other alternative I would consider is King Springs and Bilsteins.

The bloke at ARB recommended OME because that is what they sell.

Personally I would not listen too much to people's experiences with them on other vehicle makes as the valving and setup will be different.
I know that those that fitted their gear on the 05-13 Hilux found them to give a very soft and wollowy ride ( like driving a boat) and had a lot of issues with sagging springs. I hated how they handled compared to Bilsteins and did not feel safe on winding roads at speed with them and yet others are reporting them to be a bit harsh riding on other vehicle makes.

There is probably a dedicated forum for your specific vehicle that will help you make an informed decision

Yeah, there are two D-Max forums in Australia.

Here's a shock comparo. Make of it what you will. It's all data.

Click

Had ours done recently and am happy with the results, here's some details copy and paste from an email. We're in Qld and had it done in Brisbane, but the info on the suspension might help.


email............
Was hoping to get some advice re upgrading the suspension on our 2013 Dual cab Dmax LSM. Have done 41,000km with only 14,000km towing so far. We have fitted a bullbar, 142 lt fuel tank, aluminium tray & have a small 24” custom 5th wheeler caravan on a 50mm folddown ball which is fitted a bit behind the rear axle-not ideal but that’s how it is. We fitted polyair bags which are only used because of the van at 15psi unloaded (pressure goes up to 25psi with the load on) just to level it all up. It actually tows really well, quite stable. However the springs are now really flat & we are hitting the bump stops way more than comfortable.

reply.............
Most aftermarket leave are 40mm to 50mm with a certain kilogram rating.
EG: 50m lift with 400kg
So to maintain an approx 30mm lift we need to use approx 150kg/200kg leaf in conjunction with your air bags & using less air pressure as the leaves will do more of the work.
The front would have dropped 10mm to 15mm with the Bull bar.
So I can upgrade the suspension Using Bluemax leaves & Dobinson coils & your choice of shocks
With Bluemax shocks $1795 fitted
With Ironman Foam cell Pro shocks $210 fitted
With Bilstein shocks $2250 fitted

http://www.zordos4wdsuspension.com.au

Have a look at a Lovells suspension upgrade GVM maybe increased more than OME

ULTIMATE SUSPENSION
much better product

or TJM

I have decided to go with Tough Dog, but it was a close decision with Bilsteins. They should be fitted some time next week, along with the SMM canopy. All being done by Opposite Lock. They did try and talk me into their own brand, but I resisted.

Will report back once I have a few K's on them.

Col