Suspension upgrade

I am currently running ARB OME Nitrocharger shockies and coils with a 2" lift in a 98 2.8l GU Patrol. I have nothing but praise for the suspension which has coped well so far in the 40 thousand kilometers I have put it through. The ride is noticabely less boatlike (Ie rolly) through town whilst on the highway the absorption of bumps and potholes is much unchanged to the standard kit which is pretty awesome (love coil/stabiliser set ups!). On the corrugations they do fade ever so slightly but after the run into Lawn Hill gorge last year they were far superior to my mates XGS gas shockies (3.0l GU) which all lost effectiveness very quickly. He now has the ones with the remote cylinder for superior heat dispersion over the gas charged ones. Old Man Emu (OME) have these and sell under the name of LTR - Long Travel Remote.
My kit fitted cost $1200 but this was with a rear stabilers bar extension bracket and front castor kit and I believe I have got value for money.

Ben

Hi Dave,we've just done the same and fitted a full OME kit Nitro charger shocks ,OME springs with 2" lift all round. The original shocks were that stuffed that the whole vehicle lifted up 100mm all round.Handles like a new vehicle again.
We had OME on our previous Pajero wagon and was very happy with that, so just went with the same again. Cheers unc.

Dave,

My only addition to the above is that if you are not laden all the time go for progressive rate springs. I started out with normal heavy duty and swapped them out for the progressive ones and it is much better. FWIW I have Kings Springs (got them from Repco) and Koni's wound up 1 turn on the front ant 1 1/2 turns on the rear and have never experienced any fade in spite of some very rough treatment.

OT

Dave,

I have the ARB fitted OME springs and nitro shocks plus castor kit as recommended by ARB for my use. I tow a 1200+ kg camper and have rear drawers and water storage. ARB do an assesment of your requirements before selecting the springs. The vehicle was 12 months old when modified and the improvements were immediately noticed as above. The vehicle is a pleasure to drive laden or not.

I have been back to ARB (2 year warranty) twice with a problem of a slight noise from the front coils. It is a "sproing" or "low tone gong" noise when going over bumps. With each visit they have tried to remove a burr in the bottom coil spring housing. Apparently it is a common problem. After our last trip to the desert it was quite loud. ARB appear to have fixed it but I did notice a slight noise the other day when the suspension was cold. After a few km it disappeared.
Take a look at my Gallery pics for the fully loaded towing level (includes camping gear full fuel and water).

Kingo

Without being nasty, there would be 3000 threads on this in the past... Im sure you could find some good info on a quick search, not that you will get a clear answer, as everyone has a good/bad story about every brand...

FWIW Koni are outstanding on GU's, probably followed by OME with Dobinson or King Springs

OME for the last 17 years wouldnt use any thing else, but thats me. Front springs and shockies lasted me 250 thou. Still running the OME rear springsnow done 290k no breakages. Regards Steve M