What difference do after market shockers make?

Jeff if you had put monroe magums or a similar shocks on your fj40 you would have noticed a huge diff in bump steer and gereral driveability. They where much easier to improve then modern day vehicles. heavier shocks will help control hd springs as well. But if you go to firm you will end up with a harder ride.
Cheers Pete

Standard springs & shocks are supplied by the manufacturer at a cost effective price to suit the average person who buy's their vehicles. After market shocks are available in various configerations to suit particular needs which may be to match the higher spring rates of heavy duty load carrying suspensions, valving for firmer improved handling or large bore & remote resivoirs for increased oil capacity to keep the shock cool in competition or severe offroad use. They are also often longer to increase wheel travel to keep the tyres on the ground.
In short after market shocks can improve the ride, handling, braking & longivety & yes even your 40 series would have beneifted from a shock upgrade, it's just back then after market assesories simply were not available nor were they that good a quality either.
As for corrugations a good quality shock will smooth them out to some degree but more importantly not fade or fail as quickly.
Cheers Craig.................

I upgraded my perfectly good standard suspension for an after market version; New springs and shockies all round.

The biggest reason for doing this was to gain better articulation in the rear as it gave a big creaking noise whenever I was to cross a dry creek diagonally.

This problem was solved immediately with the upgrade. The shockies provided great absorption on corrugations. I was very happy for about a year until the front ones failed and I was forced into a quick downgrade warranty job in Port Hedland.

As for heat - this picture is one of my second after market set of shockies, taken 1 day after it was installed new, just after all those corrugation north of Kunawaritji.

Image Could Not Be Found

Go for the shockies, as they do a good job, but choose wisely.

Cheers
Alan

IMHO aftermarket shocks provide such a good ride on 200 series cruisers that the driver drives much faster over corrugations, overheats the shocks causing failure and then is stuck for a week waiting for replacements.
I spoke to three couples at Drysdale River Station who were stuck for a week or so after bursting either one or two front aftermarket shocks.
IRONY eh.
Yet the standard shock equipped renter Cruisers seemed to hurtle along oblivious to the heat and not visibly fail.

It seems to be the Japanese makers who put poorly riding shocks on their vehicles. Europeans such as Range Rover/ Mercedes/VW use Boge, or Bilstien which are pretty optimum for ride, although you may prefer a stronger damper on rough roads with a heavy load. Just remember that this translates to a rough ride unladen .
In my experience ( and the experience of Rover specialists) only Bilstien will survive long periods of corrugations and bounce back, and are rebuildable. I have tried TJM ( too stiff), ARB (ditto on RRC ), Boge (best comfort, but died after a lot of corrugations. I had Koni on a Patrol once and they were good.

Forget all the "boutique " brands as they are most often cheap shocks only branded by some small Australian company to give them a USP. Many are made by COFAP in Brazil including TJM. The suppliers may have changed ove rthe yeas but the principle doesn't.

I got the last Comfort valved Bilstiens in Australia for my RRC and they have now done 40KK, with over 10K of corrugations GRR etc. Three are good but one has a leaking top seal. I plan to have them tested
and if necessary rebuilt before the next big trip. Try to get "comfort" valved Bilstiens as Sport usually give a poor ride and can skip on corrugations.
Regards Philip A

In that other post I was explaining some disadvantages of lifting a car, but with shocks it goes the other way.

Most peoples lift is with heavier springs and this throws out the spring/shocks balance and you have to get better and bigger shocks because the force required to dampen a heavier spring increases. This then in turn puts a bigger kick into the spring/shocks mounts and on and on you go (this is why some breaks these).

In the case of a standard Patrol the shocks are undersized but work well till overheat so you have to get bigger shocks for this reason as well as to match any change in spring high so shocks don't bottom/top out.

By having (easily) adjustable shocks you can wind them back on bad roads so that heat build up in them is less.

Others like me remove swaybars increasing articulation and this requires that not only do you need shocks for length but you must also get shocks with some protection against this top out because the shocks then hold the weight of axle at max articulation.

All in all better shocks are a good idea.

Hi Jeff,
As with most commercial products you need to take the marketing garbage out of the equation. If with the usage you normally have with your vehicle there is a definite advantage to make a change (either ride height or suspension changes) then go ahead. Just remember everything is normally a compromise. Increased ride hight = higher centre of gravity and increased roll over risk. Changing suspension elements alters the ride, articulation and handling of the vehicle. Something that improves one thing can have an adverse effect on another. I have a 79 series Toyota ute with very few mods. It does what I want with ease. Why would I change it? The other point is that it is often difficult to source non standard parts in remote places. But chances are they have a replacement standard shock etc.

If you go to ARB or TJM they will tell you you need $10,000 worth of changes and extras to drive down a dirt road. They are there to sell stuff to you. Only you can decide if it is really warranted in your specific case.

Steve

Tried a few, and one has always stood out for simple robust build with rebuild ability.
Koni Heavy trak 88 series
These have done 35 thousand plus K's of corrugations with out fail. prior to this had a well known yellow brand around the same price which lasted 600klms rear two total failed and front 2 where leaking badly.
Avoid the hype and stick with the proven performers.