Suspension upgrades for 4WD

Hi John, I suspect you have already been there but if not come and have a good browse through the pajeroclub.com.au forums.

I have had both Pedders and Kings in an NM and an NP Pajero. Then Lovells and Bilsteins. Absolutely 100% yes they are worth the money. And if you talk to Pearcie on that forum you will get a very good deal on them anyway. Or you could import them (the shocks) like I did. My first Bilsteins did 200,000km across two vehicles and I only changed them for a fresh set due to age, not failure. And the Lovells are the only spring I have found that dont sag and provide the claimed lift. I looked at putting Tough Dogs in but have not been impressed with their performance in my brother-in-law's D40.

There is not a whole lot you can do re corrugations. These vehicles, with unibody construction, do pass more NVH through to the cab. Ideally you would want soft springs / shocks but then they would overheat quickly. For the record we got our bilsteins to 110 degrees c on the last Simpson crossing and they didn't fade.

You will however find it difficult to get a 20mm lift. 50 yes, but not much call for a 20mm lift. To do that you might have to get some custom springs made. Just go the 50 and turn your towbar goosneck upside-down to get the camper height right, or use a drop goosneck with adjustable heights.

Pat

From your 3 picks I can only comment Pedders - IMHO they are utterly useless, though I may struck "wrong" dealer. I did all my suspension at ARB. Only problem/complains that I have is about their method of calculation required stiffness of springs. They talking about "constant extra load" that you carry and after assessment of my needs they suggest 200kg springs. They proven to be way too soft and after few damages I ditch them in favor of stiffest one that happens to be 600kg. Never have problem since, though still missing my 60 series cruiser with leafs. If you touring with fair bit of load and a trailer, then I only can suggest you to put stiffest springs that you could find. Also aim a bit more lift - 50mm sounds to be damn good all way around.

I put Lovels heavy duty springs with Bilstein shocks on my Paj. They seem to go quite well, especially on sand. Im towing a a jayco swan with about 1,200kg all up and it used to sag a bit in the back. I actually had the rear springs taken off and stretched out(under heat) and it lifted the rear end up a bit. Now when im towing the car sits pretty level. I would still like it to sit higher but it can be kinda limited with the Paj due to the independent suspension

I first ran EFS (which are made by Kings) with Bilstiens in the Pajero. Found the ride hard and the fronts sagged 30mm. Changed to Lovells HD fronts and the ride is awesome. With steel bar, winch, and dual battery the lift has settled to about 40mm in the rear I have left the EFS (kings) progressive rate springs and theses work well either loaded or unloaded.

For my 2007 NS I left the springs standard and fitted Bilsteins and air bags in the rear.
It's pretty good but seeing I've lifted my caravan heaps I'm thinking of upgrading the springs to raise the car.
On the Paj forum there have been a couple of instances of the Bisteins failing where the rubber boots crack and allow dust and grit to wear on the seals.
If I was going to do it again I'd probably buy Koni Raid shocks, expensive? Yes, but the suspension guy who installed my Bilsteins swears by the Koni Raids he has in his NP Pajero.
I certainly wouldn't buy them at Aus prices, I'd buy them from overseas.
Regards Andrew.