shocks

[cbkearney]

I know this has been talked about quite a bit, but you guys don't seem to get as annoyed when rehashing old threads as the pirate boys. And if Marchand wants to be "persnickety" and type "search noob" than let him.

I need to replace my rear shocks. I currently have Rancho 9014 and do not want to get those again. They did not last nearly as long as you would think the should.

I have the NSO rear shock setup and 3 inch rovertym springs. I am thinking about different options and I know coil overs are all the rage right now, but I am torn about what I should do.

Question 1: Initially, I was thinking about getting the adjustable fox shocks that come with the Safari Gard kits, but is the valving proprietary to safari gard? I was thinking about getting them somewhere else a little cheaper.

Question 2: Where else can you source Fox Shocks? All my searches turn up pages and pages of bike shocks.

Question 3: Are coilover a rock crawling thing or can they also be a daily driver, load it up and drive to Alaska kind of thing. (One of my many hare-brained schemes.)

Question 4: What are the costs of going to coilovers in the rear?

Question 5: Can coilovers handle a serious load?

Question 6: By changing the suspension completely away from coils, am I going to subject my truck to extra stress that the engineers did not foresee? Coilovers do place the weight of the truck on a completely different portion of the frame. Looking at Robert Leggiero's set up (the only good pictures of coil overs on the rear of a d-90 I could find) it looks like six bolts are supporting the weight of the truck. I am looking to run this truck for the rest of my life and do not want a catastrophic suspension failure or my frame to bend years from now.

I know this is a lot of questions. Feel free to answer and ignore them as you wish.

[TDI Guy]

Here is a link to a place that sells Fox Shocks. www.performancelifts.com


also.

Click here: http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/Coil_over_suspension.htm

[Buckon37s]

You can get the fox shocks just about any offroad shop. Just need to get them valved properly. I should be able to get those to you soon. You can also call KC and ask him since it's his rear setup. As to all your questions about the coil overs. I will do my best to answer them as I did way more research than I should have before making the decisons I did.

1. Anyone can revalve them, $15 per shock on average.

2. If you want the best price, just do 4WPW, not too keen on the service end though, but, if you are mentally prepared to get them from $G, you can take it.

3. Yes, coilovers can be on a daily driver, but the real answer is no. I will go into this a little later.

4. Depends on your fab man and the way you set it up. Pair of fox coilovers are about a grand and then springs. I got mine for $360 a piece but I went to college with the accountant for ORW :grin

5. No, but yes. Well, you can get any spring rate you want within reason, but there is a reason you see them more on buggies than fullsizes.

6. Okay, so here's what I have found. This is my opinion so anyone can jump in and argue with it. I just got coilovers for the front done on my D. If you open the hood it looks like a mini jungle jim in there of tube. You have to support the links very well so that they hold the whole weight of the truck, or 1/4 per shock if you want to get critical. It is also very hard to do. You can't just stick them in, you have to have the right valving, right dual spring rate, right angle, right link setup. All this needs to come together perfectly if you want to keep the on road ability you have right now. In a word, getting it right is a lot of work. Now, you know when it is done correctly because you will have smooth travel, nice ride, and do not need to run a sway bar or anti-rock, oh and BLING:bling

Now onto the controversial part. Coilovers in the rear of a D-90 just don't make any sense, UNLESS, you are running over 6 inches of lift, no rear tub, or are willing to cut a hole in the floor. You just don't want to run them at the pitched forward angle that SG has done. It is not ideal by a long shot, assuming you don't own a trailer. You need them straight up and down and on a mild pitch to the inside of the vehicle. Once that is achieved, you need to rethink the links also. Otherwise, you get rear-steer, complete unloading, sidehills are a nightmare, and links start to snap. Most people just think that you can get to a decent place by increasing the spring rate until it doesn't scare the hell out of you, but it is a flaw in the SYSTEM that causes this stuff. Not just spring rates.

So, what you do is your preference but think for just a second. The rear of these trucks are so easy to get massive amounts of travel out of, why bother? You have the NSO setup so even with what, 10 in shocks? you are getting 1.5 in more travel than any other system on the market. Just stick with it, throw some Fox shocks under there and enjoy your trip to Alaska.

BTW: they are rebuild-able so they are the last shock you ever need to buy.

[TwisteD90]

Answer1: 70/90

Answer2: Pangaea Expeditions, better price then what David got them for.

Answer3: Yes, only if you get the right spring rate and shock valving.

Answer4: $1200. That's 14" coil overs, springs, and mounts.

Answer5: Actually they are held by 8 bolts and Chris Hinkle been running this setup for years w/o a problem. I'm currently running the same setup as Robert except I have 14" travel shocks. I personally don't like the mounts due to the sever angle the shocks are sitting at. Keith at Rover Tracks is going to build front and rear mounts for my D90. However, I'm not sure if he is going to weld the mounts and then gonna be bolted.

[cbkearney]

Thanks for all the information and if anyone has more keep it coming. CVC, I love this board.

[cbkearney]

Yousef,
I just checked panagea expeditions website and they don't have fox shocks listed. Is it something that is not on their website and I need to call or were you thinking of somewhere else?
Chris

P.S.
David,
4wpw.com does not have Fox Shocks on their website either.
Chris

[TwisteD90]

Chris, you have to call him!

[Buckon37s]

Chris, you have to call him!

What he said.

[Joe P]

When you say the valving is 70/90 what do those numbers represent. Is 70 the front and 90 the back or is it 70 the compression and 90 the rebound?

Thanks.

[D110XD]

Hi!

Anyone knows Koni HeavyTrack RAID dampers?

These would be my recommendation. Real HD.

I have them monunted on my truck for 2 years now.
I had a lot of dampers before. Bilstein, OME,...

No one of these even came close.

http://www.koni4x4.com/technology.php?id=13

[junkyddog11]

Chris,

maybe "persnickety" Dave will sell you his fox shocks that I just took of his 90, (double flickoff).

If you want some shocks that work try Bilstien 7100's valved at 360/85.

[dmarchand]

:cool:

I've got some Fox shocks for sale.... 20K miles.

Per above.

[JohnC]

Hi!

Anyone knows Koni HeavyTrack RAID dampers?

These would be my recommendation. Real HD.

I have them monunted on my truck for 2 years now.
I had a lot of dampers before. Bilstein, OME,...

No one of these even came close.

http://www.koni4x4.com/technology.php?id=13[/url]
You mean [URL=images.andale.com/f2/115/106/3653414/1157624085945_Koni_HT_1.jpg]these (http://www.koni4x4.com/) babies (http://images.andale.com/f2/115/106/3653414/1155786366848_Koni_HT_2.jpg)?

We've sold a few sets here in the US and haven't had any complaints (so far).

[D110XD]

Yeees... exactly.

Built for Rallye Raids, extreme robust (2,5mm thick steel outer tube, 70mm diameter, 18mm piston rod, very robust attachments).
The rebound adjustment works directly via the valve, not via oil bypass or something.

My experiences:

1 month ago at the end of my this years french/ital. alps trip I almost hit a ital. Fiat uno which had no brake lights or something else. My 110 was pretty good loaded; 200 liters Diesel; 50l Water; Tools, 2 Spare tires, equipment,... (2600-2700kg). I had about 110 kmh (70mph?) on the speedo and I had to do a sharp turn left and right again. The 110 was absolutely controllable no problem. Amazing.

6 months ago hit a 20cm rock with about 20 - 30 kmh. XD / Wolf rim and tire destroyed. The Koni RAID still in perfect working order.

But driving on offroad tracks is fun. The faster, the better get these dampers.

[Shake]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!! Okay, I think I give up. I want to buy a set of Koni RAIDS. Why, because have read every post on suspension and keep going in decision circles. So I am buying them because they are red and match my truck :) Have a 94 ST that has OME HD springs in it. Will have ARB Brush Guard and Warn 900 winch soon. Will try this...Can anyone say it's a bad idea? Please. Also, where the heck can I buy them in the US? Just googled for an hour an gave up.

[JohnC]

I sell them.

[Doug]

Getn them from JohnC, who sourced them for us this ear for the NVTR. I just ran the NVTR in December with the RAIDS and love them. We put them on both trucks -- a 110 and a Range Rover LWB. All four of us (two drivers, two navigators) thought the trucks handled better and didn't bottom out nearly as much as in earlier NVTRs.

[ScottYates]

And they are still appropriate for a daily driver as well?

JohnC, how do I find you online, the website in your profile is not working.

[flippedrover]

www.4x4ag.com Just tried it and its working

[Doug]

Totally appropriate for a daily driver. Harder ride, but handling is much improved...

DW

[Shake]

John,

What's the difference between the RAIDs and the ones just marked "heavy track?" I spend 98% of time on paved roads. Rest of time haulin' on dirt roads, trails and washboard surface dirt roads.
Looked at your site and only saw the Heavy Track, not RAIDs. Also, you have a deal running on snorkels here but the only ones I saw were for DISCOs.

Anyone have an idea of why my truck would levitate/jump 4 feet to the right after hitting a pothole doing 40 MPH. Scared the shit out of me. Shocks, or shocks and springs. I KNOW current shocks are dead. Shocks have a lot of surface rust on them. Thanks.

[Shake]

That was stupid. The SPRINGS have surface rust on them, not the shocks. But the shocks are dead. Standard lift with OME HD Springs, normal 265X75R16 tires. If there had been a Porsche beside me I would have landed on top of it. Boinnnnnng!

John...Sent you an email