Air shocks

[Steeee]

Has anyone got fox or equivalent air shocks on a discovery or similar?

 

i want to change the tired suspension and was going to go for a 2” lift, Iv seen the fox shocks and wondered are they really worth the money?

i do green lanes occasional P&P sites but commute fairly frequently in it

i will also be chopping it into a pick up in the next month or so

[geoffbeaumont]

Seems little point touching the suspension until you've done the pickup conversion? It'll completely change the loading, at least at the back.

[landroversforever]

Air shocks aren't really that suitable for a heavy car like a disco or defender. Much more suited to a light tube tuggy type build. 

[Steeee]

On 3/2/2021 at 9:06 AM, geoffbeaumont said:

Seems little point touching the suspension until you've done the pickup conversion? It'll completely change the loading, at least at the back.

I will be making a ute style bed for it so any weight lost will then be reintroduced with the wood and steel in the bed plus a roll hoop

[Steeee]

Just to add to my own question you can change the load of them by adding air

 

i was after an opinion of anyone that has actually used them

[geoffbeaumont]

16 hours ago, Steeee said:

I will be making a ute style bed for it so any weight lost will then be reintroduced with the wood and steel in the bed plus a roll hoop

I'd be very surprised if it ends up anything like as heavy as the back end of a standard Discovery, at least when not loaded. The Discovery body is pretty heavy - and a good deal of the weight is high up - even if you do manage to build a bed that weighs as much ( @Hybrid_From_Hell - any tips?  ) the centre of gravity is going to be significantly lower.

 

13 hours ago, Steeee said:

Just to add to my own question you can change the load of them by adding air

 

i was after an opinion of anyone that has actually used them

Ah - you're talking about adjustable air assisted shocks as opposed to standard gas shocks. I've never used them in a land rover - I learnt to drive in a Volvo estate that was fitted with them in the rear (it was an ex-Grampian Television camera car - equipped for carrying heavy loads). They were really good for adjusting the suspension to suit the load, so I'd have thought they'd be great on a vehicle that could vary between light at the rear to very heavy depending what you're carrying. Avoids the usual pickup issue of rock hard suspension when running empty if you run HD springs for heavy loads.

[Badger110]

A couple of threads down is some interesting reading regarding an air suspension set up in a 90

 

 

[Steeee]

No the air shocks like these

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Terrafirma-16-2-5-Air-Shock-TF141-Race-Rally-Offroad-Ultra-4-Challenge/264874714193?ul_ref=https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?ff3=2&pub=5575376664&toolid=10044&campid=5338268676&customid=CjwKCAiAp4KCBhB6EiwAxRxbpJ3hkxyyl4FLrHWV5s36xpbseY_1yWrbNfAHB8ohgCwfBBiTXKcXLRoCtX0QAvD_BwE&lgeo=1&item=264874714193&srcrot=710-53481-19255-0&rvr_id=2835066969602&rvr_ts=fd796c361770aad71dc56485ffe795bc&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&ul_noapp=true&pageci=bb5c6657-c42f-497e-9d77-a3cbb3660792

 

not an air helper spring

[landroversforever]

@simonrused them on one of his builds if I remember correctly? But it was suzuki based so way lighter.

[RedLineMike]

46 minutes ago, Steeee said:

No the air shocks like these

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Terrafirma-16-2-5-Air-Shock-TF141-Race-Rally-Offroad-Ultra-4-Challenge/264874714193?ul_ref=https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?ff3=2&pub=5575376664&toolid=10044&campid=5338268676&customid=CjwKCAiAp4KCBhB6EiwAxRxbpJ3hkxyyl4FLrHWV5s36xpbseY_1yWrbNfAHB8ohgCwfBBiTXKcXLRoCtX0QAvD_BwE&lgeo=1&item=264874714193&srcrot=710-53481-19255-0&rvr_id=2835066969602&rvr_ts=fd796c361770aad71dc56485ffe795bc&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&ul_noapp=true&pageci=bb5c6657-c42f-497e-9d77-a3cbb3660792

 

not an air helper spring

16" air shocks are a big wieldy things that are difficult to mount & package on a landrover chassis vehicle, quite simply, there too big,

however a 12" or 14" at a push long airshock in a 2.5" diameter are a better option for a landrover based vehicle,

in regards to your vehicle im trying to work out what your trying to achieve by fitting them,

 

yes they are tunable for the weight they are carrying, however they need tuning in general for any vehicle, they are not a fit & gas up & of you go system,

i have quite a bit of experience with 2" & 2.5" diameter air shocks & fitting & setting them up on "offroad" vehicles, however for a road going vehicle, there are better options out there

[Steeee]

So my initial question was has anyone fitted them and what are they like

 

i haven’t said I’m fitting them just wanted to know what there like and if there worth it

 

the 16” shocks were just to show which shocks I meant I wouldn’t fit terafirma as you can get a top brand like fox for the same money

[landroversforever]

I think a lot of posts above answer that, that people haven't for all the above reasons. 

[geoffbeaumont]

 

17 hours ago, Steeee said:

id I’m fitting them just wanted to know what there like and if there worth it

In regards to that, this is rather key:

On 3/4/2021 at 2:34 PM, RedLineMike said:

in regards to your vehicle im trying to work out what your trying to achieve by fitting them,

 

[Steeee]

40 minutes ago, geoffbeaumont said:

 

In regards to that, this is rather key:

 

So im after a reason to either look at at the conventional route of +2” springs and longer shocks or our grade to air shocks

if they are a better fit than the standard way of modifying a truck then I don’t mind spending the money on the initial outlay

 

if there going to be replaced after a few years due to sagging on one side like the old Brit part lift kit I fitted to my old disco then there’s no point 

 

I want to keep the disco long term 

very occasional P&P use twice a year at most a few free lanes and commuting plus once it’s a pick up a fairly frequent use moving my trials bike to off road events 

[RedLineMike]

57 minutes ago, Steeee said:

 

if there going to be replaced after a few years due to sagging on one side like the old Brit part lift kit I fitted to my old disco then there’s no point 

 

I want to keep the disco long term 

very occasional P&P use twice a year at most a few free lanes and commuting plus once it’s a pick up a fairly frequent use moving my trials bike to off road events 

for a start they wont sag due to being made from chinesium as they are basically a gas pressurised ram, if the presure leaks out then they will sag, the shafts can corrode, the bearings can wear, all stuff that requires maintenance much like any other item of this construction,

 

with the suggested use, i wouldnt fit air shocks, you would be better off with a set of good quality springs & shocks in my opinion

[Steeee]

I thought that would be the case but don’t mind maintenance I run a tuned Rover v8 as a daily so attention isn’t in short supply 

[simonr]

On 3/4/2021 at 2:15 PM, landroversforever said:

@simonrused them on one of his builds if I remember correctly? But it was suzuki based so way lighter.

I had them on a Suzuki, as you say (with Toyota 80 axles) - but I also tried 2.5" Air shocks on the back of my 110.

On both the Suzuki and the 110, they took a lot of effort to set up well.  Not only adjusting the pressure, but the internal valving which involves a complete strip & rebuild.  After too many rebuilds, I gave up and fitted more 'standard' Fox shocks.

Normal shocks have more 'bandwidth' in the damping - they will give near critical damping over a wide range of loads in the vehicle.  The Fox Air shocks were quite narrow bandwidth.  You could set them up perfectly, go and eat a few pies and they would be terrible!

Nice idea - but honestly more trouble than they're worth unless you have lots of time and don't eat pies!