Best Shock Absorbers For 90 Comfort?

[EdF]

I know I'm going to get a few varying replies here, but what would others recommend? I have standard ones on now. Once tried Monroe gas ones on the front of a previous motor and they were okay, De Carbon adjustables all round on another (on soft) and I couldn't tell the difference from standard. Don't want to spend a fortune, but I will if it's worth it. Quiet road use only.. It's a 2002 90 TD5 County pack, so anti-roll bars.

On another tack, I was wondering what to paint the rear crossmember with as it was getting a bit rough. Tried some paint but it stood out like doggies whatsits, so I carefully stippled black Waxoyl on with a brush - just enough to cover the surface - and replaced all the manky bolts with stainless bolts and washers (fun getting old ones out..) and it looks great. the Waxoyl is hard enough and doesn't rub off.

[EdF]

I know I'm going to get a few varying replies here, but what would others recommend? I have standard ones on now. Once tried Monroe gas ones on the front of a previous motor and they were okay, De Carbon adjustables all round on another (on soft) and I couldn't tell the difference from standard. Don't want to spend a fortune, but I will if it's worth it. Quiet road use only.. It's a 2002 90 TD5 County pack, so anti-roll bars.

OK, I'm not going to get ANY replies!! I suppose using '90' and 'comfort' in the same sentence is a contradiction in terms...

I'm thinking of trying the black Bilsteins from MM4x4 at £40 ea inc. vat & carriage but has anyone experience of the Britpart ones from Paddocks?

[davidfox123]

Hi, Like you I would appreciate knowing this as well. I've just replaced the rears with cheapo original copies & whilst it's better than it was it's still not good. I reckon that a large percentage of 90's are used on road far more than for carrying heavy loads & off-roading. Perhaps a business opportunity for somebody to come up with a 'Comfort Pack' option!

[EdF]

Perhaps a business opportunity for somebody to come up with a 'Comfort Pack' option!

Yes, I agree, I get fed up of seeing ads for 'heavy duty' this and that.. As I've written before, a 90 already has heavy duty suspension, compared to a Discovery at least. A 90 has the Disco heavy duty springs as standard, and a Disco weighs 400Kg more. One only has to look at the spring chart and read off the ratings.. I'll bang off an email to Scorpion who may do it - at a price.. The standard front suspension on my 90 (before I changed the springs for something softer) made a small pothole feel like hitting a concrete step. The standard shock absorbers are pretty basic, I believe, and are very cheap to buy..

[nicks90]

depends what you mean by comfort though.

dampers dont actually significantly alter the spring rate of your suspension - just the damping qualities of the cycling of the springs under compression/extension. Unless of course you think that your dampers are incapable of stopping the springs oscillating when you hit a bump at motorway speeds and you feel the wheel bouncing up and down several times after you hit the bump until the carp damping of the shock finally managed to absorb the oscillation....

if you want a softer. smoother ride - then i would be looking at changing the springs. Maybe some progressive springs, nice and soft for the first couple of inches to make driving around lovely and smooth, then normal stiffness for the rest of the travel to give good handling in corners etc.

[Young bobtail Rhys]

What Nick said^^^^^

Although, de carbon dampers are very well priced and offer good damping. However, they need to be run with a decent set of springs. I have run them with bearmach and it was completely rubbish!

[Aragorn]

the harshness your describing sounds to me like the spring rates are too high unless something is broken, meaning changing the shocks will do very little (unless they are seized)

IMO a standard 90's spring rates are away to f**k anyway. The front has 180lb springs and the rear has 225lb springs even though the front is a good bit heavier than the rear. Its one of the reasons that 90's tend to skip around a lot from the rear as the rear being stiffer than the front induces oversteer. Its probably like this for weight carrying reasons, but imo they should have fitted progressives on the rear instead which would have sorted this issue.

I wonder if your springs have already been changed out for some others at some point? Mine and my mates on stock springs certainly wasnt very hard at the front at all...

For my rebuild i am looking at a rate of about 225lb for the fronts and 200lb for the rears to try and get it balanced while being a little stiffer than stock, i'll drive that and see how it feels then decide from there whether it needs to go up or down!

[Dr Gneil Pipely]

I had a 2000 Defender 90 which had the JE Engineering handling kit - softer springs, thicker a/r bars and Koni dampers. This made a huge difference to the comfort - as the springs were softer - and to the handling which was transformed - much more at one with the road surface (the vehicle was also lowered by 25mm). Great for on-road use, but running 18" Pirelli Scorpion Zero tyres I wasn't concerned about any deleterious effect on the off-road capability.

No Land Rover has left the factory with decent damping, so any half-decent aftermarket make will be an improvement. I've used Bilsteins on another vehicle and they made a big difference too - slightly firmer feel but far better control over the changing road surface.

[davidfox123]

If you don't think it's the shocks then disconnect them and see what difference it makes - don't drive like this though! Mine was really soft until I put on new standard spec ones. It's better but still way too stiff (OOH Matron!)

[EdF]

I had a 2000 Defender 90 which had the JE Engineering handling kit - softer springs, thicker a/r bars and Koni dampers. This made a huge difference to the comfort - as the springs were softer - and to the handling which was transformed - much more at one with the road surface (the vehicle was also lowered by 25mm). Great for on-road use, but running 18" Pirelli Scorpion Zero tyres I wasn't concerned about any deleterious effect on the off-road capability.

No Land Rover has left the factory with decent damping, so any half-decent aftermarket make will be an improvement. I've used Bilsteins on another vehicle and they made a big difference too - slightly firmer feel but far better control over the changing road surface.

Interesting replies.. The springs which were on the front were the originals and I replaced them with a softer cheap pair from Paddocks which are better but the damping seems suspect as the wheels tend to bounce after hitting bumps. I put softer springs on the back but had to replace them with the original ones as I now tow an avatar trailer with a heavy noseweight and even solo the ride height dropped too much. I've ordered the black Bilsteins from MM4x4 (£155 inc. vat & carr. for a full set) - they say the yellows are (arrggh) heavy duty for offroad. The progressive springs sound interesting, who supplies them and would they be 'heavy duty?? I just did a search but only found a reference to OME ones. I checked out JE but all their full suspension mods are into 4 figures, too hot for me, though I wouldn't mind a suspension height drop. I'll post again when the Bilsteins are on..

[EdF]

Just been for a brief 5 mile spin after putting the new Bilsteins on. A very good improvement, even the trouble and strife was impressed and said it was money well spent.. Now, bumps are truly 'absorbed' which they weren't before and the motor has a much better 'feel' to it. Had to replace a front turret 'ring', the thing with the four captive bolts which goes on top of the spring to hold the turret down. They now come with, wait for it, METRIC threads!! I used the 'black' Bilsteins (road use) from MM4x4 at £152 inc. vat & carriage for all four. Best 'good make' gas damper deal I could find.

[OilIT]

interesting ^^^^

I have a LR special vehicles ex Royal Mail 90, and compared to my previous the springing is quite a bit harder - I assumed that this was just because it wasnt so 'tired', but now reading this I am wondering if the special vehicles spec included modified springs.??

[EdF]

interesting ^^^^

I have a LR special vehicles ex Royal Mail 90, and compared to my previous the springing is quite a bit harder - I assumed that this was just because it wasnt so 'tired', but now reading this I am wondering if the special vehicles spec included modified springs.??

Personally, I think the 'Special Vehicles' badge is a bit misleading as many seemingly 'ordinary' Landys have it on the back, but no doubt someone else will know otherwise. Perhaps it denotes a non-standard vehicle, but I don't really know.. I believe that all standard 90's have the same suspension whatever the body type (hardtop, pickup, County, etc.), however, perhaps you're right. See if the springs still have a colour code (daubs of paint in a vertical line down every coil), then you can check if they're standard or not using the spring table at http://members.shaw.ca/jbarge/springinfo.html . There's also the question, 'how long does a standard Landy spring & shock absorber last?' The shockers on mine weren't leaking but I think they were knackered after 40,000 miles and 6 years. Also, the springs lose their boing after a few years, depending on usage. The most comfortable 90 I ever owned as far as suspension is concerned was a 1987 V8 County, but I think it was only because all the bushes were shot! That led me to believe that Countys were sprung differently, but I was wrong. I won't be looking for any other springs, I'm quite happy now with the ride. The springs I have on are standard rears and NRC2119 'green' on the front, which are Disco TDi/early RR HD 150lbs rating. Cheap as chips (£9) from Paddocks. It's difficult relying on the opinions of others, sometimes you just have to try something out and if it's not right for you, try something else! We're planning some very long trips on the road and I feel this set-up is right for that, for us..