Pat Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 has any one fitted parabolic springs to a LWB heavy station wagon. which ones are any good? which ones are to avoid? are they worth the exra money??? I was considering fitting normal leaf springs as mine are knackered but due to all the negative press i have my doubts. any ideas or comments??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leaf Sprung Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Hi Pat I have not fitted them to my SIII but all the feed back here in NZ is that you might as well fit standed springs and new shock to your truck, as even with the parabolics you have to fit new shok's and the old leafys are cheaper here but it is OTY.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 Hi Pat I have not fitted them to my SIII but all the feed back here in NZ is that you might as well fit standed springs and new shock to your truck, as even with the parabolics you have to fit new shok's and the old leafys are cheaper here but it is OTY.. Thanks for the reply. i have had heavy duty 8 leaf springs on mine for a long time about 15 years or so. they have been great but are now knackered. Over here i am struggling to find a supplier of springs that people can recommend. Some have had very bad press. Has any one used GME springs?11 standard leaf or parabolic ones, are they any good?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I fitted parabolics to my old 109, and was very pleased with the difference. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 24, 2009 Author Share Posted August 24, 2009 I fitted parabolics to my old 109, and was very pleased with the difference. Les. thanks for the reply, what make were they??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 I bought a set from Bearmach, which came with blue polys. The polys were rubbish and lasted a year before they were replaced with standard items. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I have TIConsole (Heystee) parabolics on my very heavy 109. They're about 12 years old now, but have not sagged. I'm very pleased with them, but they're damned expensive. Rocky Mountain are a good brand at much more reasonable prices. As said, you need a kit with new gas dampers and new U-bolts (the original bolts will be too long). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriebil.dk Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Hi Pat I have been having the same search for the right springs for 8 years now. but for my 88". which i bought in 2001, with a small lean to the drives side. over the years it became the lowest 88" in Denmark - the springs were more straight than curved, almost starting to go the other way up but i just couldn't find the right ones, having the money, etc... I have tried Rocky M. 2 leaf front and 3. leaf rear in a 88" - very hard and bounchy. I know several 109 STW, with heavy loads/ caravans running TIC 2 or 3 leaf front and 4 leaf back, which have more than 8 years of hard off road driving on their backs. Well i finally bought a set of Heystee 2 leaf front and 3 leaf rear for my 88", and what a chance. its as comfy as a 90", and the raise is about 4-5 inchs at the moment. on the other hand i have heard story after story about cheap spring banged together with chinese farmers steel, braking, sagging, not lasting more than 4 weeks etc. My advise - spend the money on the real deal and enjoy, spend them on the cheap S*** and end up spending them twice or more. before and now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cartman Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Just fitted a set of Rocky Mountain parrots to the 109 1 tonne chassis. As yet it hasn't moved on it's own power so I can't tell you how they ride yet Two leaf fronts and 3 leaf rears. Price wise they are more than Bearmach and deffo more than the P'docks offering but reasonable none the less. Previously had TI Console/Heytsee for 9 years on the SWB S3 and never had any problems with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroppy Cow Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Just fitted a set of Rocky Mountain parrots to the 109 1 tonne chassis. As yet it hasn't moved on it's own power so I can't tell you how they ride yet Two leaf fronts and 3 leaf rears. Price wise they are more than Bearmach and deffo more than the P'docks offering but reasonable none the less. Previously had TI Console/Heytsee for 9 years on the SWB S3 and never had any problems with them. Are Ti console still trading??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Are Ti console still trading??? TI Console now trades as Heystee, same people involved AFAIK. I fitted TIC parabolics to my 88" many years back (2 leaf front and 2 leaf rears)and I have to say I was disappointed. I also fitted Pro Comp gas shocks as advised. Parts were supplied through Chris Perfect Components although I'm not sure they're still in business. On-road the ride was just way too hard and unforgiving. Off road they did seem to offer more articulation, but this was probably down to the longer shocks. Expensive suspension IMO, but that's just my experience. Others seem far happier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherm Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 has any one fitted parabolic springs to a LWB heavy station wagon. which ones are any good? which ones are to avoid? are they worth the exra money??? I was considering fitting normal leaf springs as mine are knackered but due to all the negative press i have my doubts. any ideas or comments??? I've put Rover North ones on mine with pro comp 9000s shocks. Its a difference of night and day... I love it and the little lift I got was great! The truck sits level and I'm very very pleased! Its a 109 safari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cartman Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 TI Console now trades as Heystee, same people involved AFAIK.I fitted TIC parabolics to my 88" many years back (2 leaf front and 2 leaf rears)and I have to say I was disappointed. I also fitted Pro Comp gas shocks as advised. Parts were supplied through Chris Perfect Components although I'm not sure they're still in business. On-road the ride was just way too hard and unforgiving. Off road they did seem to offer more articulation, but this was probably down to the longer shocks. Expensive suspension IMO, but that's just my experience. Others seem far happier. CP is out of business AFAIK. I also bought the CP parrots when he was the sole agent along with a full set of Pro-Comps. I put up with the front end's crashing ride for 8 years until one eagle eyed LOT bod spotted that I had two different from shocks. One Pro-comp was far too short and was bottoming out. Fitted a new pair of the correct ones (direct from Pro-Comp) and it was an amazing difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Romour has it, British Springs are now out of business, although i havent looked, and now the only source of quality para's in this country is Rocky Mountain.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I fitted TI's and Pro Comps to my S1 about 6 years ago before shipping the beast to Cyprus. I have also extended the top shock mounts above the chassis to stop them bottoming, overall the set up is great and rides well on or off road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicks90 Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 on my lwb s2a i stuck with standard lwb rear springs and treated them to some teflon lubricant. It rode much better than any other lwb with or without parabolic springs and still retained the load carrying capability. Paras i dont think are quite as good as they make out, afterall you are comparing them to the knackered rusted up springs you've just taken off!!! A good set of standard springs with adequate inter-leaf friction reducer (grease and wrapped with greased bandages, teflon spray, teflon pads, motorbike chain lube etc) will perform just as well and cost alot less. Plus you'll probably suffer less problems later on with snapped leafs or spring wrap that most people with paras tend to complain about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 on my lwb s2a i stuck with standard lwb rear springs and treated them to some teflon lubricant. It rode much better than any other lwb with or without parabolic springs and still retained the load carrying capability. Paras i dont think are quite as good as they make out, afterall you are comparing them to the knackered rusted up springs you've just taken off!!! A good set of standard springs with adequate inter-leaf friction reducer (grease and wrapped with greased bandages, teflon spray, teflon pads, motorbike chain lube etc) will perform just as well and cost alot less. Plus you'll probably suffer less problems later on with snapped leafs or spring wrap that most people with paras tend to complain about. I was waiting for someone to mention spring wrap. I suspect those who are happy with their Paras are mainly of the touring persuasion as opposed to the mountain goat religeon.For the latter IMO paras make an already poor front suspension design even worse, and I agree with your advice on fitting and maintaining multi leaf springs. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoggyN Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I was waiting for someone to mention spring wrap. I suspect those who are happy with their Paras are mainly of the touring persuasion as opposed to the mountain goat religeon. I can't say that spring wrap has been a noticable problem on my S1. I'm happy with them... although IMHO their ride enhancing qualities are vastly overstated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general-confusion Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have Rocky mountains on my 109 and found them very hard and bouncy with very little improvement over the standard springs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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