Upgrade Shock Absosvers

[CR88]

Hi,

I would like to know what are the best solutions in order to improve the shock absorvers for the Series?

Do you have anything in mind?

Regards,

[Rich_P]

The original type do the job well enough for a standard setup. What is it that you want them to do that the original type cannot?

[CR88]

The original type do the job well enough for a standard setup. What is it that you want them to do that the original type cannot?

a longer travel and more stiffness without compromising "confort" lol

But mainly more travel; any solution available in the market???

[Rich_P]

Changing the dampers won't guarantee increased articulation. I think you may find the biggest problem is the leaf springs need lubrication, or if they are blowing apart from rust then complete dismantling and reassembly.

But why would you want to increase the rigidity of the suspension? Surely that counteracts the desire for articulation? The two don't go together very well.

[David Sparkes]

I'm going to guess that the request for 'more stiffness' is because the springs are, or appear to be, bottoming out.

This might be a mis-diagnosis, in that the real problem is that the springs have flattened, thus not having the required movement available.

You may be able to find a local specialist who can strip, clean, re-temper, and reset the springs for you for less cost than buying new springs, especially from the UK (Unless you can offer a holiday location to a UK based LR enthusiast, prepared to carry springs as hand luggage :-))

If you are looking for a UK source, be advised that Paddock Spares have changed spring suppliers, the ones they sell now seem to be OK, whereas the ones they used to sell had a reputation for going soft rather rapidly.

I can't advise on your actual question, re longer travel shock absorbers. I can only suggest going for new standard models, soft on bump, stiffer on rebound.

Good Luck.

[FridgeFreezer]

Can you tell us a bit more about the car, the suspension setup, what you're doing with it and why you want longer shocks?

Shock suppliers are all the usual names, generally you can specify length and ends, or cross-reference from another application.

Conventional ProComp come in all flavours up to silly travel, ES1000 will be softest, ES9000 hardest. They are all cheap, OK for general use but don't stand up to heavy use - high speeds over bumpy terrain will cook them.

Next step is decent makes like Bilstein and Old Man Emu which will put up with more abuse but aren't available in as many lengths (I wanted some OME's for my 109 but they don't have anything in 14" travel, or so they told me)

Beyond that it's proper money.

[Soren Frimodt]

I've actually found the DeCarbon shocks to very good. Both on Series and Defender. had Bilsteins on my last 110", and even though I had them exchanged for yet another pair of brand new ones, they couldn't stop the rearend from bouncing around. That was until I fitted DeCarbon. Problem solved.

[CR88]

Can you tell us a bit more about the car, the suspension setup, what you're doing with it and why you want longer shocks?

Shock suppliers are all the usual names, generally you can specify length and ends, or cross-reference from another application.

Conventional ProComp come in all flavours up to silly travel, ES1000 will be softest, ES9000 hardest. They are all cheap, OK for general use but don't stand up to heavy use - high speeds over bumpy terrain will cook them.

Next step is decent makes like Bilstein and Old Man Emu which will put up with more abuse but aren't available in as many lengths (I wanted some OME's for my 109 but they don't have anything in 14" travel, or so they told me)

Beyond that it's proper money.

hi,

Disco 2 98 axles on parabolic springs.

As fas as I know the biggest limitation in axle articulation are the shock absorvers. I would like to have the same setup in terms of brackets so far.

Bilstein is good idea, because I really have a very nice and strong opinion about this brand. Do you know where I can find?

Cheers

[mickeyw]

Parabolics ceratainly seem to give more flex I must agree, so I can see why you want longer shocks. I had Procomp Explorer ES3000, I think, on my 88" soft top with parabolics, this was what the spring supplier had recommended. I'm afraid I can't remember what length they were, other than 'longer than standard'. I found the ride to be very harsh with this setup, virtually no body roll, but I think that was mostly due to the lack of weight high up (i.e. no roof).

I have used ES3000 on my Ninety as well. They were waaaay too soft for that, absolutely horrible to tow with and didn't last very long at all. I previously ran de Carbons, and that's what I'm back with now.