Suspension ideas

[Ibeecken Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Ibeecken]

G'day people,
I bought a 120 series couple yrs back, since then ive managed to add a bar,winch, lights, secondary battery, roof rack and a few other bits and pieces. With this extra weight especially on the front end I want to beef up the suspension, not necessarily raise it although a bit probably wouldn't hurt. I'm trying to figure out what is the best combo and value for money out there... I would appreciate any thoughts/ideas
thanks in advance

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

There are many many good options out there for a lift kit.
It will come down to budget and what you need from it.
Let me know if you need any help with parts or just advice.

Kind regards, Jason.

[DJD120GXL Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close DJD120GXL]

sounds similar to mine and Ive been looking at the same. still yet to decide but im looking at bilsteins and dobbinsons most probably, seems a popular choice.
A lot of people go for OME (old man emu) from ARB too, check the suspension database as it can show you the before and after heights for front and rear, the other questions I would be asking is where you are located, do you want to install yourself etc. a small lift wont make heaps of difference if you are already carrying weight as its probably sagged a bit already. just standard stuff, I certainly dont know heaps about it myself... check this thread too, lots of questions, answers and some how to stuff if your into that..

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...o-a-2inch-Lift

[Ibeecken Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Ibeecken]

Thanks for the replies guys, Ive got time on my side thankfully so plenty of time to do some research, I was just after some starting points at the moment. I'll definately be doing it myself after the disgrace we just found going over the bullbar and the wiring coming from it, i aint trusting others to do work I can do on my own again

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

That's a big call to make that all others internals are different, intended to mean "inferior"
Of course they are all different for each manufacturer, but worse?

Regards, Jason.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I'm with Jason on this. I wouldn't put OME in the top three or five for outright performance. Good value for money for sure, just like the TJM gear I have in the Prado (OME in the C-ute and our old 120) but I have used Fox, Ohlins, KYB, Koni and Bilstein off road racing and these are just better all up in my opinion. Ohlins especially but cost is significant.

[Guest Close Guest]

Reiger and MCA and Ohlins are what we run in our various vehicles, top 3 I would say. But you pay for that too.

[REN470 Member Find all posts View Profile Close REN470]

these are just better all up in my opinion.

I think this is the key phrase - in your opinion. Not that I'm saying your wrong but it is so subjective that what one person considers the best another may not. I've had OME and thought it was ok for the money and I was offered some Ohlins for free by a mate who was trading in his vehicle, they only had 2k on them and to be honest I couldn't feel any discernible advantage (at twice the price had I paid), so I'm not saying they were better or worse just that I couldn't really tell. I'm looking at doing my Face lifted 150 now and I'll probably just go to OME again as it an off the self purchase with some options for equipment and weight of vehicle etc and I'll probably only keep the car for a few years unless they update to a new model earlier and it's a huge step up on what I have.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I think Brian was comparing OME to the other brands made at the same factory, not every other brand. One of the often quoted things about OME is that they are just Monroe's with a different colour paint, which Brian's post would seem to confirm is note case at all.

Cheers Andrew

[TurboD4D Member Find all posts View Profile Close TurboD4D]

I think Brian was comparing OME to the other brands made at the same factory, not every other brand. One of the often quoted things about OME is that they are just Monroe's with a different colour paint, which Brian's post would seem to confirm is note case at all.

Cheers Andrew

Hi Guys
I changed user name from Brian to TurboD4D. Yes I worked at the factory that made OME and other brands. Yes they are made the same way but NO they are not the same. The components that are used are different. Same quality yes. The Valving components are completely different to the Monroe Magnums and others Monroe make. The performance and design is different not just the paint. OME use a piston that controls oil flow on both compression and rebound were other only control rebound. leaving the cylinder end to control the compression. This gives OME Nitro Charger Sport a superior ride.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Hi Guys
I changed user name from Brian to TurboD4D. Yes I worked at the factory that made OME and other brands. Yes they are made the same way but NO they are not the same. The components that are used are different. Same quality yes. The Valving components are completely different to the Monroe Magnums and others Monroe make. The performance and design is different not just the paint. OME use a piston that controls oil flow on both compression and rebound were other only control rebound. leaving the cylinder end to control the compression. This gives OME Nitro Charger Sport a superior ride.

The 120's I have been in with ome, & tough dog dont ride as well as my 120 with DOBINSONS.
I think DOBINSONS are the best value for money.
I agree all the gear made where you did work is top quality & I would go with those brands before billies etc.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Originally I had Toughdog adjustables in the 120 and despite some negative comments here I thought they were good. Except I sheared the eye off one front strut. The quickest fix was to replace the whole lot with OME. Given the database here I was able to pick the equivalent system which I did. The damping (shocks) wasn't as controlled with the OME which is one reason why I considered the TJM Gold. Bear in mind there were some no so nice comments starting about the Bilsteins as well. A couple of PPers recommended the TJM Gold so that is what I installed. Very happy with it and the service back up from TJM. As for the Ohlins gear as I am sure Piggy will back this up off road racing is a different animal to a passenger 4wd and I doubt anyone would notice the difference between top shelf dampers at $x million to good middle of the road stuff for $ sensible. Reverse that and you find only the good stuff survives. We initially were running another high end brand on one of the racing cars, sponsors product and this replaced the Ohlins that were a couple of races old. Car was not handling well and the shocks were red hot during practice, so we swapped the Ohlins back on and problem solved. Likely wrong set up but the Ohlins were coping much better with the conditions. Horses for courses and certainly not enough benefit for me to even fantasise about running Ohlins on the Prado. Simply no point.

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Suspension, it's a bit like tyres & brakes.....
You put the best or dearest brand in & they work well, but only until the wear out.
It all wears out, even though the paint on the outside of the shock looks good.
Especially when used offroad, those corrugations.....what you think 100times more wear than a smooth bitumen use?????

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

Hi Guys
I changed user name from Brian to TurboD4D. Yes I worked at the factory that made OME and other brands. Yes they are made the same way but NO they are not the same. The components that are used are different. Same quality yes. The Valving components are completely different to the Monroe Magnums and others Monroe make. The performance and design is different not just the paint. OME use a piston that controls oil flow on both compression and rebound were other only control rebound. leaving the cylinder end to control the compression. This gives OME Nitro Charger Sport a superior ride.

Koni's use 2 completely stand alone sets of Valving in them to control the compression and rebound.
Bilstein and Tough Dog also run two way valving. Not many besides some commercial OE stuff that still runs one way nowadays.
BT-50's and Rangers from 06-11 did & we had to fit shock tower strengthening kits to them with every aftermarket install, as the tower was only designed to take load in one direction, not both.

Regards, Jason.

[Madkore Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Madkore]

I like my Bilstein and Kings combination because they look pretty under the car.