Anyone dealt with Autocraft (Geelong) recently?

[Stuey80 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Stuey80]

Hi folks.
I just wanted to know if anyone has had any recent dealings with Autocraft in Geelong? I was reading up on suspension upgrades for the 120 Prado and there were numerous bits of praise for the Bilstein/Ridepro combination sold by Autocraft. There were also numerous helpful posts made by Darren from Autocraft, but from what I can tell, the last post made by Autocraft was a few years back which leads me to believe they are no longer an active PradoPoint member. Due to my work situation and time difference given I live in a different state, I haven't been able to call Autocraft during their office hours to discuss purchasing a kit. As a result, I have sent off no less than 3 emails and 3 Facebook messages (obviously all out of hours) to try and obtain info (i.e. freight costs, spring rates, if suited to my vehicle weight with accessories etc). I was also interested in the Icon Dynamics suspension they are agents for and for info on this. I've been patiently waiting over a month for any info and I have only received one acknowledgement message to say "your request is in my list of things to do." That was two weeks ago. Looks like I'll need to take a day off work just so I can call these guys during work hours.

I just find this level of customer service very disappointing and also makes me question what after sales service might be like. I know as a consumer, I'm free to take my money elsewhere. Great if you can find another means to buy the same product. I've considered OME, TJM, Dobinson, a Tough Dog, Superior Engineering stuff, Kings etc etc but the consensus is the Ridepro/Bilstein combo will give the ride characteristics I'm after.

I guess ultimately what I want to know, from people's dealings, is it worth sticking with trying to get stuff from Autocraft or is this company now run by Cowboys with no sense of customer service, now or after sales? Anyone bought recently and been happy with the experience?

Thanks
Stuart.

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

but from what I can tell, the last post made by Autocraft was a few years back which leads me to believe they are no longer an active PradoPoint member. .

I think there is a difference between no longer being an active PP member and being banned, though I cannot recall the story behind it.

[leachy_9 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close leachy_9]

Stuart,

I've been buying gear from Daz at Autocraft for the last 6 years and he has always been notoriously hard to get hold of but I have persisted because he knows his stuff and sells good products. The end result has always been great but it has taken a fair bit to get there!
Since your in Perth try Ultimate 4WDin Bibra Lake, they are the WA agents for Auto-craft.

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

Darren from Autocraft concentrates his efforts on FJ's (or did so up to 6 months ago, since then I have not had any facebook contact with him). He was a member of PP, but now gravitates to other forums. There was a precious moment a few years ago where as I understand (and may be wrong) he was the first to remove ALL his posts which caused an uproar. I recall it was because he says his life was threatened??? Now Darren is no small feeble character take or leave that explanation. There was no love lost between PP and Darren.

I have dealt with him through Total Traction Tyres in Adelaide that has a strong relationship with Autocraft as he offered one of the first solutions to the Grande lift problem. The solution was good for its time and indeed involved Bilsteins and Ridepro. I also got my first set of rock sliders under his brand but they were ultimately not fit for purpose so AJ modified them. They are now fine.

Darren/Autocraft do offer quality products such as Icon and the like. Leachy's summary is correct, although my personal take is he is knowledgeable, generally sells quality product but is a little too opinionated and his passion is directly linked to profit margins. Then again, others (a lot of others) will say I too suffer from being opinionated so it may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

[Stuey80 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Stuey80]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Your answers have put it all in to perspective a little better. And thanks for the tip about Ultimate 4wd in Bibra Lake. I'll see how I get on with them. It's just been frustrating so far because I've been prepared to spend a decent amount on suspension and when making an investment like that as such, you expect a little service and want reassurance that the product being purchased is going to be supported further down the track. Knowledge is power and all that so I just wanted a little feedback from here to draw a better picture.
Many thanks.

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

Then again, others (a lot of others) will say I too suffer from being opinionated so it may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Do you use White Knight or Hi Temp?

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

Darren from Autocraft concentrates his efforts on FJ's (or did so up to 6 months ago, since then I have not had any facebook contact with him). He was a member of PP, but now gravitates to other forums. There was a precious moment a few years ago where as I understand (and may be wrong) he was the first to remove ALL his posts which caused an uproar. I recall it was because he says his life was threatened??? Now Darren is no small feeble character take or leave that explanation. There was no love lost between PP and Darren.

Just for clarity, you have that 180 degrees the wrong way round!

Cheers andrew

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Just for clarity, you have that 180 degrees the wrong way round!

x2

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

Just for clarity, you have that 180 degrees the wrong way round!

Cheers andrew

x2

Are you saying no love lost between Darren and PP? It takes two parties to love so why do i have to say it that way? If just one party loves and the other doesn't its not love, it stalking, at least that's what the lady judge told me......

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hey Stuart,

The original Bilstein 712/713/Ridepro combo sold by Autocraft is not appropriate suspension to use in a lifted Prado.

The 712/713 Bilsteins are far too short in travel, and should only ever be used to replace factory struts/shocks when keeping factory coils.

Best

Mark

[Stuey80 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Stuey80]

Hey Stuart,

The original Bilstein 712/713/Ridepro combo sold by Autocraft is not appropriate suspension to use in a lifted Prado.

The 712/713 Bilsteins are far too short in travel, and should only ever be used to replace factory struts/shocks when keeping factory coils.

Best

Mark

Hi Mark,

I found your post intriguing. Does this mean to say these 713/713 Bilsteins are the shocks they still use with this kit or has this been identified and a new combination used? I'm going to pop in to Ultimate 4wd this week sometime to discuss with them.

[oceanracer Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close oceanracer]

I wouldn't wait that long for a reply, there's plenty of other people who will reply and help with what you want.

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hi Mark,

I found your post intriguing. Does this mean to say these 713/713 Bilsteins are the shocks they still use with this kit or has this been identified and a new combination used? I'm going to pop in to Ultimate 4wd this week sometime to discuss with them.

Hey Stuey,

The travel on a front 712 strut is 427-553 = 126mm, compared with factory 420-540 = 120mm.

The open length of 553mm is quite short, and if you lift the Prado with this strut, you will have minimal droop and constant top-out of the strut, detailed on many occasions with short Bilsteins and other struts, see here for how lift, droop and open length of the strut are related;

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...-Prado-120-IFS

Even with 1" of lift, 712 struts will still regularly top-out.

The situation with 713 shocks in the rear is worse, 368-580 = 212mm, compared with 356-575 = 219mm factory. There is actually less travel with the Bilstein 713 compared to factory.

Now keep in mind Autocraft sold a lot of 712/713 Bilsteins with Ridepro coils that gave lifts of 2", meaning typically less than 50mm droop on the front end, with many figures reported in the 30-40mm range.

As I stated, 712/713's should not be used in lifted Prados.

Best

Mark

[Stuey80 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Stuey80]

Thanks again guys. And those figures Mark, all make perfect sense. There is so much suspension information out there it can be a little overwhelming. I was drawn to the Autocraft kit based on people's description of the resulting ride, in that there was good lift without resulting in a harsh ride. But I understand how those open and closed lengths are not ideal and would cause serious compromise. Is there an alternative combination of Bilstein shocks that would provide better lengths whilst used in conjunction with the Ridepro coils? I ask the question here, but I'm also off to search though the forum history but may get lost in there for days....
I'll also look and see ig Bilstein has a user friendly website.

[Whitey Shockie Maker of the Month Award Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey]

Hey Stuey,

Unfortunately there's not any easy solutions when it comes to Bilsteins with appropriate lengths for 120's.

A budget Bilstein solution is 5100/5160, which several users are running. These lengths are much better than 712/713.

User 8608 (Steve) is trialing custom length Bilsteins on his 120, but I'm not sure where/how he had these made.

I would avoid CalOffroad at all costs, they are highly troublesome and elusive to deal with.

The best place to start your research is the suspension database;

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...nsion-Database

Good luck!

Mark