Suspension advice please for overland trip to China

[Graham]

I see you are planning to enter China.
You are aware of the massive tour guide costs ?
Not a simple procedure, and does take several months to arrange.

Gra

 

[Dave2000]

I see you are planning to enter China.
You are aware of the massive tour guide costs ?
Not a simple procedure, and does take several months to arrange.

Gra

Not going there myself, I did not know it was such a chore to arrange, by the sound of it if you get it wrong it has the potential to really screw your journey plans.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave2000]

Just a thought and seeing mentioned on another thread, if the stock suspension is ok....ish for the load, can airbags or air shock absorbers be used on the 80 to good effect?

Many years ago I used to drag race a V8 Granada, I used to get some weird looks in the petrol garage as I put the fuel nozzle in the boot and filled the fuel cell, and the air line to the Monroe air valve behind the petrol flap where the fuel should go!

So for comfort/versatility would/could this not be the answer?

regards

Dave

 

[Daan]

@ Graham: You are very right about cost and lengthy organization when entering China with your own ride. So, just for the China-part of our travels, we will be teaming up with a group of 6 cars.

As for our suspension: we have decided for, not yet bought, Koni Heavy Tracks (not Raids). As we are not going to push our LC to the max for the relatively small parts of off roading we'll do.

Any tips on where to score good prices online? Will search the forum for it too.

 

[MikesVX80]

As for our suspension: we have decided for, not yet bought, Koni Heavy Tracks (not Raids). As we are not going to push our LC to the max for the relatively small parts of off roading we'll do.

What made you choose those, Daan? I have similar requirements and have decided on the EFS shocks and springs, so just wondering what swayed you towards the Koni's.

Cheers!

 

[Dave2000]

Just a FYI, today the cement I mentioned earlier in the thread had to be moved from the dry garage to elsewhere in the garden. I decided to measure the suspension movement before and after the bags were loaded. My car is totally stock in the suspension/wheel areas AFAIK.

Before

Top of rim to lowest point of wheel arch

31.5 cm right rear

30.5 cm left side.

front right 26.5

front left 26.0

Loaded 250 kg across the space where the rear seats would normally be (removed at the moment)

Right rear 27.5

Left rear 26.5

Front right 26,5

Front left 26.0

I was about to think the 1 cm difference was for the driver and then remembered the fuel tank was close to empty. Later in the afternoon I filled to the brim and it took 80.66 litres

Right rear 30 cm
Left rear 30 cm
Right front 26 cm
Left front 26 cm

In other words the car sits all square when full of fuel.

The bags were about 3/4 inches forward of the tailgate, unsure of the size allowed for attaching pics so will bung a couple in and see what happens.

Had to save the effort carrying up the stairs right?

regards

Dave

 

[Daan]

What made you choose those, Daan? I have similar requirements and have decided on the EFS shocks and springs, so just wondering what swayed you towards the Koni's.

Cheers!

Koni's have a very good reputation and are easy to buy in The Netherlands. EFS I havent come cross yet

 

[Gary Stockton]

I've noticed Koni's for sale at pretty good prices on eBay, Daan

 

[Ikemci]

We run Dobinson on our bull catchers haven't broken them yet and ride we'll probably better out there but value for money I haven't found better

 

[chapel gate]

Just this morning I picked up 10 25kg bags of cement in the LC so not quite to the weight of the OP. This was laid 4 wide across and then on top of each other in the area where the rearmost seats would normally be, of course I was only going to travel 4/5 kms but in all honesty I did not notice they were there. Only a few hundred yards up a river bed, again no test but I am going to stick to my guns on this, and state I would happily do any journey with 350 - 400 kg's WITHOUT modifying the suspension rates.

sort of what I was trying to say, my motor has no 2nd or 3rd row seats, it doesn't carry 5 people in the back. theres a fair bit of weight missing there, there is also provisions for a factory, 60kg when full, sub tank. so if you don't want a lift there will be a factory option that would be suitable for most loads.

 

[Bat21]

Koni's have a very good reputation and are easy to buy in The Netherlands. EFS I havent come cross yet

Daan, most of my 80's annual mileage is done in Morocco with approximately 80% of it off road.

I have run stock suspension and OME suspension but after a lot of research, and also advice here, I have just ordered a set of EFS coils and shocks from Oz.

Send Blown80 a message here and see what he can do for you.

 

[pberrey]

My two cents: i have an ironman 3" lift on my lc80 and it rides very nicely on the road and flexes as well as the antiroll bars will allow it offroad but the finish isn't great. I'd probably buy OME next time around. That reminds me, I must throw those stupid ARBs away. There ends my experience with LC suspension.

I have used OME, Koni (both +2") and Terrafirma (+5") on a 110 double cab, a range rover classic and a 90 trayback respectively. I've also had several sets of the cheap white brand that went bust but I cant remember what they were called. I particularly like terrafirma spring rates and the silver paint was a decent finish.

The best finished shocks were the Konis by far but all three performed well and i never broke a (good quality) shock or spring. Its not the end of the world if the finish is bad, you just paint them when you are doing the chassis.

I would recommend something common so i could get replacements on the road and take spares if i was paranoid about it. Its definitely an area where quality counts and condition (aka age) is probably more important that specification. When I replace the shocks and springs on my LC I will probably go with a +2" OME setup because there is plenty of knowledge out there about which spring rates to use for your setup but don't neglect your bushes and track rod ends.


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[Mojo]

Hi Daan/Mike,
I have actually done that road trip a few years back..driving from Hong Kong to Portugal through China/Mongolia/Russia..and down through Western Europe. I know the roads (?) well.
I wasn't lucky enough to be driving a Landcruiser..I had a trusty 92 Dual Cab Hilux with leaf springs...PM me for all sorts of details.

 

[fridayman]

I think I' ll may go for Koni, OME or Terrain Tamers. These have been recommended by different specialist in The Netherlands I have spoken to. Raising the car doesn't seem necessary, but changing the springs together with the suspension seems to come recommended. Since the springs are 20 years old probably wise

Of those 3 options, the Konis are head and shoulders above the other 2. The reason more people don't fit them is purely because they are so expensive (although you might be able to get them for a reasonable price in the Netherlands). For the trip you would probably be OK with the other 2, but the Konis will still be in good condition when you get back. You will also most likely build up your confidence offroad as you go along and I suspect that the more you get away from tar, the more you will like it. Of the 3 brands the Koni's will also take the longest to overheat offroad - when shocks/dampers overheat they lose their damping ability which results in loss of control, comfort and most important severe loss of braking in an emergency. We had a couple of close calls before I figured this out for myself. Cows/horses/camels/goats/dogs often stray onto the road in less developed areas, so having brakes is quite important.

If you decide to lift the truck, for overlanding more than a 2" lift isn't considered to give enough additional benefit for the handling that you sacrifice (due to raised centre of gravity). I don't have an 80, so someone else can comment, but a 2" lift may help with tyre clearance with your 285's at full articulation.

 

[John.Thome.2BWild]

If you know you will be travelling 35000km with a 350kg constant load with a very large portion of the roads in what Europeans consider to be in terrible condition (trust me, see my link), it would make sense to have a suspension set up biased to a 350kg load. This will significant improve handling, ride comfort, safety and improve reliability of said suspension components.

I agree 100% with Rob.
Having just fitted OME in September I am over the moon with its performance, especially after our recent trip over extremely harsh roads along the SA Wild Coast.

 

[Gary Stockton]

And having said that - did you see the totally destroyed 4 month old OME shocksvon LCCSA site?? Suspect initial torque wrong though. Some of those bushes have actually melted ...

 

[Gary Stockton]

This is what they look like after a fairly hectic 2-week trip. Not good ....

 

[Chris]

What's nice about the EFS lower mounts is that the rubber is bonded in there like a radius arm. The centre has a bush in it of course. They push fit (tap tap) onto the spigot and then you bolt them up as normal. There is no room for movement at all and the bolt really is just a stopper rather than it providing any pressure against the bush. What would happen if it went? Well same as if any bush went I guess, you would stick some new bushes in, but for these I suppose you'd have to put standard split ones in. Thing is they are huge and not sure they're going to fail that quickly.

 

[Julian Voelcker]

Always worth looking at these in context. It looks like the shocks have over heated, probably because the springs weren't man enough for the load resulting in excessive stain on the bush.

Do you have more details on the spec of the truck and suspension setup?

This is what they look like after a fairly hectic 2-week trip. Not good ....

View attachment 18027View attachment 18028

 

[Gary Stockton]

Was a 100 series with uprated springs and torsion bars. Heavily loaded on very very bad roads