Dobinsons and ? on an HZJ78

[gilghana]

Hi guys,
been considering uprating the suspension on my 78 to deal better with big expedition loads. Have ended up going for Dobinsons heavy duty for the rear and eibach coils on the front with a slight lift but no real increase in weight (no winch or bar on the front and no intention of fitting). Now I know it is a bit late, but would be interested in opinions of Dobinsons Vs OME/TJM...

However I have yet to decide on what shocks to fit so would be interested in mudders' coments? Expedition use, so articulation is not my prime consideration, but rather longevity/possibly being able to rebuild. Konis spring to mind but what else you reckon?
Gil

 

[tlcruiserman]

Hi guys,
been considering uprating the suspension on my 78 to deal better with big expedition loads. Have ended up going for Dobinsons heavy duty for the rear and eibach coils on the front with a slight lift but no real increase in weight (no winch or bar on the front and no intention of fitting). Now I know it is a bit late, but would be interested in opinions of Dobinsons Vs OME/TJM...

However I have yet to decide on what shocks to fit so would be interested in mudders' coments? Expedition use, so articulation is not my prime consideration, but rather longevity/possibly being able to rebuild. Konis spring to mind but what else you reckon?
Gil

I can tell you that the Dobinsons shocks are from another vendor than the OME. Basically there ends up being only a few builders of shocks in the world not sure the names but is seems you end up with one from Asia, and one from Europe. The Dobinsons are a little more money and are the ones from Europe. I can tell you that is you compare OME to Dobinsons the valving will be more from OME but the Dobinsons will last longer.

I say this from experience in owning both and being a dealer for Dobinsons. I will say that in some cases for wheeling the OME (and others like them) do a better job with multi-stage valving, however they seem to not last as long and start to rust much sooner than the Dobinsons.

Dobinsons does not have the more elaborate valving but most certainly has the better casing and they last longer. Here is a picuture of a set wher they have the stronger end mounts on a pair of big bore shocks for a 75/79 series Pickup.

All of that being said, most of this is a matter of preference on shocks, most all of the ones you by these days will be fine for anything you are doing.

for expedition which in my difintion is more on road than off road, however the road quality will vary greatly, so I treat it as trailer riding on a level 1 trail I personally like the dobinsons over ther OME. I am sure there are other choices out there as well.

I hope this helps somewhat.

Cheers,

Michael

 

[hzj73sal]

I think that the TJM shocks are just to hard for road running unless you have some serious loads you going to carry, If you are going to be doing a long distances on bouncy roads. I like the ride comfort of the OME's (I think it a 14 or 19 stage valving system) I have OME suspension on my rig for about 4 years now and have not failed me yet... and live In Sri Lanka where all major roads are like camp trails. cant beat the comfort factor of a OME shock.. and this is my daily driver.