shocks and springs - LJ78

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A

Atom SA

Joined
May 11, 2013
Threads
2
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7
Location
johannesburg, south africa
Hi guys,

need part numbers and suggestions of which shocks and springs to fit. This is the EX5, so has coil springs all round - can't find anything in the catalogues locally, so if someone has bought and fitted, please post part numbers.... I'm just after standard springs and shocks (without the level sensors) but in OME or ....??
 
Where are you located? It would help us answer your question. Please update your location with at least your country.

I bought OME suspension for my LJ78. Medium springs and nitrocharger shocks. I also installed the OME steering damper and Whiteline castor correction bushings. Drives like a dream on the road, and wheels good too. Back sits a bit higher than the front, but once loaded or towing it all sits level. I have a thread somewhere with all the part numbers etc. Just do a search.
 
GTSSportCoupe said:
Where are you located? It would help us answer your question. Please update your location with at least your country.

I bought OME suspension for my LJ78. Medium springs and nitrocharger shocks. I also installed the OME steering damper and Whiteline castor correction bushings. Drives like a dream on the road, and wheels good too. Back sits a bit higher than the front, but once loaded or towing it all sits level. I have a thread somewhere with all the part numbers etc. Just do a search.
Click to expand...

Sorry for interrupting..

But is it comfortable from your set?I mean how would you feel if you pass on !"&*!&£* road with potholes and so on..is it comfortable/soft/too hard?
Any comment?

Im an RJ77 user anyway :)
 
AMDFusion said:
Sorry for interrupting..

But is it comfortable from your set?I mean how would you feel if you pass on !"&*!&£* road with potholes and so on..is it comfortable/soft/too hard?
Any comment?

Im an RJ77 user anyway :)
Click to expand...

Personally I find it rides very comfortable both on road and off road. I have driven on many logging roads with potholes and am able to comfortably travel quickly. The vehicle behaves well at highway speeds, and handles well. It also carrys a load well. With 1000lbs in the vehicle it sits level and looks good. The suspension may not travel/flex as much as some people would like for hardcore off road. But the truck has never let me down and goes where ever I ask.

Here are the OME part numbers I went with:
- Front Spring to 50kgs (30mm lift) - 2 x OME872
- Front Nitrocharger shock - 2 x N77
- Rear Spring Medium Load (40mm lift) - 2 x OME873
- Rear Nitrocharger shock - 2 x N79
- Steering Damper - OMESD24

The lift ends up being more than advertised.
 
Hi,

On this link you will find the explanation of my experiments and final setup on a KZJ73, same frame as yours, just shorter.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/699223-locker-should-i-give-my-lj78-3.html

Shocks for landrover defender or range rover are really the way. I have had the OME , long version, and they leaked after 2h of north African tracks and got one with broken lower rod up front.

OME were feeling good only at low speed, on a day of gentle off road trip.

That said, a friend recently got the OME sport, which seems much better than the old nitrocharger on tracks (but they still have the tiny stud on the lower end front and read). What ever you take, go for the long one, so much better in twist.

Today i would probably go for OME sport..for defender :-)
 
thanks guys - good input. i'm in sunny south africa :) where the roads also aren't so good. this isn't going to be for extreme offroad, but needs to be a setup good for allround.
 
@GTSSportCoupe: would i need the castor corrction bushes if i go with your setup? i've just bought all the standard bushes from Whiteline, as my trusty 4x4 guy here told me as long as the lift is standard, i wouldn't need the castor corrections bushes - but i'll order if you say i'll need - how many degrees correction must i get?
 
Atom SA said:
@GTSSportCoupe: would i need the castor corrction bushes if i go with your setup? i've just bought all the standard bushes from Whiteline, as my trusty 4x4 guy here told me as long as the lift is standard, i wouldn't need the castor corrections bushes - but i'll order if you say i'll need - how many degrees correction must i get?
Click to expand...

I drove for a year without the bushings, and the truck was a little bit twichy, but not bad. I have the bushings now, the steering is heavier, but more stable on the highway.
 
but that what's power steering is for!!!! :D nah, i think i'll order the castor corrections before I assemble everything - don't want to have to do that job again.
how much correction? - i think they do 2, 2.5 & 3degrees?
 
I am also in the market for some new springs. Right now I have a 40mm Ironman kit all around with their foam cells and some superpro 3 dgree castor bushes on my KZJ78 and it's time to get something else. I just learned that I can get Dobinsons springs for my truck about as easily as OME but I see there are several varieties of Dobinsons. I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts or opinions on Dobinsons. Is it better to go with their 45mm front/45mm rear kit or the super raised height 60mm front and 65mm rear? I see in their catalogue that they have "recommended" next to their +50kg 60mm coils for the front which makes me think maybe that's all the recommendation I need. If I went 60mm in the front it seems imperative that I go 65mm in the rear but I don't have experience with these things.

I do take the truck on trails a few times a year but mostly it's driven around 60kph on rough dirt roads (16km every day to work) and torn up mountain roads. I do not have a winch on the front yet but it is in the plans and I use a roof rack. I drive it empty about 75% of the time so I'm worried about getting something that's going to be really harsh. Does anyone here have experience with Dobinsons that would like to elaborate? Crushers, you seem to be a big fan of theirs, what is it you like so much about them?
 
you asked
this is my own experience, experiences by others may vary.
i found the quality of ride MUCH better than the OME that was on the other LJ78 AT THE SAME TIME. which means i could test the suspensions side by each.
Dob was smoother on road, smoother off road, both brands has good cornering characteristics.
both supplied shocks that were too short for my application.


leafs, i found the same with leafs, the Dob were smoother ride both on road and off.
cost, i found the Dob were cheaper to buy and shipping was a killer for both.

OME, you are buying the name.

sadly, the one complaint i had with Dob was trying to get someone on the phone. I have heard through the grapevine that they have been working on that.

now this all being said, i just reworked an OME leaf kit on a BJ40 and tweaked it to ride as nice as a coil suspension.
 
G'day all, I work at Dobinsons, so my opinion may be biased, I have worked for several suspension companies over the years and I have never liked OME. As crushers said you are buying the name.

Dobinsons dealer in SA is N1 4x4 they also have a distributer in the USA Dobinsons USA based in Miami, so people in Canada and USA can now contact the USA dealer for any questions.

AS for the 45mm vs 60-65mm lift, you will get a different feel with the bigger lift, one customer said that it took him a few weeks to get used to the on road driving as the kit is a little softer than the OME kit he had previously, but off road was in it's element.
 
Crushers, thanks for sharing your opinion. That's really helpful. I had no idea there was a Miami office so I'll try contacting them and see what I find. BTW I tried contacting Dobinsons through their website and got very quick responses that put me in contact with a distributor in the Philippines within a few hours of me asking. Seems like a very different experience than what guys have had in the past. I was impressed.
 
dabasscow, can you elaborate on the "different feel" you mentioned? Are the longer springs softer than the shorter ones? I'm running Iron Man springs on the truck and they are all I know so I'm curious also if you have heard comparisons to Iron Man springs. Just wondering what I'm getting myself into by going down the Dobinson road.

Also, do you know what the compressed and extended lengths of the long Dobinson shocks are that match the 65mm springs? I think they are PN GS59-633 and GS59-634. Thanks!
 
just a side note, i don't know which was which but it was a 2.5" lift that i installed on the LJ78.
no BS, i could jump the truck off road and it came down soft, i mean REALLY nice.
then i used the same kit on a LJ78 that i converted over to this:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/70-series-tech/327429-pzj78-truck-build.html?highlight=PZJ78
the PZ is heavier than the 2LTE
the bumper was heavier than stock
the 8274 is a heavy bugger of a winch
roof rack
bigger tires

and yet that same suspension was just as supple, just as enjoyable. i sold that truck to a gent in Alberta and as far as i know, the suspension is still holding up fine.

the OME kit couldn't take the abuse, simple as that.

<damn, maybe i should become a dealer for Dob. ;) >
 
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