Shocks.

[Alec Jardine]

Hey good people.
So I'm a tool guy and I like to buy decent tools.
I dont feel the need to buy super high end eg Festool , Hilti but dont buy rubbish either,
So most of my gear is Makita which I'm generally pretty happy with.
So I'm needing to get a set of shocks for the D22 and wanting to buy a Makita level of of gear.
Its a daily driver and I keep most of the load I carry about in the trailer so the tub is pretty much empty most of the time.
So I dont need Bilsteins and dont want rubbish either.
So hopefully someone can recommend a decent shock at a sensible price that I could hopefully buy off the shelf in SA.
Thanks

 

[Old.Tony]

I have ARB Nitrocharger Sports shocks on mine, installed in 2011 and still going strong - probably over 200,000km later. I simply cannot fault them. We travel extensively in the outback - we could only circle NSW last Christmas but the Christmas before we did a half-lap of this great country. We regularly tow our caravan up to Bathurst (we were up there again last weekend and we'll be back there in 2 weeks' time). That's a 6 hour trip one way for us.

A better shock (mechanically) would be the Shockworks offering. They presented some info at the 2014 Muster showing a larger shock with heavier main shaft, wider body and an external reservoir. The wider the shock, the more oil it takes and the more heat it can dissipate (larger volume and surface area). If I have to replace my shocks I'd look at these before any others, despite glowing recommendations for Tough Dog, Bilstein, EFS and Koni.

But I have to say, for a shock supposedly produced by the Monroe factory, the Nitrocharger Sports shocks have done exceptionally well in a vehicle often approaching 3T laden.

 

[landmannnn]

For a leaf spring shock absorbers (or dampers as they are correctly called) have very little work to do as leaf springs naturally have a fair amount of damping anyway.

So don't worry about the shocks, pick a brand you recognise. Do worry about the springs, they make all the difference.