Shock Absorbers With Leaf Spring

Nishan.dj · August 8, 2014

Hi Friends,

Considering a Mitsubishi 4DR5 jeep's suspension system (Leaf Spring + Shock absorber) , What kind of Shock absorbers to worth having. Because I will need to replace them sooner and currently it has normal black color oil ones which could cost 1500-2000 each.

To enhance the comfort a bit, I was thinking of getting a bit better shock may be Gas ones. So I visited m*t*rcade and that guy said, there is a rancho shock which cost around 8000 each that suits for the jeep. Its mixed with oil and gas and auto adjusted for the road condition as said.

Will it worth to have them and will I get any considerable change in comfort and may be handling by having those?

Or are there any brands or types of shocks that I can consider? I don't go for very expensive stuff but in between basic and most advanced is ok for me. Please reply. Thanks a lot in advance.

Komisiripala · August 10, 2014

Comfort and handling are polar opposites. To have one you have to sacrifice the other. I doubt there's a viable solution to your problem. Maybe oil shocks would help. But motorcade, well, they just see a potential customer from whom they an take 32,000. Afterwards, if it's not as comfy as you expected, then what? Get the brand name/model and run a google search for reviews. That'd be more useful to you

Nishan.dj · August 10, 2014

On 8/10/2014 at 5:28 AM, Komisiripala said:
they just see a potential customer from whom they an take 32,000. Afterwards, if it's not as comfy as you expected, then what?

kind of my thought too. Price difference is very high too. Do you think gas shocks can handle tension better than usual oil ones? I am not a hardcore offroader but do some adventure tours once in a while. So i expected some comfi while onroad trips. Will gas socks make a difference? Any experience you have would help me a lot. Thanks Komi.

Komisiripala · August 10, 2014

no bro. not an offroader. at all. try asking ripper or tiv. they're experts at this. but like i said, do some google research into it. i learnt a lot about my car mods from forums abroad too. specific to that type of thing i mean.

Az · August 10, 2014

On 8/8/2014 at 9:59 AM, Nishan.dj said:
Hi Friends,
Considering a Mitsubishi 4DR5 jeep's suspension system (Leaf Spring + Shock absorber) , What kind of Shock absorbers to worth having. Because I will need to replace them sooner and currently it has normal black color oil ones which could cost 1500-2000 each.

To enhance the comfort a bit, I was thinking of getting a bit better shock may be Gas ones. So I visited m*t*rcade and that guy said, there is a rancho shock which cost around 8000 each that suits for the jeep. Its mixed with oil and gas and auto adjusted for the road condition as said.

Will it worth to have them and will I get any considerable change in comfort and may be handling by having those?

Or are there any brands or types of shocks that I can consider? I don't go for very expensive stuff but in between basic and most advanced is ok for me. Please reply. Thanks a lot in advance.

My friend has done a full suspension upgrade on his Hilux 106, and is running Rancho shocks, and says the ride is more comfortable on road as well as off road, but the factor to consider is that he has upgraded other parts of the suspension as well.

Nishan.dj · August 11, 2014

On 8/10/2014 at 7:22 PM, Az said:

My friend has done a full suspension upgrade on his Hilux 106, and is running Rancho shocks, and says the ride is more comfortable on road as well as off road, but the factor to consider is that he has upgraded other parts of the suspension as well.

What are the other parts? Please ask him and post. Thanks a lot.

YALA · August 11, 2014

we do have a few more 4x4 shops around colombo why dont you try them all and do a bit of research on the brand and model before going in for the upgrade ironman, tjm, armada and oldman emu are brands you do come across here. I wont say one is better than the other so it will be up to you to come to a decision.

Nishan.dj · August 11, 2014

On 8/11/2014 at 3:32 AM, YALA said:
we do have a few more 4x4 shops around colombo why dont you try them all and do a bit of research on the brand and model before going in for the upgrade ironman, tjm, armada and oldman emu are brands you do come across here. I wont say one is better than the other so it will be up to you to come to a decision.

Certainly will do that. My question here is that will it give me a considerable change in comfort while onroad? I couldn't still find someone who had done it before ( Change shocks from oil to gas or any kind of upgrade but with leaf spring ) and therefore Please help me getting an idea from someone had done it because that will give me the exact way of doing it if its worth doing. Thanks.

Hoonigan · August 11, 2014

What gas shocks have over oil is that there won't be any aeration as they heat up. Oil will 'foam' when heat builds up and there goes your dampening. I doubt it will add any comfort over an oil shock with the same dampening power. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Az · August 11, 2014

On 8/11/2014 at 12:35 AM, Nishan.dj said:
What are the other parts? Please ask him and post. Thanks a lot.

A standard suspension upgrade includes changing the leaf springs/coil springs/torsion bars, steering damper (not technically part of the suspension though) & shock absorbers. This generally also results in an increase in ride height. I too have done a full upgrade on my Hilux Surf using all IronMan parts.

Az · August 11, 2014

On 8/11/2014 at 6:06 AM, Hoonigan said:
What gas shocks have over oil is that there won't be any aeration as they heat up. Oil will 'foam' when heat builds up and there goes your dampening. I doubt it will add any comfort over an oil shock with the same dampening power. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

See

YALA · August 12, 2014

On 8/11/2014 at 5:38 PM, Az said:
A standard suspension upgrade includes changing the leaf springs/coil springs/torsion bars, steering damper (not technically part of the suspension though) & shock absorbers. This generally also results in an increase in ride height. I too have done a full upgrade on my Hilux Surf using all IronMan parts.

what sought of cost did you incur on this ?

Az · August 12, 2014

On 8/12/2014 at 4:37 AM, YALA said:
what sought of cost did you incur on this ?

99K (Shocks, steering damper, rear coil springs, front torsion bars). This was in November, last year. Prices would have increased now.

YALA · August 12, 2014

thanks do you have better handling on the road. Offroad wise i have no doubt ironman is right up as a big player

Nishan.dj · August 12, 2014

On 8/11/2014 at 5:38 PM, Az said:
A standard suspension upgrade includes changing the leaf springs/coil springs/torsion bars, steering damper (not technically part of the suspension though) & shock absorbers. This generally also results in an increase in ride height. I too have done a full upgrade on my Hilux Surf using all IronMan parts.

Even if I have newer steering damper and leaf springs that comes with standard, I will have to get the shock absorbers to match with them. In that case I don't think to replace torsion bars because its the standard. Correct me if I am wrong please.

Az · August 12, 2014

On 8/12/2014 at 6:05 AM, YALA said:
thanks do you have better handling on the road. Offroad wise i have no doubt ironman is right up as a big player

The handling is overall ok. The body roll has increased a bit due to the increase in ride height. The ride onroad has become a bit stiff because my original shocks had selectable soft & hard modes, but you tend to get used to it. Here's my ride https://imageshack.com/i/ey3qU96Wj

Sorry for going OT.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Az

Az · August 12, 2014

On 8/12/2014 at 6:11 AM, Nishan.dj said:
Even if I have newer steering damper and leaf springs that comes with standard, I will have to get the shock absorbers to match with them. In that case I don't think to replace torsion bars because its the standard. Correct me if I am wrong please.

Yeah, in your case since you are only looking forward to replacing your shocks, you can stick with that. To get more details or advice, you can call up the guy who does all my 4x4 upgrade work. Asela Gunatunga - 777714504.