OME or KinGS

[buggrd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close buggrd]

Am I reading right that Mototrim & Justo have 50mm Raised Kings with Std Toyo Shocks ???

[StevoVX Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StevoVX]

I was told by the rep on the ARB stand at the National 4X4 Show in Brissy, that they use King springs and Gabriel shocks but to their own engineer's spcifications :?:

[HIKDJ Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close HIKDJ]

or EFS?

I don't see EFS springs mentioned very often in this forum. If I am not mistaken they are made in Australia. They are promoted quite heavily here in France. Are they of comparable quality?

[mototrim Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mototrim]

Am I reading right that Mototrim & Justo have 50mm Raised Kings with Std Toyo Shocks ???

Mine where only 40mm lift but ended up nearly 50mm when put on.
Now with the bar and second battery its settled down about 15mm lower.

[Damien Parker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Damien Parker]

And you guys have Grande's so the shock issue is a pain.

[mototrim Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mototrim]

And you guys have Grande's so the shock issue is a pain.

No not at all,i chose to keep the origonal shocks so that i could still use the dampning system.
The shocks can be changed over with the likes of Rancho which can come with its own compressor and gives you 15 settings from soft to hard and controlled from a panel in your dash

[Guest Close Guest]

Does anyone have raised Kingsprings with no bullbar? I have raised OME's and since removing my bullbar the nose is poking ever so slightly upward.

Since its trip to Jenny Craig, the whole car is too stiff and I'm hoping to find springs that soak up the bumps a little better, so I'm thinking to go to Kings raised but normal duty (KTFR-101 & KTRR-102).

Anyone wearing these, please tell me what sort of weight you're carrying fore & aft and what sort of angle is on your sills and it will be greatly appreciated, earning you a coffee when you get out on the Outback Way.

[ZORDO Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ZORDO]

OME-XGS-EFS all made by KINGS

[sleeky Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sleeky]

Re: OME or KinGS

I have just had raised Kings and Bilsteins fitted. So far very happy with the ride which is firmer but not uncomfortable. I have no bull bar so I went for the normal raised springs. Height at the front is still only 770mm. I am however disappointed with the rear travel which doesn't seem as good as the standard setup. It certainly seems to lift wheels where the old suspension simply did its thing. Has anyone any ideas as to why this might be the case or is it just my imagination.

Thanks Neil

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: OME or KinGS

Sleeky,
Your wheels will lift with diagonal articulation when the springs are stiffer. Would also be caused by shorter shocks but i don't think that would be the case (did you compare shock lengths between the Bilsteins & originals?).

After running Koni RAIDs and Kings for a few months on the old, slow, piggy sook, I just bought a new Prado and drove it back home from Alice, so includes 500kms of corrugations, creeks and air time. My advice to anyone thinking of respringing your Parrado is:

Standard suspension is best for the bush.

Sorry everyone who's already blown their cash. On the other hand, if you've overburdened your beast out of an ARB brochure, or tow a lot, or want good on-road handling (and still insist on driving a minimonstatruk) or need extra ground clearance to get over shopping trolleys without taking out your sump, then a modification is probably warranted.

Anyone want a slightly abused second hand 120 diesel GX?

[Guest Close Guest]

Re:

OME-XGS-EFS all made by KINGS

Will people stop saying that!!! It isn't helpful; just confusing. It doesn't matter who makes the springs, but who is speccing them. To give people the impression that their Kings are the same as OMEs is just misleading. Moderators please correct me if I'm wrong.

[sleeky Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sleeky]

Re: OME or KinGS

Sleeky,
Your wheels will lift with diagonal articulation when the springs are stiffer. Would also be caused by shorter shocks but i don't think that would be the case (did you compare shock lengths between the Bilsteins & originals?).

After running Koni RAIDs and Kings for a few months on the old, slow, piggy sook, I just bought a new Prado and drove it back home from Alice, so includes 500kms of corrugations, creeks and air time. My advice to anyone thinking of respringing your Parrado is:

Standard suspension is best for the bush.

Sorry everyone who's already blown their cash. On the other hand, if you've overburdened your beast out of an ARB brochure, or tow a lot, or want good on-road handling (and still insist on driving a minimonstatruk) or need extra ground clearance to get over shopping trolleys without taking out your sump, then a modification is probably warranted.

Anyone want a slightly abused second hand 120 diesel GX?

Yes I understand the issue of diagonal articulation but I presumed that these springs were longer, not necessarily that much stiffer, although as I said the ride is certainly not as soft as it was with the old Toyota setup.

As far as the length of shock is concerned I didn't compare as it is the same part number which most other pradopointers have said they are using, so I presumed they would be long enough. Having said that I took it out to a spot where I know the vehicle's limitations and it certainly isn't any worse, but I wouldn't say any better than before.

I upgraded because I was sick and tired of coming into contact with terra firma so in that regard I think the exercise has been worthwhile.

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: OME or KinGS

Sorry, same goes for longer as for stiffer springs. Your car will now sit naturally higher in its range of suspension travel, leaving you closer to topping out on the wheels that get extended to full travel, as the opposing wheels wont compress any more than normal, relative to their new higher natural position.

Some shocks (this is why I bought the RAIDs & not the cheaper Konis - I don't know about the Billies) are longer and so allow more downward movement of the wheels than the originals and this should in theory give you more travel than standard... until you run into the limitations of the suspension design of the car itself.

Loving my D4D.
Gordon.

[Golly Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Golly]

Re: OME or KinGS

So with the Kings Springs and standard shocks, is it a lift ? or just the same height.... how is the ride ? smooth or harder than original setup. Lastly, whats the cost of these suckers...

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: OME or KinGS

Alightey. New one (stock) is 759 front, 756 rear. Old one with Kings raised & Koni RAIDs is 801 & 833 respectively, which is on the money for what Kings quote. (These measurements are from the bottom of the rim, straight up through the middle of the wheel to the start of the guard.)

Be careful. If you raise the car, you'll top out sooner. Longer shocks will help but you'll run out of travel in the design before long anyway.

The ride with the standard suspension, on outback roads (heavily corrugated, sudden creek crossings and washouts) is better than I get with the Kings & Konis. The Kingsprings, although they are the comfort option and not the ones that they sell as "firm" are certainly a tougher item than standard and will require stiffer shocks to damp the rebound. With the RAIDs I'd recommend anyone installing them to wind the shock up about a half a turn to match the springs.

Back to the standard suspension: I bottom out sooner if I'm trying to drive in silly places, but the advantages of standard suspension for 99% of my driving far outweigh the lack of clearance. Changing to 7.5" wheels with 265/65 or 245/70 tyres buys a very cheap cm anyway. The way the lower slung car soaks up the high speed bumps, keeping the wheels on the ground more of the time, it's just so much easier to drive. Since cracking the diff housing on the old one I'm very reluctant to step outside of the warranty that I have on the new one also.

Hope this is helpful,
Gordon.