Suspension And Bull Bar Experiences

[Migdel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Migdel]

I’m a brand new member so if te information I’m seeking is elsewhere please direct me accordingly. I have a 2022 VX Prado that I’m setting up as a general tourer but which will be my daily drive and won’t have a constant heavy load. Looking for people’s experiences and views on the following as ikve done a tonne of research and it’s doing my head in.

a) looking to replace the suspension to give me a 2” lift and GVM upgrade that will be limited by my axle load rating limits (approx 190kg increase). Not interested in a full 500kg increase as that will likely make the ride too harsh. Was leaning towards the Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport but have started to consider their BP51s after reading some material. Would to hear peoples experiences or recommendations for similar products.

b) looking at an Off-road Animal Toro bar which has a nice profile and isn’t as bulky or heavy as an ARB one. I understand it may not be as robust as the ARB/TJM ones but trying to balance needs as don’t plan to do a lot of night driving.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Hi mate. Welcome to the prado club!
With suspension, everyone will have a favourite brand. My experience has been as long as you stick to a reputable brand like OME, Dobinsons, efs, bilstein, etc you will be fine. I personally run dobinsons IMS gear and love it. I have 100-300kg constant load springs in the rear which ride well and can handle a decent tow ball weight as well.
Personally I would avoid remote reservoir shocks as on a normal 4x4 they are a well marketed gimmick with more things to break.
Much the same with bullbars. ARB, TJM are a lot better build than most others and look better too. Two of my mates have animal bars and the quality there looks good as well.
I’ve written a bit about my gvm upgrade from pedders in another thread, but I would never use them again. This seems to be most peoples experience with the lovells upgrade as well.
Mine has the gvm upgrade up to axle weights which makes it a gvm of 3250kg.
Which state are you in?

[Migdel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Migdel]

Hi mate. Welcome to the prado club!
With suspension, everyone will have a favourite brand. My experience has been as long as you stick to a reputable brand like OME, Dobinsons, efs, bilstein, etc you will be fine. I personally run dobinsons IMS gear and love it. I have 100-300kg constant load springs in the rear which ride well and can handle a decent tow ball weight as well.
Personally I would avoid remote reservoir shocks as on a normal 4x4 they are a well marketed gimmick with more things to break.
Much the same with bullbars. ARB, TJM are a lot better build than most others and look better too. Two of my mates have animal bars and the quality there looks good as well.
I’ve written a bit about my gvm upgrade from pedders in another thread, but I would never use them again. This seems to be most peoples experience with the lovells upgrade as well.
Mine has the gvm upgrade up to axle weights which makes it a gvm of 3250kg.
Which state are you in?

Thanks Lurker, I’m in QLD and will be in the same situation Rea the GVM. I was hesitant about Dobinsons as the quote I was given gave it a 500kg GVM upgrade which made me concerned about the ride quality. Apart from the bullbar and tow bar there won’t be constant loads so probably wouldn’t want the springs to be more than about w00kg constant load setting.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Ok, are you sure dobinsons gave it a 500kg gvm?
As far as I knew only pedders or lovells gave a 500kg gvm increase as they have an engineered kit that lifts the axle weight.
All the other suspension brands are only able to get the gvm lifted to the axle weights unless you pay for the extra tests to be done to get it certified.
The pedders and lovells gvm kits are exactly the same as their standard lift kit, you just pay extra for the certification. The pedders kit I can promise you is absolute rubbish.
If you want to look at the dobinsons option, let me know the model numbers and I will check them against mine, but I’d be sure they are the same.

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

Has ARB started doing GVM upgrades for the 150 again? They had stopped offering them.
I was of the understanding that the ORA Toro bars are at least as heavy as the ARB/TJM units.

[Migdel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Migdel]

Ok, are you sure dobinsons gave it a 500kg gvm?
As far as I knew only pedders or lovells gave a 500kg gvm increase as they have an engineered kit that lifts the axle weight.
All the other suspension brands are only able to get the gvm lifted to the axle weights unless you pay for the extra tests to be done to get it certified.
The pedders and lovells gvm kits are exactly the same as their standard lift kit, you just pay extra for the certification. The pedders kit I can promise you is absolute rubbish.
If you want to look at the dobinsons option, let me know the model numbers and I will check them against mine, but I’d be sure they are the same.

Will do Daniel, the shop I got the quote from mentioned the 500kg which I had my doubts about when they said that it didn’t result in an axle re-rating.

[Migdel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Migdel]

Has ARB started doing GVM upgrades for the 150 again? They had stopped offering them.
I was of the understanding that the ORA Toro bars are at least as heavy as the ARB/TJM units.

Yeah, limited to 10%. The Toro bar comes in at least 8kg lighter, approx 80mm shorter from the front, and comes with 4 tonne rated recovery points and an initial sump cover bash plate.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Ok, just to clarify!
Any lift kit can be certified for a gvm upgrade, but only up to the maximum axle capacity, which in the case of a current prado is 3250kg.
This is done by a) installing the lift and then b) getting it certified by an engineer which usually costs about $1400 post rego.
Alternatively you can fit a Pedders or Lovells gvm upgrade kit that they have paid to re-certify the axle weights to allow for a 3500kg gvm. Both of these options have been installed and then ripped out of more than one vehicle that I know of either from defective products or poor design flaws.
My firm opinion is that the best way to get a gvm upgrade is to choose a lift of your preference and then get it certified. Most dealers will be happy to organise it for you, even if they don’t personally sell a “gvm upgrade kit”.
The added benefit of this is that once the gvm has been raised, the paperwork will just say “heavy duty springs fitted”, meaning if you hate the setup you can change it out without loosing your certification as it’s not brand specific.
Did I mention pedders trakryder suspension is absolute rubbish??? If I can save one person the hassle, I’ll be a happy man

[watsea Member Find all posts View Profile Close watsea]

If you decide to go with Dobinson and are in or near Brisbane, Zordo's Suspension does good work on Prado. After recommendations from others in this forum, I went to a John Zordo with my 2019 Prado. 2 inch lift, 10% GVM upgrade and air bags. At the time, John was talking about retirement in the future but I see that he still has a Zordo's website.

For my lift, I did have to buy the adaptor to get my self levelling headlights to work properly. It fits to a location near the rear diff.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

Unfortunately you are in QLD. I’m in Adelaide, I’d be happy to meet up and let you have a look before you bought one otherwise

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

Re suspension, talk to Zordo's suspension in Brisbane. Highly rated by many here as an expert on Prados. Re the bull bar i have had an Ironman bar on since 2016- no issues with the powdercoat, rust cracks etc and at the time was cheaper than the big 2.. I was lucky enough to get the no longer availaiable "whitey's" suspension and 50000 km later it is still fabulous. It is composed of Ironman specially valved shocks and Dobinsons springs. I currently have 325s in the back with air bags and they are great with good ride and handling. I also have a set of 327s which carry more but as mine is a 5 seat GX they sit a little too high when empty but ride still good. I whack them in if I am doing a very heavily loaded desert trip to really carry the extra weight.

[Daniel150 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daniel150]

For my lift, I did have to buy the adaptor to get my self levelling headlights to work properly. It fits to a location near the rear diff.

Could you provide more info on adaptor please, or maybe start a new thread explaining it?
Be interesting to know if I need one, I’ve never heard of it.

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

Have you considered variable rate rear springs, if your load isn’t a constant one.
I had 50mm lift dobinson variables in the rear of my 90, she rode well empty or loaded.

[Migdel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Migdel]

If you decide to go with Dobinson and are in or near Brisbane, Zordo's Suspension does good work on Prado. After recommendations from others in this forum, I went to a John Zordo with my 2019 Prado. 2 inch lift, 10% GVM upgrade and air bags. At the time, John was talking about retirement in the future but I see that he still has a Zordo's website.

For my lift, I did have to buy the adaptor to get my self levelling headlights to work properly. It fits to a location near the rear diff.

Thanks Watsea, I’ll look them up

[Migdel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Migdel]

Have you considered variable rate rear springs, if your load isn’t a constant one.
I had 50mm lift dobinson variables in the rear of my 90, she rode well empty or loaded.

Thanks Carco, wasn’t aware of variable rate springs as still learning about all of this. Will ask about them though