What suspension components - 2013 SX SWB

[suitcase]

The van has a McHitch on it - I don't think there's enough weight to consider weight distribution.

I guess that the purpose of my post was to get a feel for the expertise that is out there in "PradopointLand" regarding the shorty's suspension. My service guy has suggested this:
Ktfs101 front springs
Ktrs102 rear springs
Be5a712 front shocks
24238830 rear shocks.

I now have a couple of other opinions to consider - that can't be bad. I'm in no hurry. I will go and talk to specialist shops when I have the time.

Do any Brisbane people have suggestions here?

cheers

KO

[SOL]

Suitcase,
I had fitted Dobison remote reservoir shocks and coils. The ride is smooth with none of the rocking that it used to have. Thee shocks are able to have the valving changed to adjust the damping rate. I am lucky the guys that did my install took the time to set it up to my needs. As the shocks are fully rebuild able if one does leek you only need to fly in the rebuild kit to fix as long as no damage is done. Try a proper suspension shop that might help with a tailor build not a kit.

[sweetpea]

Double post. Sorry.

[sweetpea]

Does your trailer have a standard 50mm towball or an "off-road" articulated hitch like a Tregg?

If it is articulated I would be careful using a WDH even on roads like the Oodnadatta track.

We saw a 4WD ute bend its chassis on one of the causeways as the approach was just a bit steep and the WDH transferred a huge load to the chassis.

Also, be careful using components specified by 150GXL drivers. They tend to carry significantly higher loads in the Prado as they have so much more room and the components selected are usually much too stiff for an 155 SX. As you have no doubt found the Shorty drives and handles quite differently.

S.

[150gxl]

Clarification for you:

The improved handling was not while towing so the following edit may be clearer:

While the Challenger had excellent handling to start with, the Landcruiser's steering actually felt tighter and much
improved in normal operation while not towing, after the King's were fitted only to the rear. You wouldn't expect it but it worked.

[120D4D]

Agreed. Doing just the back may not work on the Prado.
It did work on our Challenger and LC80 GXL using just the King's progressive rate coils at the time. That was back in '98 of course.
While the Challenger had excellent handling to start with, the Landcruiser's steering actually felt tighter and much
improved after the King's were fitted only to the rear. You wouldn't expect it but it worked.
The Grand Cherokee though needed a WDH and we left the suspension standard.

Its true that you wouldn't expect it to feel tighter and improved when only modifying the rear suspension and even though it 'feels' this way it is known that this reduces the manufactures engineered understeer. (WDH's also negatively effect handling.)

If when towing a reasonable load the combination feels like it handles better then something is not right as towing should feel like it has a negative effect on steering and handling - because it does!

[150gxl]

Agreed. Doing just the back may not work on the Prado.
It did work on our Challenger and LC80 GXL using just the King's progressive rate coils at the time. That was back in '98 of course.
While the Challenger had excellent handling to start with, the Landcruiser's steering actually felt tighter and much
improved after the King's were fitted only to the rear. You wouldn't expect it but it worked.
The Grand Cherokee though needed a WDH and we left the suspension standard.

[120D4D]

If you're going to modify the suspension be sure to modify front and rear, it is not ideal to just firm up the rear as you will affect the handling dynamics.

As to air bag/coil assist bags, they are not recommended for towing and do not fix the problem of reduced weight on the front axle - only a WDH can do that.

Do you run a WDH currently? If not, perhaps investigate that as pumping up airbags in the rear only lifts the rear.

[150gxl]

We have similar requirements to you.
We did not want a lift but wanted to cater for a 200kg minimum tow ball mass.
Tough Dog shocks were fitted as they were cheaper than Konis or Bilsteins at the time.

Medium King springs were fitted to the front as we also had the extra weight of the ECB and dual batteries.
We wanted to avoid the "crash and bash" that heavy duty front springs sometimes give a 4X4.

Heavy duty Kings were fitted to the rear with the Airbag Man bags. We don't use the airbags much and could have deleted them.
The A frame of the caravan sits about 10mm above level so that's why there is no need for the airbags.

In normal driving and without the caravan, the standard pitching and wallowing, as well as diving under brakes, were eliminated by the setup.
Driveability is much safer and a lot more forgiving than standard.
With the caravan on back, there is no noticeable lifting of the front wheels (we don't use a WDH) or extra under-steer.

Fitted by Overland 4x4 Centre Maroochydore who did a faultless job for us back in 2011.

HTHs

[suitcase]

Morning all
After some advice/opinions from those more experienced/knowledgeable than me.

I have a 2013 SX SWB Diesel - ECB alloy bulbar and second battery in the front, airbag helpers in the back but standard springs/shockabsorbers. We tow a small offroad van (let's say 1.5T and 150kg maximum). We don't do any proper off road or even heavily rutted road so I don't think suspension travel or suspension lift is an issue. We do travel a lot on outback (dirt, corrugated) roads.

I would like to consider my options with the suspension. I don't necessarily want/need a lift but am not averse to it (except that I would need spacers with the airbags if I go down that line). I would like some sort of optimum balance between ride/handling that can take the extra weight on the front, tow well, handle the roads we want to travel on etc.

I have tried to digest some of the expert info (e.g. Whitey's posts) especially with regard to Bilstein 712/713 etc. When I ask my service guys about suspension their response is to push the King springs/Bilstein 2" lift kit which I gather uses these shock absorbers.

So ... question is... Given the type of travel I do, what components would you people out there recommend? I live on the North side of Brisbane. Is there anyone around in the area that I should be talking to? What would be the effect of just upgrading the shock absorbers and leaving the springs as is? Are there components that will give me better ride/handling without the lift? The cost (up to about $2000) is not an issue - I just want something good that's going to do the job.

Any advice/opinions most welcome.

cheers