Koni shocks for london to cape town (western Route)
 

i have a Landrover Disco 300tdi, 95 year.. just starting the prep for it..

im think about fitting Koni shocks to it with a 2'' coil spring raise..

can i have any oppinons on this, good or bad..

or on the other hand should i just fork out a bit more and go for OME's?

I have a Disco V8 with OMEs.

In Angola I was happy to have the reinforced and raised suspension, because we were on some bad minor roads with deep river crossings. Even the main road is badly potholed south of Lobito.

If you stay on the main roads from Europe to Cameroun you don't really need a reinforced suspension.

But if you don't mind the time and money, I'd go for it, for added safety from Cameroun southwards.

Hi,

there are different types of Koni and OME shocks, so you need to be more specific what you want to achieve and can afford. Generally, it is reasonable to treat shocks as disposable items, so I wouldn't spend too much. And don't forget to take at least one spare each side.

sorry but I disagree on this, filters and tires are also disposable items yet you wouldn't save money on them, would you?
A good shock absorber is essential for a smooth and safe ride, I'd rather put 4 good OME's instead of 4+2 spare no names...

well i suppose what im asking is are the koni's good for the job, or should i just spend a little extra and go for the OME, as they have a better reputation..?

Koni make good shocks, but it depends what you want your upgrade to do?

The standard suspension on a Discovery is very good 'as is' and designed to cope with the roads and tracks you will encounter. Of course, there's a whole industry of outfitters and accessory sellers who will tell you different, but hardly any of them have driven to Cape Town and they all have mortgages to pay!

A 2" lift will have wear implications for other components (prop shafts, steering etc.) and it's easy to spend thousands and end up with a vehicle that handles like pigs fighting in jelly and which is less reliable than the vanilla original. Experts do it all the time.

It's possible to improve on the suspension, but like Roman says, it helps to be specific about what you want to achieve. Unless you are planning to overload the car, or go racing, you might be better staying with genuine LR equipment. Maybe with higher-rated LR springs. A genuine LR shock is what, £25? Excellent value.

OME or Koni
 

the Koni Heavy Tracks and Heavy Track Raids are currently the best you can get. The OME is no more than a brand labled shock. OME has no factory. Koni is one of the few remaining independend shock absorber factories in the world.

I have Heavy Tracks under my Toyota and did 60.000 km in Africa with them, a lot of it on the worst roads thinkable. They are still very good!

With respect to the factory mounted LR shocks, try to do about 200 km of heavily corrugated road and they are gone! I have seen it happen several times, all the time original LR shocks! Completely broken off or overheating problems.


Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

Koni or OME
 

Hi Robin

as Roman said it depends what you require the shocks to do - then you have to choose a shock and make that will suit your need.

IMHO a OME would be better than most other makes on the market, particularly LR OEM fit. On the other hand the Koni Heavy Tracks or similarwould be THE shock of choice - if it suits the need.

Also make sure that your springs and bump stops ure up to the job.

well as the shocks have never been changed on the car since new, which is like 13 years now, i feel that if im going to do this kind of trip i want to know that they havent been battered in the past too much (which i dont after only owning the motor for a few months). Im sure the LR standards would be adequate, epscially if they are fairly new, but if im going to go through the long process of changing all the shocks, i may as well upgrade to the best i can get, i would prefer to spend a litle extra money now, which could save me having to change one or more half way down...

basically i want shocks and springs that will stand up to the kind of roads i will encounter on that western route, as was pointed out the roads untill cameroon would not be as bad as the ones south of there, but i suppose after then the shocks could potencially take a bit of a bashing, and i want to prepared for this.

obviously im no expert on this, and have not been to africa on africa roads, so just looking for peoples opinion on both the shocks mentioned, and/or the best kind of set-up for that kind of trip, from people who have some kind of experience in this..

thats guys so far though..

The Konis should work well. Or if you prefer to spend less but still improve on the originals then you could look at Monroe Adv gas shocks, also good. Swapping them is a quick and easy DIY job.

If the springs look sound and don't sag, leave them where they are and take a spare or two. If you are carrying a lot of weight you could think about moving the rears to the front and installing higher-rated LR springs at the back.

Don't bother with the 2" lift. Unless you adapt other parts of the car (steering, brake lines, suspension) you risk reliability and handling issues on a long trip.

Happy prepping!

It is also worth bearing in mind that the Konis are adjustable (although you have to remove the lower mounting - not a big deal) and can be rebuilt, which I think very few other manufacturers can offer.

Gil

After months of watching this forum we have just fitted OME shocks to our :thumbup1:Discovery and i have to say, we have made the right choice

Baltic ice road challenge

Having done trans africa, round aus, etc and run OMEs for 8+ years after a couple of years on standard LR shocks, I'm extremely happy with them and would recommend them. I can't offer an opinion on how they compare with Koni as, given I am happy with the OMEs, I've not seen the need to try others.

However I also partially agree with the disposable argument and the stock standard argument. If you fit aftermarket shocks they will make the vehicle handle better - providing you pick the right weight ratings etc for what you want to do. However you could go with your existing 13 year old ones and a couple of no name spares and you would still get through. Its easy to spend 000s on kitting up the truck and it will make it more reliable, more capable but if you don't want to spend the money, the standard truck will get through. - good excuse to spend money on toys though.

Not sure about Koni (they do have a good reputation here in Oz) because I never used them.

I have however used OME nitro shocks in a dual cab Hilux doing 25,000km around Oz on some bad roads. Didn't have any problem with them.

I did however decide on Tough Dog big bore adjustable shocks and heavy duty springs for our upcoming trip with the Troopy. I took about 4 months to decide on what I wanted after reading a lot (probably too much) about all the brands and getting feedback from users...

I still disagree...

see what happened to this loaded Land Rover with poor suspension

this guys learned the lesson the hard way and the first thing they did on their second trip was to fit a set of OME...