Kings or Dobi?

kiwifoz

kiwifoz

Forum Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2014
Messages
287
Location
Dunedin, NZ
Car Year
1989
Car Model
L series
Transmission
5 speed dual-range PT4WD
After putting 5 people and some gear in my Foz and going for a drive yesterday, my suspension (rear shocks in particular) really isn't great - the ride was bouncy and floaty. So, I'm looking to upgrade.

I've been quoted $440NZ for raised Kings x4, or $385NZ for raised Dobis x4. My question is, which is better? I think I recall Taza having a Dobi snap on him twice or something like that...

The springs will be paired with 4 new KYB GR-2s, buying those from an Amazon seller for ~$340NZ (plus shipping, free freight on springs as are off Trademe). All up, the cheapest new suspension I could find!

I may also be pairing these with a Whiteline 22mm RSB, with detachable endlinks, and a set of Dueler 697s on the OEM steel wheels. I know the 697s aren't the best, but Dad just got a set fitted to his Pathfinder and they're so much better offroad than road tyres... Besides which, they're the cheapest brand-name ATs I could get (You won't live long with Linglongs...). $150 each.

My bank account soon shall hate me.:lol:
 
Yes, I believe Taza did have issues with Dobson. My Kings have been fine. Also, you can't go too far wrong with 697s - some people in our club swear by them.
 
Kings over Dobson's any day of the week!! As Kevin said, nothing wrong with 697's.
 
Im changing to Kings from Dobinsons. Smapped 2 front coils on seperate occasions and now the rears are ******. I contacted them regarding the matter, even after both failures and they said stiff ****.
Just becayse you pay a high price doesn't mean its good quality!
 
Sweet as, cheers for the replies. I'll go Kings then, was already looking this way but wasn't 100%. I'm stoked to get it lifted, anyway!
 
And Taza isn't the only person that has experienced snapped Dobinsons
 
Most suspension shops will tell you that the Dobson spring quality is no where near as good as the Kings.

I wish Eibach springs would make a hi lift spring for our cars.:sad:
 
My experience tells me you should be really impressed with the raised Kings & KYB's. Empty or loaded, they're fantastic. You'll never again know what float or wallow is - all so tight, flat & controlled, and that's without the Whiteline RSB. Go for it..
 
^ I got Pedders variable rate strut/spring full units to replace my shagged OEM SLS struts. No complaints at all.

They feel good in handling and ride comfort, and don't change height worth mentioning with 75 Kgs on the tow ball and a lot of crap in the back (about -10 mm, max). The height was originally measured with no spare and the rest of the car empty ...

Lucas (at Lucas Automotive) recommended against me getting the heavy duty springs (from Pedders), as he said I would love them when towing and hate them the rest of the time ...

They are still pretty new, but time will tell, I guess ... :poke: :iconwink:.
 
^ Ah well now ...

Other than carrying comfortable sleeping and accommodation, the trailer also gets to carry all the other heavy stuff ... . So about 250 Kgs gets shifted out of Roo2 and into the trailer :poke: :biggrin:.

The trailer's axle, springs, wheels and bearings are rated to around 1,400 Kgs. The hitch is rated to 2,000 Kgs. The trailer with all the crap in it will never weigh more than around 400-500 Kgs, with a ball weight of about 45-55 Kgs. The car tow bar is rated to over 1,800 Kgs, with a maximum ball weight of 180 Kgs. The latter is more than double what is allowable for the car (75 Kgs)!

I have towed it with a ball weight of 80 Kgs on some fairly nasty dirt tracks with the previous SLS suspension. I suspect that this delivered the final fatal blow to it. No problems though, even with that ball weight.

Now, with the tent permanently attached, I am doing a trial loading of the trailer. ATM, the ball weight is about 45 Kgs. I don't expect it to go much higher than that. Meanwhile, the only heavy stuff in the car is the auxiliary battery behind the P/S front seat, and a 10L rupture-proof Jerry can of petrol behind the D/S - so both in the middle of the car, relatively speaking.

Essentially, the car will be very lightly loaded. It will have me, plus around 100-130 Kgs of luggage in it. About 1,650 Kgs GVM.

Basically, the car's rear suspension will not be stressed at all ... :ebiggrin: :cool:.
 
Well thought out.
Certainly going across the Simpson my car would have been well overloaded with extra 40 l fuel plus 30 l water plus fridge plus second battery plus solar panel plus plus plus.
Not surprising cracking is appearing in the rear wheel wells.
Did obtain a rear strut tower brace from Zippo and this will help the loading affects but rear well crack still needs attention.
Under these conditions, Simpson crossing, I would expect even Kings to sag a bit. Surprising even with this load the Pedders sagged but never bottomed, well not noisily anyway.
 
I have removed the grossly OT stuff about my trailer to here:

https://www.offroadsubarus.com/showpost.php?p=81456&postcount=148

[EDIT]

What needs to be borne in mind constantly is that modern cars are designed to be safe at their designed GVM. They are also not designed to have greater forces than this on them structurally.
They handle and ride better; are far safer in all conditions; more fuel efficient; better performance in almost all ways; BUT - they are not designed to carry other than normal passenger vehicles loads: i.e. four adults or two adults and three children, plus a reasonable amount of luggage for the occupants.

These simple facts need to be taken into account when thinking of modifying suspension and/or wheels and tyres with lifts, different shocks and springs or spring rates.
Otherwise one is likely to break something important ... :(

[end edit]
 
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Very happy with my Kings. They've softened up a bit now so articulation is better. With a very heavy load the rear sags a bit. The only real issue with them is they give a firm ride so avoid speed humps and potholes lol
 
I'm going with the kings, as Pedders is difficult to source in NZ. Anybody heard about Cobra springs? They're an NZ outfit but I'm dubious. Should be getting the tyres in the next couple of days hopefully.

Will be ordering the KYBs this arvo off eBay (via PayPal of course) and trying to source some kings locally before I go to Aussie for a week prior to Xmas. If anyone's in Noosa or 1770 between Dec 12-19th...

Actually, come to think of it, how much cheaper are kings in Aus? I could get a set from Repco or somewhere and take them back in the luggage...

How many kms have you put on your kings NL?
 
kiwifoz said:
Actually, come to think of it, how much cheaper are kings in Aus? I could get a set from Repco or somewhere and take them back in the luggage...
Click to expand...

I got mine for $150 per set so $300 total but I did call around to get the best price.

How many kms have you put on your kings NL?
Click to expand...

46K kms ago, same time as tyres
 
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