vs
Shock absorbers Dobinsons or Monroe
Personally I went Dobinson MRAs which have handled outback travel and tough tracks. Some prefer them revalved but mine is heavy enough to work well with them. Unlike their springs it seems to be a decent product.
Pros: handled outback travel
Vehicle:
Nissan
I ripped them out the same week and went for Dobinsons MRR. Honestly? Night and day. The ride is smoother on-road, planted in corners, and off-road they just eat up washboards and corrugations. I’ve hammered them through tracks that would’ve rattled the Bilsteins to death, and they haven’t skipped a beat.
Pros: smoother ride, planted in corners
I settled on Dobinson IMS, definitely a higher price point but worth every penny.
Pros: worth every penny
Cons: higher price point
Vehicle:
Toyota
Monroe OESpectrums have a great ride and are very affordable.
Pros: great ride, affordable
Just change shock absorbers. I would very much recommend adjustable ones eg Dobinson. Bilsteins are great but they have very specific valving which has a lot of low speed damping, eliminating body roll but resulting in a bumpy ride under 60km/hr. At high speed they’re awesome. Some of the US spec ones have softer valving (5100s)
Pros: eliminating body roll
Cons: bumpy ride under 60km/hr
Vehicle:
Toyota
The originals are Monroes if I'm not mistaken. I've replaced them all round on the my F from Autodoc as well, with new ones same brand. Fairly cheap and easy to fit.
Pros: fairly cheap, easy to fit
Vehicle:
MG F
I bought Monroes. They make an oem shock setup that works fine for daily driving
Pros: works fine for daily driving
In my experience ever since Tenneco bought Monroe they have been trash. Back when I worked for Subaru the OE and KYB replacements regularly made it 100K, Monroe’s would give up in 40-50k.
Cons: give up quickly
Vehicle:
Subaru
Mileage: 45000 km
Monroe shocks on pick-up truck, not abused, only lasted two years. KYB was major improvement.
Cons: only lasted two years
I see all the dobinsons positive remarks here. I've also had good experiences, but at the same time on my 80 I had the yellow nitro shocks and those are the only shocks I've ever had leak on any 4x4.
Cons: shocks leak
Vehicle:
Toyota Land Cruiser
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