Oztec suspension....tell me more

[old Jack]

Hi OJ and thanks again for the feedback. Just to clarify some things for your ongoing calculations as my signature may have misled you a little.
Firstly my dual battery and fridge are only fitted to the car for longer trips away, the rest of their time they do duty in my work vehicle. I also do not have a fridge slide but a custom tray I made from black form ply that takes the place of the single seat behind the drivers seat and this is where the fridge is fitted when onboard. Also the dual battery is only fitted to the rear cargo area of the car on trips so these things may account for the light rear end weights you mentioned. Constant rear load consists of a false floor made from the same black 17mm form ply and covers the whole rear floor area and would weigh approx. 15-18 kgs.My storage unit is custom made from form ply also(are you seeing a theme here, I like form ply)and sits between the rear wheel arches over the axle and measures 350mmx350mmx1000mm.This carry's approximately 45 kg +- of recovery and emergency gear at all times.I estimate the empty box at 13-15 kg +-
If you think it worthwhile I can easily do another weigh in with a full fuel load to double check I recorded all the weights correctly as the weighbridge is nearby.
I would like to lift the car as much as possible within reason while still retaining reliable droop etc and on road manners.What sort of cost and potential issues may be expected fitting offset trailing arm bushes if required.Thanks again OJ and I look forward to your valued feedback.

Well that explains things a bit cleared.
A second weigh would be a good idea just to check, also is the driver in the car or not, passenger weights?

In my opinion there is very little if anything to be gained by going higher than EBH 585/590mm on the rear as all you gain is rear exit and sill clearance but at the expensive of droop travel which is limited by the rear shockers, then the brake lines, then the panard rod and then the free length of the coils. Offset bush kit is available from Ultimate Suspension for $320 and take about 1.5-2 hours to fit so another couple of hundred (you need a press to do this job yourself), only a few owners have fitted these if they elect to go for a higher lift or experienced driveline vibration they do not like.

Going higher than EBH575mm on the front will result in lose of droop travel, and unnecessary ASC, ABS and TC activations, and depending on the strut extended length you could also end up with lack of legal droop travel as you must retain 2/3's of the factory droop travel, this means with factory EBH of 542mm and a droop EBH of 605mm you have 63mm of droop travel so to stay legal you must retain 42mm of droop travel. Fitting slightly longer struts may give you more droop travel but you are limited by the droop stops, these can be turned around 180 to gain about 5-8mm extra droop, trimming droop stops is illegal. Excess droop travel loads up the DOJ/CV joints and when combined with oversize tyres and hard off roading the front joints are known to fail.

OJ.

[ilikeachallenge]

Hi OJ
I did a re weigh with close to a full fuel load to confirm the numbers and got very close to the original. Front 1340 kg whole car 2400 kg and rear at 1080 kg.
I also re measured the height and got front height of 505mm and rear of 535mm.
The weights are with the driver but no passengers in the car.
I also weighed the storage unit and recovery gear including an approximate for the false floor and got a combined weight of 80 kg.The storage unit was in the car for the above weighbridge weights.
When I say I would like to lift it as much as possible I also don't want to cause any unnecessary driveline or related issues and from your feedback it seems the KCFR-55H front and rear is the one for my needs. It will give me the progressive load carrying capacity I need for wood runs and towing the camper and hopefully be comfortable day to day and give me about 50mm+- that I'm looking for.Funnily enough once I do the suspension and fit my new KO2s I wont be able to go anywhere cause Ill be broke but at least I can look at it in the shed,have a cold ale and enjoy it.LOL

[ilikeachallenge]

Oztec kings fitted

Hi all

I finally got around to having the Oztec/Kings combo fitted up to the PC yesterday.

I went with the 54101 Kings front struts,KCFR-55H front coils,60090 rear shocks and KCRS-23 rear springs.Cost supplied and fitted $1510.00

I also fitted up Pedders 5899 rear bump stops.I got these at the local Pedders dealer and mentioned the forum and that I am a member of another club and got them at trade price of $91.00 down from the quoted price of $122.00

As yet I have not had a chance to test it too much but already it is clearly sitting more level with a much more balanced stance and improved rake angle front to rear.

I have noticed it tries to pick up the inside rear wheel when cornering but this may settle a bit in time.

Initial measurements suggest it has come up about 55mm on the front and 35-40mm on the rear.
The front had dropped quite noticbly due to the added weight of the accessories fitted forward of the front axle.

I am already noticing better handling and ride around town and will do some more measurements and write ups in a couple of weeks time after it all settles a bit and I get it out in the bush to test it out.

We have a trip in two weeks time if I can wait that long into the Warburton Larbertouche areas which will be a good test and shakedown.

I will be getting my new BFG KO2s fitted up mid next week as the old ones are now pretty flogged out.

If I can get away with it (insert wife's name here)the only other mod I plan on doing to this vehicle is an Automate when they are ready.

[littleriver]

Hi all

I finally got around to having the Oztec/Kings combo fitted up to the PC yesterday.

I went with the 54101 Kings front struts,KCFR-55H front coils,60090 rear shocks and KCRS-23 rear springs.Cost supplied and fitted $1510.00

I also fitted up Pedders 5899 rear bump stops.I got these at the local Pedders dealer and mentioned the forum and that I am a member of another club and got them at trade price of $91.00 down from the quoted price of $122.00

As yet I have not had a chance to test it too much but already it is clearly sitting more level with a much more balanced stance and improved rake angle front to rear.

I have noticed it tries to pick up the inside rear wheel when cornering but this may settle a bit in time.

Initial measurements suggest it has come up about 55mm on the front and 35-40mm on the rear.
The front had dropped quite noticbly due to the added weight of the accessories fitted forward of the front axle.

I am already noticing better handling and ride around town and will do some more measurements and write ups in a couple of weeks time after it all settles a bit and I get it out in the bush to test it out.

We have a trip in two weeks time if I can wait that long into the Warburton Larbertouche areas which will be a good test and shakedown.

I will be getting my new BFG KO2s fitted up mid next week as the old ones are now pretty flogged out.

If I can get away with it (insert wife's name here)the only other mod I plan on doing to this vehicle is an Automate when they are ready.

sounds good ...

can you pls measure the EBH front and rear (center of wheel hub directly up to wheel arch) ... will give us all a bit more of an idea on heights ...

...

[ilikeachallenge]

sounds good ...

can you pls measure the EBH front and rear (center of wheel hub directly up to wheel arch) ... will give us all a bit more of an idea on heights ...

...

Absolutely-As follows

RHR-577mm
LHR-577mm
RHF-550mm
LHF-555mm

Again, I will do a bit of dlriving and bush work with it and post some follow up measurements in a few weeks as a point of interest.
Thanks to all who contributed to my research with there knowledge and advice.

[chillipepperz]

So how are your driving impressions so far with the Oztec?

Cheers!
Andrew

[littleriver]

Absolutely-As follows

RHR-577mm
LHR-577mm
RHF-550mm
LHF-555mm

Again, I will do a bit of dlriving and bush work with it and post some follow up measurements in a few weeks as a point of interest.
Thanks to all who contributed to my research with there knowledge and advice.

nice levels ... will settle.. ...

[ilikeachallenge]

So how are your driving impressions so far with the Oztec?

Cheers!
Andrew

Hi Andrew

I have not done many kms since having the suspension fitted yet,but my initial impression is that the car now steers better,brakes better and does not pitch and roll any where near like it was.

Also it handles dips etc in the road better with the front end in particular recovering better and quicker to give overall better handling.

I got the tyres fitted up this morning and may go for a drive up the bush today or tomorrow for a bit of a shakedown.

I ran thr tape measure over it after the tyres and it has settled a little in the rear and come up 2-3 mm in the front.

Here's a couple of questions for you.

The new 5899 bump stops look longer than the EOM units.
Can the be trimmed and is there any advantage to doing so,ie more travel and articulation of the rear.

I seem to recall someone mentioned it recently but I was not really paying full attention at the time.

Cheers
Damo

[old Jack]

Yes the 5899 rubber cones are longer but from the reports I have is that there is not an issue with rear wheel articulation. They are located inboard of the axle articulation stops and I suspect a heavier spring rate coil will have a greater effect on suspension tuck.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=45233

OJ.

[ilikeachallenge]

Oztec KingsToolangi bush shakedown report

Ok
so purely in the name of research I went out to Rocky Track at Toolangi this arvo and drove the bypass track to the right.

For people familiar with the area they will know it.

I aired down to 22psi and headed up.

The bypass can be pretty challenging in itself, and requires slow speed crawling and carefull wheel placement with medium and larger loose rock which moves underneath you constantly.

The tracks in this area change constantly with the seasons and traffic and trucks with oversized tyres.

I crawled up the bypass about 2/3rds of the way in first low without the locker.

At this point I needed to engage the locker to complete the track easily with minimal strain on the car.

The suspension seemed to allow good articulation and kept the wheels on the ground pretty well where possible but this is a full on, shaly,steep climb.

I could have dropped another 2-4 psi from the tyres for a bit better traction and would have walked it more easily,but having said that I did not get excessive tyre spin, but that extra 2-4 psi would have made for a nicer ride.

I only got the tyres fitted this morning so I was being a bit conservative

The suspension performed really well and soaked up slow,medium and higher speed bush tracks nicely.

Pretty happy so far.

[ilikeachallenge]

Hi All

I just thought I would give an update on my ride heights as the new suspension has been in for just over 3 months now and should have well and truly settled in.

LHR 571
RHR- 572
RHF-543
LHF-553

Cheers

[Brisvegas66]

Oztec kings fitted

Hi all

I finally got around to having the Oztec/Kings combo fitted up to the PC yesterday.

I went with the 54101 Kings front struts,KCFR-55H front coils,60090 rear shocks and KCRS-23 rear springs.Cost supplied and fitted $1510.00

I also fitted up Pedders 5899 rear bump stops.I got these at the local Pedders dealer and mentioned the forum and that I am a member of another club and got them at trade price of $91.00 down from the quoted price of $122.00

As yet I have not had a chance to test it too much but already it is clearly sitting more level with a much more balanced stance and improved rake angle front to rear.

I have noticed it tries to pick up the inside rear wheel when cornering but this may settle a bit in time.

Initial measurements suggest it has come up about 55mm on the front and 35-40mm on the rear.
The front had dropped quite noticbly due to the added weight of the accessories fitted forward of the front axle.

I am already noticing better handling and ride around town and will do some more measurements and write ups in a couple of weeks time after it all settles a bit and I get it out in the bush to test it out.

We have a trip in two weeks time if I can wait that long into the Warburton Larbertouche areas which will be a good test and shakedown.

I will be getting my new BFG KO2s fitted up mid next week as the old ones are now pretty flogged out.

If I can get away with it (insert wife's name here)the only other mod I plan on doing to this vehicle is an Automate when they are ready.

That sounds like a reasonable pricing, i am going about this the long way apparently for 2x king Springs $160 + 2x oztec shocks $365 all for rear(doing this myself) and just got quoted full front suspension Kings and Oztec $985 parts only to be fitted by someone else. So maybe prices have gone up but I'm going to be $3-400 above what you paid even doing the car myself.

[redbruce]

2.5 years and Covid impact has seen shortages of stock and price increases across the board.

[Turorit]

From memory, in early 2020 when I was looking for Oztec shocks there was only 1 distributor out of 8 that I tried who had any stock, pricing was around $1100 shipped for 2x front & 2xrear shocks. I ended up going with KYB Skorched4, not entirely sure if I'm happy with my choice but they'll do for now!