EFS Suspension Reviews/Feedback ?

[Jorgo RX Pajero]

Hi all, planning on replacing Old Man Emu Suspension (147,000 ks) and have looked closer at the EFS kit(40mm Lift). Anyone have this fitted to their Pajero? Just after some honest feedback / reviews.

Thanks in advance

[old Jack]

147,000kms is not a bad life if the suspension has been used to the upper end of its limits, such as regular towing or GVM loads off the bitumen.
What did you like about the Old Man Emu suspension?
What did you not like about the Old Man Emu suspension?
What makes you think EFS is better suited for your application than Old Man Emu?
What do you expect from any suspension, ride heights, weight carrying, ride comfort, on road handling, off road performance?

OJ.

[Jorgo RX Pajero]

The Old Man Emu suspension has been great. On road handling is firm yet smooth, ride height has been maintained the entire life with no further drop after initial bedding in. For towing I had to fit air bags to assist. Will go constant 200kg rear springs and remove the Air Bags as I have found them not maintain their pressure despite spending hours trying to locate the any leaks.

My only reason for the change is I now suffer shock fade after 20mins of rough corrugations. Recent trips north to the coastal Pilbara highlighted this considerably, however I am not sure if any mainstream non OEM shock would have handled the corrugations.
I have always had OME suspension on my 4x4's but there is now so many more options, just looking for feedback on the other stuff out there.

[old Jack]

The Old Man Emu suspension has been great. On road handling is firm yet smooth, ride height has been maintained the entire life with no further drop after initial bedding in. For towing I had to fit air bags to assist. Will go constant 200kg rear springs and remove the Air Bags as I have found them not maintain their pressure despite spending hours trying to locate the any leaks.

My only reason for the change is I now suffer shock fade after 20mins of rough corrugations. Recent trips north to the coastal Pilbara highlighted this considerably, however I am not sure if any mainstream non OEM shock would have handled the corrugations.
I have always had OME suspension on my 4x4's but there is now so many more options, just looking for feedback on the other stuff out there.

Hi Jorgo,

I am not surprised of the ongoing problems with airbags, it seems to be worse when the coils are too light and extended periods of corrugated roads are driven. Going up a spec in rear coils is easy, plenty to choose from in either OME or Kings, Kings make OME so quality is very good.

Struts and shockers, I have found that most factory and aftermarket struts and shockers are way too firm on compression and too soft on rebound control. Problem is it seem impossible to get specifications on these from the suppliers so it is a matter of trail and error. I did a lot of research when I changed out my Bilstein struts and shockers after 100,000kms and 3 front strut failures on my Challenger.

I narrowed it down to OzTec Outback and Dobinson Monotubes (non remote canister).
The OzTec where very reasonable price wise and had good warranty and is the go to strut and shocker I recommend fitting unless you are doing extended remote travel at GVM+ loads but the Dobinson won out because of their physical size and super strong construction, they made to Bilsteins look like matchsticks!. The Dobinsons have only been fitted for around 30,000kms so it is too early to say about their longevity but certainly their performance has met my requirements for a softer dampening on compression and firmer rebound compared to the Bilsteins. The Dobinson are almost twice the price as the OzTec, they are in the Koni price range. I would have used Koni as I have had a great run out of these on a previous 4wd, but Koni were not available for the Challenger.

OJ.

[reciprovac]

The Old Man Emu suspension has been great. On road handling is firm yet smooth, ride height has been maintained the entire life with no further drop after initial bedding in. For towing I had to fit air bags to assist. Will go constant 200kg rear springs and remove the Air Bags as I have found them not maintain their pressure despite spending hours trying to locate the any leaks.

My only reason for the change is I now suffer shock fade after 20mins of rough corrugations. Recent trips north to the coastal Pilbara highlighted this considerably, however I am not sure if any mainstream non OEM shock would have handled the corrugations.
I have always had OME suspension on my 4x4's but there is now so many more options, just looking for feedback on the other stuff out there.

I have 200kg rear springs and air bags,the ride is quite firm but I tow a 20ft caravan.
With the van on I inflate the bags to 20 psi which evens up the ride height (300kg download ).
But one thing I recommend is adjustable front shocks,as old jack mentions compression is to firm on most shocks.
The tough dog adjustables set on 3 give a much improved result with most of the jarring over bumps removed.
Regards

[Ian H]

I had EFS shockers fitted with Pedders springs and they lasted about 18 months before I had to get rid of them. It may have been a bad batch but they all made a knocking noise from inside which was driving me mad. It's not like I went down the CSR or anything major but I did do quite a bit of corrugated driving on Dirk Hartog Island and that was the breaking point. I wouldn't buy them again and suggest you stick with what you know. Mine was an expensive lesson.

There's a thread about them in here somewhere.

I threw them away and went for Konis. Expensive yes, but bloody good gear.