Not knowing that much about shock tech... what are the advantages and disadvantages of these shocks? Also the advantages/disadvantages of the external piggy back reservoir?

As many of you know, mine's a daily driver and also a weekend wheeler. I prefer technical off camber wheeling like that experienced when rock crawling.

And you said pricey... just how pricey?

If you just 'touch' a monotube its a done shock..OME's have substantially larger rods than comparable bilsteins, cost about 1/3rd less.

rubber gromms are superior, compare the mounting points, OME's dwarf the strength of the bilsteins...sigh...

Of course any shock has be procured in the right length...

I'll wait to hear from Trop and Mista etc. I've driven comparable bilsteins and ome's on washboard and the ome's 'won' (at least as measured by MY 'seat of the pants') hand's down. If you're comparing the super expensive dedicated off road remote reservoir bilsteins to the std ome's then 'DUH!!!' I would suspect the big buck bilsteins win out, but in that instance I would closely check the comparable koni's. Unless you're involved in desert racing, the remote res isn't needed as its primary purpose is try and keep the fluid cooler from constant jack hammering.
smooth/viscous shock movement is what I want for the slow crawling 4x4ing that I do. 80 mph across open country is another game entirely.


seer

as for rovers having nothing in common...well..the rrc's weigh about 4400lbs, big articulation and relatively soft suspension set for big travel. Driving over similar terrain I would think at least for loaded GenII's, shock requirements would be comparable...Why is it you think otherwise?


<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

When have you ever touched a shock on a montero. Chances of it happening on the front are no existant. Chances of it happening on a rear v6 are slim to none. If you bend one, take it off, you can get home just fine without a shock. I have never bent one I have bashed every single thing under the truck that is imaginable.

Elaborate please... Do you mean they're simply weaker construction?

Thanks for the other comments.

I will say that the KYB's I've been using have held up nicely and asside from one breaking from bottoming out too much (I mistakenly ordered one that was too long for the front is why) none have failed so far and I certainly wheel it.

Maybe I just haven't reached it's limitations yet.

Ray he means that the pistons ride on that single wall. If you dent it, you ruin the shock since it will seize up the internals.

Since twin tube shocks, have a second tube on the outside, you can ding them without ruining them. Still any decent hit is still going to ruin them they aren't bullet proof.

I don't think it is an argument for one or the other.

One shock that comes up alot in the full size world is the Edelbrock. Anyone got any insight on those?

Seer, Like Doug was saying The chances of hitting a shock in a V6 Montero are slim to none, as far as comparing to the rover..alot more than vehicle wieght has to be factored in like the angle that the shock is mounted in relation to the axle. On V6 Montero's the rear shocks are mounted close to a 40 degree angle towards the front which allows for a great deal of wheel travel with a relatively short throw shock. This means the shock has to be alot "stiffer" in order to provide the same amount of dampening that an upright mounted shock would. I feel that a smaller piston of a twin tube just wont provide the dampening that a Montero needs. Too large a diameter shock will also get pinched by the trailing arm during extreme articulation(just like my monroes did). As for the front..C'mon are you really gonna compare a solid axle rover to the IFS Montero?? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> For washboard roads I agree the OME's are probably nice, but for technical trails and on road control Monotube is the way to go in my book.

Kobi,

I recently purchased OME shocks/springs for my 94 Monty SR 3.5 DOHC..they should be in within a couple of days...will let you know what I think. Live in Rio rancho, NM [the desert] ...i'm new to this forum..a plethora of knowledge and experience..good night

matseel

Yes I run Koni's for 4 yrs now and they have copped a hammering and I have had no problems whatsoever.
It's generally accepted down here that Koni's and Bilsteins are the premiere shocks but they are expensive. The rest are all built to a price despite fancy features and stickers/advertising.
I have Koni 5 way adjustables but they only give 12.5" of total wheel travel and they don't come in a very big range of sizes.
You also have to remove the shock to adjust it.
The Koni's are also rebuildable for a very good price.
OME's have a mixed reputation over here even though they are marketed by ARB they are still made to a price. I do know that ARB put a lot of man hours in valving their shocks to suit a particular model. They are not just generic valve settings to suit various models.
However they do back their product 100%.
Outback Aus is pretty much the toughest terrain there is for a 4x4 especially the suspension. Endless dirt roads of corrugations with temps above 50 degrees celcius test man and machine. There are no shortage of stories about OME and Rancho failures in these conditions.
My advice is if your not looking for extra wheel travel and but are looking for a premium reliable shock Koni's are hard to beat followed closely by Bilsteins.
If your budget doesn't stretch that far OME, KYB, Rancho etc are all on a par as far as I'm concerned.
My next shocks for when my suspension is developed will most likely be these - http://www.4waysuspension.com.au/AdjShock45.htm
The Tough Dog Ralph's are as big and tough as a shock comes but they are priced the same as a Koni/Bilstein.
The Tough Dog foam cells are also a very beefy shock with a good reputation.

Thank you all! You have been a great help, as usual.
I'm gonna put on those Bilstein next week, and then try them on a three days desert trail in the Negev (which is approx. 3 time across the country... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />).
Will let you know.
Kobi