Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Andre Thuynsma (AT.Patrol4.2D) can get Tough Dog

Tinus lotz wrote:Graham. ....you must check nicely. ....there are i think three diff tipes of ionman suspensions ....make sure you get the correct tipe for your dollar.....i have the full 3inch kit with no sway bars front or back ....iam happy ...there is a ionman shop in centorion that does good work they know their stuff .....
Imho i will order the Terrain Tamer kit for 18k

There are options. The cost is generally roughly the same. Mine lifte 750mm. I am however unsure whether this was because my 2001 coils were shot, or whether it was because of the lift kit ordered. I got mine at a steel, as someone had ordered the kit and never contacted the fitment centre in Brits to do the installation. In short, I was approached with a price I could not resist....

I guess, all told, it was probably a 50mm lift, and the other 25mm were from old, sagging springs. No idea. I still had a choice of shocks (Nitrogen, or foam, if I recall correctly) and I could opt for the Load or Performance coils. I opted for performance. Not lost anything - despite having added the bullbar in the meantime - but that may have been as a result of the nudge bar I had on earlier (truck has always had a winch). As I said, I am ueber chuffed with my setup, and will strongly consider them again when I need to do such stuff, but will probably support Marinus. :)

I'll talk to graham and see if he can get a good/ similiar deal on these kits then. It would make it easier for me to just dump the vehicle with him and get him to do everything one shot.

In terms of my needs:
The vehicle has an ARB bullbar, winch and skid plate on the front. I have a roofrack and roof tent on most of the time, and then for our bots trip coming up in July it will have six jerrys on the roof and reasonably full inside.
I might have to get the load springs cos of this, but I know I'm going to be irritated with the hard ride when not loaded.
It will be used for overland trips most of its life, but will definitely do the occasional tame 4x4 trail I guess.

I would like to get the terrain tamer kit, but it seems the timing won't fit in terms of import date and the bots trip coming up

I have a set of almost new OME shocks, they are about 1 year old so still good and I also have a brand new steering damper shock , brand new rear sway bar extension kit. I also have 4 OME coil springs in a fair condition (not new, I would not sell them, you can have them if you like so you can fit it and then see if you happy).All for the 4.8 GRX if you interested.

I am selling the OME as I got a full Nissan kit from another patrol owner who bought a new GRX and then changed the whole suspension and sold me the kit for next to nothing.

graham1 wrote:I'll talk to graham and see if he can get a good/ similiar deal on these kits then. It would make it easier for me to just dump the vehicle with him and get him to do everything one shot.

In terms of my needs:
The vehicle has an ARB bullbar, winch and skid plate on the front. I have a roofrack and roof tent on most of the time, and then for our bots trip coming up in July it will have six jerrys on the roof and reasonably full inside.
I might have to get the load springs cos of this, but I know I'm going to be irritated with the hard ride when not loaded.
It will be used for overland trips most of its life, but will definitely do the occasional tame 4x4 trail I guess.

I would like to get the terrain tamer kit, but it seems the timing won't fit in terms of import date and the bots trip coming up

Dont go to stiff at the back rather use airbags to assist when loaded

NMAD wrote:I have a set of almost new OME shocks, they are about 1 year old so still good and I also have a brand new steering damper shock , brand new rear sway bar extension kit. I also have 4 OME coil springs in a fair condition (not new, I would not sell them, you can have them if you like so you can fit it and then see if you happy).All for the 4.8 GRX if you interested.

I am selling the OME as I got a full Nissan kit from another patrol owner who bought a new GRX and then changed the whole suspension and sold me the kit for next to nothing.

PM sent

Ok, so a year and a half later and my OME kit that NMAD kindly sold (or maybe even gave me, I cant remember now) has bombed out, the patrol is a squeaking, bouncing mess at the moment.

Going to start getting some quotes on Ironman kits now.

Have a look at Bilstein shocks. You should not need to do a whole kit, just shocks and maybe bushes.

Bilstein B6 are repairable, and no more expensive than stuff you need to throw away...

Thanks Peter.

I did think about that, but I’m a little nervous of putting new shocks on and then finding two months down the line that the springs are actually shot.

I’m not really sure what to do. It would be great to be able to get away with just doing shocks though!

Checking the springs is as easy as parking the car on level ground and seeing if it has sagged significantly, either side to side or front to rear.

Spring health will have no impact on it being a "squeecky bouncy mess". That is all down to shocks with possible "assistance" from perished bushes.

Anyway, if you take it to Mikem, they can also check the springs, and supply replacements if necessary. And unlike any other supplier in SA, they can actually MEASURE the spring rate...