Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Okay, I replied and posted but that post is gone. So if there is 2 similar post from me, please forgive me.

I spoke to voetspore mega world and they said the sway bars is their for stibility. And they can supplybthem with the kit for R350. So Ricster you explained it nicely, more so the conseqeunce if not replaced with the longer ones. Thanx

Tinus, thanx I will give him a call.

I agree that bilstein is great and would put them in, in a heart beat. But they do not supply shocks for 2inch lift in SA. reasons for up grading is mainly for weight and durability. I ruaned my OE suspension on one trip, deu to weight and corrigated roads. The car only has 23400km on the odo. Nissan tested the shocks and said that they are fine and stil stiff ( by hand ). But while driving my car I can tell you that they are not fine. When going over humps and patched pothole buldges the tyres bounce on the road. I can feel the weight of the front wheels and diff through the steering when it bounces. It was never like that. So yes, they might not be kapoet, but they are finished.

Just replacing the shocks wont solve the problem. The coils are not up to it and thus the shocks will always get damaged. The 2inch lift is a want, more than a need.

AndriesS,

I have diesel, so dune driving will be a matter of live and death, not something of want
but I will look into the breaklines thanx

Tinus, I spoke to Angus and I am waiting for his qwote. Thanx

On a live-axle car, sway bars have absolutely nothing to do with stability. They do two things:
1) Reduce body roll around corners and on side slopes.
2) Fine-tune the handling balance (oversteer or understeer).

The body roll is a personal issue, but does depend somewhat on whether or not you have (and use) a roof rack. Keep in mind that virtually all the GQ's in sA came factory-fitted without a front sway bar.

As for handling balance, I doubt whether 5% of Patrol drivers will ever notice. They just aren't racing cars. For interest, in theory removing the front one will increase oversteer, removing the rear one will increase understeer and increasing both probably won't make much of a difference. Note that this will only really have an effect in fairly high speed corners.

My personal feeling: unless you heavily load a roof rack, take them off and keep them in the garage for a month. If after that you still miss them, put them back.

Thanx Peter, my roof rack is still busted, so not using that currently. I will keep this in mind.but at R350 I might as well do them when I do the suspension.

Hi Josh

Just to add to what Pieter said, I currently only have my sway bars fitted at the rear. I was driving around for the last couple of months (probably about 7) without any sway bars.
Like Pieter said, the only area where I could feel a difference was in body roll. I only put my rear one back because I did the Jaboree challenge and my roof rack was fully loaded and didn’t want to much body roll.

Peter Connan wrote:I have not used them myself, but I have read an Auzzy test that concluded that Tough Dog was the best of the lot, performance wise. However, they tested on a 105 Cruizer, and there's no guarantee the Patrol set is also best.

Personally, I would also get quote from Mikem. They fit Bilstein shocks, which have the advantage that they can be repaired/maintained which none of the ones on your list can, and the prices are usually comparable.

I have read on a number of occasions that the Nissan steering damper is better than any of the others, so save your money on that.

I would fit the correction bushes unless the vehicle is to be used primarily off-road. They will improve high-speed stability at the expense of a little bit of articulation.

Here it is: http://www.euro4x4parts.com/images/4wd_ ... gh_dog.pdf

I think a sway bar (stabilizer bar) depends on requirements and it differs from driver to driver
it is critical in any racing or rally car where high speed cornering and traction is a necessity and every second counts

Errol, keep in mind that a stabilizer/anti-roll bar has very different effects on independent suspension than on live axles.

There are two factors that determine traction: the pressure the tire exerts on the ground, and the angle of the wheel with the ground. The ideal is to get it to lean into the corner slightly (how much depends on the tire construction and size (width and profile)), but of course this is not ideal for straight-line traction (braking and acceleration), where square is best.

On a reasonably level and flat surface, a double-live-axle vehicle's tires are always at the same angle to the ground, irrespective of body angle. Therefore, the anti-roll bars have virtually no influence on traction in these vehicles, although they will have some influence on front to rear handling balance.

On most independent suspensions (with the exception of the De Dion tube), the body angle will affect the angle the tires make with the road, and therefore it becomes more critical to limit body angle changes.

Thanks Peter.. I agree with you on that