Advice on suspension,tyres,dual battery system

[DaveH]

Hi

I recently purchased a 2007 4.8grx Patrol and was looking for some advice on 1 or 2 mods I would like to do.

Suspension:
I wanted to go for OME, extras on the vehicle is a 9000lb winch, no bullbar. Anyone with a 4.8grx who has fitted OME who could recommend which weight of springs to go for at the back and at the front. I would like reasonable height lift but dont want to compromise the ride comfort to much on the road.

Tyres
I wanted to fit BFG All terrains, and wanted to for the 285/70/17'S. Have any members fitted this size. How did you find the on road comfort, any problems scraping on the axle articulation. Or is it better to go for the 265 BFG all terrain? I still have the original 265/65/17 Bridgestone HT on the car at the moment and they will need replacing soon.

Dual Battery.
From reading on the forum looks like will have to go in the back. Unless anyone has maybe found an installer in Jhb who has successfully installed under the bonnet. Could someone maybe recommend name of a good dual battery installer, for a turnkey installed dual battery system in Jhb?

Would appreciate experience on above mods from fellow members.

Cheers

Dave

[David]

Hi Dave - Welcome to the forum!

I have a 2006 GRX and as our models are fitted with ABS space under the bonnet becomes a bit of a problem with second batteries. There are however guys who have swopped the water bottles etc. for something smaller to make space for a battery. Personally I think a battery in the back is the way to go and you only add it when going camping etc.

On the suspension side I have the 2" TJM which I find slightly bumpy/stiff at low speed but marvelous above 80km/h on dirt or tar. My advise would be to decide what your vehicle will be used for most and what weight it will carry. If you want the comfort go for the softer options but realise that fully loaded it might sag a bit. Also check out the Ausie site as this topic has been discussed thoroughly - 10 people - 11 answers

The Bridgestone HT is exactly that - a highway/tar tyre - good on tar and I believe they should be good in sand as well but they do not offer the puncture resistance or offroad grip of an A/T or mud tyre. The 285 I think is the ideal tyre for the Patrol but there are negatives - your trip meter will show less km's than really travelled which also makes your fuel consumption look worse than it really is! The solid sparewheel cover will also no longer fit and with the longish gearing of the Patrol it will be slightly slower off the mark. The 285's should give a better ride, bigger footprint and they will definitely look better!

[DaveH]

Hi David

Thanks- appreciate the input and welcome to the forum.

I see you fitted the BFG A/T's to your 06 model. Did you go for the 285/70/16? I am sure the 4.8 has plenty power, just interested to see if your fuel consumption was worse after fitting. Also do you just remove the spare wheel cover altogether and then does the spare fit ok on the back? On the bigger BFG A/t's do you find them comfortable as a long distance cruiser?

I would be interested to hear from the chaps that have fitted the OME to see if they found the ride comfort onroad similar to the TJM.I guess I would like the best of both worlds. A nice lift/ good articulation for offroad with a comfortable ride onroad seen as I use the car as a daily drive as well. Use will be daily driver, offroad when I can get away, and some overlanding as and when time permits.

For the battery system, I was hoping that one of the 4x4 fitment centres had maybe done the spare battery under the bonnet on a few patrols seen as I am not too good at the DIY. Anyone got any recommendations.?

I must say really enjoying driving the Patrol, great vehicle with plenty power.

[Herrie]

Welcome!! In my opinion I will rather go for the Bridgestone Dueler A/T's - much more comfortable than the BF's

[David]

My current BFG A/T's are 265/70/17's. It is not neecessary to go to 16" rims as BFG has a good range for the 17's. I had 33" MTR's on my Safari.

I feel the higher profile molds better over obsticles and the chances of damaging a rim is slighter. The solid cover is bolted by the sparewheel carrier bracket to the back door but should be easy enough to remove. From what I have read is that the bigger tyres might interfere with the rear wiper and that you might need spacers to move it away from the body but lets see what the guys who actually did it say!

[DaveH]

Thanks Guys.

I would like if possible to hear from guys who have fitted the 285/70/17'S to see what their experiences were.

[JG Shields]

Dave,

1. Suspension: Make contact with "Mayhem" on this forum. He do not only supply suspensions, but specializes in them as far as vehicle weight, application etc are concerned. My gut-feeling says OME. My 2001 model Patrol with OME gives me a fantastic ride on- and off-road. There is nog much difference between the Patrol bodies 1999 and onwards. The results will be the same in all of them.

2. I replaced my Bridgstone Dualer A/T last week after 105000km, trouble free. It was my 3e set of the same tyres. I will not mess too much with tyre size on that specif car as a result of power loss with big tyres. The standard 3.83 ratio diffs in the 4.8 is slightly on the long side and the car seldom reach optimum torque revs. Bigger tyres makes it even worse. The Dualer A/T's is a very well balanced tyre between on- and off-road.

3. Duel Battery: I prefer a mobile pack. It gives me the ability to use it in my camp for lighting- and fridge purposes when I have a long term static camp.

[Alanvs]

I have the 70mm OME which is excellent on road confort. I am also running 35's with the 4.5, so 33's should be no problem with the 4.8.

[DaveH]

Thanks Guys- no one maybe with a 4.8grx who has fitted bfg a/t 285/70/17'S?

[Tony]

Any reason why no-one has mentioned Ironman?? I fitted Ironman performance springs with gas shocks about 20000km's ago, and am finding the ride to be not bad at all, but then I have never felt what OME suspension feels like. Has anyone out there had the opportunity of experiencing both. The price was my motivation at the time, and I constantly wonder if the difference between the two is as vast as the price difference!!