Newbie here

Grandad · Aug 22, 2013

Hi Guys
A newbie here from the Island of Grenada in d Caribbean mon.
Just replaced my D22 with a D40. Ran the D22 with ARB steel bar & winch with no front suspension mods. Got very droopy and had to replace bump stops, bushes, shocks etc at about 60k's.
Have got same set up on front of D40 (steel bar and winch) and was thinking of putting ARB 2" lift kit on the front. Don't do a huge amount of serious off roading but all the roads here are pretty rough. Have read a bit of negative press on these pages about the ARB kit. Any help would be appreciated.

Old.Tony · Aug 22, 2013

Welcome to the forum!

I have an ARB Commercial bar (badged as a Nissan bar) on my car and don't have a problem with it. With it and the winch I had to get heavy duty springs but when I finally decided I'd had a gutful of the sagging leaf springs in the rear I went ARB Old Man Emu front and rear and haven't looked back. Front went up 43mm and the rear 85mm or so.

On super rough roads you'll find your choice of shock absorber will play a large role. Thin shocks with low heat dissipation rates (or plastic valving) will give up fairly quickly. Larger shocks like Tough Dog Foam Cell and OME Nitrocharger Sports have very good heat dissipation rates and make great choices for rough terrain.

TigerST · Aug 22, 2013

Welcome to the forum!

nakedape · Aug 23, 2013

G'day bloke. As Tony says, rough roads need the right shock. Look for something with high valve rates and decent heat dispersal. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to spend a fortune -- but it does mean you have some research to do.

As for ARB (old man emu) gear -- you're right in saying that it gets mixed reviews. I don't like it, but others swear by it. You may need to chat to some local 4x4 enthusiasts to see what they are running.