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G'day! Check out this beast of a Nissan GU Patrol. It's a dedicated outback tourer and go everywhere machine. When its owner decided to redo the suspension, he choose Tough Dog - The big bore shock specialist!... Scroll on.....
(above) Back end shot revealing the Tough Dog 45mm bore adjustable shocks, Tough Dog constant 400kg+ rear coils and Airbag Man airbags (the ones with the High Pressure mesh sleeves). This Patrol really gets loaded so it just needed everything it could get.
(above) The previous suspension system fitted was by OME. Check out the difference in the size between the two shocks. These Tough Dogs have a 70mm outer body compared to the OME 56mm one. Combined with Tough Dog's use of foam-cell technology (compared to the Nitrocharger's gas) the Tough Dog shock holds a tremendous amount more heat-dissipating oil. Ideal for many km's of corrugated road driving. There is also a big difference between the internal bore size between the two products: 45mm (Tough Dog) vs 35mm (OME). Bore size is the diameter of the piston and the inside of the pressure tube. Generally, the larger the unit, the higher the potential control levels because of the larger piston displacement and pressure areas. The larger the piston area, the lower the internal operating pressure and temperatures. This provides higher damping capabilities.
(above) Inside the Tough Dog coil springs are the airbags by Airbag Man. It’s been a number of years now since Airbag Man introduced the mesh High-Pressure sleeve kits for their Coil-Rite (coil spring) helpers, but it’s always worth highlighting how well they work and the extra performance they provide. While to the untrained eye the blue mesh sleeve might look like something you get from a trendy fruit shop to carry your tamarillos in, the material allows you to double the pressure in the bag compared to the non-sleeved version. So where traditionally the Coil-Rite bag would have a max pressure of 30psi, with the mesh sleeve fitted the same bag can operate at a max of 60psi. The effect of this is literally the doubling of your extra load carrying ability, or (if not required) halving the load on the bag for increased service life. Additionally, the fibre mesh high-pressure sleeves make your airbags as close as possible to bullet and pinch-proof, which is perfect for remote outback touring and travel.
(above) Front suspension picture. 15mm thickness coil spacers trim the front end ride height a fraction more. Note the black knob at the bottom of the Tough Dog shocks. That's for external ride-firmness adjustment. There are nine (9) positions to choose from. The difference in damping between position one and position nine is around 400%, so the choice is immense. Like nine shocks in one!
(above) Sam is installing a 2-degree caster bush correction kit . See how the centre of the new bush just installed is offset rather than centre. Some 4WD shops and suspension parts sellers will tell you that you don't need a caster bush correct kit for a 50mm (2-inch) lift. "Nah mate! Don't need it for 2-inch!". This is usually a business or salesperson who is frightened to do or say anything that will raise the quoted price because they think, "If I quote too high, I might not get the sale!" 4WD1.com does not operate like this. As a general rule, for every inch of suspension lift above original height, the caster steering angle changes approximately 1-degree. So at 50mm (2-inch) lift, the caster steering angle is out by around 2-degrees. As there is no facility on the vehicle to adjust for caster steering angles, the fitment of off-set or eccentric correction bushes are required where the front radius arms meet with the front axle. The eccentric design of the bush pushes or rotates the front axle back to where is should be for the proper geometry. While you can still drive a lifted GQ or GU Patrol without fitting the bushes, the effect from a driver's perspective is that the steering wheel will feel quite "light" when driving. You tend to lose some sense of "feel" for the road. 2-degree caster correction bushes solve this problem.
(above) Here is where the radius arms (with correction bushes fitted) connect to the front axle. Essentially the bushes rotate the axle backwards to counter the forward rotation that occurs with the increase of radius arm angle when raised-height front coils have been fitted.
(above) The old steering damper (steering stabilizer) has been replaced by a heavy-duty Tough Dog EXT one. This is a big bore, big body product valved firmer for maximum guard against wheel wobble, wheel shimmy and its associated driver fatigue. It is only a small investment to get one of these and installation is easy. A must for vehicles with non-standard wheels and tyres and/or offroad driving.
(above & below) With the installation and wheel alignment done, the Patrol looks good and is ready to roll.
4WD1 Pty Ltd
p: 1300 004 931
e: sales@4wd1.com
w: 4wd1.com
G'day! Check out this beast of a Nissan GU Patrol. It's a dedicated outback tourer and go everywhere machine. When its owner decided to redo the suspension, he choose Tough Dog - The big bore shock specialist!... Scroll on.....