Bilstein Shock by Arnott and Moog Ball joint repair, PICS!
06-16-13, 05:44 AM
#16
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06-16-13, 02:47 PM
#17
LOL, you know what everyone wants to know...do they work/feel better than stock even without the expensive electronic choices, soft , a little stiffer, even more stiff, way too stiff versus the price.
06-16-13, 11:47 PM
#18
It handles great on the road, eats up any imperfections on the road. Smooth as silk on the freeway, and doesn't bounce around like crazy. It feels like the Sport/Comfort **** is one click to the left of Sport.
In turning conditions, it feels a bit heavy, then again it is a top-heavy body-on-frame chasis. When going through a turn you do feel a bit of body lean. however the Bilsteins do manage to recover fairly quickly from that and get you leveled as fast as they can.
Going over small dips and speed bumps aren't a problem anymore.. Previously going over a small dip in the road, or speed bump would cause the back end to bottom out and hit the bump stops. Now it holds its own in the rear.
For $830 some off bucks, its definitely a good way to go rather than OEM $1,500+ strut replacements.
I would recommend these to anyone looking to upgrade the feel and alleviate the headache that OEM shocks seem to torment us with.
06-17-13, 01:49 PM
#19
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Thanks for the feedback. This will help greatly when the time comes to change shocks.
I just did a Tundra front bake conversion on a 1997 4runner. What a difference it made in the braking.
I just did a Tundra front bake conversion on a 1997 4runner. What a difference it made in the braking.
06-18-13, 07:01 PM
#20
If they have a number stamped on the body of the shock, I'd be curious to compare them against the Bilstein HDs that are available for our T4R cousins. My bet is they are the same shock. I'd be willing to pay extra if they've actually done some revalving -- and if the revalving is an improvement...
The numbers stamped on the shock are: 112723 24-186049-HO. Do the numbers say anything?
06-18-13, 10:22 PM
#21
24-186049 (rear) (~$70/ea)
24-188401 (front) (~$90/ea)
Prices from shockswarehouse dot com
Arnott *may* have had them revalved. or they may not have. Hard to really know. I'd bet the standard bilstein parts would be a good budget replacement.
06-19-13, 06:23 AM
#22
Pole Position
It would be interesting to get Arnott's comments on whether they had been revalved or not, this budget replacement option may have just gotten a lot cheaper...
06-19-13, 06:37 AM
#23
The GX is at least 500lbs heavier, so I can't see the same (4Runner) shock controlling the ride as well as needed. I installed mine last night and found some bumps to try things out. I really like the Arnott shocks compared to stock. They feel sportier, without being harsh. I never really liked moving the dial to the sport setting, because of harshness, but these feel stiffer, without the added harshness.
06-19-13, 07:57 AM
#24
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The GX is at least 500lbs heavier, so I can't see the same (4Runner) shock controlling the ride as well as needed. I installed mine last night and found some bumps to try things out. I really like the Arnott shocks compared to stock. They feel sportier, without being harsh. I never really liked moving the dial to the sport setting, because of harshness, but these feel stiffer, without the added harshness.
Thanks to you as well IabB2 for sharing your experience and observation.
06-19-13, 08:56 AM
#25
For $70 each (rear) and how easy they are to swap, it'd be worth giving them a try. I only have the fronts left and will have a shop install them, so I can't be experimenting with those. If someone here has both the GX and 4Runner and would like to experiment and report back...that would be sweet.
06-19-13, 09:20 AM
#26
For $70 each (rear) and how easy they are to swap, it'd be worth giving them a try. I only have the fronts left and will have a shop install them, so I can't be experimenting with those. If someone here has both the GX and 4Runner and would like to experiment and report back...that would be sweet.
The off the shelf HDs (part number above) are designed to work with everything from the Tacoma through the 4runner v8 limited. The 4runner is at the top of that scale, weight wise.
Here are stats from the web:
Exterior Dimensions & Weight
GX 470 Sport Utility Curb Weight - Automatic (lb.) 4871
4Runner Limited 4X4 V8 Curb Weight - Automatic (lb.) 4530
So, 340lbs difference. Not huge, percentage wise.
06-19-13, 09:22 AM
#27
My apologizes if I confused anyone on the forums..
Basically the way people handle the suspension system on the GX470 is one of three ways:
A.) Spend a bunch of money on maintaining the somewhat finicky rear airbags and replace the shocks with OEM adaptive shocks. This route keeps your GX completely stock and allows the driver to control the ride by turning the Sport/Comfort **** to a liking of there choice. Downfall: OEM shocks are expensive. I work for a Lexus dealership and my cost for OEM struts all around was in the neighborhood of $1,500!
B.) To hell with the air suspension! This phrase is somewhat common on the forums. Many people prefer to not deal with the rear air bags and the headache they might bring. (Examples of this include: faulty height control sensors, leaking air bags, poped air bags, leaky air lines, and failing air compressor.)
Therefore some people prefer to just rip out the air suspension completely and convert it to coil-over spring suspension. This not only renders the Comfort/Sport **** useless but also the High Control system.
. Personally I like my air suspension. I just spent a bunch of money last year replacing all the common failures in it, and I don't see a need to rip it out.
C.) Keep the factory rear air bags and replace both front and rear shocks with aftermarket struts. We use Arnott at our work to purchase replacement air struts for our off-brand used cars. Therefore I decided to go through them and purchase both front and rear Bilstien shocks designed for the GX470. It only cost me about $820 and I got good quality brand name shocks that I have used in both my 100 series Land Cruisers without complaint.
. Downfall to this setup is that you lost the "comfort/sport" ability. If your like me that never moves it, chances are you wont lose sleep over it.
Hope this clears things up.
Basically the way people handle the suspension system on the GX470 is one of three ways:
A.) Spend a bunch of money on maintaining the somewhat finicky rear airbags and replace the shocks with OEM adaptive shocks. This route keeps your GX completely stock and allows the driver to control the ride by turning the Sport/Comfort **** to a liking of there choice. Downfall: OEM shocks are expensive. I work for a Lexus dealership and my cost for OEM struts all around was in the neighborhood of $1,500!
B.) To hell with the air suspension! This phrase is somewhat common on the forums. Many people prefer to not deal with the rear air bags and the headache they might bring. (Examples of this include: faulty height control sensors, leaking air bags, poped air bags, leaky air lines, and failing air compressor.)
Therefore some people prefer to just rip out the air suspension completely and convert it to coil-over spring suspension. This not only renders the Comfort/Sport **** useless but also the High Control system.
. Personally I like my air suspension. I just spent a bunch of money last year replacing all the common failures in it, and I don't see a need to rip it out.
C.) Keep the factory rear air bags and replace both front and rear shocks with aftermarket struts. We use Arnott at our work to purchase replacement air struts for our off-brand used cars. Therefore I decided to go through them and purchase both front and rear Bilstien shocks designed for the GX470. It only cost me about $820 and I got good quality brand name shocks that I have used in both my 100 series Land Cruisers without complaint.
. Downfall to this setup is that you lost the "comfort/sport" ability. If your like me that never moves it, chances are you wont lose sleep over it.
Hope this clears things up.
So if we go with option C, and then if the height sensor fails or air bags leak, you still have to pay a hefty amount to get those fixed? I assume the car will also experience the same symptoms if it had the OEM shocks?
When these shocks go bad, what are the symptoms besides harsh ride? Does the car bottom out or stops leveling up and down?
06-19-13, 11:58 AM
#28
This thread is very informative. Looks like this is a very viable alternative to OEM shocks.
So if we go with option C, and then if the height sensor fails or air bags leak, you still have to pay a hefty amount to get those fixed? I assume the car will also experience the same symptoms if it had the OEM shocks?
When these shocks go bad, what are the symptoms besides harsh ride? Does the car bottom out or stops leveling up and down?
Which way you choose to go will depend on what you want to be able to do or feel. Personally, I like the fact Taft no matter how many people or how loaded down the truck is, it'll ride the same with the air springs, so I didn't want to loose that, unless I went the full off road direction.
On the other hand, I didn't use the ride control switch and have always found the stock shocks lacking, so I wasn't about to go back to stock. Especially for the price.
06-19-13, 12:04 PM
#29
Pole Position
I kind of like the air ride rear as well, for the height levelling functions so that it rides at the same height empty as it does fully loaded with a trailer hooked on, that's worth something to me. I won't be offroading this truck, it's my wife's DD, I have my own vehicles for that stuff.
The shocks though, if/when they need replacing I won't be going with OEM adjustable units due to the cost. I will say this, on both my '96 Hilux Surf w/ 145,000kms, and my '91 LandCruiser VX Ltd w/ 108,000kms, the e-adj shocks still worked and functioned like they should, and that's saying something about the longevity of Toyota's electronic suspension bits.
The shocks though, if/when they need replacing I won't be going with OEM adjustable units due to the cost. I will say this, on both my '96 Hilux Surf w/ 145,000kms, and my '91 LandCruiser VX Ltd w/ 108,000kms, the e-adj shocks still worked and functioned like they should, and that's saying something about the longevity of Toyota's electronic suspension bits.
06-19-13, 07:39 PM
#30
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X2 - I have just had my rear shocks replaced with the OEM parts and also find the ride lacking. Once again, thanks to this thread, I'll be going a different direction when these ones fail.