KYB Skorched4 Suspension

[Mad Mike]

Howdy cats,

I've searched a bit on this forum to see if anyone has had any dealings with the KYB Skorched4 set ups but couldn't find any info. My shocks are on the way out so obviously whilst replacing them it seems natural to spend a few bucks extra to lift the yoot a few inches.
Shoping around here in Adelaide I got a huge variation in prices on the same products and some that I thought may be a bit steep for what they were offering (all prices inc fitting). Eg: TJM quoted me $2315 for a 30mm lift with their XGS Gold Edition shocks, Opposite Lock weren't far behind with a 25mm lift Tough Dog set up at $2206, ARB were offering the Old Man Emu at about 40mm for $2036.20, Fourplay 4x4 quoted me $1828 for the foam cell Ironman kit with greasale shackles, City Discount Tyres at Pooraka quoted $1689 for the same and SA Suspension Centre offered 3 different products - the Drivetech 4x4 kit for $1695, the Ironman Foam Cell kit for $1495 and the KYB Skorched4 set up at about 40-45mm for $1295. They reckon the Skorchex4 set up is a higher quality product than the Ironman and I believe it's cheaper as a) they are the distributor for KYB and b) they are just re-working the rear leafs with an extra leaf and a helper spring to keep things a bit plusher in the initial part of the stroke when the yoot doesn't have any crap in it.

Has anyone had/got/are using the Skorched4 set up and what are your opinions. I can't justify spending $1k more for lower setups...

Cheers,

MM

[Mad Mike]

Oh, I forgot to say that I've got a 2009 ML VR triton with the factory centre diff lock...

[motoz]

G'day MM, good to see you finally pulled your finger out and made a post...

[Mad Mike]

It's been a while coming Dave. Haha!

[fridgie]

Hey mate, basically there's a few questions
1- what height are you looking for?

2- would a body lift help achieve it?

3- intended use for the vehicle?
4- wants from the suspension?

5- weight of the vehicle (front/rear axle)

6- concerned by legality?

7- more than I can remember atm...

Also, feel free to check out our sponsors, monster rides, ultimate suspension, as they offer discounts to forum members. I can't speak for monster as I haven't dealt with them but ultimate seem to have recommended installers in most major areas aus wide.

[DocBassett]

For those prices, I'd give ultimate a call. You know you will get a great product for around $1600-2k I believe. (The others are potentially good, but it'd suck to fork out the cash to find out they are goonah). Also, that iron man quote seems a bit steep seeing as I have recently seen it advertised at $780 or similar.

[mickkk]

As above, the standard question to any suspension on here is go ultimate as there is a vast majority run it on here (me included). That's not saying it's the only good option, (but a lot of people have come to the conclusion that they are the better oprtion

The monster gear seams great quality, but more pricy and seems that those that want to go higher than 2" go this option (still waiting on a diff drop kit to be made for triton)
I have never herd of the brand you are asking about so I can't comment, but I would say stay well clear from ironman.

[Mad Mike]

I'm looking at a 40-50mm lift for the yoot which has a steel ARB bullbar on it. I carry a dirtbike and camping gear reasonably often and my missus' folks live just north of Orroroo so the yoot gets a fair beating on the tracks/farm/roads up there. I also like getting out the west coast and local beaches fishing so the extra room under the yoot is very handy in the super soft sand out there.
I've ignored the body lift side of things so far as it needs front springs to cope with the bullbar as that wasn't done when it was put on by the previous owner.
I'll get a hold of ultimate suspension tomorrow.
I've also had a look at the DMS setup Motoz is running and they look awesome and Australian made to boot but are a bit expensive.

[GLX-RSilver]

I've learnt with my Ml triton that cheap suspension kits are just that. I've had ironman suspension kit and it sagged. I used heavy duty Pedders front coils to have no higher lift then std.
I found one of the better leafs was EFS and had no problems with my Bilstein struts and rancho rear shocks.
I'm eyeing off the Bilstein kit of ebay and its price is 1700-1800

[mitzikatzi]

For those prices, I'd give ultimate a call. You know you will get a great product for around $1600-2k I believe. (The others are potentially good, but it'd suck to fork out the cash to find out they are goonah). Also, that iron man quote seems a bit steep seeing as I have recently seen it advertised at $780 or similar.

$1600-2k, is that fitted

I was quoted $1850 earlier in the year to Perth (150 of that is freight). I got one quote for fitting at $300 (non assembled struts) plus wheel alignment, The Ultimate kits come with assembled struts so fitting should be cheaper.
Prices may have changed.

[Cowboy Dave]

Note that Boycee also sells the ultimate gear and is based in SA.

This may provide an idea on pricing: http://www.4wdsupplies.com.au/ultimate-suspension-suit-mitsubishi-triton-ml-mn/

[Mad Mike]

Check out www.sasuspension.com.au

[DocBassett]

For those prices, I'd give ultimate a call. You know you will get a great product for around $1600-2k I believe. (The others are potentially good, but it'd suck to fork out the cash to find out they are goonah). Also, that iron man quote seems a bit steep seeing as I have recently seen it advertised at $780 or similar.

$1600-2k, is that fitted

I've not purchased a full kit from ultimate so I'm unsure. I just posted the rough prices I've heard people have paid to give him a rough guesstimate. You would need to contact ultimate for a true price

[NowForThe5th]

Welcome Mike.

The first thing that you need to do is lose the concept of "x" inch lift. Means diddly squat unless you have a base reference point to start from. If you have a look through the Ride Heights thread (here then the first thing you'll notice is that there are no two Tritons exactly the same. To make matters worse, Mitsubishi themselves increased the front ride height a couple of years ago so most of those kits you're looking at would actually result in a decrease in ride height (at the front) if fitted to a new Triton.

Ride height is, of course, the measurement from centre of wheel hub to underside of wheel arch mould.

Let's talk ride heights. Typically the MY08/MY09 VR had a ride height of about 545mm when new. Of course, over 5 years that would have sagged somewhat so you could now be sitting down as far as 525mm.

So, where do you want to be? The general consensus is that around 590mm is the "sweet spot" - maximum height without the risk of CV angles increasing too much and risking breakage. There are some that run n the low 600s with no problem, but they tend to be the minority and maybe they don't push as hard off road or don't have a front locker.

Rears are a similar story with the limit generally dictated by the onset of shudder in those vehicles with a two piece tailshaft above about 640mm (varies widely).

The next urban myth that needs to be dispelled is that height is everything. There are countless stories on here of Tritons just walking through sections that Cruisers, Patrols and Jeeps couldn't. The Triton is remarkably capable even straight out of the box. With a little lift, good tyres and decent driving there isn't much that it can't do. Add a diff lock or two and they become a weapon.

Next, brands. KYB is a well respected brand who make a lot of high performance gear. This is, I think, the first time I've heard them mentioned as a prospective addition to a Triton. Do they (and a lot of other brands) have the experience with the Triton to come up with a really good setup? Do they offer tailoring of spring and shock rates to suit the weight of your vehicle? How's their warranty and service backup? Do you fancy being the crash test dummy?

When it comes to suspension I'd rather take a route that's tried and proven and it would seem that most of the members here have done the same thing. See this thread. They're not the only option, Monster Rides are a sponsor here too and many are happy with Dobinsons offering plus some with other major brands.

Your call. Enjoy the research.

[GLX-RSilver]

Here's a Pic of my ML Triton, it had Thailand 2.5 inch lowered front axle kit, King Coils with Bilstein struts, EFS MK triton leaf springs and Rancho Long Travel shocks.
It had 500mm clearance under the sills. To fix the Shudder problem I installed diff wedges and a one piece tailshaft.

[Mad Mike]

Looks good Silver!
Thanks for the info NowFor. The springs are king springs front and reworked original leafs for the rear. The front is going to be much lower than standard as it's got the steel bullbar on it. It's also clicked over 240k km just recent so has a lot of miles under its belt. I was originally going to go with the foam cell Ironman set up but the bloke at sa suspension reckoned the KYB set up was better quality...
I'm after more clearance for the underside and better handling on and off road. I like the idea of the helper spring to assist in keeping things a bit plusher in the rear in the initial stroke.

[ultimate]

The skorched4 range is fairly new to the Australian market which is why you will not find much feedback on it. That's not to say it isn't any good. KYB is the largest shock absorber manufacturer in the world. The last time I was overseas, they were bragging about manufacturing over a million shocks per week. They are an OEM supplier and do a lot of factory replacements. Compared to all of the cheaper kits you quoted, KYB would be my preferred option. If paired with the right springs, you should get a decent result.

Personally I don't like the original Mitsubishi leaf springs and think you will get a much better result with aftermarket leaves. It's more expensive but will provide more comfort and flexibility. I would also avoid the foam cell shocks on the Triton. They work well on live axle vehicles but you really need gas pressurised shocks with IFS. Foam cell will allow too much body roll and wallowing with the compressed coil.

Honestly our suspension is at the higher end of the market. The advantage with us is that it's set up to match your individual vehicle. We supply a lot of kits through Alltrac in Mile End. For a complete set up, you would be looking at around $2200 fitted in Adelaide. (Or about $1790.00 supply on with free pre-assembled struts for forum members).

Alltrac 4WD
305 South Rd
Mile End SA 5031
Contact- Brad
08 8234 6877
http://www.alltrac4wd.com.au/index.php

[Mad Mike]

Thanks for the info Brendan. I'll be calling you in the morning to have a chat. I'll also be popping by SA Suspension for the same as the are only about a 5min walk from my home.

[triton_guru]

From my experience the unknown is a scary thing but at the same time just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean its not great, i got kings kit and have been nothing but impressed with it, i havernt driven a triton with a lift other then mine so its hard to compare but compared to my mates d40 with the foamcell the kings killed it ;P go unique mate and let us know how u go

[Mad Mike]

Just spoke with Mark from Alltrac 4WD and it looks like their Ride Peo kit is about $2300 fitted and about $2700 fitted for the Ultimate... For those prices I think I'll go elsewhere.

[Rd1]

Fit it yourself and then go get a wheel alignment 1000 km's latter.
Did my DMS with SAX rear leafs last weekend on my own and took about 4 hours. Just need 2 stands and a floor jack.
Rich

[Mad Mike]

Got all that stuff but nowhere to actually do it at the moment. I'm going back to chat with the lads from SA Suspension soon to see what they reckon about new leaves.

[Cowboy Dave]

That's a bit odd that Alltrac's price would be $500 more than Ultimate thought it would be. Did you talk to ultimate about that at all?

[ultimate]

Wow. $2700 is way outside the normal price for our suspension. I will follow this up with Alltrac to see what's going on.

[motoz]

Just spoke with Mark from Alltrac 4WD and it looks like their Ride Peo kit is about $2300 fitted and about $2700 fitted for the Ultimate... For those prices I think I'll go elsewhere.

$2700 WHOA !!!

Thats what i paid for the DMS freighted and fitted.