Range Rover P38 - KONI Replacement Shock Absorbers - Verdict

...and AC spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Some of the difference may well be Konis vs OE shocks, but I bet the majority of the improvement is new vs knackered, old shocks.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to change them all round?

Matt.

On or around Wed, 8 Feb 2006 22:45:29 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

I may have to go the Koni route for the fast ford, when I get around to sorting the suspension properly - not sure the originals are going to still be available...

Yeah, i have just done a very bouncy ride home from Burnley over Scartop!!!

Nige

--

-- Subaru WRX Range Rover LSE (Bob) FOR SALE!!! Range Rover 4.6 HSE (The Tank!)

'"I don't remember asking you a goddam thing"

Hi Richard,

I was aware that this may have artificially made the KONIs look better than they were so I did actually go for a drive in a P38 that had had all shocks changed some 8 months ago and they were standard parts. Whilst they were slightly better there wasn't a marked difference between my older ones (7 years and 65k miles) and the newer ones. The difference between the old standard items and the new KONIs is marked.

From Camberley Auto Factors in Swindon I paid £342.02 for all four. My next free weekend is in late May so I paid Tim Fry Land Rover in Cheltenham £150 for the 3 hours it took to replace them all.

On another topic. Do not have a mild steel exhaust from a main dealer fitted as a replacement. I was quoted almost £700 and this one lasted just two years. For £560 you can get stainless steel ones (several options) from places like Rimmer Brothers in Lincoln and they're guaranteed for life.

Anyone with any advice on new brake discs, pads and hoses? I'm aware of David at Llama4x4 for braided hoses and will be paying him a visit sometime soon. I need two new front discs and will replace all 4; I was wondering if it's worth going for grooved discs and uprated pads.

Regards

AlanC

Alan Hi,

it is DEFINATELY worth upgrading to slotted (and drilled if available) disks and greenstuf EBC kevlar pads.

Drilled disks will generate a bit of noise when you brake and kevlar pads take some time to get to 100% performance when the weather is cold but with the drilled disks you will get immediate braking when it is raining (the water passes through the holes and the pad touches the disk immediately) and fat better cooling. As for the kevlar pads they are simply EXTREMELY hard to get them to overheat.

I use them on my almost three tonnes heavy camel trophy Discovery 200Tdi and it is the only pad able to operate well on downslope roads during the hot Greek summer days without overheating or generating burnt brake pad smell.

Take care Pantelis

I used to go through a set of pads every 10k in my Audi when I had drilled discs (yes, I used to drive fast down local country roads). The discs also wore very badly (they weren't cheapo jobs either) I took them off in the end and put standards back on. No noticeable difference. They looked cool - I wouldn't ever bother again though, but that's just my personal experience. I've only ever had one episode of brake fade and that was driving around Milton Keynes with all those bloody roundabouts in a crappy Volvo!

Matt.

On or around Thu, 9 Feb 2006 18:39:27 -0000, "AC" enlightened us thusly:

did that have cat(s)? if so, 's about normal price. if not, it was a rip-off.

The price quoted i.e. £700 (fitted) was for everything from the cats back for a twin tailpipe system. Needless to say I didn't go for it! I went for the stainless twin large bore system from Rimmer Brothers and am very happy with it. Here's hoping it lasts as long as promised.

Regards

AlanC

On or around Thu, 9 Feb 2006 23:01:25 -0000, "AC" enlightened us thusly:

bloody hell. Mind, the dealers probably want to sting you about 200 quid for fitting.

300 TDi exhaust, complete, in mild steel, was only a bit over a hundred quid.

Austin Shackles mumbled something on 10/02/2006 10:01:

Err, no, that price has come down a lot. Back in 2001, it was £1,500+VAT+fitting.

LR dropped the price because people were getting JanSpeed/Rimmer/whatever Stainless systems to save money.

Andy

On or around Fri, 10 Feb 2006 18:39:43 +0000, Andy Cunningham enlightened us thusly:

still bloody ridiculous. which motor is this again... ah, P38. Hence the excuse for silly bills. I bet it's no more of a fitting job than any other exhaust, though.

hmmm. what year? the Bosal thing[1] for petrol engined rangies produces 3 hits for 4.0i, 4.6i:

09/94 - 08/96, 08/96 - 09/98, 09/98 - 01/02

all of which appear to be P38 and none of which are shown as a twin-pipe system. The only ones that have twin intermediate pipes are the classics from 77-85.

The 3 P38 systems look simialr - late ones having different front pipe and different front box, while the 2 early ones look identical but have a different part number for the rear box.

Taking the middle one, 96-98, they quote 580-odd quid for the whole system including cats and mountings.

[1] aha. I see they still list one for my 4x4 sierra, 208 quid for a complete system. Could be handy, that.

Austin Shackles mumbled something on 11/02/2006 10:10:

Oh agreed. Apart from having to remove the gearbox support cross member, I don't think there's anything difficult about fitting it.

Starting to sound more reasonable. 2 1/2 hrs to fit would cover the rest of £700 at a franchised dealer.

Andy

On or around Sat, 11 Feb 2006 10:18:46 +0000, Andy Cunningham enlightened us thusly:

ISTR though that the 700 quid was for the system from the cats backwards, i.e. NOT including cats.