Suspension upgrade: 50 mm lift & Fournales Suspension' Oleopneumatic dampers... Verdict after 26 000 km (20% off-road) EN/FR

[Dok]

Stock shocks

 

[Tom D]

What is the amount of height adjustment on these? And how easy is it to change? It it just a tyre valve on each shock.

 

[Dok]

What is the amount of height adjustment on these? And how easy is it to change? It it just a tyre valve on each shock.

It has been set for 50/55mm.

I can raise it even more, but I haven't had any use for it so far (I'm looking to lower it occasionally to pass garage doors)

Very easy to change with a pump using the tyre valve (less than 5 minutes for 4 shocks adjustement)

 

[Tom D]

It has been set for 50/55mm.

I can raise it even more, but I haven't had any use for it so far (I'm looking to lower it occasionally to pass garage doors)

Very easy to change with a pump using the tyre valve (less than 5 minutes for 4 shocks adjustement)

Does adjusting the height affect the stiffness / rebound of the shocks?

 

[Dok]

Does adjusting the height affect the stiffness / rebound of the shocks?

When I lower it usually drive at less than 5 km/h in a parking so I don't really notice.

Haven't test higher yet.

I'm not enough expert to tell / May say something stupid which I try to avoid
Will ask Fournales Suspension next time I have them on the phone

 

[TelRidan]

I'd love to hear a review from you of the differences you're observing with your new suspension. especially any difference vs highway, trail and rock/obstacle handling. Both vs stock and any upgraded suspension system you have experiences with.

I hear good things about the evictus and king shock suspension. If i lift my grenadier i'm certain that i am going to change out the shocks for something better.

@parb Thanks for asking. I have been primarily on-road so far, with a little bit of washboard fire road mixed in. I have plans to take it West of me to the Blue Ridge for some more intensive off-roading and have a standing invite from my mechanic buddy to bring it out to his property where he's building a more technical trail. I will definitely get back on here once I have that opportunity. In the meantime, on-road, the handing is solid. We've got a lot of rough roads and major potholes around here and I have found that the oleopneumatic tech means that there is no bottoming out or harsh vibration pulling the steering wheel out of your hand. They also actuate quickly, so the tires are on the ground where they need to be, rather than bouncing around - especially on those washboard or corrugated dirt roads. The ride is smooth without feeling "numb" or overly cushiony like a luxury sedan. This is a vast improvement on the much choppier OEM shocks. Also good for the mall-crawler set when going over curbs and medians... Lol!

I was also swayed by the timeline for maintenance/rebuild. As I understand it, the traditional shocks have to be rebuilt more often. I too have heard good things about King and Fox as well. Not so familiar with Evictus though.

 

[TelRidan]

Thanks for the write up and helping me spend my money. . I had never heard of these and the very few reviews I can find all seem to love them. Was everything Bolt on or was there anything major in the changing out to the Nimbus from factory spec?

Hey @WanderingSniper The Nimbus technical team did a work up with me over the phone to understand the current state of my build and my future plans. They then set up the shocks according to my specs, including anticipated driving habits, so that at the end of the day they were essentially bolt-on 1:1 for the OEMs. As @Dok mentioned on the Fournales, the Nimbus also have a Schrader valve to add gas (whether nitrogen, which is highly stable and non-reactive, or simply air) for adujusting compression rates in case weight is increased on the build.

 

[Zimm]

Does adjusting the height affect the stiffness / rebound of the shocks?

Well, this isnt a plain airspring. The valving in the hydraulic fluid is what should dictate the damping and the ride. Peruse their site and maybe you'll find that answer for sure.

Also keep in mind, as of this moment, they are not providing replacement mainsprings of a lower rate. (I did contact them) In my opinion they could achieve a much better ride with more user control with that adjustment. If it were me, I'd start with a longer mainspring with the rate set so that it maybe just barely bottoms out without the system in place, and experiment on up from there. Keeping in mind, lifting more than the static ride height is transferring a % of the static load to the shock mounting points.

The 'international' nature of the truck design will really swing to favor 'French' with this type of Citroen suspention. As soon as they finish the kit, I'm buying it. I loved my lx470's ride.

 

[Dok]

Hey @WanderingSniper The Nimbus technical team did a work up with me over the phone to understand the current state of my build and my future plans. They then set up the shocks according to my specs, including anticipated driving habits, so that at the end of the day they were essentially bolt-on 1:1 for the OEMs. As @Dok mentioned on the Fournales, the Nimbus also have a Schrader valve to add gas (whether nitrogen, which is highly stable and non-reactive, or simply air) for adujusting compression rates in case weight is increased on the build.

Ok so the "only difference" would be the height adjustment?

 

[TelRidan]

Ok so the "only difference" would be the height adjustment?

Can't be certain as I am not familiar with the Fournales product, but if they have true height adjustment, then it sounds like that might be the key difference?

 

[Dok]

Can't be certain as I am not familiar with the Fournales product, but if they have true height adjustment, then it sounds like that might be the key difference?

Maybee a specific air-nitro chamber for nimbus vs mixed in my fournales? Will try to get more details on my next stop at the fournales factory