The Ultimate Suspension Day
21st May 2005

Billed as the ups and downs of suspensions systems, we certainly got that as well as the in-depth run-down of shock absorbers. The Ultimate Suspension is really at the boutique end of the Australian suspension business, designing tailored systems to meet individual requirements. They differ from the off-the-shelf, almost supermarket approach to suspension systems followed by the big players in the market. To this end, you get what you pay for and that is their expertise and desire in ensuring that you are completely satisfied with what they come up with.

Ken O’Keefe is the man behind the name, as they say. Having formed the company in the late Seventies, his experience has come about through research and development, but also that desire to please his customers. So the day started out with Ken introducing himself and outlining what we were doing. First up was Craig, from Bushranger products (Kingsley Enterprisers) demonstrating a range of their products, from the Max Air compressor (winner of the most recent 4wd Monthly compressor comparison), to the X-Jack exhaust jack. All products displayed were offered to members at cost price for the day only and were taken up by quite a few.

Next it was into the heart of The Ultimate Suspension premises, the Research and Development workshop, where we met the shock absorber guru, Kone (pronounced con). If you ever thought that the subject of shock absorbers was dull and boring, you’ve never met Kone. Here’s a man who lives, breaths, eats, drinks, walks, talks, and sleeps shock absorbers. You could say that he’s totally absorbed by them – but I wouldn’t!

Kone and Ken took us step by step through the design and manufacture of the TUS High Pressure Gas Monotube shock absorber. What Kone and Ken have done is stripped down every major brand of shock absorber you can name. They then took the best features of each of them and designed their own, which is hand built in their workshop. Which is exactly what we witnessed. You see, The Ultimate Suspension offer three levels of shock absorber – Gibson Ryder Foam Cell Twin Tube, Aussie Rider Gas Pressure Twin Tube and their own TUS High Pressure Gas Monotube shock absorber.

Based on the original High Pressure Gas Monotube shock absorber designed and developed by De Carbon and sold to the likes of Kone and Bilstein, as previously stated, their’s incorporates everything they’ve learnt over the years, to provide a superior product at a comparable price to the imported opposition. Starting with the 3mm cold drawn chrome molly tube, to the specifically developed viton seals, through to their fully machined aircraft grade aluminium pistons. These are designed from the ground up to suit the riggers of Australia’s harsh conditions.

Watching and listening Kone as he built up a shocky, was on one hand mildly amusing, given his bubbly enthusiasm, yet also heartening to know that these were built by someone who is truly passionate about what he is creating. We could also witness the mutual respect there was between Ken and Kone. First the body was created from the tube, with the end cap (again a machined item, rather than a piece of pressed metal) welded in place. Kone even machined the circlip grove in front of us. Next the piston assembly was built up on rod. Then the whole unit assembled with the oil and gas to create a working unit that was passed around.

Throughout this exercise we were shown other types and brands of shock absorbers cut open to reveal their inner secrets and shown their design features and failings. Any time we asked pertinent questions, we received knowledgeable answers, as you’d well expect. There was also a demonstration model shock absorber, that perfectly explained the roll of the floating piston in separating the oil from the gas, and the roll the gas pressurisation plays in preventing oil cavitation. This floating piston is there purely to separate the oil from the high pressure nitrogen gas and through this pressure prevents the cavitation. Cavitation reduces the ability of the shocky to perform effectively and is caused mainly through constant oscillation, such as those found on outback corrugated roads. Another factor is oil viscosity and thus the grade of oil has a bearing on performance and this is due to the fact that the compression and rebound settings of an individual shocky are determined by its valving. This valving is controlled by the quantity and sizing of the holes in the piston body. Of course as the oil thins, it will pass through these holes faster, reducing the damping qualities of the shocky. So, as they say “oils aint oils” and again these only get the best, whereas your everyday garden variety shocky’s oil is determined by price, not performance.

The ins and outs of the twin tube shock absorbers were also explained and the thing I didn’t realise was that the oil actually passes from the inside tube, to the outside one. The Gibson Ryder Foam Cell Twin Tube, for example, uses dense foam in the outer tube to reduce air and thus cavitation, as the oil is pumped in and out. Whereas the Aussie Rider Gas Pressure Twin Tube uses the nitrogen gas instead of air to assist in doing the same job. What really shocked (oh the puns!) us was the explanation of how these so-called adjustable shock absorbers worked. Mmm, ‘nuf said!

Also explained were the theory of multiple shocky set ups. These were more designed to share the loads imposed over the shockys as well as over the mounting points. Thanks to Land Rover Australia’s warranty department, there was a Discovery Series 3 air suspension unit pulled apart on the bench for us to ogle over.

Also on hand was a 100 Series Landcruiser fitted with an aftermarket active suspension system, which we were able to see in action, thanks to Ken and Kone fiddling with the controls. Next up was Ken’s own 100 Series fitted with adjustable rear air springs, which again were fiddled with, so we could watch it go up and down at the touch of a buttom.

By this time our tummies were rumbling and Ken fired up the BBQ, putting on a sausage sizzle, ably assisted by Bob, his right hand man in the sales department. Pretty soon everyone was tucking into sausage sandwiches, washed down with soft drinks – yum!

As we milled around chatting to one another, a few of the group realised the time and had to leave us, while the rest remained to ask Ken a few more general suspension questions. Here we were treated to explanations of how raised suspensions work, how extra travel is achieved and the importance of getting a proper wheel alignment, rather than a quickie down at the local garage. All too soon we were into the thanks and either ordering our new suspension systems, or reluctantly climbing into our poorly sprung steeds for the drive home.

Simon French won the lucky door prize of a 12v shower.

A big thanks to Ken, Kone, Bob and the crew from The Ultimate Suspension for their totally absorbing (oh dear!) talk and for Craig from Kinsley Enterprises for his demo as well. Give them a call on 9603 7677, or simply drop into The Ultimate Suspension at 6/25-31 Airds Rd, Minto weekdays and Saturday mornings. For an opinion of just how they work on a Landy, ask President Sally, or Treasurer Jane. Both have long term experience with them fitted to both Discovery and Defender. And now the bottom line. The TUS High Pressure Gas Monotube shock absorber will set you back around $260 each, while their coils are about $220 a pair. Those shockys are warranted for 3 years and can be adjusted once for free within that period and are able to be rebuilt at anytime for a cost of about $120. As they say, you pay for what you get, which in this case is - The Ultimate Suspension.