85% of Australians live within 50 km of the coast, impressive considering Australia is nearly the same size as the continental United States. That leaves long hauls to some of the most remote and harsh environments in the world. This is why Australia is the perfect proving ground for off-road suspensions. When you have stretches of corrugated roads lasting for hundreds of kilometers, inferior designs tend to expire quickly. Some of the best brands in heavy duty suspensions come from Australia. Old Man Emu, TJM and Ironman have all became common names in performance off road suspension nearly worldwide.
Critical to performance suspension is pairing the weight of not only your vehicle to the suspension, but any aftermarket accessories, or gear that you’ll be carrying. Old Man Emu has this down to a science with their systems that puts emphasis on proper handling and load carrying ability, with overall lift height as a secondary consideration. In my personal experience installing many different OME suspension systems, they’ve all performed flawlessly. You’ll notice that other Australian brands such as Iron Man also offer different load carrying options in their suspension. I tested Ironman springs on my Toyota Land Cruiser (80 Series) and thought for a budget kit it performed well. I was able to talk directly to the Ironman representative and he helped me select the Constant Duty kit. However, I did mess up the design of the kit by adding some cheap coil spring spacers (which should be included in Scott's "10 Don'ts of Overland Vehicle Modification.) This caused premature bushing wear, which is attributed to the incorrect bushing being used for the ride height.
Every vehicle that we drove on our tour through the Australian outback was fitted with Old Man Emu suspension. From technical terrain, to high speed dirt roads, to the occasional drift; we were consistently impressed.
Resources:
Old Man Emu - www.arbusa.com/Products/Suspension-Systems/30.aspx
Ironman 4x4 - www.ironman4x4.com
King Springs - www.kingsprings.com
TJM - www.tjm.com.au
Ironman - www.camel4x4.com
