Quick guide to Old Man Emu suspension for a 4Runner:

Front:	Rear:
OME N98 Front Shocks (£65.00 plus VAT and P&P) OME 303003 Torsion bars (£120.00 for the pair) OME SD33 Steering Stabilizer	OME N72F Rear Shocks (£65.00 plus VAT and P&P) OME 901 HD Coil Springs ( £55.03 plus VAT and P&P) Source: Frog's Island 4x4

NB: To be honest (and to my eternal shame), you can forget all about your bullbars and snorkels: driving in Africa is all about wheels and suspension. Spend your money on good shocks & springs, new bushes all round (but not always polybushes), check mountings (such as the gear box mounting) and buy good tough tyres, Michelin XZL or XZY are available in the UK but are cheaper when bought from Ebay than direct from a dealer. Tubed tyres on steel rims are the "best" option but tubeless are less prone to punctures. Buy a really good compressor.

OE tires for the 4Runner were 265/70 R15 Dunlop GrandTrek, but after reading "Sahara Overland" I bought some 16" steel split rims off ebay and have fitted these onto the 4Runner, although Chris Scott does not say what actual advantage this would give, they should make the vehicle look "leaner and meaner" and "Africanise" the wheel size at the same time as giving me more clearance. NB: Now I'm actually in Africa, changing to the 750/16 tyres on LC split rims really makes sense: all the safari operators use this size of tyre and rim and so there are plenty around in case you need a replacement.

These tyres are taller than my 265's or my 31.10.5R15s, about 1.5 to 2 inches, but the main difference is the weight. These mothers are heavy! 20 plus Kgs I'd estimate! The 4Runner took 1st place in the 1990's in the Borneo Jungle Challenge and the Toyota team used 265.75 R16 BFG M/Ts but I've bought 7.50 16 Michelin XZLs for the trip. These military LandRover tyres are the next best thing to the legendary Michelin XZY and should last out a return trip. NB: Don't let other people ever drive your vehicle. I let some Shona called Never drive my truck up from Durban to Jo'burg and the bastard drove on a flat for over 100 km - AT SPEED! He also drove the whole way in 4WD High Range. This totally fucked the tyre and now I'm down to 5. Nonetheless, here in Kenya, Firestone make reasonable tyres and so I bought some of there MT's: Stallions. Most safari ops use the Firestone Trans-Lug or as it is now known: the Yana Pamoja.

I've bought 9 XZLs (via ebay) but will only be taking 6. These tyres are tubed, necessary to use with split rims, and I've chosen to buy 6 x Michelin Airstop tubes to go with the XZLs.

To service the split rims / XZL combo, I bought a set of tire irons from Matt Savage. These seemed a bit soft so I have paid for another set, this time from TYREPLIER. I've also bought the Ozzie TYREPLIER beadbrakers and repair kit to make repairs a darn site easier. I'm a bit worried that my TRUCKAIR pump may not handle it but I don't have the funds to buy a better pump at the moment - some things will have to wait! NB: Around every corner is a "Jua Kali" who'll fix your puncture etc for around 100 - 200 shillings (around a pound!) so why sweat it unless you have to? This is another good reason to carry two spare tyres. Split rims are hard to find in the UK and may be expensive from a dealer if you ship your vehicle to Africa maybe think of buying your splits and tyres there.

I replaced the OE suspension with a Heavy Duty Old Man Emu Suspension kit (Frog's Island). Longer HD coil springs (OME 901), Nitrocharger shocks front (OME N98) and rear (OME N72F) and a steering stabiliser (OME SD33). These have lifted the vehicle by about 50mm (I've yet to check exactly) and therefore give me better wheel clearance and axle articulation. I hope that by having HD springs etc. that my vehicle's GVW will unofficially increase by about 10-20% but I've yet to confirm that. NB: If you fit the HD OME kit, it helps if you also fit POLYBUSHES (rubber bushes don't last long given the rough pounding they receive). ROB'S MAGIC on Mombasa Road, Nairobi, do a good quality set (not complete though) for the 4Runner and I had some fitted today: front sway bar bushes; front link arm bushes and both lower, front, shock absorber bushes.

Next will be: Rear sway bar bushes; rear link arm bushes; rear trailing arm bushes and the rest of the shock bushes. Rob's Magic also do guaranteed (20K or 1 year) shock absorbers and as my OME set don't seem to be holding up to well, I look at replacing all my shocks too.

I also need to replace (buy from Toyota):

• Idler arm bushes
• Front lower control arm bushes
• Gear box mounting
• And somehow fix my bumpstops that have fallen off.

Another thing is that I've had "breathers" fitted and extended up to the same height as the snorkel on the front differential and on the transmission case, and up to the roof level inside the body on the rear differential. These, plus the snorkel, should allow me to wade water to a height of 100cm plus or until the car floats! NB: You'll need the breathers etc for the torrents of rain & piss that cascade down Nairobi's streets - bloody idiots have never heard of public toilets, gutters, hard shoulders, road drainage or even pavements!

 

Until then, hamba kuhle...