IN OUR GARAGE
Springing Int o Act ion E
ver since we’ve had her, I’ve showered Deux Smurf, our 1996 KZN-185 Toyota Surf with nothing but praise. We bought her in January 2016 for £3,500 with 166,861 miles on the clock, and since then we’ve covered a further 22,000 miles and spent a meagre £300 on essential parts like a new back exhaust, battery, belts and 4 pairs of wiper blades, and of course servicing. If there’s just one thing I would change about her it would be ride quality. I don’t know what suspension package she’s fitted with, but it’s like she’s on rails driving around corners, as good as any other modern 4x4 I’ve driven I’d say, but over potholes and bad surfaces she’s dreadful. It’s not like they’re worn out, but hit a hole at any speed and she bangs and crashes all over the place, even badly rutted green-lanes can be tiresome and a bit painful, so I decided to look into replacing her solid, and probably ageing suspension, but with what? What would give me a comfortable on-road experience yet still offer a decent off-road ride with a good amount of flex? I asked the question on both the Australian and UK Surf Facebook pages, and by an overwhelming majority it was the same name that cropped up time and time again, Pedders. Comments like; Unbelievable ride quality, best decision ever and, well, you get the idea.
So who are Pedders?
Pedders Suspension are Australia's No1 suspension and steering parts manufacturer (can you tell I got that from their website?) Setup in 1950 by Roy Pedder to recondition shock absorbers, it’s grown to become a global company. Pedders have been in the UK since 2005 and offer the full Pedders Suspension range to 82
THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
