A question that pops up on Land Rover forums from time to time is "which shocks give the most comfortable ride on a Defender used mainly on the road ?" Well I have the answer . The cheapest ones ! This is because shocks on a Defender have little or nothing to do with ride quality , or indeed it's road holding or braking performance . I'll tell you why I have come to this radical conclusion . I pulled up at my house recently and noticed that the rear nearside shock had popped out of place and was just hanging there . If I hadn't noticed it I would never have noticed any difference . At the same time the job of the lower bush on the other side was being done by a piece of light rope tied around . Is this what they call a "bush repair" ? 
So I decided to replace the ancient and rusting Monroe Magnum gas shocks with a spanking brand new set of Monroe Adventurers . Each one I took off was more knackered than the previous . I mean they were doing nothing . So with my new shocks and a new steering damper for good measure I set off expecting a major improvement . No chance ! The ride quality over rough and uneven roads was absolutely identical . The only difference was it felt a bit less crashy hitting bad potholes and ruts across the street . So for road use just put on the cheapest ones you can , it makes little odds .
So I decided to replace the ancient and rusting Monroe Magnum gas shocks with a spanking brand new set of Monroe Adventurers . Each one I took off was more knackered than the previous . I mean they were doing nothing . So with my new shocks and a new steering damper for good measure I set off expecting a major improvement . No chance ! The ride quality over rough and uneven roads was absolutely identical . The only difference was it felt a bit less crashy hitting bad potholes and ruts across the street . So for road use just put on the cheapest ones you can , it makes little odds .
