TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Mar 19, 2005 7:26 pm

Hello. I have another quick question for everyone. My shocks are rather old and I am not really sure what exactly they are. My suspension also seems to be very soft and I get quite a bit of body roll in turns and dipping while accelerating and braking. Also, the suspension seems like it may be a little saggy. If I lift the front bumber it extends a couple inches. Then if I push it down, it doesnt seem like it fully extends back up. The car is not really bouncy though. Here is the question. Do shocks like the KYB Gas a just make a major difference in suspension stiffness or do they mainly just add dampening to suspension movements? Will they make the car feel stiffer and ride higher at all compared to older not high pressure gas shocks? Or do I need stronger tortion bars/coilovers to really add noticalbe stiffness to the suspension. Thanks.

Sat Mar 19, 2005 8:57 pm

Pull the shocks off and do your test again....I like the KYB Gas shocks.
I would say they are stiffer...But if your pre-load is too soft they won't work Mirroricals.

Sun Mar 20, 2005 10:04 am

If you do turn your bars at all dont do them to much, I think I may have turned mine one notch more than I should have and I hate it, its so damn stiff and I am to lazy to redo it. If I ever end up redoing the bars I am probably gonna go with extended/aftermarket trailing arms anyway. also if the rear end is sagging when you stand to the side and look at it it usually means the bars are worn out and you dont want the car to have bouncyness, youll just bounce all over off road.

Sun Mar 20, 2005 2:16 pm

It doesnt really noticably sag or anything, but it doesnt sit fully extended either. Maybe it's not supposed to, but it seems like it if had a stiffer suspension it would add an inch or tow of overall ground clearance by fully extending everything. I have limiting staps, so no worry of overdoing it or anything. Just curious if stiffer high pressure gas shocks would actually offer any firmness as well as added dampening.

Sun Mar 20, 2005 5:39 pm

Stiffer shocks won't raise the car much if at all, the spring stiffness is what holds the car up. New shocks will make the ride and handling better.
KYB's "work" and are cheep but should be consitered disposable.
It's also good to have a little bit of sag.

Sun Mar 20, 2005 8:38 pm

I do have a little bit of sag. Nothing major, I was just wondering if that was normal. My shocks are in decent shape though I believe. It's not really bouncy or anything and it dampens well. My wife and I just got back from a nice little offroad trip to Carnegie SVRA this evening. It's been raining alot this weekend in Nor Cal, so we had some nice mud and all to play in. There were a few other 4x4s out there and I was going more places than most of them were. Lots of fun. Thanks for the input on the shocks. The KYB's are certainly a great price. I will definately go with a set of them when the time comes. I think mine will be ok for a bit longer. I dont know what they are. They are black with no label or markings at all.