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Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:01 pm

Hey guys i was checking around the forums for a good one on shocks and couldn't find one soooo here i am. My question is. what are you using and what are the best ones out there?
I know of :
Bilstine
KYB
boge/sachs

I want to buy the best there is sense i love my bus, but id love your opinions. thanks 8)

Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:25 pm

Brazilian Nakata here.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 4:23 am

KYB GR2's but a lot of people will tell you that they ride to hard. I never thought that and still think that they are a great shock for the $$$.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:31 am

Supposedly the Koni's are the best. And you can adjust them.
I have them on my westy and like the ride.
Haven't checked availability in quite some time though.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:55 am

KYB Gas-Adjust on rear (name is misleading, you cannot adjust em)
KYB GR2s on front
Its a nice affordable combo and rides well.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 7:33 am

SGKent wrote: Brazilian Nakata here.

Not that I have looked around at all, but I have never seen or heard of these shocks. Where did you come by them?

.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:05 am

Wildthings wrote: SGKent wrote: Brazilian Nakata here.

Not that I have looked around at all, but I have never seen or heard of these shocks. Where did you come by them?

.

Eric at Bug Haus got them from a distributor in Los Angeles. They are simple oil filled like the suspension was designed for. They cost about $80 for the whole set and looked well made. We just could not afford Koni or Bilstein. I had standard oil filled shocks on the 1971 for 400,000 miles and they handled well and lasted about 90,000 miles a set. I had KYB gas on my Jeep for about a month and they were awful. Unless one is pounding offroad, one does not need the gas charge to keep the oil from foaming and it makes for a very stiff ride. I also found with KYB at the time that the shaft lengths are not to spec - meaining that when they listed a shock it was "about right" for a car and sometimes the shock would bottom before the suspension did. These Nakata really feel great but I think they are about $130 a set of 4 now.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:59 am

I'm happy with KYB GR2s on front and KYB Gas-Adjust at the rear.

I just want to point out that new shocks make an improvement but that alone won't give you the best and safest ride you can get. I've followed Ratwell's info and finally gotten what I wanted.

Here's the process I went through and the evaluation of improvement.

Chassis with 120,000 miles, worn ball joints, two bad shocks and passenger car tires - bad.

Replace ball joints - still bad

Hankook Tires - wow, it feels better sitting still, road feel better.

KYB shocks and replacement of slightly bent tie-rod with new adjustable tie-rods and a good alignment - oh yeah now were talking, but still lots of steering wheel wiggle especially at 50mph+ and big swings from being pushed around on the road.

7/8ths inch front and rear sway bars -- the final touch, a solid riding and driving Westy that can keep it's track damn good! Took up the steering wheel wiggle [was worried about the price of a new steering box] and I'm aiming straight at 70+. Still can get pushed to the side; but it just a slow push not a shove.

It took me a while to get it all done, but it was well worth it.

Like many of you, I knew what it took, but it took time and $ to get it done. When you're done you really appreciate all the parts working together like they should.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:14 pm

waltervee wrote: I'm happy with KYB GR2s on front and KYB Gas-Adjust at the rear.

I just want to point out that new shocks make an improvement but that alone won't give you the best and safest ride you can get. I've followed Ratwell's info and finally gotten what I wanted.

Here's the process I went through and the evaluation of improvement.

Chassis with 120,000 miles, worn ball joints, two bad shocks and passenger car tires - bad.

Replace ball joints - still bad

Hankook Tires - wow, it feels better sitting still, road feel better.

KYB shocks and replacement of slightly bent tie-rod with new adjustable tie-rods and a good alignment - oh yeah now were talking, but still lots of steering wheel wiggle especially at 50mph+ and big swings from being pushed around on the road.

7/8ths inch front and rear sway bars -- the final touch, a solid riding and driving Westy that can keep it's track damn good! Took up the steering wheel wiggle [was worried about the price of a new steering box] and I'm aiming straight at 70+. Still can get pushed to the side; but it just a slow push not a shove.

It took me a while to get it all done, but it was well worth it.

Like many of you, I knew what it took, but it took time and $ to get it done. When you're done you really appreciate all the parts working together like they should.

actually I only run the stock sway bar but we do not have the extra weight and top weight of the fiberglass top. I want to say that I've read some people remove the aftermarket rear sway bar as they didn't like the handling as much. I figure that buses were not made to corner in their stock form and I have seen them laid on their side from too aggressive driving, especially when they are stiff as there will be little to no warning the limits are being approached.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 4:32 pm

Walt, Ya anything above 40 for me wind wise is a push! ( do you have a link to ratwells?

my ties are all shot, and my shocks up front are kyb, but they have been spray painted for some reason!! and the back 2 are stock boge. but i think its time to do all 4. & my steering wheel is super loose, i turn it 180deg just to compensate for wind gusts.
( + my tires are all cheapy ones but brand new.)

is no one running the Sachs? im curious how they ride.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:19 pm

Quote: i turn it 180deg just to compensate for wind gusts.

On a perfectly adjusted bus into a 60 MPH front quartering side wind I have been a full 360 degrees on the steering at times into the wind. No sway bar, shocks, etc is going to change that on a bus. All of us, everyone of us here has crossed a bridge sometime in our life in our bus and chosen the center lane for that reason.............

Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:18 pm

Interesting, I wonder if they are the same ones as on the '78 I picked up a few years back. Black shocks with few marking of any kind on them. Handle very nice. I will have to check the part numbers on the Bus Haus website with what I can read of the ones on the shocks.

SGKent wrote: Wildthings wrote: SGKent wrote: Brazilian Nakata here.

Not that I have looked around at all, but I have never seen or heard of these shocks. Where did you come by them?

.

Eric at Bug Haus got them from a distributor in Los Angeles. They are simple oil filled like the suspension was designed for. They cost about $80 for the whole set and looked well made. We just could not afford Koni or Bilstein. I had standard oil filled shocks on the 1971 for 400,000 miles and they handled well and lasted about 90,000 miles a set. I had KYB gas on my Jeep for about a month and they were awful. Unless one is pounding offroad, one does not need the gas charge to keep the oil from foaming and it makes for a very stiff ride. I also found with KYB at the time that the shaft lengths are not to spec - meaining that when they listed a shock it was "about right" for a car and sometimes the shock would bottom before the suspension did. These Nakata really feel great but I think they are about $130 a set of 4 now.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 9:39 pm

Quote: Interesting, I wonder if they are the same ones as on the '78 I picked up a few years back. Black shocks with few marking of any kind on them. Handle very nice. I will have to check the part numbers on the Bus Haus website with what I can read of the ones on the shocks.

that pretty well describes them. Reminded me of the old Monroe or Gabriel line before they moved offshore. This bus handles very nice with them. There is no stiffness and no rebound.

There is one spot coming back from dinner tonight where one brakes coming down off a bridge over tracks, a light, then there is a set of concrete rain gullies in the pavement, turn left around an island and since both lanes are turning one cannot go wide. Then one must accelerate back up to 40 which requires a downshift from 3rd to 2nd right as you turn around the end of the island. The issue is one never knows the state of the light until right to it and whether the person in front of you will stop or go. It requires, brake, gully, second gully, hard left as the nose dives. downshift then step on it right after the rear wheels clear the gullies and the front is coming up from moving off the brakes to throttle while all of your weight is going right and you are turning the wheel left trying to stay centered in the seat and work the brakes, clutch, throttle and gear shift. These shocks work so well the bus acts like it is a porsche through all that. So........... yes, they are black and they work really well. I love them.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:58 pm

for stock???? off the sj=helf.

Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:19 pm

anyone have a link for them? all i could find was a brazillian soccer team when i wrote it in.

Sun Nov 14, 2010 3:00 am

Sugarbear wrote: anyone have a link for them? all i could find was a brazillian soccer team when i wrote it in.

Bughaus.com

Sun Nov 14, 2010 7:56 am

Hi Sugarbear,

Here's the link to Ratwell's Suspension and Handling section:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/SwayBars.html

You'll find a lot of useful information from one of the real VW geniuses.

Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:29 pm

Quote: You'll find a lot of useful information from one of the real VW geniuses.

Richard is a great guy and his website an extremely valuable resource. However there are many VW and car geniuses here and each have their own specialties. There are some here who understand suspensions far better than Richard so I would not discount their suggestions. Nor would I discount Richards's experiences.

Tightening up a suspension on a bus can make it easier to put on its side as there is less warning the limit is being reached but it will improve bump steer which is awful in a bus. Stiffening a suspension by use of heavier shocks is absolutely the wrong thing to do 100% of the time. Shocks serve one purpose and their mounts are made accordingly - they are designed to absorb the energy released by the springs / torsion bars. The springs are designed to absorb energy from the weight of the vehicle moving about so that the tires keep maximum contact with the road at all times. By using a heavier shock one changes the tire contact pressures which will make a vehicle handle worse than if the tire contact was stable.

When you see say an off road truck with three shocks on each wheel what they have done is put on three shocks which add up to the amount they really need from one shock - however the heat generated on a long race gets disipated over three shocks instead of one - and there is redundancy in case one fails. A formula car will walk over bumps just the same as a baja racer will walk over bumps like they weren't there. You can't do that with stiff shocks. You do it with ride height and spring rate.

Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:40 pm

I have had my Konis on about 18 months now and am very happy with them. Mine is not a camper and generally is subject to passenger car type loads.

Sun Nov 14, 2010 12:48 pm

mywifesghia wrote: I have had my Konis on about 18 months now and am very happy with them. Mine is not a camper and generally is subject to passenger car type loads.

Koni's are a tuneable shock that is well made and engineered to keep the tires in contact with the road. Koni, Spax and Bilstein are all excellent shocks. The object is to tune them as light as it takes to keep the car's tires in constant contact with the road and as heavy as needed to prevent the tires from rebounding. That will vary depending upon the weight of the vehicle, terrain and temperature. We used to tune our shocks for each track as well as temperature outside. IMHO Koni's are an excellent choice although expensive by my pocket book. They also have an excellent warranty.