TheSamba.com :: View topic - Shocks. Why do you prefer one brand over another?

Wed Feb 05, 2014 4:43 am

Alex Proulx wrote: I was searching for "shocks" and found this old thread.

Back in 2010 (we bought the van in 09) it was handling horribly; severe nose diving, severe rolling and constant wobbling even on perfect, straight roads. I believe the springs were original and possibly the shocks too. At the time we had already upgraded to 15" wheels which gave us unreal stability improvement compare to the old 14s.

We replaced the shocks with Cofap ones, front and rear, I was told they were EOM specs but cheaper (money was tight). The wobble stopped but we got only minor improvement on the nose diving and rolling.

In 2011, trying to further improve the ride, we went for the Van Cafe 1" lift 2wd springs (Schwenk I believe). We got major improvement on nose diving (basically eliminated) and rolling as well. But I always felt the dampening on the shocks was borderline for the springs, the van was not really working together if you know what I mean. The shocks quickly deteriorated thereafter to the point of needing replacement only 15k miles (3 summers) later. Rolling is bad again and rough roads are, well, “rough”. When I parked it last fall I knew I had to do something this winter. I think the springs are too “strong” for the Cofap and it killed them prematurely.

Two weeks ago I ordered rear and front adjustable Konis, they are home now waiting for me to come back from work (in 2 weeks). I believe the Schwenk springs were design in conjunction with the Konis shocks, I can’t wait to put them on and test drive, hopefully I will finally get a satisfactory ride.

Alex

The Konis are installed. While installing them I noticed right away some differences with the Cofaps; the build is of much superior quality, diameter is noticeably larger and they are also shorter. I set them at 1.25 turns of stiffest, front and rear, as recommended by the vendor.
First impression on the road (short trip of city, highway and country roads); body roll has reduced a lot on corners, good amount of dampening for the springs, suspension is finally working together, wobbling and bouncing has stopped.
Almost only positives reviews but unfortunately due to their shorter length, the rears did top out a few times in pot holes, mind you the van was empty, but I do drive the van like that a lot, so I am wondering if further adjustment (or extensions) might be required. Anyone faced a similar situation? What was your solution?
Thanks,
Alex

Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:30 pm

I replaced my syncro's shocks with OEM Boge all around. They are hard to find but they're out there. It took me a while to track them down but I'm glad I did. I prefer these over the others that I've tried....they just feel...right.

Wed Feb 05, 2014 6:43 pm

^^^ PS: What others have you tried…???

Thanks!

Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:11 pm

The red Koni's for the Vanagon are rebound adjustable only, correct?
Just something to think about. It's nice that the shock will compress but we need to have it rebound in a timely manner also.

I had a set on a 78 Westy and it was lowered a coupla inches. At first I had them on a stiffer setting. When the vehicle went down into a curve or a dip in the road it would stay in the compressed state longer. When it bottomed out, it stayed bottomed out until the road surface smoothed out. In the end, for (that) particular vehicle, it worked best, for my driving style, at full soft.
YMMV. Just some thoughts.

Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:37 pm

I've been running Koni shocks with saggy stock springs for over a year. The fronts are set to 1/2 turn and the rears at 2 turns, discussed in this thread

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1...p;start=60

Recently I added the Van Cafe 2WD lift springs and kept the Koni settings the same. I've only put 400 miles on this combo but so far the feel over speed bumps is better. Side to side stability in corners actually feels slightly sloppier, so I wonder if I don't have the shocks set right for the new springs. Van Cafe 15" Carrot wheels arrive tomorrow. I'll run with these for awhile before making any shock adjustments.

Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:55 pm

I'm also running Konis and VanCafe (syncro.org) springs but don't have any complains about cornering. I cannot remember my Koni setting, I tried a couple different ones. I do have an aftermarket 1" front anti sway bar and poly bushings so the van really feels tight on the road during cornering.

Thu Feb 06, 2014 12:09 am

shame this thread is too old for a poll, i need to find shocks for burni, so the poll would help.

Thu Feb 06, 2014 5:15 am

as you can see the shock debate is all preferences. The reason I started with KYBs is that the guy that was helping me work on our buggy when I was a total newbie had been running them forever in various street and sand cars except where a more exotic shock was needed. He had a set that fit the buggy in his stash and we went with them.

I have been using them almost exclusively and confirmed my choice by initially running stock oils on the front of my wifes 61 for about a year and then switching to KYB Excel (GR2). As a test - I didnt tell her what I did and wanted to get her reaction after her first drive with them.

She felt the ride was "better" and that after blasting around some twisties, she was totally thrilled with how much better the car handled. I agreed and that confirmed my choice.

Thu Feb 06, 2014 8:33 am

I prefer oil filled against Gas filled. With my experience Gas filled has more rebound. (Good only for cross country).
Oil filled keeps Body fatigue to minimum. Van body rattling kept to minimum. I recently got Meyle Shocks for front changed. My experience on this, approaching uneven surfaces in speeds is not possible.

Sun Feb 28, 2016 7:13 am

I also just purchased Meyle shocks for the van--local Bap/Geon had them (and only them) in stock, no shipping. At about $115 for the set, they were cheap enough to try.

I have put Koni Sports on my "performance" cars (mkiv gti, B5 A4 sport line) and I love the control and firm but not harsh ride. For the vanagon, however, I want more of a smooth and softer ride to fit its cruising style.

I replaced KYB Gas-Adjusts in the rear of unknown age (top cylinders were pretty well rusted) and apparently original front Boge shocks with 300k miles. Well, I only have one front changed so far; I attempt the last one again today.

Ride feels smoother now, with less jarring and bounce on broken old concrete highway. So I am pretty impressed so far. How long they last is another question.

Tue Aug 16, 2016 7:00 pm

Bump an old thread...

Anyone have a part number of Koni's that'll fit a 1990 Syncro?
RockAuto sells the Bilstein HD shocks at a decent price ($90 front or rear).

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/volkswagen,1990...orber,7556

Sun Oct 20, 2019 4:36 pm

This thread appears to have no recent comments but I'll contribute anyway.

My 4400 lb. Syncro has stock springs (18 3/4 +/- 1/2 " ride height) and OME shocks.
Ride is acceptable on pavement, but "chatters" uncomfortably on washboard roads. I suspect this is due to incompatible shock valving- OME compression seems too stiff for the stock springs. (Tires might be a factor too.)

Bilstein HD or Touring look like decent replacements. Not sure which I should choose.
I'd appreciate suggestions from anyone with a similarly equipped Syncro.

FWIW:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/volkswagen,199...orber,7556

Sun Oct 20, 2019 7:20 pm

I have the same feelings about that setup. Stock springs and OMEs. All new bushings everywhere and it's still not what I hope for on washboards and rough pavement. Big bump compliance is great and long stretches on smooth slab are also very nice. We try and travel light. I've not yet weighed my rig. t's a Multivan Syncro with a Weinsberg top. It's riding on 16" CLKs with 205/65 BFG KO2s. My bone stock tintop Syncro had a quiet comfortable ride. I was slightly disappointed in the ride after I traded it for the Multivan and went through the front end with Powerflex bushings. However, it seemed to make it just a slight bit rougher. I like the idea of adjustability so I can get it just how I want it. It's hard to say what's best as we all have different ideas on what that feels like. Fox(Go Westy) and Radflo (Burley) seem to offer the greatest ease in adjustability. Burley's takes it to the next level by giving you a setup that matches your rig and your driving goals. These are obviously in another price category than the Bilsteins. I run Bilsteins on my FJ Cruiser. I just installed a fresh set and I'm totally happy with them. But... the FJ is a much different beast. I know that's not much help but I'm in the same boat. Please let us know which direction you take.

Mon Oct 21, 2019 4:37 am

Be aware that a brand name from a few years ago may or may not reflect what you get today, due to the never ending spiral into corruption

Personally, even if I know the brand is coming, I don’t prefer any of the shocks.

Mon Oct 21, 2019 3:46 pm

@ vanatic-
When I had front suspension rebuilt I used factory type parts from GW and/or VC. Stayed away from poly bushings to avoid harsh ride and road noise.
At that time Meyle and Boge shocks were NLA so I reused the OMEs installed by PO. Unknown mileage but they are not rattling or leaking, and mount bushings appear OK.
Before susp.work I bought new tires and rims to test for clearance issues.
A good 4-wheel alignment rounded the package and resulted in marked improvement all around.

Bilsteins are now available in two flavors. Some commenters in this thread have reported Bilsteins as too soft but their vehicles are not set up like my Syncro.
What I'd like is a comparison of firmness between the OMEs and the two Bilsteins, with reference to factory springs.

Tue Oct 22, 2019 8:37 am

BCE56 wrote: Bilsteins are now available in two flavors.
If you count the GoWesty XHD Bilsteins, Bilsteins are now available in three flavours: Touring, Sport and XHD.
The Touring and the Sport were both much too soft for me, so I'm running Konis a quarter turn off full firm.

Tue Oct 22, 2019 9:37 am

Jake de Villiers wrote: BCE56 wrote: Bilsteins are now available in two flavors.
If you count the GoWesty XHD Bilsteins, Bilsteins are now available in three flavours: Touring, Sport and XHD.
The Touring and the Sport were both much too soft for me, so I'm running Konis a quarter turn off full firm.
I'm going to copy you on the Koni setting. My van wheels felt like they were dropping suddenly when I went go from new to old pavement (1-2" drop off) - they are at full soft now, I believe.

Besides, copying you on Mercedes wheels was one of my (your?) better ideas - ha!

Tue Oct 22, 2019 1:57 pm

vanagonjr wrote: Jake de Villiers wrote: BCE56 wrote: Bilsteins are now available in two flavors.
If you count the GoWesty XHD Bilsteins, Bilsteins are now available in three flavours: Touring, Sport and XHD.
The Touring and the Sport were both much too soft for me, so I'm running Konis a quarter turn off full firm.
I'm going to copy you on the Koni setting. My van wheels felt like they were dropping suddenly when I went go from new to old pavement (1-2" drop off) - they are at full soft now, I believe.

Besides, copying you on Mercedes wheels was one of my (your?) better ideas - ha!
Ha yourself!

Our tour over to Shady Grove was improved with the shocks snugged up like that. having the giant (22 cubic foot!!) roof box exaggerates any side sway and tightening up the shocks helped a lot. I'd like to have one of Chris's HD front bars but...

What I'd really like to do is be able to adjust the jounce setting to soften the impacts just a little.

Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:31 pm

I see XHD Bilsteins at GW for 2WD Vanagons only.
The GW Syncro Bilsteins are "Touring", black in color. I believe these are the B4 model.
B6 (Yellow) Syncro shocks & struts are available at Rock Auto.

Wed Oct 23, 2019 9:43 am

BCE56 wrote: I see XHD Bilsteins at GW for 2WD Vanagons only.
The GW Syncro Bilsteins are "Touring", black in color. I believe these are the B4 model.
B6 (Yellow) Syncro shocks & struts are available at Rock Auto.
Oh, that's weird, eh? Given that Lucas is reputed to drive a Syncro and all... :?