New old guy needs shocks

[Mickey bitsko]

New guy, just brought my new 70' type 1 home tonight... Let the fun begin.
PO thought it best with 40 psi front and rear with hd shocks. Not for me, tires front 11, rear 15 psi
Now, I want stock front and rear shocks, any suggestions where I can start looking for good OEM parts?
Not new to bugs but been many many years now I want to do it again, I'm old but I'm not too old. Already having much pleasure tinkering.
Glad to be on board.

[TDCTDI]

That’s too low tire pressure-wise.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

Welcome back to the Air-cooled brotherhood!

Proper tire PSI found on sticker on inside of glovebox:

For shocks specifically, Gabriel or Sachs brand are good. Avoid gas-filled, too harsh ride for most people's taste. Oil filled is a nice soft ride.

Many people have had good experience with Wolfsburg West shocks, too.

For most of the basic info (parts suppliers, repair manuals, how to get the most out of this website, etc) check this thread out:

AlmostHeavenWV's Orientation Page for the Samba
_________________
1973 Standard Beetle
1600DP AK case
Solex 34PICT3 Carb
Bosch DVDA 205AJ Distributor

[Tim Donahoe]

Use the tire pressure you’re supposed too. 11 and 15 is ridiculous.

To get OEM shocks, Wolfsburg West sells stock oil-filled Sachs/Boge.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[Multi69s]

If you want the best shocks, go Bilstein. Don't be afraid of gas shocks. The purpose of a gas shock is NOT to make it stiffer, but instead keep the damping consistent. That being said, do not, do not, go with KYB gas adjusts, those are off road shocks.
_________________
69 road Bug 2110
73 Squareback - 2L, T4, Automatic W/ AC
Gone, but many fond memories 69 Baja Bug 2010 - 5 Rib Bus Transaxle
Gone but not forgotten 72 Baja Bug 2010
My builds
T4 into Squareback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458944&highlight=
Auto Trans Rebuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066&highlight=
AC in Squareback https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=

[Mickey bitsko]

Sorry about the low information new bug to me, it's a wannabe/going to be better baja.
Came with BFG T/A load range C, Way too much tire IMHO, hence the LOW tire pressure. Everything will change as I make it mine.

Thank you all very much for quick feedback,

As fas the shocks, I ran oem shocks on my last mild off road baja and what I recall they was a pretty decent ride. I do nothing hardcore but much washboard.

[gt1953]

Gas shocks bounce and bounce again. Oil filled way better ride.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[PuddleRainbow]

I just put on Ebay Cofaps on the front. Love them, super plush.

[andk5591]

Agree on the Billstein suggestion. Just get a model that is properly valved for your application. I don't have them on any of our cars except her Tacoma, but had read good reviews, so take it for what it is. I run KYB gas adjust on the back of our buggy which work well, but this is primarily street driven. They are stiffer, but with the added weight in the back of the car, I have never had any issues. The KYB GR2 or Excels work VERY well on the front of any of our VWs and I have installed them all around or front only on many of my customer cars.

Always lots of debate on shocks and much of the info given is usually parroted from something someone has read on the internet. In my case, I don't have personal experience with the Billsteins....just relaying what I read on the internet LOL.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone 1914. Ex wifes car.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Ex-wifes car.
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[TDCTDI]

[Mickey bitsko]

Nice video, looks like fun. I'm thinking I want to put an adjustable beam first then get shocks to fit . As far as the ride I'm looking for , THAT , is going to take some research.

[Multi69s]

Gas shocks DO NOT make the ride harder or softer, if you get the proper shocks for your application. This is probably the biggest suspension myth across all types of cars. The ONLY purpose of gas in a shock is to prevent aeration of the damping oil (air mixes with the oil). When this occurs the aerated oil can pass through the damping orifices much easier. So the shock can no longer control the speed of the suspension compression or rebound, so in affect your suspension acts like a pogo stick, instead of having a controlled cyclical speed. With the loss in shock compression, the affect is not so severe, basically you end up bottoming more. However, loss of shock rebound, can be deadly. When the shock loses its rebound damping, the wheel shoots down to its stop at a very high speed. This will cause the car to unweight, or lift. So if you enter a turn with a lot of stutter bumps, or pot holes, the car can literally bounce off of the road, and you can do nothing about it. However, if you just putt around like grandma, or don't do any spirited driving, it shouldn't be an issue for you.
_________________
69 road Bug 2110
73 Squareback - 2L, T4, Automatic W/ AC
Gone, but many fond memories 69 Baja Bug 2010 - 5 Rib Bus Transaxle
Gone but not forgotten 72 Baja Bug 2010
My builds
T4 into Squareback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458944&highlight=
Auto Trans Rebuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066&highlight=
AC in Squareback https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=

[AlmostHeavenWV_VW]

[TDCTDI]

[dirtkeeper]

I love my bilsteins compared to all others I have tried. .. but didn’t think they were “gas” shocks because they have such a better ride then the kyb gas adjust I have used.. I use the class 11 style in the front and 5160 series in the rear. For some reason I thought they were hydraulic only. I will have to go back and look at the specs. Really happy with them on and off road.

[Multi69s]

TDC, those things that you call spring steel washers are in reality called shim stacks. Some shocks use orifice holes to control damping, others shim stacks. Some shocks are speed sensitive (meaning, if the shaft moves fast, the damping increases), while other shocks are position sensitive (meaning the damping ramps up when the shock gets closer to bottoming). As far as the nitrogen pressure you quoted, you're way off for a VW. They may run that much pressure in a trophy truck, but not in light vehicles. Further more, a nitrogen shock does not have a spring rate, but they do have a damping rate. The real key is to match the damping rate of the shock with the spring rate of the car, so as AlmostHeavenWV, stated, you get the ride quality you want.

The only type of shock that would have a "spring rate" would be an air shock where you could control the amount of air pressure to get a desired ride.

From the horses mouth:

https://www.bilstein.com/us/en/technology-and-knowledge/basic-know-how/
_________________
69 road Bug 2110
73 Squareback - 2L, T4, Automatic W/ AC
Gone, but many fond memories 69 Baja Bug 2010 - 5 Rib Bus Transaxle
Gone but not forgotten 72 Baja Bug 2010
My builds
T4 into Squareback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458944&highlight=
Auto Trans Rebuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066&highlight=
AC in Squareback https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=

[TDCTDI]

I used the washer analogy to describe what they looked like. As far as the “spring rate” description goes, get a Bilstein shock & try to compress it, it will force the piston rod back out of the shock body (many of which require putting one end on the ground & then using your weight to compress the shock.), this force varies depending on the application of the vehicle (which I also mentioned in the previous post.). The heavier the vehicle, the higher the pressure of gas they use to control the cavitation. This does translate into a spring rate. I have installed hundreds of sets of these into many different makes & models & have not yet seen a vehicle that didn’t raise at least 1” after installation.

Bilstein is one of the few shock absorber manufacturers that tests & makes shocks specific to each car that they produce a shock for. If a shock fits another application dimensionally, but has not been designed for that application, then they do not list that shock for use on the other vehicle unlike most other shock absorber manufacturers. I use other manufacturers listing guides to find part interchanges to find a compatible shock absorber if Bilstein does not show a listing for a vehicle that I’m trying to find a set for.

As far as your “air shock” description goes (Not to be confused with an air spring or air spring over shock.), when you add air pressure to the shock, the air pressure pushes the car up by displacing the piston rod out of the shock body, the exact thing happens with a Bilstein shock absorber with the exception that it is preset by the manufacturer but not adjustable by the user.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[Multi69s]

Okay, I'm done with this crap. I have revalued shocks by either altering the shim stacks, or by altering or adding different orifice holes sizes in the damping rods. When I am done I take the shocks to a motorcycle shop to get the shocks recharged with nitrogen. It's far cheaper then buying the setup my self.

You have totally missed the point. When a gas filled shock is matched for the spring rate and desired driving comfort of a vehicle, whether it is gas charged or not will not affect the ride quality. The only thing that changes is that you with gas shocks, you will maintain the same ride quality whether the road is smooth or washboard.
_________________
69 road Bug 2110
73 Squareback - 2L, T4, Automatic W/ AC
Gone, but many fond memories 69 Baja Bug 2010 - 5 Rib Bus Transaxle
Gone but not forgotten 72 Baja Bug 2010
My builds
T4 into Squareback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458944&highlight=
Auto Trans Rebuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066&highlight=
AC in Squareback https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=

[Mickey bitsko]

Didn't mean to start a pi$$ing match,
For now anyway I went with Sachs fronts only, since having limited resources I have to take baby steps.
Thanks again for the great input and videos it gives me plenty of ideas for what type build I would like.

[Multi69s]

Those shocks should give you a good ride. Sorry for taking your post on a left turn. It sounds like the bug is fairly new to you, have you inspected the brake system? Is there any pulling in one direction or the other when you first apply the brakes? Have you bought the orange Bentley yet? In all the pissing and moaning that has occurred, shock choice is nothing when compared to a good controlled stop. Get yourself a Bentley, and at a bare minimum inspect the brake shoes. If there is any initial pulling in one direction when you first hit the brakes, you "may" need to change out the rubber flexible brake lines.
_________________
69 road Bug 2110
73 Squareback - 2L, T4, Automatic W/ AC
Gone, but many fond memories 69 Baja Bug 2010 - 5 Rib Bus Transaxle
Gone but not forgotten 72 Baja Bug 2010
My builds
T4 into Squareback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458944&highlight=
Auto Trans Rebuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066&highlight=
AC in Squareback https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=