Bad shocks in rear cause back end to droop?

[Tom Butler]

Hey guys I have a question. Do you guys think that bad shocks could have some effect on the ride height of the rear of a 1971 super beetle?

basically if I change my rear shocks if they are very old and worn out could it potentially raise my car back to being level? (the front is higher than the back)

I was wonder if the rear shocks have an effect on ride height. Like if I were to TOTALLY remove them would my ride height not change ?

Someone was calling me a liar when I said I changed my rear shocks and it leveled out my suspension (seemed like a 2 inch rise in the back)

Or would this ONLY be possible if I installed "coilover" shocks in the back?
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1971 Super Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=674120

Proud Member Pata De Perro Vw Club

[mukluk]

Original shocks installed from the factory on VW Beetles were simple hydraulic, non-gas charged shocks. You could remove them entirely and it would not make one iota of change to how high the car sat. So in the context of conventional hydraulic shocks, no, bad shocks would have no effect on ride height.

What you are most assuredly thinking of when you think of a shock, is a gas charged shock. If you install gas charged shocks on a light vehicle such as a Bug, especially ones that are higher pressure or too stiff for the weight of a Bug, the suspension will sit higher with them installed than without.

Pretty simple rule of thumb when it comes to figuring out the purpose of items in this situation: springs set the ride height, shocks smooth out the bumps.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Tom Butler]

[Meiang]

Conventional oil filled non pressurised damper as fitted to the car originally (worn or new) will not affect the ride height of the car. Fitting a high pressure gas filled damper such as a Bilstein will raise the car body but no more than about 10mm.
So to answer your question replacing worn out original type dampers with new ones will not increase the ride height by 2 inches.

Never having used coilover damper units I can't comment, but I can't see them adding a 2 inch increase in ride height unless they are specifically designed to do so or have adjustable ride height settings which facilitate a ride height increase.

[mukluk]

Depending on the length and how stiff of a gas shock you install, they can quite literally make the car sit over an inch higher than where the springs would have it sit normally.

Conventional hydraulic shocks do not have any "push" to them, they will readily stay forever where you leave them on compression or extension, but what they do is offer resistance to movement from that position -- in other words, they slow the change of position via hydraulic fluid that has to be moved through internal ports/valves. That is how they dampen suspension movement to smooth out bumps and prevent oscillation. Gas charged shocks also use the same principle, but also have pressurised gas in them that will cause the shock to always move toward being fully extended.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Multi69s]

What type of shocks did you install? Also, did you compare the lengths of the new and old shocks? maybe the PO put on shorter shocks then stock, this would not let the suspension fully extend, and lower the rear. As mentioned, oil filled shocks will in no way affect the ride height. If you get the correct gas shocks for your car, they may raise the car a little bit. However, you never want to get stronger gas shocks to help lift the car. They will beat you to death driving down the road.
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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=

[Tom Butler]

[Tom Butler]

[Meiang]

One benefit of installing high pressure gas filled dampers is that they increase the roll stiffness of the car quite significantly. This improves car stability reducing the effect of side winds and improving handling around corners. I put Bilsteins in my 1968 Beetle many years ago and never looked back.

People complain that they high pressure gas filled dampers give a very harsh ride, and they do for the first 300-500km until they are "bedded in". This harshness is especially noticeable in smaller lighter cars

[Tom Butler]

[Multi69s]

Yes it is possible. However, most people do not understand why some shocks are gas pressurized. It has absolutely nothing to do with ride height, which may change a little. The sole purpose is to have constant damping. When an oil filled shock experiences fast shaft speeds for an extended period (fast driving, bumpy roads, etc.), the oil in the shock will emulsify with the small amount of air that's also in the shock. This tends to "thin" out the shock's oil, which causes the damping rate to decrease. This cause the shock shaft to move at a much higher speed, so the car may pogo stick as it hits bumps. The sole purpose of the gas charge is to keep this from occurring. There should not be much difference in ride quality between an oil, or gas shock, if the shock is good quality AND sized right for the car.
_________________
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=

[Tom Butler]