GAZ adjustable shocks

[esde]

After trying oil Boge, KYB GR2, KYB gas adjust, and then testing a friends Koni reds on the rear of my 62, it was clear that I wanted adjustable oil shocks for the rear. I just couldn't bear jacking the car and disconnecting the bottom of the shock to make an adjustment every time, plus waiting for the header to cool down was a drag. So I wanted a shock with an external knob adjustment. I searched and the Spax are nice, but came in at almost $400 for the pair by the time shipping and customs were paid, no way thanks. Found these GAZ brand, made in the UK, landed to me for $235 total. They seem very well made, and these are 22 position from softest to firmest. We'll see how they fit and ride. I intend to fit the shocks first ,and then maybe these old 26mm sway away torsions if need be

[stan_tichomirov]

They look solid. Let us know how it goes, I do my best to never skimp on dampers and wouldn't mind a set of these if they work well.

Stan
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Aircooled.net
Jansen Enterprise
My 1835cc build
My budget 2276 build

[Superman74]

Cool EDSE! I cannot wait to hear the review!

[ALB]

Any observations?
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On a lifelong mission to prove (much to my wife's dismay) that Immaturity is Forever!!

[modok]

yeah man, what happened?
Do the russian shocks work as good as they look?

[modok]

oh I see. Wow totally missed the whole thing.

[Vanillagurilla]

[esde]

FYI: I ordered from a place in Florida, Brunton Performance.
[email protected]

GT5-2301 is for the rear 1953 to July 1965

I did try them with the 26mm torsion bars. With the stiffer bars, I had the shocks on maybe the second or third click, and it was still VERY stiff. So, I am back to stock short torsion bars, and have the shocks adjusted somewhere in the middle of the range. I had been told to was better to have a soft spring and adjust it with shocks, than start off with too stiff a spring. Turns out everyone was right
My buddy is running an IRS beetle with the longer torsion bars. Those cars have a notoriously soft torsion bar, and I think along with the GAZ rear shocks he also upgraded to stiffer torsion bars. No complaints from him, and he actually drives his car hard, all of the time. Mine is just an occasional toy, and I've been busy working on my new workshop, so it's not been driven much lately..

Really, the thing I like the most is the ease of adjustment. When using the Koni reds, disconnecting the shock to spin the body and adjust it is easy in the front.. but in the rear.. many of use have oil lines/ truss bars/ sway bars that are sort of in the way. Not exactly the sort of roadside adjustment you want to do. With these I don't even get dirty.
SD
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[UK Luke 72]

GAZ have a huge rep here... Great quality and support.
Shame things are so good value shipping the other way :/
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2276 Beetle build https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=670744&highlight=2276+beetle+daily
2276 EFI Conversion https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=689172

[ps2375]

What are you running on the front? I need new for the rear, and I have a set of used Bilstiens on the front, this just has me wondering.

[esde]

[jpaull]

Just curious, do Koni reds have resistance on downward motion? Vws have no weight up front, and being low already makes shock selection really important.
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[email protected] MPH 1/4 Mile & 8.1 @ 83.7MPH in 1/8 Mile with Mild Type 1 VW Mag Case 2234cc commuter engine in stock weight bug w/only .491 total lift(CB2292 Cam), 42x37 heads, 48idf's, Street tires, Belt on, Mufflers, Pump gas, video of the run here: https://youtu.be/M3SPqMOKAOg

Transmission by MCMScott:
Rhino case, Klinkenberg 4.12, Superdiff, 002 mainshaft with 091 first idler. Weddle 1.48 Third & 1.14 Fourth.

[esde]

Yes, they have what I'd call average compression valving for an oil shock, and adjustable rebound. I keep the rebound on the bus tighter than the beetle, as A. it weighs more, and B. it's tall and sways more when bouncing.
But yes, they do have some stiffness to compress, but nothing like a KYB GR2 or (gulp) Gas-adjust. The gas charged shocks might be fine in a modern car with modern seats. On what essentially amounts to a folding chair with a horse hair pad over shitty springs, my old bones need a little less of a jarring ride.
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[jpaull]

Good info. Yes i had the white empi gas shocks up front and it added to the jarring effect. The cheap empi oil filleds i put on and its abit better.

Thanks for the updates on the GAZ shocks
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[email protected] MPH 1/4 Mile & 8.1 @ 83.7MPH in 1/8 Mile with Mild Type 1 VW Mag Case 2234cc commuter engine in stock weight bug w/only .491 total lift(CB2292 Cam), 42x37 heads, 48idf's, Street tires, Belt on, Mufflers, Pump gas, video of the run here: https://youtu.be/M3SPqMOKAOg

Transmission by MCMScott:
Rhino case, Klinkenberg 4.12, Superdiff, 002 mainshaft with 091 first idler. Weddle 1.48 Third & 1.14 Fourth.

[ps2375]

[ps2375]

How do you think the GAZ shocks would work on the front? I like the idea(as you stated about the rears) of being able to adjust with the dial.

[esde]

I've considered buying a set for the front of my beetle, but too many other projects needing the wallet. I have no reason to think they wouldn't be just as good as the rear
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[nextgen]

Been there and went front shock crazy, the bug front end is so light, I and a lot of guys found the KYB GR2 to be the best. Kind of like the 3 Bears-- Just right.

NOTE: a big plus with the engine in the back and very light front end is you can run low profile tires and have much less chance of damaging an expensive rim.

I went from 195 60 15 to 195 50 15 all is good.

I have the 914 engine in the rear and it is only 25 more then the T-1, but still like keeping the White KYB Gas a Just - back there.

The drop in the front was not just the tires I have 2 1/2" dropped front spindles.

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email: [email protected]
The TYPE IV UPRIGHT CONVERSION MANUAL
BEETLE MAGNETIC DEFLECTOR SHIELDS
LETS TALK DUBS https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joe+cali+ghia https://letstalkdubs.libsyn.com/ep-200-joe-cali-ty...qI3xJTCzjs

[ps2375]

Looks good,(rake is perfect) those are really 15's? My 185's with 2.5" drop spindles were about 1" from fender and rubbed on lift throttle decel. No way I could fit a 195 anything with the offset my wheels have. And not sure I'd want to go to a 175 width tire. I really like my wheel, but it is only a 5.5 wide and being on a 4X130 pattern, options are limited.

I'd have to go look and see if the Bilstiens are sport or HD's, and it's snowing right now. So I'm not. The good thing about these GAZ shocks is they are adjustable and seem to have a wide adjustment range. They should easily adjust softer than what I have now and should also adjust to firmer than what I have.

[nextgen]

PS, My car is a 74, I wanted Creative Car Carft wider fenders, which I bought through Aircooled.net. John said if I was going to go with new fronts, to get early fenders so I could use the much cooler looking early angled head lights, which I did and then went for another $125 for the 1956 Porsche Speedster grilles. Which really make the car. So my fronts fenders are wider, no rubbing. Also Creative Car Craft recommended not going too wide on the rears. He said the fenders look crappy if too wide. So my backs and fronts are only 2" wider on the back, as he said a filled wheel fender look.

Came out great.
The Bumper is the Cali Sliced Bumper . Took the original 1974 thick bumpers and cut 1" out of the middle were the rubber bumper sat on some cars.
It left me with two " L" Shapes, I then overlapped the top over the bottom and bolted them together with stainless steel bumper bolts.

The Exhaust is a Blue Bird Stainless Steel unit from the U.K. made for Porsche 914"

_________________
email: [email protected]
The TYPE IV UPRIGHT CONVERSION MANUAL
BEETLE MAGNETIC DEFLECTOR SHIELDS
LETS TALK DUBS https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joe+cali+ghia https://letstalkdubs.libsyn.com/ep-200-joe-cali-ty...qI3xJTCzjs