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Shock absorber selection

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 12:07 pm
by T-34
Did a bit of a search on what shocks people are running and did not really get much info to go on.

I'm ready to buy my shocks and am interested in what people are running and why. Eg gas / oil / hard / soft / etc

Obviously Lake G is a pretty flat surface but there are undulations and a dip to contand with.

FWIW my car is very light on the front (engine in the back).

Mick.

Re: Shock absorber selection

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:29 am
by momec3
I have found for moderate speeds (up to 185mph) you only need mid to hard gas type shocks. Our surface is often a bit like a high speed corrugated road. You also want firm roll control if it spins. You want it to stay flat and not dig in.


Chris.

Re: Shock absorber selection

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:55 pm
by GeeTee
Mick, I simply have ex-wreckers coil-over struts and Billies under my Bug, with poly bushes. Standard fast road/hill-climb stuff. I reckon you will be fine with gas KYBs or similar all-round. Run plenty of caster... two shims ;)

Re: Shock absorber selection

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 9:15 pm
by Greg Watters
Doesnt more caster give corner jacking if your in the shit and need to turn the wheels ?

Re: Shock absorber selection

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:01 pm
by T-34
GeeTee wrote:Mick, I simply have ex-wreckers coil-over struts and Billies under my Bug, with poly bushes. Standard fast road/hill-climb stuff. I reckon you will be fine with gas KYBs or similar all-round. Run plenty of caster... two shims ;)
Cheers will take a look at the KYBs. Think I might already have two shims, will have to check it's been a while since I did the front end. Can remember considering it but can't remember if I actually did it.
Greg Watters wrote:Doesnt more caster give corner jacking if your in the shit and need to turn the wheels ?
The caster changes with the VW suspension are minimal when using shims, plus lowering the front suspension actually removes caster due to the suspension geometry. Adding one shim brings the caster back somewhere near to stock on a lowered car. An additional shim should help with high speed stability but should hopefully not be too drastic a change to cause an issue - It's about 1.7 degrees per 6mm shim according to my calcs.

Re: Shock absorber selection

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 1:27 pm
by GeeTee
Greg Watters wrote:Doesnt more caster give corner jacking if your in the shit and need to turn the wheels ?
Lowering the VW, as with most cars you lose caster... we're putting back what we've lost

plus VWs are light in the nose - only around 160-180kg over each front wheel - so it's not like we're lifting a Chev block every time we roll-on some lock

And at higher speeds, VWs need all the directional stability we can muster :)