Suspension again (!) but a different shocks question :-D

[M@H]

Hi All,

So I do not wish to start the Gaz vs Nitrons debate again, just a quick question to see if anyone has any experience with the new AST stuff from Racing Green..?

Ideally I am looking for something that comes in the middle between the Gaz and Nitron level of kit (and price as Nitrons are now £1200 with the vat !)

Cheers,
Matt.

[K4TRV]

Sorry can't help with AST, but they "sound" good??

Don't forget, only cos I use them (and I do TVR Speed Champs), that Racing Reds are made by same company as Nitrons - sort-of "son-of-Nitrons"????

HTH (and not to open a can-o-worms....)

Trev

[Chris71]

I know you said not to mention Gaz, but... You do know they've introduced a monotube damper now that sits between the old Gaz Gold Pros and the Nitrons in price? It's Nitron style technology and feedback seems to be very positive.

If you're after something more serious than the old Gazes wihout paying top whack it might be worth looking into along with the Racing Reds, ASTs etc?

[SILICONEKID340HP]

I dont understand why my gaz shocks make a hell of alot of noise after stiffening the suspension up 9 clicks ..Mine have 50 clicks and only ten of them are any good ,There cap..

[haircutmike]

I can only comment on my Gaz Monos, had no problem, are quiet and easy to adjust.

[M@H]

Hmm... I will have to look into the Gaz monotube offering and the racing reds then

The AST setup from Racing Green is only a bit cheaper than Nitron so will have to be good !

Cheers,
Matt

Edited by M@H on Wednesday 17th August 09:41

[brett84]

I've got the Gaz shocks and they squeak loads
Going to try winding down a few clicks

[haircutmike]

I would return them, they're pretty good at rectifying problems.

[reichejh]

Thought about the AST's as well but unless you are doing tracks it's a waste of money and I rather spend the difference on something else. Followed Jason's (str8six) advise and went for Racing Reds. Despite the fact that my originals were still in good condition the difference was very noticeable.

[Jammy Dodger]

Limited experience, but learned the hard way, less about "which" and more about "how well set up"

[SILICONEKID340HP]

Jammy Dodger said:

Limited experience, but learned the hard way, less about "which" and more about "how well set up"

If thats the case im going for these and get them well setup


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPAX-Adjustable-Shock-TV...

[haircutmike]

Daz, that's for 1!

You can get a set of Pro-Techs for the same price.

Edited, WITH SPRINGS!

[Chimpafrolic]

I went with the Gaz Gold Pros, don't rule them out.

Derek from Absolute Shocks supplied and fitted them at the Gaz factory in Essex for £550 all in.

I had a tour of the factory and watched the final assembly and testing of my dampers before they were fitted.

They have never squeaked and transformed the handling.

My GGP's have done thousands of miles including two tours of Europe without issue.

A few weeks ago I really took the pish in the mountains above the Cote d'Azur and the car handled like I never believed it could.

Just ask PBaker how my Chim handles who attempted to follow my asthmatic baby 4.0 litre in his 4.5 litre.

In addition to the GGP's I have Leven rose jointed dorp links all round, new metalastic bushes (with Sagaris/Tuscan2 washers) and a full geo at Wheels in Motion on their Hunter Hawkeye later rig.

I am very happy with how it all works.

[CHIMV8]

Chimpafrolic said:

I went with the Gaz Gold Pros, don't rule them out.

Derek from Absolute Shocks supplied and fitted them at the Gaz factory in Essex for £550 all in.

I had a tour of the factory and watched the final assembly and testing of my dampers before they were fitted.

They have never squeaked and transformed the handling.

My GGP's have done thousands of miles including two tours of Europe without issue.

A few weeks ago I really took the pish in the mountains above the Cote d'Azur and the car handled like I never believed it could.

Just ask PBaker how my Chim handles who attempted to follow my asthmatic baby 4.0 litre in his 4.5 litre.

In addition to the GGP's I have Leven rose jointed dorp links all round, new metalastic bushes (with Sagaris/Tuscan2 washers) and a full geo at Wheels in Motion on their Hunter Hawkeye later rig.

I am very happy with how it all works.

Dave, how many clicks are you running on ur pros,mine feels a little bouncy at the moment?

[theironduke]

New shocks are on my list for the autumn, spotted these on the ACT site....


http://www.actproducts.co.uk/shop/gs01-gaz-kit-tvr...


I cant justify the 1k plus jobbies or Bilsteins so these appeal. The car isn't going to be used on the track, just road use.

Thoughts?

[CHIMV8]

CHIMV8 said:

Chimpafrolic said:

I went with the Gaz Gold Pros, don't rule them out.

Derek from Absolute Shocks supplied and fitted them at the Gaz factory in Essex for £550 all in.

I had a tour of the factory and watched the final assembly and testing of my dampers before they were fitted.

They have never squeaked and transformed the handling.

My GGP's have done thousands of miles including two tours of Europe without issue.

A few weeks ago I really took the pish in the mountains above the Cote d'Azur and the car handled like I never believed it could.

Just ask PBaker how my Chim handles who attempted to follow my asthmatic baby 4.0 litre in his 4.5 litre.

In addition to the GGP's I have Leven rose jointed dorp links all round, new metalastic bushes (with Sagaris/Tuscan2 washers) and a full geo at Wheels in Motion on their Hunter Hawkeye later rig.

I am very happy with how it all works.

Dave, how many clicks are you running on ur pros,mine feels a little bouncy at the moment?

Been advised 10 clicks on front and 9 on back is a good setting?

[SILICONEKID340HP]

My Gaz shock absorbers are st..There is 50 clicks and only about 6 of those clicks are any good.Why bother having so many clicks?

Been told to always set the shock absorbers from the hardest to soft ,when i take it to the hardest setting i can not work it back towards soft,it locks up and then the grips have to do the job..

When i set them ptrity hard they are totaly useless and then the squeaking starts..

Total rubbish.!

[theironduke]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

My Gaz shock absorbers are st..There is 50 clicks and only about 6 of those clicks are any good.Why bother having so many clicks?

Been told to always set the shock absorbers from the hardest to soft ,when i take it to the hardest setting i can not work it back towards soft,it locks up and then the grips have to do the job..

When i set them ptrity hard they are totaly useless and then the squeaking starts..

Total rubbish.!

Oh....

Answers my post then

[CHIMV8]

SILICONEKID340HP said:

My Gaz shock absorbers are st..There is 50 clicks and only about 6 of those clicks are any good.Why bother having so many clicks?

Been told to always set the shock absorbers from the hardest to soft ,when i take it to the hardest setting i can not work it back towards soft,it locks up and then the grips have to do the job..

When i set them ptrity hard they are totaly useless and then the squeaking starts..

Total rubbish.!

Daz
Give Derrick at Gaz Golds a ring, i'm pretty sure there is a fault with yours, and for customer satisfaction i'm sure he will gladly sort or exchange

[Chimpafrolic]

CHIMV8 said:

Been advised 10 clicks on front and 9 on back is a good setting?

Derek set them 10 on the rear & 12 on the front.

In my experience the big improvements come when the springs settle, surprisingly it took 3000 miles in my case.

Before the springs settled (& on Derek's settings) the car tended to bob a bit, it felt like the dampers were fighting the springs not working in unison to control them.

Once the springs has fully settled it got a lot better, I also ended up with a setting of 14 clicks all round.

The Gaz Gold Pros do give a firmer ride than the Billies, but you would expect that as the springs are 25% stiffer.

To me it's now a great compromise between ride comfort and handling, it's like you lose 10% comfort in exchange for a 60% improvement in handling, well worth it.

The car had a lovely soft ride on the Billies, but in my opinion it was dangerous like this, if you pressed on it felt very disconnected and the complete opposite to confidence inspiring.

I have just returned from a 2300 mile romp around Europe, on the way back to the UK we did over 500 miles in one day & we had absolutely no issues with comfort, the car remains an awesome grand tourer.

In the mountains of the South of France (without the wife) I was finally able to explore the car's handling.

I can tell you all it handled fantastically well, my mate Phil who was following in his 4.5 Chim (on Billies) simply couldn't stay with me.

I had rigged a camera in his car so I could get a nice film of my car moving through the bends, the problem was I was so far ahead they turned out to be movies of Phil's dashboard and an empty road ahead.

When we stopped & had a chat & Phil said his car was moving around a lot on the corners where my car was totally planted.

I am sure Nitrons would be better still, but for what I need the Gaz Gold Pros have proved to be excellent.

I honestly feel for the £550 I paid Derek to supply & fit, these dampers have been an absolute bargain.

Add the excellent Leven drop links and things get a further 20% better.

Edited by Chimpafrolic on Thursday 1st September 19:18