Shock absorbers

[edtad]

I have a 98 4.0 chim, Ive had six months of bliss and its now in for its first service and have just found out I have a cracked right shocker leaking oil to replace the pair Ive been quoted £400. Seems abit steep particularily this month as it also needs new tyres .I did read somewhere that someone was breaking up a chim for parts in Leeds, I was thinking I could maybe find some there. Does anyone know who this was cant find the thread!! If not any idea were I can get a better price?? Apparently the colour of the shocker is yellow ?

cheers

[M@H]

£400 will easily buy you a full set of 4x Gaz/AVO/Similar shocks..(excl. fitting & springs) which are better* than the standard Bilsteins anyway. I wouldn't bother fitting s/h shocks to a performance car.. asking for trouble really and may fail the following week with no recourse. Better to do the job right once, then have to do it twice.

See bugsys site for an idea: www.absolutelyshocks.com/
Cheers
Matt

*for another debate.

>> Edited by M@H on Thursday 3rd November 13:30

[griffter]

Might be £400 for four. You should always fit shockers in pairs, preferably fours. Would you just replace one tyre?

[Podie]

Speak to Trackcar

He'll talk to you about your driving style, what you want and help find something in your budget... also helps he's a nice bloke.

EDITED to add this link www.track-car-solutions.co.uk/

>> Edited by Podie on Thursday 3rd November 14:50

[M@H]

griffter said:

Might be £400 for four.

I assumed it was £400 for supply and fit for the two... ?

[Gaffer]

Just had Gaz shocks fitted on my Chim and so far they are great.

They just need to settle in so Ian can do some fine tuning.

Just need to fit the bushes and it will all be sorted.

Claire

[GreenV8S]

Gaffer said:

They just need to settle in so Ian can do some fine tuning.

What does that mean? Dampers don't normally bed in as such and are normally at their best immediately after fitting, gradually going down hill from there as the insides wear out.

[Gaffer]

GreenV8S said:

Gaffer said: They just need to settle in so Ian can do some fine tuning. What does that mean? Dampers don't normally bed in as such and are normally at their best immediately after fitting, gradually going down hill from there as the insides wear out.

Ummm no idea, they were fitted to the correct spec so just running with them for a little bit to see if they need adjusting.

I think thats a better explanation (no managers around so I can think and type at the same time)

Claire

[Tiger]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TVR-Griffith-Ch

Get bidding

[bugsy]

I think Ian want's to revisit the ride height when the springs have settled, he knows what he is doing.

[bugsy]

Tiger said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TVR-Griffith-Ch Get bidding

If you want rears! the valving should be different on the front.

[Bomber Denton]

Ed - YHM

[M@H]

Tiger said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TVR-Griffith-Ch Get bidding

"Unfortunately, I do not know the mileage that they've covered - as the car was previously owned by the TVR factory for 11 years"

I can't believe that it is being encouraged to fit 2nd hand dampers of unknown quality to a TVR.. ! Suspension is Critical chaps !



Walks away muttering ..madness ..said my piece ..aah well each to their own I suppose

[mongoose]

Podie said:

Speak to Trackcar He'll talk to you about your driving style, what you want and help find something in your budget... also helps he's a nice bloke. EDITED to add this link www.track-car-solutions.co.uk/

Couldn't agree more.Jools is a thoroughly nice chap who'll take the time to listen to your requirements and advise accordingly.He's not just a salesman,but a very experienced pro,and only sells what he beleives in,and it has to be good vfm.
I bought my protechs from him,for the same sort of money youv'e been quoted for the std. ones.He actually has designed the spec of the shocks he sells himself,and you cant buy them from anyone else.
I considered all the options-Gaz,Avo's,nitrons,etc,but for me,the alloy bodied protech's made the most sense.Theyre nearly nitron performance for tvr std money,and with a 3 yr warranty!
The transformation to the cars handling has been superb.
I'd advise you talk to all the others,then talk to the man himself,you'll see what i and all his other customers mean

[GreenV8S]

bugsy said:

I think Ian want's to revisit the ride height when the springs have settled

That's another one I don't quite get, unless you're talking about the bushes rather than the springs? Springs should only 'settle' if they've been taken past their yield point, which implies either they're made with inadequately specced material or have been overloaded.

[Gaffer]

Tiger said:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TVR-Griffith-Ch Get bidding

I would NEVER fit 2nd hand shocks to any car I own, espceially a TVR.

Jeez, unless you know their entire history I wouldnt have the guts to do it.

Walk away, for not a lot more you can have brand new Gaz or Protechs...

You know I make sense (for once)

Claire

[mack]

Gaffer said:

Tiger said: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TVR-Griffith-Ch Get bidding I would NEVER fit 2nd hand shocks to any car I own, espceially a TVR. Jeez, unless you know their entire history I wouldnt have the guts to do it. Walk away, for not a lot more you can have brand new Gaz or Protechs... You know I make sense (for once) Claire

Ahem,I know the car has had 21 different engines over it's 11yrs at the factory - hence the reason for not knowing the mileage
I also know that the dampers/springs have been changed numerous times over the same period but,due to TVR's excellent recordkeeping,it's impossible to pin down dates/mileages

In the past,I've bought secondhand Bilsteins from a 10k mile car,via a 'sprint' ad,and been/still am very happy with them (the owner was upgrading to nitrons)

I agree that they're a safety item and obviously wouldn't advocate buying unknown dampers from a scrapyard but,if your happy with their history and performance,I can't see the problem

Some people might change perfectly good dampers,just because they've heard the latest brand banded around on here and just 'have to have them' to be with the incrowd
It doesn't mean that their OE ones won't be good enough for someone upgrading on a more restricted budget
(Not everyone changes dampers only when they're knackered)
Each to their own,I suppose

[trackcar]

I've sold secondhand dampers in the past .. the ones on ebay look pretty good nick from the outside but of course it's always a gamble, but people do take serviceable items off cars for upgrade items.
... however upgrade dampers are available for so little money these days in real terms that a std set of dampers would have to be giveaway price virtually to be worth considering now IMO.

[M@H]

Indeed.. you can get AVO's at about £70 a corner these days IIRC

[full_chat]

Gaffer said:

GreenV8S said: Gaffer said: They just need to settle in so Ian can do some fine tuning. What does that mean? Dampers don't normally bed in as such and are normally at their best immediately after fitting, gradually going down hill from there as the insides wear out. Ummm no idea, they were fitted to the correct spec so just running with them for a little bit to see if they need adjusting. I think thats a better explanation (no managers around so I can think and type at the same time) Claire

When I had new Gaz shocks <b>(and springs)</b> fitted they made the handling worse to start with, took around 500+ miles until I could start to appreciate how much better they were than the previous ones, now I'm well over 5k into them the difference in handling is leaps and bounds above the originals.

I assume that it's the springs that have to settle, where as shockers are good straight from the box.