Shocks and Springs?

[jonnylayze]

I need to get some new shocks/springs for my S2 and just wondered what people recommend. I want something 'sporting' without compromising too much on ride quality (which at the moment is excellent). I'd e interested to hear what other people have fitted, what they think about the final result and - although its often regarded as 'vulgar' to talk about money - roughly how much they cost (in parts terms) - I'll fit them myself.

Cheers.



PS - Happy New Year to all the PH S drivers!!

[steve j]

Just finished fitting Avos on my S2, Can`t comment on the ride as the car is off the road for a while. Cost, 74 quid plus vat per shock and 23 quid plus vat per spring. Hope this is of some help, I`m sure other people will soon answer some of your questions.

[GreenV8S]

Get the best you can afford, because the difference between cheap and expensive dampers really is quite noticeable. Also make sure you deal with somebody who understands how the suspension works as a whole so they can recommend the right spring/damper package and setup for you and your car. Some of the bigger suppliers just seem to take parts of the shelf and are only concerned about getting the right size and shape, not how well they suit the car. If your budget is around the £400 - £600 range I'd suggest Track Car Solutions (Protech/Nitron) and AbsolutelyShocks (Gaz) as really good people to start with.

[clive f]

I had Avos on my s2, and they were pretty good, depends how much you want to spend.

[yellabelly]

Oh sh-t, not another re-run of the Pistonheads version of War and Peace. Just use the search facility, read the reams and reams and reams and reams....... of discussion and then make your own decision

a) based on what you've read
b) based on what you've understood including Spring Rates, ride heights, roll centres and corner weighting with a soupcon of sprung/unsprung weight, whether you are a fat bugger who travels alone or whether you have to dial in extra passener weight, whether you are going to do track days, often, rarely, never, fast road, bumpy road/ride ......whatever!!!
c) based on what you can afford

bet you can tell how enamoured of this subject I've become over the years!

Now, can we put the Genie back in the bottle before the salesmen appear.


Happy New Year
YB

[S2 Giles]

I have AVO's and there still great after 3 years. I stiffen them one click every year to counteract any wear in the spring shock which it seems to need.

Alternatives are GAZ and then Nitrons.

[johns3]

Where did you get the Avos?

[mike robo]

Why don't you try AVO

[the gazman]

You can get AVO direct from the factory in Northampton (dont know how to post links) for about £490.00 all in, Gaz are a bit dearer at £529 all in and Protech are £650 or there abouts.
I'd use the search facility and look them all up to see what everybody thought.

Was that unbiased enough for the sceptics?

BTW all prices for adjustable height shocks, I wouldn't trust anybodys fixed height on an S. Either smack the downpipes or look like a giraffe

Edited by the gazman on Saturday 6th January 12:34

[clive f]

crikey Derek, you`re getting very placid in your old age!

[the gazman]

clive f said:

crikey Derek, you`re getting very placid in your old age!

Yes I am, it must be my age.

Edited by the gazman on Saturday 6th January 22:27

[Rockey]

Derek, the rebuild of my S is going well but would appreciate a bit of help from you, what would be a good starting setting for my new Gaz shocks

[GreenV8S]

the gazman said:

You can get ...

Of course, anyone looking for new dampers would be well advised to check the condition of the bushes too. Now, where could we go to buy those, eh?

[mwbs3]

Hi Just replaced same on my S3.

AVO Shocks £70 from Steve Reid then found a broken spring -
New springs £20 from Absolutley Shocks.

Note the new 9" springs on the new AVO shocks dont need a spring compressor. Also ride height now adjustable- you will need a 'C' spanner to adjust.

All un-tried car off road currently

Regards

Mark

[the gazman]

Rockey said:

Derek, the rebuild of my S is going well but would appreciate a bit of help from you, what would be a good starting setting for my new Gaz shocks

Hi Rockey
Are you asking about ride height or shock settings. Anyway I'll do both for the benefit of the Avo traiters as well.

Ride height
I like to see straight wishbones and steering rods on the front but on the V6 we have the downpipe problem to contend with so I reckon that the front main RHS chassis members need to be around 170/175mm from the ground to stop whacking downpipes on speedbumps. If you then measure the front of the outrigger to the ground and wind up the rear shocks until the rear of the outrigger to the ground is higher by 10mm than the front, the jobs a good-un.

Now shock settings; This is a minefield because of the 70+ S kits that I have sold, nobody has had the same set-up as me but a broad consensus of settings is 12 clicks from soft on the front and 18 clicks from soft on the rear, It is best to count the clicks from full soft to full hard (about 42) and then wind back to the above settings from full hard.
Avo boys ignore this because you will be running on virtually full soft on the rear.

Geo settings
You got no chance, Rockey ring me for my hard come by settings.

[the gazman]

GreenV8S said:

the gazman said:

You can get ...

Of course, anyone looking for new dampers would be well advised to check the condition of the bushes too. Now, where could we go to buy those, eh?

Yeah Yeah, it took months to get the Cerb ones made and the S ones are not going to be any different I'm afraid.

[GreenV8S]

mwbs3 said:

Note the new 9" springs on the new AVO shocks dont need a spring compressor.

Why not? Make sure the springs aren't loose at full droop.

[the gazman]

GreenV8S said:

mwbs3 said:

Note the new 9" springs on the new AVO shocks dont need a spring compressor.

Why not? Make sure the springs aren't loose at full droop.

You don't need a spring compressor on most of the shocks with adjustable springs seats, you just wind the seats down to the bottom drop the spring on and put the top collett on and then wind up the spring seat until the spring is tensioned slightly.

[GreenV8S]

the gazman said:

You don't need a spring compressor on most of the shocks with adjustable springs seats, you just wind the seats down to the bottom drop the spring on and put the top collett on and then wind up the spring seat until the spring is tensioned slightly.

I guess that depends on the spring rates and how good the threads are. This works fine on my Nitrons, but was completely impractical on the AVOs and Spax (with much softer springs) because the preload at full droop was so high.

[bugattiqueen]

I think you are confusing spring length with spring rate.