how do i know if my currenty shocks are blown??

[blitz]

my car is lowered by 2.5" with king springs..
i have read many articles saying that a car with such a height will constantly blow lower quality shocks...

how the hell do i know if my shocks are blown??


Thanks in advance...

and does ne one know if i can raise the height of koni yellows,,?

[tandy ass]

Easiest way is the bounce test, on the rebound stroke it should stop, not go beyond and return again (or more often :))

If you have a bit more time on your hands, pull the strut out, if there is any oil in the bottom around the shock insert then, yes, it's faulty or almost faulty.

[Stix Zadinia]

yeah, bounce test. or look for oil running down the shock...

do you currently have Koni's? if you do, they aren't really what i'd call "low quality"

and if your shocks are blown, belive me you can feel it while driving (/me blew up a front left Bilstein the other day)

[VHDREAMS]

and then when the shocks are really gone, it will sit a lil lower on that side (maybe not noticable on ur car) and will pull to one side especially under brakes...and if you really let it go...when u hit any speed bumps, potholes etc, u will hear a large thud...

[Jay_G]

I have just gotten one of those "Pedders drive on shock absorber tests" it is definately worth the 14 bucks and they give your suspension a realy good going over. my back shocks which are koni adjustable need some adjusting and if they dont adjust any further they need rebuilding

other things they picked up were a worn balljoint worn panhard rod bushesworn strut tops which need replacing. its good to know this sorta stuff so you can find out off the pros what is wrong then replace ti yourself for much less than they want :)

[Forg]

Why do shocks wear out more with lowered springs?
Is it because the original height had their innards sitting in their optimal location, and the lowered springs means they've got a lot less travel in one direction?
"Sports" oriented shocks would probably already be designed to be running a bit lower on the car they're designed for, I assume?

Celica_RA40, I'd heard that Koni adjustables on Volvos tend to wear fairly rapidly. A few people I've spoken to have had them on 240's, and they reckon that they're brilliant at first, but they seem to wear quite quickly & need adjustment pretty regularly. That's why I went the Billies, even though they're not adjustable. :)

[edo]

Originally posted by Forg
Why do shocks wear out more with lowered springs?
Is it because the original height had their innards sitting in their optimal location, and the lowered springs means they've got a lot less travel in one direction?
"Sports" oriented shocks would probably already be designed to be running a bit lower on the car they're designed for, I assume?

Celica_RA40, I'd heard that Koni adjustables on Volvos tend to wear fairly rapidly. A few people I've spoken to have had them on 240's, and they reckon that they're brilliant at first, but they seem to wear quite quickly & need adjustment pretty regularly. That's why I went the Billies, even though they're not adjustable. :)

Forg, they will wear out quicker basically because they will generally bottom out more often, its also trying to control the oscillation of the spring using less of its travel which works it harder (more pressure on the internal seals , valves etc). If you are going to run lower springs you should have a shorter stroke shock so it still uses the full length of its travel. There is sort of more to it than that but thats the general gist.

VHDREAMS, Your shocks should not be supporting the cars weight (thats what springs do) so there should be no sag.

Blitz, Just bounce it like everyone said. Lifting the height of your car may be hard if you have shorter stroke shocks because if you go to longer springs they will tend to top out the shocks (ie they will be trying to force the bottom part from the top, and eventually they will succeed)

[Boxer]

Originally posted by edo


Forg, they will wear out quicker basically because they will generally bottom out more often, its also trying to control the oscillation of the spring using less of its travel which works it harder (more pressure on the internal seals , valves etc). If you are going to run lower springs you should have a shorter stroke shock so it still uses the full length of its travel. There is sort of more to it than that but thats the general gist.



.....and add to this the fact that lowered springs are commonly heavier in rate over the stockers. This will give the shock a harder time due to having to control the ocsillations of a heavier spring applying greater force.

[vrmmmpshhh]

just out of curipsity, i was thnking that if the shaft of the shock was lowered as much as the spring then it should have the same travel right?

say if i had 2 inch lower springs and the shaft was cut and rethreaded 2 inches down then it it should have the same travel?

[Jay_G]

i would like to see you get shock absorber shafts re threaded :) i think it ouwld be a case of anneal it to make it soft, shorten it and thread it then re temper it and rechrome it. well i think thats how it would go, probably better off buying new shocks

[vrmmmpshhh]

getting new shocks would still die out after a while because of the extra travel required by them.. if the shaft was shortened in accordance with the spring i think the shock would survive for a lot longer and give you the excellent ride.