Springs or Shocks ?

[John Peerce]

Hello All,

I would like to know if the changing the shock absorbers on my car can reduce the "harshness" or "stiffness"of the ride" ?

I am strictly thinking of changing the shocks alone, not the springs (as i like the look/feel of the lowered springs). Is it the springs that have the biggest impact on the ride feel or is it the shocks ? I think the stock shocks with my car are eibachs or blistein .. not sure !

Although my car comes with what is considered a desirable sporty suspension, after a year of driving in London potholed streets it can get rather tiring feeling all the bumps and road imperfections, not to mention the sound of the annoying rattles and squeaks inside the cabin that are caused by such a stiff suspension. I already drive with the tires deflated at 10% below recommended pressure which helps a little (at full pressure even my teeth rattle, like driving a truck!).

 

[pluggers]

You could get some adjustable gas shocks then dial in the best setting for you ?That should help.I did this a few years back on a car.Kept the original springs and had some adjustable gas SPAX (cheapest option) I could dial in the best setting for my driving style and road conditions around my area.

 

[John Peerce]

Nice one pluggers, i am going to get cracking and do research to see how i can order these etc.

BTW, did you find these durable , and can the adjustments be done by driver or do they have to be taken to the mechanic with special tools etc ..

Many Thanks

 

[pluggers]

Depending how much you want to spend it can be done by your self.The best one's can be adjusted very easy,The front is done on top of the turret via a dial inside the engine bay .The rear is usually done via a flat blade screwdriver at the base of the shock,Maybe newer one's can be adjusted from inside the boot by the same method as the front?These units were great to use they can go from teeth shattering hard to quite smooth rides just by increasing or decreasing the damping rate.Have fun now,I did

 

[kid-jensen]

John,

If you've got lowered springs, any change in ride softness you make with the shock absorbers will be marginal.

Lowered springs have to be uprated in stiffness because they have less travel to do their job in. If they wern't, you would be hitting the bump-stops all the time.

If you have got to the situation (age?) where the ride quility is just as important as the handling, you may be looking at putting standard springs back on to provide any worthwhile improvement.

You could always run the car 'round the block with the shock absorbers removed! That will tell you how much improvement there is to come.....

 

[John Peerce]

PaulG, thanks for your reply. Your response confirms the impression i have been getting researching this on the internet over the last two days. Although as suggested by Pluggers there are SPAX shocks that are adjustable, but it seems that if (like me) you are starting with lowered spring, the adjustment benefits are diminshed by the low (short) spring height anyway. In other words, to get the full benefit of adjustable springs, you have to start with high springs to get the full adjustment room or range. Would you agree ?

I guess i was trying to have my cake and eat it. I wanted to have the lowered spring look (which suits the sporty body kit, the 17" alloys and fat tyres) , while at the same time i wanted to have a soft and comfortable ride.

I know its vain to insist on keeping the lowered look.. but it really affects the look of the car and which is why I am keen on keeping it .. even at the expense of the ride quality. Few weeks ago i saw an SL AMG and the owner had clearly changed springs to longer ones (as the gap between the tyre edge and the wheel arch edge was much bigger than normal) and i can tell you the car just looked completely wrong .. it realy did not look nice...

So the other option left for me is maybe to deflate the tyres further to reduce the harsh/stiff ride. I already drive with tyre pressure 10% below recomended value, and i know from experience the less pressue i have the more soft the ride will feel. SO how much more pressure can i reduce the tyres by without affecting the handling in a bad/dangerous way. I know less pressure will slow the car a ilttle.. but i can put up with this compromise...

 

[pluggers]

This sprung to mind this morning whilst I had nothing better to do at work(Ok I was bored)Have you considered larger tyre wall profiles too soak up the bumps.Cus if your running rubber bands around your wheels say a 45 profile going too a 55 or a 65 profile might do the trick?

 

[John Peerce]

Pluggers , you are quiet right. That would be one way to increase the "cushion" and reduce the bumps.

The car is running on 17 alloys, (with 245/40 tyres at the rear and 225/45 at the front), and the gap is very narrow between the tyre edge and the edge of the wheel arches. To me it looks like there is not much room left to increase the tyre profile.. but i am going to have a second look and see that maybe i can increase the profile by half an inch or so without rubbing the inside of the arches?

Ofcourse anther sure way of doing this would be to downgrade to 16" allloys.. but losing the 17" alloys would be a real shame...

 

[pluggers]

Originally posted by John Peerce

Ofcourse anther sure way of doing this would be to downgrade to 16" allloys.. but losing the 17" alloys would be a real shame...

Im sure you will get a couple of offers on your 17"s to fund some new wheels M8