replacing shocks - some side affects!!
 

recently i changed the knackered boge shocks for beilstein gas ones.

i knew the handling should improve but a couple of areas that i had not thought about also improved noticably (in hindsight it was obvious!).

1. high speed handling was previously butt clenching and i had put this down to having a carrera rear wing without the lip spoiler.

following the install the handling is rock steady (in comparison), at least up to 100mph (have not had the opportunity to go higher yet).

2. another area that relies on good shocks are the brakes. before they were less than useless. now braking is much more controlled, and concise.

i have lots more confidence in the car now;)

now what will it be like with a brake overhaul and that lip spoiler fitted.................

Richard,

Did you notice any change in the ride height? Mine went up just a bit and seems now to have settled after a year with the shocks.

Really made a difference on the handing. Should have done this years ago!

joe

joe,

sorry i was out last night!

no, not really any difference in ride height. mines also been lowered and i was worried about it - but its not noticable.

Richard,

What year/model is your car?

How did you know shocks were knackered?

My car has original Boge shocks, but they do seem to function OK. The ride is exceptionally good, but high speed handling is slightly "nervous", and rear end grip is noticeably poor. I am wondering if I can justify some Bilsteins to myself.... :D

Thanks

jon,

mine's an '86 coupe with 85k.

the boges looked original so i figured they were past their best. the ride felt ok, but high speed or spirited driving was a challenge!! and so was stopping!!

i did test one rear and one front boge before buying the gas ones, and they didn't feel particularly knackered - that was until the new ones arrived, boy are they difficult to compress!!

as i said the bonus came with the improved high speed handling and the braking - neither were expected.

imo it would be a good investment for you..

btw - if you've got both spoilers and everything else is fine, the car should be rock steady at 145mph!! (i know!!)

Thanks Richard - I am strongly considering this upgrade, though I need new tyres too. Where is the best (cheapest, I'm a skinflint!) place in the UK to get 'em?

i bought mine from an independent locally, and paid about £50/£70 for ea. front/rear, which i thought was good (pirelli p6000's).

i hate the big "kwik fits" etc....bad experiences :mad:

btw - check out my thread on the price of the shocks, they vary greatly between shops. i found them nearly half the 1st price quoted!!

Richard

Ive tried a search for your Bilstein shocks part numbers and prices thread, but I can't seem to find it. Could you post a link to that thread?

BTW, did you have any problems fitting them, and did you follow up with a full alignment?

I suppose I have the same problems that you previously had i.e. ride feels good and reasonably well damped, but on the motorway things get a bit twitchy, even cruising at 80mph. Hopefully, following your lead with the shocks should cure that.

Cheers

Anil

911Jon,

Richard's given you some good advice re avoiding Kwik Fit, I've also had some bad experiences with them and would never consider taking my 911 there!

I recently got a pair of Kuhmo Ecstas fitted to the front of my car and can thoroughly recommend them. I removed the wheels myself and took them to the tyre shop. Don't want any monkey boys playing with my car;)

Cheers,

Tim.
____________
1983 SC Targa

anil999

try here and let me know if you need more info:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/63288-dont-buy-bilstein-shocks-uk-until-youve-read.html

alignment isn't necessary unless the car needs it anyway - which mine does, so still got to be done........

as i said if i overahil the brakes and put the lip spoiler on, and get the alignment done, it should handle like a dream.........

New shocks
 

I also changed shocks during the winter. Went from original Boges to Bilstein Sports. Made great improvement to handling. I also changed brake discs. New discs are slotted and for pads I use Pagid Sports. At the same time I changed for steel brake hoses and fluid to Bendix Competition. No still do to is turbo track rods and antiroll bar for rear wheels.

Kris:D

Shocks are notoriaously difficult to diagnose, even among race car drivers who know what they're doing. It's even harder if only one of them is bad. Pushing in on the shock really doesn't tell you anything accept about how stiff it is for slow speed bump. The same applies to slow speed rebound when you let go. The best way to tell if you have a bad shock is to take a test drive with a known bad shock on the car and fell the subtle change it makes to the handling. Pushing in on a gas pressure shock (like Belsteins) will always be more difficult then pushing in on a twin tube shock (such as Koni's). This is because when you push in on the shock, you need to further compress the already pressurized Nitrogen in the shock. This is why gas pressure shocks will often change the ride hight of a car.

BTW: There are generally 4 different modes to a shock's action - any one of which can go bad since they use 2 or 4 different sets of valves -- or all 4 of them can go bad. By pushing in on a shock by hand you only tested one of the modes.

High Speed Bump - This dampens the car as it rides up a bump or lands after a bump.

High Speed Droop - This dampens the wheels after you have crested a bump and on the rebound after landing. It is generally set softer then High Speed Bump to allow the wheels to stay on the pavement.

Low Speed Bump - This affects the transition of weight onto that corner of the car (and off of the diagonal corner of the car) while transitioning into or out of corners. It also affects how the car feels under braking.

Low Speed Rebound - This affects the transition of weight off of that corner of the car (and on to the diagonal corner of the car) while transitioning into or out of corners and under braking.

So what to do - how can you tell if you have bad shocks? One old trick is to step on and off the bumper at each corner of the car. The car should not oscilate but should quickly settle back to its starting position. If it takes more then one or at most two bounces to settle you have some shock issues - most likely with low speed dampening. Also see how the car feels driving over rippled pavement or railroad tracks. If the tires seem bouncy or you lose grip and the car feels like it is on "tippy toes", you quite likely have high speed issues. The best way to diagnose bad shocks is with a shock dyno, but unfortunately those are still pretty rare.