Thread: shocks

Originally Posted by rick130

hahahaha, surpass any other shock ? really ?

Fox make 2.5 and 3" body dampers, as does SAW and Bilstein and they all win multiple off road races.

Ever heard of Ohlins ? Reiger ? Donerre ? ZF Sachs ?

Have a look under the Dakar cars and most use these Euro dampers, I've even seen some of the old Schlesser buggies with a mix of Ohlins and Fox.

They all make brilliant dampers and the Euro ones above use some very trick valving systems and are a lot more expensive than the US made ones.

I come from a circuit race background and mate I worked for back in the mid nineties had a set of Ohlins triple adjustable shocks that we used on customer cars that were worth $10,000 for the set.

I don't know Rohan, I've heard Deon Beattie is very good with off road stuff too.
I used Gary Baker in Melbourne for Bilstein re-valving. He is a shock setup guru.

Please don't make silly statements to justify your purchase.
It's great that you are using big Kings, I'm envious, my plan was to mount 2.5" Billies all round but I haven't got there yet.
Some of us have been around suspensions for a while, there's a few blokes on here that currently race off road too.

I'm sure King make good stuff, I'd readily have them on my car but surpass anything else available ?
Please......

It all comes down to setup.

Yes you can always find something better however in the context of the conversation the King 2.5in that will fit the Defender are one of the best shocks bang for you buck that money can buy! Why spend $1580 on Konis when you can have better for similar money?

How much are the Billies remote res? Haven't priced them up.

The comparable Fox are 2in that are bolt in that you mentioned. You have to compare apples with apples, King do a seven tube bypass shock too that are extremely expensive but they are irrelevant for this use.

Yes surpass any other shock is an incorrect statemement, however, for this application, bang for your buck, I think you would struggle to buy better. I am not trying to justify my purchase, I know my suspension is going to be fantastic, just assist a fellow defender owner get the most out of their car whilst spending the least and save them the stuff around of measuring and matching shocks to fit.

Rohan sets up a lot of the more extreme 4wd race cars and is a fantastic person to work with. I woudn't hesitate recommending him for car servicing and modifications from mild to wild. He is located in Lilydale, Vic. and is also a Terrafirma dealer now.

I do agree it is in the setup though, as long as there is something decent to start with.

Rob

Is there some sort of guide or calculator for those less informed about which type of shock to order for different vehicles? Following this thread with interest, Im up for reshocking my 130 and will obviously need different shocks for it, but how do i make an informed decision?

First of all, billy's 2.5's are actually 2.65.....

Tuffrangie, are you running the 2.5 kings inside your front coil? What travel length are you running?

Yep. Maintaining stock wheel travel, I do a lot of hwy and high speed dirt driving so I don't need the huge amounts of travel. I haven't fitted them yet. Cycling the suspension through its range of movement there appears to be enough clearance to the spring perch.

Have you had any experience in big shocks inside the spring? We are aiming for factory fit as close as possible as my car has only done 50k so it would be nice to maintain as much warranty as I can.

Cheers
Rob

Originally Posted by tuffrangie

Yep. Maintaining stock wheel travel, I do a lot of hwy and high speed dirt driving so I don't need the huge amounts of travel. I haven't fitted them yet. Cycling the suspension through its range of movement there appears to be enough clearance to the spring perch.

Have you had any experience in big shocks inside the spring? We are aiming for factory fit as close as possible as my car has only done 50k so it would be nice to maintain as much warranty as I can.

Cheers
Rob

Not me, but I did alot of digging and asked alot of the guys (worth asking) in the Rover section on Pirate4x4. KC one of the more practical and knowledgeable guys, has set up alot of his own and customers trucks with the likes of Fox, King, Bilstein ect. He had 2.0 Fox's on his d90 and was using 12 inch travel type (using all of that travel to) and these 2.0's would rub inside the coil spring perch... I wanted to go the 2.65 Billy's but due to not wanting to outboard mount the shock I stuck with the 2.0 Bilstein in 9100....this had some extra advantages: After speaking to Rick, he had some thoughts regarding how the shaft dia would affect the performance of the shock. Also the resivor on the 9100 is HUGE...same size for the 2.0 or the 2.65 in the 9100 series. you can get these in a 9100 smooth body, coil over or bypass, then above that you are looking at the 9300 then the black hawk series $$$$$$$ So I went for the 9100 in 2.0 with the 7/8th shaft. Im yet to mount them but was more just keen to get them while the $$$ was good.

Re Brand, King is very good, but from all the stuff I have read from the USA, it seems Fox then king....Bilstein arent as popular but they arnt the cheapest either...and for reason. Yes you may get a king 2.5 for the same amount as a Fox 2.0 and your apples is $$$ but side by side a Fox and king 2.5 the Fox will be a bit better in build and finish, but nit enough to worry about......funny thing when I did my price shopping (many hrs) I was first looking at fox and king and I found both 2.5s within a few dollars or so????

what vehicle are you putting these one? Def? regardless, unless its a Disco 2, the rear upper shock mount is at a horrible angle and induces binding at stock ride height standing still...start to travel the shock and it only becomes worse...I would seriously address this area regardless of shock length. Do king make short body versions like other brands? because if you have 10 inch shocks in standard body you will need to raise both your rear and front upper mounts otherwise destroy your nice new kings.


btw, pics in this thread when you have them fitted

here is some stuff to watch:

check out the size of the resivour on the 9100 and compare it to the 7100 and the guys hand....haha bigger is better right
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJcED1-IRsU"]Bilstein Shocks Overview - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/user/randomthoughtsracing#p/u/21/qzBwusESIS4"]Chaîne de randomthoughtsracing - YouTube[/ame]

Serg,your right about the shock mount,do you know of a replacement?. Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

Serg,your right about the shock mount,do you know of a replacement?. Pat

Wagoo was the one that put me onto it, well alot of people. I remember reading some time ago, Bill did some cycling of rear suspesion and played around with the top shock mount angle. What he came up with is pretty much what is on the Disco 2. Unfortunately these are welded on, not bolted like Def, RRC etc. I have made my own out of rediculously over sized material (all I had lying around) these will bolt on. If I was you, take a good look at the Disco 2 rear upper, copy it and fab up something that will bolt on. If you are going to put new shocks on and they are longer closed, you will be able to make your new mount to suit (with in reason, under your floor area) keep the standard shock postion and angle of body, just the mount angle to change. I have not seen ANY aftermarket mount that is different to the stock other than height and the extreme from Equippe....