Replacement Shocks for smoother ride

Have seen a lot of Good reports on the Bilstein B6 to improve the crashy ride, but unfortunately they are no longer available (for the front), unless someone knows a second hand source?
Any other ones which are recommended to improve the ride quality, that are still available thanks?

For what it’s worth, I had them on my Coop years ago and found them very hard and crashy. One gave up the ghost after only 4000 miles or so, still have the other shock in my garage.

Depending on what you want from the car, it might be worth just getting new standard shocks for the car. I seem to remember Bockers doing this and he said the difference between his old standard shocks and new shocks were vastly different.

Timely,

Had a great spring day drive on Sunday in my coupe after slowly bringing it out of winter hibernation over the last two weeks.

Tyre pressures dropped to norm, all fluids checked, and topped as necessary. Quick check of all connections/wiring and checking over all of the more readily reachable bolts, screws etc on wheels, under the hood etc.

Washed, hovered and drive.

She looked great. And the drive was great - excepting for the crashing of the front of the car over every hub, drain cover, bump or strip in the road. On flat tarmac -things were great.

The suspension was all renewed a few years back to take her back to factory. But seems like there is more to do. I'm not looking for lowered racing track handling. Comfy GT is where I am at these days-something that does not rattle the teeth.

I'm thinking the shocks should be like-half the rating. To make things more bearable.

I may be getting old....

MM

What tyre pressures are you running on the front Rob?

Interesting - I had all new standard spec springs and dampers (Monroe shocks) a couple of years ago. And I'm not totally happy with the result - like MM, it's good on a smooth road but crashy over transverse ruts or expansion joints in concrete motorways. But I've begun to think that the problem is it's underdamped rather than overdamped - it feels a bit bouncy, and the crashiness is more noticeable on rebound. I'm no suspension engineer, so maybe I'm wrong. But when I had Bilsteins it was better - until they gave up after only a couple of years. It would be really good to find a company that could come up with a damper that worked better...

Osrav KGA, with standard springs - set the damping to fairly soft and you should have a well-sprung, but well damped ride.

Not cheap though (not even sure if they are still available)

Hi Joe,

I've got them on 37 psi at front. And 32psi at the rear. Found having them higher on the front made the crashiness even worse.

The Newer Toyo's tyre design was fitted last year to the fronts and that improved the crashiness a bit- the rears are on older design Toyo tyres that I have considered swopping out- but as the rear feels ok - and the tyres have like new tread on them- I always bulk at getting rid of them for the sake of it.

Wink - interesting - mine is the Crash of any ripple or bump. I'm maybe becoming jolt intolerant - but it feels to me the CRASH is at the start. Suspension feels quite flowing on smooth tarmac. And not felt any crashiness on rebound.

Nigel - Thanks - was trying to keep coupe standard - or standard "plus" as I call it (fitted recaro's and the front engine bay sparco strut) I'll have a search for them - I'm up for trying to find an off the peg solution - if it saves a year of driving fun!

Regards

MM

Edit reason -spellin'!!

The car has only done 53K so would be surprised if the shocks are worn much. Perhaps I'm too used to my Mazda 3 sport now, which has an amazingly smooth ride in comparison. Having said that you only notice the problem on poor roads with roughness over a certain severity.

I commented about rebound crashiness because on my Coupe it feels as though the worst thump comes when going over recessed expansion joints when I assume the wheel is moving down into the rut. Re. mileage - I've been assured by more than one mechanic that anything over 30k miles and dampers are likely worn out. Maybe we're just noticing the 30 year-old suspension design? Our daily drive is an Alfa Giulietta with 18" wheels and 40 profile tyres - when we got it I assumed the ride would be horrid but although it's firmer than the Coupe it's also much more compliant and better controilled. The Coupe rolls and wallows in comparison.

37 psi is too high, that's 2.55 bar, drop it to 34 and see how that feels.

What pressures do you recommend for front and rear then? I think the fronts are 2.7 bar as per the manual, which seems quite high...

I always find 2.7 too high for UK roads, I run mine at 2.4 front and 2.2 rear, it takes the edge off without upsetting the handling.

Thanks Joe,

I'll try 34psi first.... appreciate the feed back-we will set date for service etc later this year, to try and tie in the new widget from Barnacle that will be coming in.

The recently driven Honda S2000 was slow compared to the coupe. But not a squeak or crash from it on roads or potholes- and its a cabriolet! It made me realise the coupe needs a bit more work..

Regards all,

MM.

I have never had dampers wear out noticeably on any car I have owned and they have all done from 80K to 130K. I suppose pure age might be an issue but trusting what a mechanic says is a bit like trusting your ex to manage your finances

Wouldn't know about that, but every time I put new shocks on a car it felt better than before, which tells me the old ones were worn out.

Took the coupe out yesterday for a couple of hours with the tyre pressures dropped as Joe suggests.

A marked improvement! So many thanks Joe!

There is clearly some work still to do - as my suspension should still be fairly fresh. Its just the normal challenge of finding replacement/improved parts that would fit the Coupe. And the fact that unlike track enthusiasts I'm looking to make things a bit more...mellow.

I'll keep looking at suspension options.

Regards

MM

I read somewhere the Coupe pressures were high in the front due to it's 150mph+ performance potential. I think I will try a slightly lower pressure too, just wondering about possible issues with tyre wear.....the suspension even with new OE spec dampers has never been the Coupe's forte almost like there is no compression damping at all.

I understand the carbon bonnets are good addition as well - but then I've the conundrum of moving away from standard again, which I'm trying not to do.

I'll keep any eye on tyres- but if it saves the back a bit- I'll not mind a bit of premature wear to keep things smooth.

Regards

MM

A full set of NOS Bilstein B6s have popped up on ebay for anyone looking for them.

I've just replaced my Monroe shockers with OSRAV adjustables all round. Thanks to Nigel and everyone else who recommended them. It was immediately apparent that they are much better. The ride feels more controlled and the crashiness and bouncing is gone. It now feels like there is some proper damping. Torque steer and dive under braking are also much improved. I'm really pleased with them. For any others who want to try the OSRAVs, they're available from Zagato Lancia in London, made to order in Italy so they took a couple of months to arrive. They come set to the middle of their range - I turned them one full turn clockwise (softer) from the default setting, which sets them to around 25% hard, and it seems pretty much spot on for my tastes. The front ones are readily adjustable on the car with an allen key in the top of the strut, but the rears have to be removed to adjust. If anyone wants my set of Monroes for free - they have done approx. 10k miles - PM me.

Good to read you're sorted and enjoying the change :thunb:

What kind of price would I be looking at for this setup?
I am in need of full suspension upgrade along with being interested in arb and strut if available

Full set of OSRAVs cost me about £700, plus fitting. Give Zagato Lancia a call for current prices.

Just ordered a full set from zagato, delivered price is £715 with a 6 to 8 week lead time, have ordered a set of Eibach springs to go with them.

With Brexit, and the general socialist strikes that the post office have had during their busiest period- have these arrived as yet?

Be interested to see how this transpires on your car.


Regards

MM

I have the suspension stuff and yesterday I removed the original strut assembly

I’m somewhat behind my own schedule, but anything I touch I want to make right so that I don’t have to touch it again

Cheers Jamie

Sounds encouraging. Are they alot better than the standard shocks then (assuming these are in decent condition). Since my bushes have been replaced the ride is now alot better. Just wondering if the Osrav adjustables would offer a noticeable improvement. Car has done 55K only and ride not too bad.

I should in the next week have wheels back on the ground, so I can give feedback

I would hope that given the price, they perform better than a Monroe offering

Cheers Jamie

Having driven for a couple of hours now, I can say that the OSRAV shocks simply make the ride compliant. No crashiness, no wallowing. coupled with the other tings I've done (uprated rear arb and eibach springs), it really has transformed the ride of the car

Cheers Jamie

Interesting to see if the OSRAV's offer any real advantage with otherwise standard setup.

The short answer will be yes

Jamie did you resolve the twang?

Hi Joe, yes

The twanging was the 15mm headed bolts that secure the end of the rear ARB.

Initially I nipped 1 side up, but when I tried the other side the bolt snapped!!!

Luckily (or unluckily) it must have been fatigued as when I got pliers on the stud , it wound out with little effort, so whilst it's annoying it was better to happen now rather than fail at high speed on a track

Cheers Jamie

Well found

I've ordered a set of OSRAV's and will update once installed.

Osravs have finally arrived after around 10 weeks (they have a go slow over summer). Any advice for settings of the Osrav shocks to remove crashiness but maintain a compliant ride. I think Wink said 1 full turn from softest setting on front, but what about rears and any advice from others thanks?

I think I've set my rears as 1 full from soft to hard, and given the time on track I don't get bouncing or crashiness at the rear.

For the fronts I use about 3/4 of a turn from soft to hard for street driving, but then set it around 2 and a half to 3 full turns for the track

Cheers Jamie

Mine came set to mid-way between full soft or full hard. I turned them one full turn from the mid-way position towards the soft setting. Same for front and rear. I'm pretty happy with that so I haven't tweaked them since fitting. It sounds like Jamiepm has set his a little bit softer for the road? Maybe I'll experiment with that on the front. Rears can't be tweaked in situ.

I am using a 45 profile tyre as well, so it’s quite a firm ride.(zestinos)

I found by setting the rear a little softer and then just tweaking the fronts for track use has made the car very stable and predictable

I also have the camber set at minus 1.5 degrees

Cheers Jamie

Well I've finally had the Osravs installed and set the ride midway between mid and soft (25% from softest) and happy with the ride. The loud crashiness had gone over major road defects, and the ride is still quite firm enough for good handling.
I wouldn't say the difference is massive but the ability to adjust the settings is of course a bonus.

KJW

Update: I actually prefer the Osrav's set on the softest setting now (front). Have not been able to change the rear as it involves removing, but the ride is certainly better overall. Still firm but very noticeably better over major road imperfections now. They are definitely not "too soft". I think I would find a stiffer setup than standard practically unbearable for local roads, as I find the standard setup way too hard for the roads around MK. Generally I like firm suspension but not "crashily firm".

Does anyone know if it is possible to adjust the rear Osrav's with the shocks on the car. May be possible with vehicle raised I would think? Would be good to play with the rear settings.