Making The Smoothest Riding Street VX - Tire & Shock Advice...

[nfpgasmask]

Mmmm, if you go with smaller rims, I would get a nice set of 16" American Racing Teflon Mojaves. I keep waiting to see a Proton with those rims. Maybe someday I will have to buy a Proton and do it myself.

Bart

[TheGanzman]

Mmmm, if you go with smaller rims, I would get a nice set of 16" American Racing Teflon Mojaves. I keep waiting to see a Proton with those rims. Maybe someday I will have to buy a Proton and do it myself.

Bart

Actually, I'd go with some American Racing Torq Thrust D's in 16" (Old School, doncha know...) - I'd just have to figger out how to go from 6 lugs down to 5 (custom spacers) and work out all the offset math...

[rowhard]

Actually, I'd go with some American Racing Torq Thrust D's in 16" (Old School, doncha know...) - I'd just have to figger out how to go from 6 lugs down to 5 (custom spacers) and work out all the offset math...

You might have even more of a problem with the center bore, you need at least 100mm, almost 4 inches

[PHO2GR4]

AR Teflon Mojave OR Teflon Chambers. They'd look great with a Proton paint job.

And you can use them to cook eggs in Moab!

Oh, and the Rancho shocks give a much smoother ride, with less-tight handling. There will always be a comfort vs. performance trade-off.

[TheGanzman]

AR Teflon Mojave OR Teflon Chambers. They'd look great with a Proton paint job.

And you can use them to cook eggs in Moab!

Oh, and the Rancho shocks give a much smoother ride, with less-tight handling. There will always be a comfort vs. performance trade-off.

Thanks for the response! Assuming you have the Ranchos, what have you found setting-wise is the best all around compromise in terms of handling/comfort?

[PHO2GR4]

Thanks for the response! Assuming you have the Ranchos, what have you found setting-wise is the best all around compromise in terms of handling/comfort?

I do indeed have the Rancho RS 9000 shocks all around. I put them on the softest setting right after installation, just to feel them immediate difference VS the old shocks. Then I liked the ride so much that I never changed them to a stiffer setting!

I suppose one day I could dial them all the way to the stiffest setting for comparison's sake, but I'm just too busy. Ummmm, I mean, lazy.

[VehiGAZ]

You can make the ride less harsh with softer (or adjustable) shocks but the real culprit of the VX's bucking-horse ride quality are the springs.

To the chalk board...

A vehicle rests on its springs, and the shocks dampen the springs' motion. If you have shocks too stiff for the springs (or springs too soft for the shocks), the shocks do not yield and you get a very harsh ride. If the shocks are too soft for the springs (or the springs are too stiff for the shocks!), then you get a softer ride but with too much bouncy motion from the springs (i.e., not smooth). Ever seen the tail of a lowered Civic bouncing up and down short and quick while driving on a relatively smooth highway? That's because they put shorter, stiffer "lowering" springs in without replacing the OEM shocks, or they replaced them with shocks that are totally outmatched by the new springs. Don't be one of those guys!!!

It's important to remember that shocks don't hold the vehicle up - even gas charged shocks do not support a vehicle - they just have a higher rebound force than compression force. The springs support the vehicle and want to make it bounce - properly-matched shocks will counteract the springs' tendency to bounce.

I bought my VX with not-up-to-the-job KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, and it was almost undriveable on very bumpy roads - there was so much up-and-down motion that I thought it was going to leap off the road. I replaced them with Bilsteins which provided good control of the springs - very comparable to the stock shocks, but the stock ride was never buttery.

Additionally, body roll has almost nothing to do with shocks at all. Sway bars and springs control body roll, and the springs control brake dive pretty much by themselves - the shocks are barely involved in controlling dive at all.

So... if you want to make the ride softer and smoother, the best way would be to find softer springs and adjustable shocks dialed in to match the force of your new springs.

Unfortunately, I don't know that anyone has replaced the OEM VX springs with something a little softer. Anyone know what the spring force is on a Trooper or Amigo's springs and if they will fit the VX?

[TheGanzman]

Agreed about the springs, and I'm sure that Trooper springs are prolly an R&R, and also softer. I'd be MORE tempted to pull a stock front and rear spring from the VX, and send 'em off to a spring winder to have the stock springs evaluated, and a new custom-wound Variable Rate set made for me. I've already committed to buying a set of stock 16" wheels from another member; that should help some (plus personally, I think the polished aluminum and the style of the '99's looks better on any VX). I probably WILL also switch to the Rancho RS9000XL's; I like the idea of the adjustability (And NO, I WON'T be selling the stock shocks!). BTW, the General Grabber HTS is getting rave reviews for a street tire; got myself figgered for a set of those too!