The one-stop SHOCK ABSORBER Info Thread

[E-ZooZoo One]

I’ve done quite a bit of searching on the subject over the last year or so, and what I’ve discovered is that all of the forum’s shock information is pretty strewn and scattered – there doesn’t seem to be an individual thread that contains all (or even most) of the answers that someone might be looking for.

With everyone’s help (and I want to thank you all in advance!), hopefully this thread will soon become the all-inclusive repository on the subject.


-- These are probably some of the most common questions:

“How can I tell if my shocks are shot?”
“How do you rebuild the OEM shocks?”
“What shocks can I use to replace the OEMs?”
“What RS-9000s will fit my stock VX?”
“What RS-9000s will fit my lifted VX?”
“Which Bilstein shocks should I buy / avoid?”


That ought to be enough to get things started…
But please feel free to submit ANY useful information on the subject, be it great or small – whether it’s a write-up, part numbers, a related link, etc.


THANKS!!!

[kpaske]

I’ve done quite a bit of searching on the subject over the last year or so, and what I’ve discovered is that all of the forum’s shock information is pretty strewn and scattered – there doesn’t seem to be an individual thread that contains all (or even most) of the answers that someone might be looking for.

Have you seen this thread:

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...ghlight=shocks

Page 2 contains nearly all of the forum's collective knowledge on shocks that fit the VX.

[E-ZooZoo One]

DOH!!!

I have seen that thread... however, I completely failed to notice Page Two - and somehow never ran across the original posts that were quoted therein


I guess you can file this one under:
‘The road to Hell is paved with good intentions’

[kpaske]

It would be nice to get a FAQ and HOWTO written up though. I wish I had the time.

I do plan to take a TON of photos when I do my brake and suspension upgrades, so maybe someday I'll do one, or atleast contribute some photos if someone else wants to do one.

[Reg Hinnant]

Hi Guys,
It will be interesting if you find anything new out there. I finally gave up and at 90,000 miles went ahead and replaced mine with new original shocks.
I did not have any outward visible indications (shock leaking, etc) but when cornering hard you felt some undulation rather than getting firm and solid feeling into the turn. The springs are so hard that trying to test a shock by bouncing the car dosent work. A lot of the owners could tell a rear was bad by how rough it would be over speed bumps/pot holes.
A lot of people got the Bilsteins & Ranchos and raved about them in the beginning. Later, you could get most to admit that they were not as good nor would hold up like the originals. (Guess I'll get flamed for saying that....LOL But its true)
Arm your selves with the distance collapsed & extended and go hunting! Good luck!

[kpaske]

A lot of people got the Bilsteins & Ranchos and raved about them in the beginning. Later, you could get most to admit that they were not as good nor would hold up like the originals. (Guess I'll get flamed for saying that....LOL But its true)

I got the Ranchos after my stock shocks were shot at ~50k miles. I think finding a reasonable shock that worked well in the VX was why most of us were so pleased with them, not that we thought they were better than the originals. However, I must say that I've got over 60k on these Ranchos and they still seem to be holding up.

In retrospect I wish I would have noticed the problem sooner and had them replaced under warranty, but then those might have gone out by now, so we were all kind of screwed either way.

I say that because I was under the impression that shock failure on the originals was extremely common, but you say yours have lasted 90k. I guess what it boils down to is they are great shocks when you get good ones, but they're way too expensive for most people to take a chance on them if theirs go out after their warranty is up. What is the warranty on replacement OEM shocks?