devinsixtyseven

As in, a shock that can be pulled apart, shims swapped, seals replaced, bleed screws removed/added?

I've noticed two undesirable things regarding the suspension on this car. I also read a review from 2004 that commented on the same thing, interestingly enough.

When I cross a deep-set manhole cover, the car drops in, not just the suspension. Coming out the other side is a shock.

In addition, coming over a hill at highway speed in a sweeping turn feels unstable...the car rises too much.

In other words, I think the rebound valving is too tight, and there's too much bleed.

This is not a track car, the daily drive has some chatter and rough spots, and roads in Denver in general aren't the greatest around. I want proper rebound, more control at low shaft speed, and an inch or two of relatively unimpeded compression at high shaft speed. Does anyone make a coilover I can mess with? I have a Branick hanging off the wall, for the coilovers on my truck, so pulling it off and separating the assembly isn't a problem...but suspension isn't generally a focus of the car world.

Anybody have any leads, or has anyone made a DIY swap to a rebuildable coilover?

2.7Lturbo

bilstien PSS9s , done

Just Me

actually, any bilstein can be rebuilt. no need to buy the expendive kit if all you want is R&R or re-valve to spec. The hard part for 99.999% is knowing what tyo spec!

G

devinsixtyseven

I was under the impression only their 7100 and up series were rebuildable...the rest, you can specify shims, bleed, piston by special order, but the units are sealed at the factory.

Bilstein makes a nice shock...I'll have a look at the PSS9. I can mess with shims/bleed/pressure for weeks, but if they've already done it, why waste time

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Like JustMe says, the hard part is knowing what to spec or indeed what to do with all the adjustments once you have the capability to adjust. Street use for these shocks is overkill....on the track you're still using a luxury sedan. The settings for minimum lap time on a given day/track/tire/temperature are laboriously gathered over time...more time than I'm willing to do for a non-trackwhore.

devinsixtyseven

I'm willing to bet the minimum bleed setting on the PSS9 is fine for most days and most tracks, and I bet the max bleed is borderline sloppy. Adjustment is harder when the shock actually has to move, and the worst is that awkward speed between 35 & 45 on a public road, when you're going just fast enough to make the exit hurt, but not fast enough to open the shim stack. That's what the stock suspension feels like, and honestly it's not much better at 70, like the truck. I would have a field day with all the adjustments on some of the shocks available, literally .

I would love a track day...in a couple weeks, post-TB service, I'll be looking for a place to drive. Unfortunately, I think the closest track to Denver is in Kansas ...

Just Me

i dont have the data, but i saw damping curves that a race engineer posted on many brands of shocks. His conclusion - most shocks suck, have terrible unit-unit variation. Mots adjustments do nothing, some go in reverse, just awful. Two were good - Penske ($3500+) and Bilstein PSS. The PSS however, were very nonlinear in adjustments. He felt you had to syno them to set them,and then leave them alone. He preferred custom valve, non PSS.

So, as usual, adjustments are a convenient way for consumers to F things up.

Just FYI.

G

devinsixtyseven

I can see that. Based on what I read, it sounded as if all but one, maybe two, packages only allow bleed adjustment..ie they control flow at low shaft speed. Open those PSS shocks up all the way, and I bet you feel more body roll, brake dive, and float. The high speed resistance curve doesn't change...Bilstein's graphs show it, too.

I assume you meant dyno as in shock dyno, not syno...anyway, the unfortunate part is that custom valving means a custom order on these shocks, rather than just changing the shims and a bleed screw or two. That's why I asked about rebuildables ...

Yup.

So, any other options?