bouncing ride

gixer wrote:


>
> As for shocks failing at the 20k mark, yikes!!!!! I did just over 60k in my
> Eunos last year, if they failed every 20k that means I should have changed
> my shocks 3 times in the last year!!!!!!!
> Forget about working out MPG I should be working out miles per shock!!
> And if my shock did fail within 20k I would be at the dealer the next
> morning extremely ****ed, and demanding a replacement.
>
> Cheers Mark.

Hi Mark,
the shocks did not fail at 22K miles, I replaced them voluntarily
because I had the money at the time and had heard the raves about the
Koni adjustables. I had already installed larger sway bars and I fully
understand about the negatives and positives depending on the road
surface, but I felt that the Konis on near-soft setting offered a better
ride on the street than the stock shocks did. This was with stock
springs. This may have just been my personal perception and a need to
justify spending $400.00 plus the time, blood and sweat spent installing
them. :-)

I currently have the coilover system with Eibach springs and KYB AGX
shocks. It is not as street-friendly as the Koni/stock spring setup, but
I find it to be acceptable for street use. I still think that the best
option for a street-driven car is the Konis with stock springs.

Pat

Lanny Chambers wrote:
> In article <1115908768.63543@sj-nntpcache-5>, josh >
> wrote:
>
>
>>Point is, though, if you think the car rides rough, then the shocks are
>>probably not the cause, or at least worn out shocks are not the cause.
>>"rides rough" is not a wear-related failure mode of an automobile shock.
>
>
> It is when worn shocks allow the car to hit the bumpstops too hard and
> too often. That's the typical first symptom in a car with less than two
> inches of suspension travel.


I believe that. I would imagine hitting the bump stops feels very "rough".

bokuglen wrote:
> I appreciate all the discussion in response to my original posting!
> Nice to have such passionate people responding. For your information,
> I do not notice any bottoming out. I tried going over speed bumps at
> low speed and can feel very good travel in the shocks with no
> bottoming. However, with minor bumps at speed the shocks don't seem to
> respond quickly enough to travel up & down. The whole car shakes a bit
> when hitting a bump, with a little side-to-side motion involved. I've
> only had the car 1000 miles, no idea what previous owners did in
> replacing shocks, but the last owner was proud that he changed the oil
> every 2 months. He also replied to my question about when the timing
> belt was last changed with 'what's a timing belt?' ( I took care of
> that myself - fun job ) So I doubt shocks have been replaced.
> Pennsylvania roads are pretty bad, so the shocks have not had an easy
> life.
>
> I'll take the advice of the one person in this thread who said to check
> for leaks. But there is no lack of resistance in the shocks... more
> like no resilience is there. Tire pressure is 28 lbs, tires are
> cheapies with about 20% tread life left. I did notice that when my 220
> lb friend rides with me, the car rides much better. Is this a good
> clue? Just 'too stiff' shocks?

Depending on *where* you are in PA, the roads are pretty freakin' bad! If
you're anywhere near the eastern end of the state, you might be interested
in checking out the Lehigh Valley Miata Owners Club - we do lots of tech
days and installs and might be able to help you out. The website is at
www.lvmoc.net if you're interested and/or anywhere near us.

</commercial> <grin>

Iva & Belle.)
'90B Classic Red.)
#3 winkin' Miata

As I mentioned before the transition to the bump stop is actually very
smooth If you look at http://www.virkki.com/jyri/miata/bumps.html There is
more than enough information about Miata bumpstops,

Apparently the first inch of bump stop travel is 150 lb/in against the
standard spring rate of 100 lb/in, although this looks a lot in actual fact
when you also include the compression characteristics of the damper, you
would be very hard pressed to notice the say inch of bumpstop travel.
I have found the you can ride on the bump stops and it not make too much
difference,
I checked my mates Miata with new standard shocks, all the travel was being
used with only mild road driving, likewise on my AGX's with stock springs,
on the lower settings.
Also if you have lowered you car any more than 1" and you do not have the
recessed Shock Mounts I will guarantee you are spending near on all your
cornering time on the bump stops.

In theory the shock does not control the amount of travel when you hit a
bump, this should be held in check by the spring, but as Josh rightly
pointed out it is not just the force of a bump that affects the shock, it is
also the speed, so in practice the shock does play a part in limiting the
travel, still I think some of you guys are being overly sensitive on the
worn shock front, it would be nice to get a supposedly worn shock on a rig
and measure it against a new one.

Cheers Mark.




"josh" > wrote in message
news:1115912902.20696@sj-nntpcache-5...
> Lanny Chambers wrote:
>> In article <1115908768.63543@sj-nntpcache-5>, josh > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Point is, though, if you think the car rides rough, then the shocks are
>>>probably not the cause, or at least worn out shocks are not the cause.
>>>"rides rough" is not a wear-related failure mode of an automobile shock.
>>
>>
>> It is when worn shocks allow the car to hit the bumpstops too hard and
>> too often. That's the typical first symptom in a car with less than two
>> inches of suspension travel.
>
>
> I believe that. I would imagine hitting the bump stops feels very
> "rough".

I am running the same set up then mate, FM Sways, FM Tower Brace, FM Shock
mounts, FM GC kit and AGX's.

I did not try the Koni's as I had major problems with Koni's on an old Cossy
I had, put me off for life.

At the end of the day though mate, its your money, you worked hard for it,
what ever you spend it on is up to you, I just get ****ed when I see people
spending other peoples money, without even asking basic questions.

I am a bit touchy on this subject because I have spent over a year and god
knows how much money getting a balanced setup that works on the road but can
be tuned for the track.

Yours definitely older, and just a little wiser
Mark.


"pws" > wrote in message
...
> gixer wrote:
>
>
>>
>> As for shocks failing at the 20k mark, yikes!!!!! I did just over 60k in
>> my Eunos last year, if they failed every 20k that means I should have
>> changed my shocks 3 times in the last year!!!!!!!
>> Forget about working out MPG I should be working out miles per shock!!
>> And if my shock did fail within 20k I would be at the dealer the next
>> morning extremely ****ed, and demanding a replacement.
>>
>> Cheers Mark.
>
> Hi Mark,
> the shocks did not fail at 22K miles, I replaced them voluntarily because
> I had the money at the time and had heard the raves about the Koni
> adjustables. I had already installed larger sway bars and I fully
> understand about the negatives and positives depending on the road
> surface, but I felt that the Konis on near-soft setting offered a better
> ride on the street than the stock shocks did. This was with stock springs.
> This may have just been my personal perception and a need to justify
> spending $400.00 plus the time, blood and sweat spent installing them. :-)
>
> I currently have the coilover system with Eibach springs and KYB AGX
> shocks. It is not as street-friendly as the Koni/stock spring setup, but I
> find it to be acceptable for street use. I still think that the best
> option for a street-driven car is the Konis with stock springs.
>
> Pat