Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:41:23 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Dumb Question
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ok.
the smoother the roads, the longer the shocks will last.
The more shocks have to deal with lots of bumps, potholes, and fast driving
on rough surfaces ....
I'd think that would contribute to their wearing out sooner.
I have had a set of four brand new HD Bilstiens 'not work quie as well'
after abot 80,000 miles on a Vanagon.
They still worked.....just not like they did when new.
do the ole push on the bumper test.
you kneel hard on the front bumper ...to compress the suspension about 3
inches or whatever you can...or bounce it a few times...
then let it go.
There should be no 'rebounding' or continued movement after you stop pusing
down on it. It should return to normal height and stop immediately,
in a dampened and contolled manny.
Any bouncing is a sign that the shocks are tired.
the stiffer the suspension ...the harder it is to do this test or tell when
shocks are tired.
on a say, big 4WD pick up truck.....with stiff designed-for-load-carrying
suspension ...this test will hardly work. On a vehcile like that you'd tell
by how uncontrolled it feels on bumps with a load in it.
but for 'normal cars' ....the bounce and rebound test on the bumpers works
fairly well.
When driving ..
good shocks are 'supple'.................they'll eat any small bump very
nicely without harshness.
On bigger dips ...they'll absorb those and keep the vehicle feeling
controlled.
Good handling cars with good shocks and tires will 'go wherever you point
the car' ...regardless of turning or going straightt, regardless of pot
holes in the road or whatever ..... a real joy to experinece. Vanagons
can't quite do that like say, a good mercedes car can ..
but they can get pretty good in the handling department with the right
wheels, tires, and good shocks. I always invest in the best tires and
shocks I can find.
the bumper bounce test is a real easy low tech test.
Mabye use two people ...push down hard ...let it pop back up. Should go to
normal height and stop immediately. No cyclic motion up and down - just
down, up, and stop.
extra -
watching racing dune buggies one time ......they'd fly off a jump at about
70 mph.....go about 100 feet through the air, about 30 feet off the ground,
then land and have to go around a corner. ...all on dirt - -indoor stadium
racing.
You would expect any car that flew through the air and got 30 feet of the
ground to have a few cylcles of rebound after hitting the ground.
Racing dune buggies like this might have 3 shocks on each rear wheel, and
two on each front wheel.
And ..dropping a say 1,600 pound car from 30 feet...you'd expect rebound,
right ?
Not these cars ..
amazing to watch ...they would get back to the track surface, rebound not
even half a cycle ...like 'no rebound at all' basically...
all from having such a highly deveopped shock system.
Having decent shocks is critically important for safety, for good
handling, for making sure you don't kill someone else on the road, and for
helping the suspension of your rig to last longer. Of course...worn shocks
contribute to wearing out the other suspension parts.
Drive safe !
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bernie" <berniej@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2010 8:42 AM
Subject: Re: Dumb Question
>I have a dumb question!
> How long do shocks last?
> What factors go into determining their life span?
>
> thank you wise ones who are know everything in vanagon matters!
>
> Bernie
> Vancouver
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