Cornish Rattler Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Hi guys As you may know when i did the rebuild on my S2a swb i fitted new GB parabolic springs and left the shockers off ( Britpart ) till right at the end of the rebuild and had them on ever since and noticed the suspension being a bit stiff but with doing a few other bits on the landy over the past year i haven't done anything about them so just thought i would ask what you think about the shocks 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 The suspension or shocks are stiff? Do you know what spring rate (how many leaves) the parabolics are? I found most are of the HD variety and give a poor ride unless loaded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger110 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 I have the BP ones on the 110, they were fitted by the garage i got the truck from. It is a stiff ride, but i'm not sure if that's them, the shocks ( standard purple ) or the fact it's a USW so has stiffer suspension all round at the rear. Would love to soften it abit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 5 hours ago, Chicken Drumstick said: The suspension or shocks are stiff? Do you know what spring rate (how many leaves) the parabolics are? I found most are of the HD variety and give a poor ride unless loaded. 3 leaf on back 2 leaf on front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, Badger110 said: I have the BP ones on the 110, they were fitted by the garage i got the truck from. It is a stiff ride, but i'm not sure if that's them, the shocks ( standard purple ) or the fact it's a USW so has stiffer suspension all round at the rear. Would love to soften it abit BP yellows are good had then my 90 great ride for money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 I was thinking of removing all 4 shocks and giving it a run round to see how it is and if it feels better ( softer ) i will get a better make shock 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 8 hours ago, Chicken Drumstick said: The suspension or shocks are stiff? Do you know what spring rate (how many leaves) the parabolics are? I found most are of the HD variety and give a poor ride unless loaded. Sorry mean shocks ☺️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondjeremy Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 You have fitted them with the shaft at the top not the bottom? Fit some the wrong way up and they lock solid eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 3 hours ago, secondjeremy said: You have fitted them with the shaft at the top not the bottom? Fit some the wrong way up and they lock solid eventually. Right way up with shroud at top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 It could just be stiff springs as they are rated as H/D and there isn't really much in weight in the back ather than the spare and it isn't used every day so mite just load it up first and give it a run round and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon W Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I have standard britpart shocks on my parabolic spring and the ride is horrendous. So had a measure of shock lengths fully closed, extended and where they sit at current ride height. Here are my findings and probably why most people recommend putting extended gas shock on with parabolics: Rear shocks fully extended 20inch fully closed 13inch height at resting position 17.5inch (so am only getting 2.5inch of travel before they top out) Front is even worse 16.25inch fully extended Fully closed 11 inch 15inch at rest (1.25inch of drop before shock tops out) Some people recommend the 1ton front shocks up front as they are a more suitable length or +2inch procomp shocks My springs were the britpart/ paddocks that were available about 5 years ago, to hard for my 88inch V8 truck cab to be honest. Can't remember how many leaves 2 front maybe 3 rear? Hope that helps Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 1 hour ago, Jon W said: I have standard britpart shocks on my parabolic spring and the ride is horrendous. So had a measure of shock lengths fully closed, extended and where they sit at current ride height. Here are my findings and probably why most people recommend putting extended gas shock on with parabolics: Rear shocks fully extended 20inch fully closed 13inch height at resting position 17.5inch (so am only getting 2.5inch of travel before they top out) Front is even worse 16.25inch fully extended Fully closed 11 inch 15inch at rest (1.25inch of drop before shock tops out) Some people recommend the 1ton front shocks up front as they are a more suitable length or +2inch procomp shocks My springs were the britpart/ paddocks that were available about 5 years ago, to hard for my 88inch V8 truck cab to be honest. Can't remember how many leaves 2 front maybe 3 rear? Hope that helps Jon Cheer's Jon i will have a measure up and see 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngengineer Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) I made a thread about this last year. I fitted quality GME parabolics (Made in UK) and britpart shocks. I was extremely dissapointed. The ride quality was only marginaly softer then the rusted 40 year old leafs they replaced. In the end they did soften up but again compared to a coiler its horrific. I never dug deeper but one thing I did notice was that the Britpart shocks dampen only on the return and not the compression. The stock shocks dampened in both directions, which I assume would actually provide a worse ride. It would be interesting to see what your results are without shocks fitted. I recommend cutting off half off the front bump stops as mine were bottoming out on speed bumps. Edited January 31, 2021 by youngengineer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Right i've just got my landy in the garage to make a start stripping the rear brakes off to fit the new disc brake conversion when it arrives end of this week and whilst i was draining the rear diff of oil i decided to measure the rear shocks with just the weight of the landy on them, inside the rear is the spare, a small trolley jack a small box of tools and a spare can of engine oil and water and both rear shocks measure 19" now i googled it and the rear std shocks are 20" long so looks like i only have 1" of travel 🤔 Edited February 1, 2021 by Cornish Rattler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 So i have now removed the rear shocks and once the rear brakes are done i can give it a test drive and see how it is without them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qhriss Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 On 1/24/2021 at 4:51 PM, Badger110 said: I have the BP ones on the 110, they were fitted by the garage i got the truck from. It is a stiff ride, but i'm not sure if that's them, the shocks ( standard purple ) or the fact it's a USW so has stiffer suspension all round at the rear. Would love to soften it abit Try oiling the springs , when I replaced all mine the ride stiffened up after a year . Good blasting with oil n wax and they softened up K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 I think oiling the springs only really works on traditional leaf packs, as the leaves are touching each other and generate friction. On a parabolic leaf spring they only at the ends and in the middle. But don't move against each other. The coils on a coil spring also shouldn't normally be touching unless the spring is compressed or coil-bound. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 On 2/3/2021 at 5:38 PM, Chicken Drumstick said: I think oiling the springs only really works on traditional leaf packs, as the leaves are touching each other and generate friction. On a parabolic leaf spring they only at the ends and in the middle. But don't move against each other. The coils on a coil spring also shouldn't normally be touching unless the spring is compressed or coil-bound. That’s right. Oiling parabolics helps prevent rust, but doesn’t affect their behaviour significantly, unlike semi elliptical leaf springs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngengineer Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 On 2/1/2021 at 3:42 PM, Cornish Rattler said: So i have now removed the rear shocks and once the rear brakes are done i can give it a test drive and see how it is without them on. Whats the results then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 13 hours ago, youngengineer said: Whats the results then? Still waiting for my Zeus rear disc brake conversion to arrive as i already have the old rear brake assy's removed ready to fit the new brakes so once they are done i will let you know 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon W Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 This is a good thread on the different shock length https://www.lrukforums.com/threads/parabolics-and-shocks.244233/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 6 hours ago, Jon W said: This is a good thread on the different shock length https://www.lrukforums.com/threads/parabolics-and-shocks.244233/ Yeah that's what I was comparing my shocks with, I've got a feeling that not all britpart shocks are the same as regards for the same vehicle meaning there are slight differences in length and probably wouldn't make much difference if using std springs but if using parabolic's with std shocks it can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon W Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I was going to put a set of 1ton shocks on the front of mine as not that keep on the procomps and also the price of them. But mine doesnt actually run properly at the moment so haven't bought any yet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted February 13, 2021 Author Share Posted February 13, 2021 Yeah I've decided to go for a full set of pro comps now so that's next payday sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 I’ve had three full sets of Pro Comps, the first set replaced under the vendor’s warranty. All rusted badly, not just through the thin and seemingly porous white paint, but especially the pistons, though a little slower when used without the condensation trapping gaiters. The chrome plate is terrible, and rust sets in within months. Then the seals get ruined and they leak. You do well to get three years from a set. The 1-ton dampers I used subsequently work very well with the HD parabolics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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