Shocks, how stiff should they be?

[Aragorn]

I've got a set of Bilstein Yellow shocks for the rear of the disco, and i was looking at sticking them on with some 90 rear springs.

I was looking at them yesterday though and noticed i couldnt compress them by hand. Now i'm used to car dampers which are generally compressible by hand but these just didnt seem to want to move.

All my bodyweight pressing down on them manage to get them to compress a little (ie an inch or two), but i'm wondering if theres something wrong with them, or is this normal for a 4x4 damper?

[v8bertha]

Can't say what the Bilsteins are like as I've never used them, but all the other shocks I've used in the past I've been able to compress by hand... it's hard work, but I've never needed my entire body weight to do the job.

I've used Delphi's and Old Man Emus as well as the standard cheapies that you get from the likes of allmakes and Britpart.

I ain't no heavyweight so unless you are an anorexic midget I'd say they could well be past their best

Dan

[Aragorn]

Heh i'm about 80kgs or so...

So not an anorexant midget

I'll pop the dust covers off and see if the pistons look knackered or anything obvious wrong with them.

They were on my 90 when i got it, and it felt very skippy at the rear. I'm getting the idea that it might have been these shocks that was causing it!

[will_warne]

A lot depends on the shock - some you can compress by hand but others you can't. The 2.5" body Fox racing shocks I've got can't be compressed by hand whereas most 'normal' shocks can be - it all depends on the valving.

[Anderzander]

The standard ones I took off could be compressed by hand - and the OME ones I've replaced them with could too.

In fact I've never found a damper I couldn't compress at least a bit unless it was a coilover.... ?

[Dave W]

Bilsteins are normally very stiff, much stiffer than most other gas shockers of a similar build. They tend to give a harsher ride but much improved handling.

[fekete]

Iv got the bilsteins on my 90 with blue HD springs.

The whole ride is so much inproved from the standard set up, the bilsteins are very hard to compress.

In my opinion a very good choice

[clbarclay]

A lot depends on the shock - some you can compress by hand but others you can't. The 2.5" body Fox racing shocks I've got can't be compressed by hand whereas most 'normal' shocks can be - it all depends on the valving.

Shouldn't the valving just limit the rate the can be compressed by hand and the size of the piston and pressure of the gas should dicate the force required to compress them?

Or do the all the orfices through the piston fully close at rest?

[Night Train]

A damper will just have oil that has to be forced through small holes. That means that if you lean on them for long enough they will eventually move their full length and stay where they are left.

Gas assisted dampers have a gas inside that is compressed as a gas spring as well as the oil and little holes damping the movement. The pressure of the gas will dictate whether or not you have the weight to compress them. Without the oil they will 'bounce' like an undamped spring but if they are in good condition the two elements together can make them very hard to compress. Once you do manage to compress them they will return to full length under gas pressure.

At least that is what it was like back in the 80's.