Ed Barnes Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Hi I need some advice on shocks for my comp safari land rover. I cant afford fox's so they are out of the question. I'd like to know other people's experiences. I've seen some remote res terrafermas anyone know what they are like? Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Hi, Well judging by the price of all the new Terrafirma remote reservoir shocks (which seem to be quite a lot) you might as well just buy some Fox's as you wont be saving much and you know you're getting the real deal (with the fox's). As regards to shock absorbers, I have +5 Old Man Emu shocks on my 90 and I'm really pleased with them, just need to do some more off roading! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hiatt Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 When I first started I ran twin standard shocks all round, generally running the cheapest I could get hold of or take offs. The better ones didn't seem to last any better than cheaper ones. I then went to some decent remote reservoir shocks on the front when funds allowed and eventually the rear. There was one chap running the Terrafirma shocks last year in AWDC comps, not sure how he got on and he's sold the car now. Personally I'd keep an eye on ebay for some second hand Foxs, Ohlins or Kings rather than investing in relative unknowns. Varidamps from Milners are worth considering too. Decent dampers do make the world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Barnes Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 Hi thanks for the advice. I realise what a difference decent dampers make, i did a comp at Slab common last weekend and i've only just stopped aching so i do fancy some better ones. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 i would strongly recomend going for fox shocks, i have had very good dealings with www.downsouthmotorsports.com who are based in san diego Ca. just recieved my new coilovers from them & they were shipped from Ca to the uk inc delivery in 5 days, ive found there sevice to be excellent, they are heavily involved in desert racing & tuning KOH cars, any questions just ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Barnes Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 Looking at that website fox's aren't as expensive as i thought. I'll have a look at what i think is best. I might be back with more questions yet! thanks! Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Ed, Slab does that to you. Did you also notice the rather high number of non-finishers? Normally only about 50% of entries survive the day there. Fox is the way forward, and you'll only be spending your money once. Parts for them are readily available if you do sustain any damage. Oh, and get the 2.5" ones if you can stretch to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 if he is intending to stick with springs then yes 2.5's would be an advantage, but if he is looking to go to coilovers then 2.5's are a bit overkill, my new coilovers built by DSM have the fittings to take the larger 2.5 reserviors if i need to upgrade the cooling capacity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Webster Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I was using 8 Procomps and had a huge deal of success with them, but they suffered badly from gravel rash so needed replacing fairly often. For me that meant a set every year and a half on average. All the proper racing dampers are rebuildable so you may even save money in the longer term. I've had excellent service from my Milner Varidamps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Barnes Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 thanks for the response's. dave: i did notice the number of retirements (i was one of them) i know i'll probably always ache after slab but some better shocks will help. Whats the difference between the 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0? i have had people tell me that pro comps are a very good budget shock Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Ed, comparing 'budget' shocks to Fox/Kings/Varidampers is like apples and oranges. It is the internal valving and the ability to change bump and rebound ratio that makes the difference. The measurement you quote are the piston diameter. I definately listen to Steve, Henry and Mike with regard to what will work/won't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Procomp shocks are a bit like a 1300 fiesta, they do they job, not the best but can be improved on, fox shocks are a bit like a vw passat, nice to drive, nice to use, easily tunable, well made & goes on forever, the 2.0/2.5/3.0 refers to the size of the piston/body the bigger the piston/body the better they will cool etc , however the bigger the shock the harder they are to package, plus the bigger the shocks start getting expensive, when I get in from work ill post a picture from KoH of the fox 4.4 5 tube bypass with cactus cooler, they are reckon huge & are about 1k per shock, we run fox 2.0 14" reservoir coilovers on my challenge truck which we have upgraded from the 2.0 emulsion coilovers we used for kov, they coped with 20 miles round Walters and were aprox 40deg c when we came in after a lap, only reason for us upgrading is I don't want to have to change the suspension again if we go abroad, however if we have cooling issues on the shocks we can swap in the 2.5 reservoirs to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Actually the 4.4 bypass are $2700 each, price is in the picture which ill post when I get in from work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 What is the difference between KING and FOX out of interest? Is there anything in it, price/quality wise? They look very similar, like one was copied from the other, but which one is a copy of which? Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Quality I'd say is very similar, kings are slightly more expensive but in my opinion it almost comes down to what color you prefer, blue or black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 with a "mono tube" shock there will not be any huge differences... as the principles are always same The more noticeable differences are on the piston head design. bleed holes, port sizes, numbers etc.... each shock make also tends to have differences in the way they measure valving (or the shim stack) then more or less its just down to differences in the seals etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Quality I'd say is very similar, kings are slightly more expensive but in my opinion it almost comes down to what color you prefer, blue or black From What I've read there is a little more to it than colour...... The kings nearly all have a shorter closed length than the same stroke fox, this I'm told is because some of the valving on the kings is at the piston end of the shock body, this apparently makes them quicker and easier to make adjustments when tuning. Fox's are very well supported in the uk , because milners have been selling and servicing them for years. King as far as I'm aware are a relatively recent addition to Devon 4x4. Andy at milners can service and repair them but I don't think they carry many spares. I am seriously considering a set of 2.5 race runner sway-a-way remote res's, they seem to have a very solid reputation and a lot of people say good things about them. Another option i'd looked at, but I'm not sure of they're suitability for racing are ORI struts. Very nice looking things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 From What I've read there is a little more to it than colour...... The kings nearly all have a shorter closed length than the same stroke fox, this I'm told is because some of the valving on the kings is at the piston end of the shock body, this apparently makes them quicker and easier to make adjustments when tuning. Fox's are very well supported in the uk , because milners have been selling and servicing them for years. King as far as I'm aware are a relatively recent addition to Devon 4x4. Andy at milners can service and repair them but I don't think they carry many spares. I am seriously considering a set of 2.5 race runner sway-a-way remote res's, they seem to have a very solid reputation and a lot of people say good things about them. Another option i'd looked at, but I'm not sure of they're suitability for racing are ORI struts. Very nice looking things. Apparently the ORIs overheat with race usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B reg 90 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I am fitting 2.5" body, 14" travel Kings. The deciding factor for me was the shorter closed length over the Fox equivalent shock. The other factor was Milners being decidedly unwilling to have a technical disussion and the fact that Simon Buck at Devon4x4 was very happy to discuss technical aspects of the Kings to the point of going back to King for me to get a answer. Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Barnes Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 I've been emailing milners who seem very helpful. The cheapest fox's that they do are 2" body remote res with a 5/8" shaft. Whats the difference between the 5/8" shaft and the 7/8" shaft? for me the 5/8 will do. what ever they are they will be a million times better than twin monroe's which are currently on the car. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I have received very very good service from Andy milner off road, 5/8 and 7/8 are the shaft diameters, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hiatt Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I think the problem with choosing dampers is that it's very difficult to compare the different makes, and so much comes down to the installation and set up. This is further complicated by almost everyone swearing by the shocks that they have. I chose Ohlins for my current car for four reasons. They are made to order, so within the limits of packaging you can have whatever length and stroke you want. I had integral hydraulic bump stops which saved me a heap of fabrication, weight and expense. Thirdly they are click adjustable on compression and rebound allowing instant set up change. And finally the chap who supplied them, Ben from BG Motorsport at Silverstone, is a damper technician so you're dealing with someone who know what he's doing. Eight years on and I'm still happy. The only failure I've had was one bent shaft when a wishbone broke, which I think is acceptable. The rear dampers managed 5 years before having a service, so running costs have been low. I like that I have a set up that works well without me having to change shim stacks and top up gas every 5 minutes. Cost is difficult to qualify. On face value they're more but I managed to run single shocks on the front of my car where as Fox users of the same car use twins. In my experience the people who are successful with Fox shocks have been through at least 10 different shim combinations to get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 slightly late to the party but heres a couple of pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Such tiny delicate hands there Mike That really is a can of whoopdedoo Is the ribbed part oil storage and cooling area or does it do more? (I couldn't afford the fuel to go fast enough to warm one of them dampers up though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLineMike Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Ribbed part is the "cactus" cooler that fox offer for there bypass shocks, & that hand isnt mine, its almost a shovel in comparison to mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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