Standard R33 Shocks

[LNah]

Hi all. Yet another noob question to ask. How do you tell if the standard shocks on the R33 are stuffed and need replacement? When i said tell, i meant by the way the shocks handle bumps and whether they are noisy. My ride's shocks go squish on all four whenever I go over a hump and I'm not sure if that's how they are or they're stuffed. Also, my R33 seem to have a slight bodyroll on cornering at 40km/h. Are my swaybar bushings shot or am I asking a stupid question as my understanding is that ALL cars will have bodyroll at a certain speed onwards and performance cars WILL have some sort of bodyroll even with swaybars on, except that the difference being between having a sway bar and not having one.

Opened up a new thread on this as I couldn't find a similar thread asking this. Will appreciate all responds.

Cheers

[Dani Boi]

Hi all. Yet another noob question to ask. How do you tell if the standard shocks on the R33 are stuffed and need replacement? When i said tell, i meant by the way the shocks handle bumps and whether they are noisy. My ride's shocks go squish on all four whenever I go over a hump and I'm not sure if that's how they are or they're stuffed. Also, my R33 seem to have a slight bodyroll on cornering at 40km/h. Are my swaybar bushings shot or am I asking a stupid question as my understanding is that ALL cars will have bodyroll at a certain speed onwards and performance cars WILL have some sort of bodyroll even with swaybars on, except that the difference being between having a sway bar and not having one.

Opened up a new thread on this as I couldn't find a similar thread asking this. Will appreciate all responds.

Cheers

Check for leaks and also if when you go over bumps the car bounces up and down excessively that is generally a sign that they are wearing out, or simply push down on the car to test. In regards to the body roll the standard shocks on R33's are really shit. Worthwhile saving up and buying a shock/spring combo or adjustable coilovers.

You can get free inspections done at suspension specialist shops if you're unsure.

[blind_elk]

To check the condition of the shocks, "bounce" the corner of the car. A good shock should stop the bounce in about 1 cycle. And going "squish" is a sure sign that the shocks are not healthy. Also, you will find that the (current) ride quality is actually harsher than if you had new uprated shocks fitted.

ALL cars, even F1, have body roll in corners. It is a result of the weight being transferred to the outside of the corner. It's all about physics. You can reduce the body roll by fitting upgraded sway bars (DO NOT use springs / shocks to control body roll).

[Jeremy93]

In theory you should replace the factory shocks after 50-60,000 kms, personally I haven't replaced mine, and I work in a suspension shop, but these will be the first main change my car will be getting once I get around to doing it, you really can't put a price on shockies.

[SargeRX8]

I know a set of bilsteins I bought were f**ked because when I went over a dump, they were so soft and flat the front of the car would thud on the ground.

They should feel springy, not sloppy. Bilstein shocks are the best replacement and fine some nice springs for them. All depends what you do with the car. If you go adjustable coilover, make sure you get one with a big resevoir or external one so you can control the ride feel. Ive got height adjustable teins, bumpy as shit on the road.

As for the body roll, Ive taken turns at about 60km and you can feel that any more than that the car is just going to roll. Depends what kind of a turn you are talking about, surface of the road etc. Sway bars are the way to go. 16 year old cars here, the bushings are probably dry, cracked, leaky etc.

Edited August 7, 2011 by SargeRX8

[LNah]

Thanks guys for all your responses!! Looks like it's time to get the whole suspension done.

[Cassbo]

(DO NOT use springs / shocks to control body roll).

I have always been told the opposite, springs and shocks should be primarily used to control body roll while swaybars are there to assist the springs / shocks. Reason being that springs / shocks will control roll in all axes but swaybars will only control left/right

[LNah]

I'm just guessing that in physics, bodyroll is caused by the sudden shift in weight of the body of the car. Maybe Cassbo is right in saying that shocks and springs can control the bodyroll and the swaybars will only assist in the process. But at the same time, I also guess that people tend not to rely too much on only shocks and springs is that in normal street driving, the spring rates are not as high and will NOT support as much bodyroll as higher rated coilovers do on the track, thus the major emphasis is on swaybars to do the job for cars that are mainly driven on the street.

Someone confirm this for me or correct me if I'm wrong?

[Lippo]

Have a think about why swaybars are called swaybars...... Springs and shocks are there to work in tandem to control bumps and undulations in the road surface to keep the car level and swaybars control the sway in cars around corners. Simple as that guys.

[KiwiRS4T]

Look at how a sway bar works and consider its proper name: anti-roll bar. If you go over a judder bar just to be extreme the left and right arms go up in unison and down in unison just swivelling in their mounts and thus have no effect on the car. Its is only when you throw the car into a turn that the arms move in opposite directions and exert a twisting motion on the bar which will tend to return to its original shape thus reducing roll.

To test a shock as above ^^^: push heavily down on a corner of the car and let go. It should bounce back up and stop dead. If it starts to go down again of its own accord its stuffed. Alternatively some suspension shops will repeat this test for free with a meter attached which will measure the the rebound and give you a printout.

[LNah]

Thank you all, sirs!!!