what are my options regards new front shocks ... Full weight westy ,lowered 3inchs still with bump stops Not really wanting cheapy or mega expensive Options and best place to buy please
I've used KYB for nearly 10 years now on a fully loaded Westy & have found them excellent. Mid range for cost & proven long life. Machine 7 have a good guide here on shock selection
This was the setup when I replaced a few bits underneath after lowering the front by about 3-4 inches KYB Excel-G shocks on the front, BOGE (something) on the rear and I replaced the steering damper while I was at it. Very happy with how it feels on the road
Ditto very heavy westy (wife packs for weeks) and it's also my daily driver normal empty westy. Kyb gas o mat/excel g (same thing) all round absolutely transformed the experience Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have SPAX adjustable fitted to my weedeater beam from creative engineering They do different sizes to fit correct ride height applications Ride is fine when van fully loaded or not
standard shock is 260 -410 extended . this worked fine on 3" lowering what would be better ? 245 -355 spax or 260-380 spax ? or should I stick to stock size
I would of said the 260-380 however The advice given to me was Sit the van level allow For interior etc Measure distance between mounts Give supplier (Creative Engineering) The measurements A they supplied the correct ones I tried stock length ones and they were awful with my weedeater beam set up Be careful they won't take them back after you have fitted them
@lhu1281 steve these guys do whatever size/spec you want, adjustable and not that expensive http://www.royalcountyautosupply.co.uk/shock-absorders.php no experience of them but chap on facebook raves about them.
only slightly cheaper than spax and oil filled ???? is oil better than gas or not ? trouble is I don`t really know what I want size wise
Measure the eye-eye at rest, then measure the distance between the bump stops and allow extra for compression when they come together. Subtract this from your resting eye-eye to give you an idea of minimum length of shock. This should ensure that the bump stops bottom out before the shock, as most standard shocks don't have a bump stop built in and a shock bottoming out without bump stops wouldn't be good at all. The max length just needs to give 'upward' travel at least 1/3 of the free 'downward' travel (the resting bump-bump measurement without the extra bit for compression). In other words if your rest height is *300mm and your bumps meet at 250 then your min length should be leas than 240 and max length at least 325. *Figures just for example. I'd suggest slightly stiffer than stock as you have less travel for the same amount of spring support. I've heard that the KYBs suggested are a little stiffer. If you didn't have the bumps still in place it's a different story. It's also really worth checking the bump-bump distance before buying shocks because if it's too small, like less than around 3", which is not a lot of travel, and you're hitting or riding on the stops at times, then it'll compromise the effectiveness of any shock you fit and you might not see any improvement. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had drop spidles by about 2 1/2 inches and used standard KYB GR2 shocks(silver). they were fine and slightly softer than the rear ones i put on which were(and still are) the KYB gas -a-just (white) which are better for the weight of the westy interior. so KYB GR2 up front, Gas a just on the back. unless you want the absolute best (and expensive) then go for Koni's all round
Bought these over twenty years ago. Still on the bus and working a treat.. Did a half turn for the front and one and a half for the rear. Pricey maybe but you do pay for what you get. French country RN's are fairly effortless apart from tractors.
