17 replies to this topic

[minimad91]

Which shock absorbers are the best have spax but one could do with being replaced but need to do a pair so just interested in people's opinions... I mead you can get boge £12 each all the way up!!

[Tupers]

Technically they're not shock absorbers as the rubber cone is what absorbs the force of the suspension moving and the dampers (what everyone seems to call shocks) control the release of the energy held by the spring as it unloads.

As far as brands go Spax are one of the best before you start getting into mega ££££ set-ups, I'd stick with them.

[surfblue63]

KYB Gas-a-Just. I have these on both my '93 Sprite and my '68 Traveller. They are a good all round damper, firmer than standard dampers, but not uncomfortable. The set on my Sprite were fitted 3 years ago and are still OK after 12,000 miles.

[The Otter]

I've heard nothing but fantastic experiences from people with Protech Shocks, a bit more expensive but not over the top money, I'm planning on getting some one day. Have a search on here about them, see what people have to say.

http://www.protechsh...nt-rear-package

Edited by J322OverTheTop, 09 February 2012 - 01:30 AM.

[Dan]

Personally I think Spax are massively over rated and frankly the cheaper road spec ones are not all that great or very well made. The powder coat comes off them very easily, the adjusters rust up solid in no time, they adjust themselves every now and then and just wear out way too soon. I've been using Evolution AGX now for many years and have found them a lot better than the Spax I had previously. The setting range is more useful for a road car in my opinion and they take a beating. The adjusters and in fact the whole dampers are still fine after 5 or so years on a daily driver.

[bcjames]

KYB Gas-a-Just. I have these on both my '93 Sprite and my '68 Traveller. They are a good all round damper, firmer than standard dampers, but not uncomfortable. The set on my Sprite were fitted 3 years ago and are still OK after 12,000 miles.

I have these too. Looking through the sets available from Minispares, they only cost a little more than the standard oil ones, so it seemed a good upgrade. They seem comfortable on my daily car.

[minidave1991-89]

Just ordered some Protech alloy shocks after hearing great reviews from other members who have them. Apparently their customer service is great unlike these big companies such as SPAX, Koni, Gaz etc. The standard height adjustables which i've gone for are £52.00 each from huddersfield spares so arent cheap but pay for quality i guess.

[minimad91]

I wrote shock absorber because that what it came under on minisport! I am interested in people's comments as I have spax and can feel every bump in the road where as my friend has standard ad the same road seems so must smoother!!

[freshairmini]

I wrote shock absorber because that what it came under on minisport! I am interested in people's comments as I have spax and can feel every bump in the road where as my friend has standard ad the same road seems so must smoother!!

Are the spax ones you have adjustable, if so what setting do you have them on? (how many clicks?)

[minimad91]

They are the adjust ones but I haven't fiddled with them since buying the car so will have to have a look!!

[bcjames]

And what condition is the rest of your suspension in?

[freshairmini]

They are the adjust ones but I haven't fiddled with them since buying the car so will have to have a look!!

try setting them lower, might help with feeling all the bumps.

[tiger99]

I found that on another car, not a Mini, the paint on Spax flaked off rather quickly and they went rusty, which does not say very much about their quality!

The ideal damper will have seperate adjustment for bump and rebound, but I am not sure if anyome makes those for a Mini. (You do get them for some more modern cars.) But getting the correct damping rate on suspension with a very variable spring rate is well-nigh impossible anyway. You need to set them up for the car as it is normally loaded, but if carrying a full load it will then be underdamped. Or, if you set them up for a full load, because that is what you mostly carry, with the driver alone they will be horribly hard. Suspension design is always a multitude of compromises.....

The only way of getting the spring and damper rates right under all load conditions with such short travel suspension is to go for self-levelling hydropneumatic, like a Citroen. I keep wondering if that would be possible on a Mini.

[toplessmini]

http://www.minispare...ty=pb&pid=34060

I have these and easy to adjust.

GAZ ADJUSTABLE

Edited by toplessmini, 09 February 2012 - 10:57 PM.

[racingbob]

AVO shocks were very good had them on a race car but were fairly expensive

when i bought them

got spax on my road car setting front no.5 bit bumby but its second car for fun