Tell me all about shocks (the suspension part)!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

After changing the front tyres, the Accord's ride quality improved by approximately 497324923.87% - the old tyres themselves didn't look dodgy, but I bet that the wheel balancing had last been done 7 years ago, probably by a blind monkey. It's gotten from "can't wait to get out of here" to "that was alright for such a long journey" (where "long journey" means the 150 motorway miles from Watford to Sheffield).

 

As I really don't have the time or inclination to be looking for another daily in the very near future, I'm kinda considering keeping it a bit longer than I had originally intended to (famous last words before the engine blows up in an amusing fashion). The front shocks are definitely shagged out (how can you pass an MoT when the thing is bouncier than a bouncy castle during an earthquake?), and I thought "alright, maybe I should put some new ones in and see if it gets to a level of comfort I can live with for a while".

 

So I go online and look for some shocks. And I am SHOCKED at the prices. It's been a while (maybe 7 years?) since I last bought some, but I remember them being around 30-35 quid apiece, and I'm getting quoted over a hundred pounds per corner. One of the more reasonable places seems to be the Auto Prats Whorehouse, which lists different types- two different Kayabas described as "Gas Pressure" (20 quid price difference between the two models), a QH called "Gas Twin Tube" and another (cheaper) QH under the name "Gas McPherson strut".

 

I also found a website selling Nipparts-branded ones for 32 pounds or so, but only had rears available.

 

Can anyone explain how this whole thing works? Even more than the actual cost, the complexity of the issue is, erm, dampening my willingness to have a go at it.

 

The proper shite way, of course, would be to lob some used ones in but with my luck they would probably last 100 miles before starting to leak and bounce all over...or is there a way of gauging the amount of life they have left in them?

[AeroNautiCal]

No answer's = keeping you in suspense...

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I guess people may be scared by the wordiness of my posts. I 've always had a tendency to waffle a bit, and doing a HR Management degree didn't help things much!

 

SOUD GO 4 SUM TXTSPK M8.

[garethj]

Don’t take chances with your life – fit the OE shocks!

 

Or.... fit whichever ones you can afford. There’s a fair chance they’ll be better than the knackered old ones, even if you don’t get perfect damping on every road surface.

[trigger]

Different cars have different prices, Some are oil filled, some are gas, Cheap makes don't always last that long etc etc, ECP are quoting £66 each for the fronts and £63 each for the rears in Sachs (http://www.eurocarparts.com/shock-absorber) which are one of the best makes, Personally as it's only a £350 motor If i had to buy new shocks I'd be getting a set from the breakers yard or just some cheap nasty ones.

[Pete-M]

Rule of thumb used to be that 10% of the life of a shock absorber would be lost every 10,000 miles and that it's best to change them at 60-70k. Modern technology means they can last longer now, but cost cutting tends to balance things out so it's still about the same in reality.

 

If the car is just a clunker which you don't want to keep then fit cheapies as they'll probably outlast the car - or your use for it.

 

Personally, I'd pop a set on as decent shocks improve a car no end. Better grip, better braking, better (and quieter) ride quality and the bushes etc aren't having to deal with the loads that knackered shocks send 'em.

 

Clue is in the name, they absorb shocks so you and the rest of the car don't have to.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

That's how I see it, Pete. If I'm going to cover even 6-7000 miles in that car, 120 quid is not that high a price to pay in order to do it in a little bit of comfort.

 

However, the choices/pricing are totally baffling, especially when one manufacturer has two different products under the same general model name. All over the internet, there are 23732975 tests/articles/forum threads on tyres, whereas nobody seems to have ever bothered testing or even talking about shocks.

[CIH]

I think you're over analysin this tbh. Jus get some in tey'll almot certainy be better than what's on there.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

What age is this accord of yours?

 

heres some Monroe jobs being flogged for £54 each for a 94-98 accord. If you like the car and ar convinced that the old shockers are u/s ('cooking' Hondas are not known for their suspension tuning) then they are probably worth a pop even if you have to pay a local garage to chuck em on.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Monroe-Front- ... 0405551091

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

What age is this accord of yours?

 

heres some Monroe jobs being flogged for £54 each for a 94-98 accord. If you like the car and ar convinced that the old shockers are u/s ('cooking' Hondas are not known for their suspension tuning) then they are probably worth a pop even if you have to pay a local garage to chuck em on.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Monroe-Front- ... 0405551091

 

Cheers for that! I had some Monroes in me old Granada and they were really smooth- decent roadholding but definitely designed for comfort. Andrew Page are their main stockist for the North, and they wanted nearly 80 quid each! My car's a 1996 one, so they'll be just right. The car definitely bounces 2-3 times when you depress the front corners, but I'm treating it to an oilchange on Tuesday and I'll beg the chap at National Tyres and Autoscare to get it on a ramp for me to have a look underneath and see if I can spot any leaks.

 

(As for "liking" it, I still think it's not my style and I'd rather have something a bit older and perhaps bigger, but I can't argue with the logic of keeping it for a few months- Japanese reliability, plenty of torque, 40mpg on the motorway)

[r.welfare]

I changed my front ones for Bilsteins from ECP about 18 months ago - cost me about £130 for the pair, including delivery.

 

If you're only keeping the car a couple of years at most, or until the next MOT failure/monumental breakdown*, then a pair of cheapy Nipparts will suffice I'm sure.

 

It's not actually a difficult job to change them provided you have patience and a decent pair of spring compressors.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I changed my front ones for Bilsteins from ECP about 18 months ago - cost me about £130 for the pair, including delivery.

 

If you're only keeping the car a couple of years at most, or until the next MOT failure/monumental breakdown*, then a pair of cheapy Nipparts will suffice I'm sure.

 

It's not actually a difficult job to change them provided you have patience and a decent pair of spring compressors.

 

Given the massive price difference, I would have definitely gone for Nipparts, but I rang the company that imports them and they said they only sell the rear ones - how bizarre is that?

 

As for doing it myself, I still have no space or tools, but it may be worth thinking about as I'm hopefully moving to an actual house in the next few days.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Is it Japarts you tried? They have front and rear listed, but £CALL FOR PRICE.

[Station]

I changed the front shock absorbers on my ol' Astra and the handling was totally transformed. It's well worth it, I changed everything else afterwards for new stuff, the difference was immense!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Is it Japarts you tried? They have front and rear listed, but £CALL FOR PRICE.

 

No, I tried some people called Marathon something or other who claim to be the "official" importers for Nipparts. I also fired off an e-mail to Kager, a Polish parts maker I came across on myautoparts.info (which BTW is an excellent resource- well worth a look) to see whether they have any UK stockists. Will call Japarts tomorrow to see whether they've got them. I can afford and even almost justify buying the more expensive stuff, but it's such a waste for a car that will not be mine for very long, and will probably be cubed by this time next year.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Errr.... just live with the current shock absorbers then?

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Errr.... just live with the current shock absorbers then?

 

But the ride quality is still quite poor, and I can't really stand it. That's why I'm trying to find the cheapest possible new ones.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

The ride quality isn't very good anyway, Honda double wishbone front suspension has fuck all travel.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

The ride quality isn't very good anyway, Honda double wishbone front suspension has fuck all travel.

 

I know...It's actually a main reason why I have no interest in keeping the car but, as you can imagine, a poor setup with borked shocks results in the ride from hell everytime you leave town.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

http://motors.shop.ebay.co.uk/Cars-/980 ... &_udhi=600 FTW

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

mmm...tasty!

Actually, a Xantia Exclusive would be even better, and there are a couple for sale right now....

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yo Luxobarus, you need to sort out your shite strategy, you've bought a car that you dont seem to really like travelling in all that much, you dont plan on keeping it that long, yet you're on about buying this for it and that for it and getting X Y and Z fixed at a garage at great expense, sounds like a recipe that will have you in a 57-plate mondeo in no time.

[Richard]

If the car steps out when you hit a bump mid-corner you need to replace the shocks, if it doesn't they'll do a while yet.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Yo Luxobarus, you need to sort out your shite strategy, you've bought a car that you dont seem to really like travelling in all that much, you dont plan on keeping it that long, yet you're on about buying this for it and that for it and getting X Y and Z fixed at a garage at great expense, sounds like a recipe that will have you in a 57-plate mondeo in no time.

 

 

haha, you're right. I know I should refrain from touching the bloody thing, but I am not in an appropriate mood for shite-hunting. I'm thinking that doing a couple of simple things to it may bring the comfort to a half-decent level while I figure what to do with my life and all that. It's hard to prepare a shite strategy while living in a hotel room!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I think what you actually need is a gold Rover 800 Vitesse, which isn't actually a Vitesse, it's an 825SLi automatic, but you like to call it a Vitesse.

Then a dark blue Rover R3 214 when the running costs become too much to bear.

[Pete-M]

I think what you actually need is a gold Rover 800 Vitesse, which isn't actually a Vitesse, it's an 825SLi automatic, but you like to call it a Vitesse.

Then a dark blue Rover R3 214 when the running costs become too much to bear.

 

Um, isn't the idea to get him something with working suspension? The 800 is one of the few cars out there that never featured working suspension.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I think what you actually need is a gold Rover 800 Vitesse, which isn't actually a Vitesse, it's an 825SLi automatic, but you like to call it a Vitesse.

Then a dark blue Rover R3 214 when the running costs become too much to bear.

 

Um, isn't the idea to get him something with working suspension? The 800 is one of the few cars out there that never featured working suspension.

 

However, I'd guess they would have enough other faults to keep me distracted from the lack of a suspension!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

No, it's just that Luxobarge is living the life of a fictional character who owned those cars.

I thought they were good suggestions. I think the post-facelift Rover 800 has better sorted suspension.

[Tayne]

.

[garethj]

Yo Luxobarus, you need to sort out your shite strategy, you've bought a car that you dont seem to really like travelling in all that much, you dont plan on keeping it that long, yet you're on about buying this for it and that for it and getting X Y and Z fixed at a garage at great expense, sounds like a recipe that will have you in a 57-plate mondeo in no time.

What he said.

 

Luckily, everyone else here has followed dozens of different paths which don't work so we're well able to advise you.

 

If you're not keen on keeping the car then don't spend a bean unless you really have to. Not "I'd quite like to keep it in good condition", but "oh dear the engine's fallen out"