FAQ: Shocks & Struts Options

ok so KYB or what, which one lasts longer? planning buying lowered springs with adjusted springrate from a member here. they are one inch lower. what do you guys think?

oh ohoh what about sachs?

I'm not sure Sachs has shocks for the Riv? do they? either way,any shock available for the Riv is in no way oriented for performance.with that sed,we get what we can and do with.

i was on rock auto and they have the Sachs supertouring for our cars.. ive never heard of them on american cars

Wow! I never rode with Sachs,But they are OE equipment on many Euro cars.Does this mean theyre good?I dont know.But they do make some high end stuff too! Be the first and buy 'em. let us know.They gotta be better than the below average crap available for the Riv.

Maybe the KYB's are crap, but at least one Alpha owner in Europe returned his Sachs Super Tourers and bought KYBs:

"I had some new ones but sent them back as they weren't as 'stiff' as KYBs which a lot of us use. I'd fit a pair of these when doing the springs or even before."

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-gtv-and-916-spider/306082-sachs-super-touring-shocks.html


A Murauder owner described his Sachs from Rockauto as "cushy". Link:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=77491

hmm

do you think i should try them anyway? ill have the stiffer springs so itl help alittle. hmm was he referring to the GR2s?

highwaywarrior wrote:

ok so KYB or what, which one lasts longer? planning buying lowered springs with adjusted springrate from a member here. they are one inch lower. what do you guys think?

oh ohoh what about sachs?

lowered springs... the air ride will need to be adjusted in the rear (you adjust the arm) and you'll need alignment kits for the front, you get looks but I don't think you get performance. If you do not adjust the air ride then the rear will lift to the factory trim height anyway no matter what you think you are doing to the springs.

finally, if you are lowering the car you need to use KYBs or Gabriels, the stock dampers are not stiff enough and the Monroes are "position sensitive" so they won't work right with lowered springs. You have to find out if the Sachs ride control strategy is compatible with lowering springs; I don't know.

what arm are you referring too?

(ALC) automatic level control arm, regulates height of the rear suspension.

ill go look for it

The problem with the OEM type struts is that they are underdamped.They are not tooo bad in the rebound dept. but overall they suk gorilla balzz.
If youre looking for performance, the best way to go is stiffer springs.A stiffer spring will slowdown somewhat the soft compression of the KYBs but will do nothing for the rebound.Again,the KYB rebound aint bad,but even with a stiffer spring the front end will pop up a little faster.Of course all suspension movement is relative to the speed and dynamics under which the vehicle at the time is subjected to.
And what does this mean?It means that if youre looking for performance you either,fabricate your own suspension(like me! ) or you buy a car that has ready made after market support.
Making a Riv a taught performance car is one of the most chalenging things you will do.If you had know this before buying the Riv ,would you have still bought it?In my case yes.I can make what I want.If I fuck up its on me.If you fuck up its on you.Aint hot rodding great!

explain your suspension, i may just follow it. hahaha

AA wrote:

Maybe the KYB's are crap, but at least one Alpha owner in Europe returned his Sachs Super Tourers and bought KYBs:

"I had some new ones but sent them back as they weren't as 'stiff' as KYBs which a lot of us use. I'd fit a pair of these when doing the springs or even before."

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-gtv-and-916-spider/306082-sachs-super-touring-shocks.html


A Murauder owner described his Sachs from Rockauto as "cushy". Link:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=77491

Both Sachs and KYBs are quite good. The issue is that they are both made more or less to the OE specs for rebound and compression plus an adjustment for "suspension wear.' The stiffest shocks/struts I've had were the Gabriels I put on the Riv some years ago - which were actually tuned for the G-body Bonneville. I got rid of them because the cases rusted thru and they started seeping fluid (just as my Delco rear shocks just did). I like them a little better than the KYBs (for tautness so to speak) but the KYBs are fine. The Monroes are not that much better than the OEs on compression (way better damping rebound though) and I think they are jiggly, at least when new.

I got a few write ups somewhere.My ideas involve alot of welding and cutting.if yer up to it..I like the way my Riv rides.I can still cruze along foot off the gas for what seems like miles..and only the sharpest of bumps and imperfections show up the stiffer springs. Honestly and maybe I've gotten used to it,hardmounting the front subframe to the chassis hasnt IMO altered the ride all that much.she just feels a little more eager to turn into corners.And she likes to move her ass a little more..On the smooth stuff even with the things that I've done ,she feels just like a OEM ride.smooth.

very nice
im always up for new challenges

hah since amazon is being retarded and not letting e order, im going to order from Shocks and struts warehouse.. are they any good?

I browsed their site.I dont know what the price difference is? But theyre prices dont look too bad

AA wrote:

Personally, I like the Maxairs for their adjustable level control. Ride height is another way to tune the rear suspension's behavior. This also lets you "tune" the looks of the car to an extent.

Aaron, I remember at the track you had a valve under your bumper and you let some air out to drop the bottom a bit. How do you fill it back up? Does it use the OEM pump to put air back in or do you have to hook up an external pump every time you want to lift the back up?

I usually use the air tank in the garage, but if necessary a small bicycle pump works great. I know that sounds silly, but there is very little air in those lines, so it works great.

In my experience, adding air is a rare event, when pulling the trailer or going to the track. It can go for months with no adjustment, like the air in the tires.

If one wants to lower their car an inch or 2, does one need coil overs on the front and monroes/ranchos on the back or will the monroes + KYBs be sufficient?

Also, can coils be added to the KYBs or should a coil over strut be installed outright? Do they even make coil over struts/shocks for the riv?

how do people adjust their ride height on the fly?

You would need lowering springs for the front, because the struts have nothing to do with ride height. You could also cut a coil on the stock spring, but be careful, because there's a big difference between stock, 1 and 2 inch drops, and there's no going back.

For the rear, yes, you can custom adjust the rear height using MaxAirs with stock springs.

I don't think you can add coils to the KYBs, and not sure why you'd want to. I'm not aware of a coil over option available. However, our OEM design isn't too bad.

For on the fly, probably the best way is to use air bags or hydraulics. At this point, it's more a show thing than a performance mod, imo. There's no real need to adjust ride height on the go except to make the car bounce, or just because you enjoy doing it. An exception being to raise the rear end up for a drag race.

How does this shopping cart look?
Cut the picture out to prevent confusion.

I would add the rear shock mounts, and make sure the front struts & mounts are listed as a pair, not each. Price seems low for complete front/rear suspension parts.

Thanks, Aaron. How's this look?
Cut the picture out to prevent confusion.

Pretty sure the front strut mounts are each. Need 2 of those. Otherwise looks good. I know price seems high, but they include a bearing with each mount.