Best riding shocks/struts for lowered 02 gt vert?
01-16-2013, 08:39 PM
#13
01-17-2013, 06:14 AM
#14
TECH SAVANT
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Saint Augustine, FL
Posts: 10,938
It is why Ford makes Mustangs look like monster trucks from the factory; the general motoring public are willing to trade off decent handling for a cushy ride. The high stance and long suspension travel allows for use of less stiff shocks = "better ride".
In my experience Bilsteins are excellent shock absorbers, I ran them on my lowered Miatas--which my father would not ride in because he has had two spinal fusions and can only move because of cortisone injections--"rides like a buckboard" he would say, while I thought it was great and stuck to the road as though it was on rails.
So at the bottom line it all depends on your definition of "good ride". My car, lowered 1-1/2" and running the Gabriel Ultras, is rather jarring at high speeds over sharp bumps (like construction zone pavement changes) with Bilsteins it would really wake you up...
01-17-2013, 03:05 PM
#15
Though "good ride" is a very subjective thing, part and parcel of using lowering springs is that you also reduce suspension travel; meaning that those springs must have a higher compression rate and that the shock absorbers (struts on our modified MacPherson front-ends) must be stiffer so as to better control jounce and rebound. This creates a more harsh "ride", and there is no way around that.
It is why Ford makes Mustangs look like monster trucks from the factory; the general motoring public are willing to trade off decent handling for a cushy ride. The high stance and long suspension travel allows for use of less stiff shocks = "better ride".
In my experience Bilsteins are excellent shock absorbers, I ran them on my lowered Miatas--which my father would not ride in because he has had two spinal fusions and can only move because of cortisone injections--"rides like a buckboard" he would say, while I thought it was great and stuck to the road as though it was on rails.
So at the bottom line it all depends on your definition of "good ride". My car, lowered 1-1/2" and running the Gabriel Ultras, is rather jarring at high speeds over sharp bumps (like construction zone pavement changes) with Bilsteins it would really wake you up...
It is why Ford makes Mustangs look like monster trucks from the factory; the general motoring public are willing to trade off decent handling for a cushy ride. The high stance and long suspension travel allows for use of less stiff shocks = "better ride".
In my experience Bilsteins are excellent shock absorbers, I ran them on my lowered Miatas--which my father would not ride in because he has had two spinal fusions and can only move because of cortisone injections--"rides like a buckboard" he would say, while I thought it was great and stuck to the road as though it was on rails.
So at the bottom line it all depends on your definition of "good ride". My car, lowered 1-1/2" and running the Gabriel Ultras, is rather jarring at high speeds over sharp bumps (like construction zone pavement changes) with Bilsteins it would really wake you up...
01-17-2013, 05:34 PM
#16
TECH SAVANT
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Saint Augustine, FL
Posts: 10,938
I don't know what you mean by "the longer the shock/strut is allows it to be more forgiving", I never said anything about the length of the shocks/struts?
"Bilstiens can keep up better with lowered springs instead of stock struts/shocks", so can the Gabriels. The Bilsteins will handle very rough roads better than the Gabriels, at the expense of a more harsh ride on regular run-of-the-mill roadways...
01-22-2013, 05:07 PM
#18
01-22-2013, 07:40 PM
#20
& been reading lots of instructions. you ever put them on?