and has limited articulation as a result
i was wondering how much can shocks limit travel of your suspension i.e if i fit softer shocks would that make much of a difference
so the g wagen holds the road too well
I am no suspension expert so take the following with a grain of salt.
Softer shocks by themselves should not increase articulation. They should allow the suspension to move easier and faster meaning that in theory, at high speed it should soak up the bumps better. But in practice, rally cars etc tend to fit harder shocks in an attempt to get more control over the suspension under those conditions as soft shocks just loose control of the springs.
To increase articulation, shocks with more travel are required. This of course is asuming that the shocks are the first thing to limit articulation by running out of travel.
Softer shocks by themselves should not increase articulation. They should allow the suspension to move easier and faster meaning that in theory, at high speed it should soak up the bumps better. But in practice, rally cars etc tend to fit harder shocks in an attempt to get more control over the suspension under those conditions as soft shocks just loose control of the springs.
To increase articulation, shocks with more travel are required. This of course is asuming that the shocks are the first thing to limit articulation by running out of travel.
1992 Land Rover Discovery V8i, 5 speed, 12000lbs winch, Salisbury rear, 110 front, 65mm spring lift, dents in every panel, Rallywoods pinstriping.
What you need is LONGER shocks... specifically a longer out-travel length of the shock.
Be wary of just getting really long shocks and chucking them in - because you want the closed length to be shorter than the fully compressed closed length of the suspension (ie: if the suspension fully closes up before the shock does that good... if the shock closes first then the shock becomes the bump stop for the suspension... something it will only do for a short time before it breaks)
You could remount the top of the shock up higher to allow for longer shocks... thats the common fix.
But... if your suspension geometry is such that the wheel won't drop out any further regardless then you might be wasting your time... fit lockers instead
Best way to test is to ramp the vehicle, measure everything and see whats biding and whats limiting then undo the tops of your front shocks and do it again. IF the shocks are the limiting factor then see how much longer you can go and find some to fit, or modify some to fit (ie: Rancho shocks can be modified ex. factory with whatever ends you want)
Hope that helps (ie: hope my explaination made sense)
Steve
Be wary of just getting really long shocks and chucking them in - because you want the closed length to be shorter than the fully compressed closed length of the suspension (ie: if the suspension fully closes up before the shock does that good... if the shock closes first then the shock becomes the bump stop for the suspension... something it will only do for a short time before it breaks)
You could remount the top of the shock up higher to allow for longer shocks... thats the common fix.
But... if your suspension geometry is such that the wheel won't drop out any further regardless then you might be wasting your time... fit lockers instead
Best way to test is to ramp the vehicle, measure everything and see whats biding and whats limiting then undo the tops of your front shocks and do it again. IF the shocks are the limiting factor then see how much longer you can go and find some to fit, or modify some to fit (ie: Rancho shocks can be modified ex. factory with whatever ends you want)
Hope that helps (ie: hope my explaination made sense)
Steve
Sway/Anti-roll bars are the other thing that can limit articulation severely, check those if you have 'em.
yes it did have an antisway bar fitted but i took that off about a month ago it did make a difference but the axles still don't articulate as much as i would like
fit lockers instead
don't need to got factory fitted ones at both ends
so disconnecting the shocks and driving it on the stump out the back to see if that made a difference isn't to silly an idea then kewl might have to try that this weekend