...and, time for new shocks.

For those who couldn't care less how their 356 left the factory!
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Rusty Ferrell
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#16 Post by Rusty Ferrell »

Ashley, I have one of the demo shocks from Bilstein. As you say, it is all about cavitation. The other benefit according to Bilstein is that their gas shock starts to dampen at 2mm of wheel travel.
I have them on the 911 but my 356 still run Koni shocks and as someone mentioned set to a fairly soft setting. I'm getting old and like the comfort. Oh, and my daily driver is now a 74 MB 240D, 4 speed. Soon to have Bilsteins.
Rusty

Erik Thomas
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#17 Post by Erik Thomas »

I replaced my 356B Coupe rear shocks recently, with the adjustable Koni's. Since my Fronts were already Koni's. I set them at the "firm" setting as I was headed to the race track. That was too much damping, so backed them off to the middle setting. For the street, may even back off yet another step. It is not difficult to adjust them, but requires the lower bolt to be removed to turn the bodies.

I just got a set of custom made Spax shocks, from the UK which are adjustable with two small dials, both in compression and rebound. I look forward to testing these this season.

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Harlan Halsey
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#18 Post by Harlan Halsey »

It's easy to tell if gas pressure shocks will provide a spring force and thereby affect the ride height. Just push them to near ther installed length and see if there is a force.
I have always used Konis on my street Porsches. They were a factory option, and they used to be a very well built. I hope they still are but I haven't bought any recently. That's because they never wear out! They did have a failure mode however:The internal bump stop disintegrates after a while. The particles plug the oil passages and cause the shock to hydraulically lock up. Back then many Konis were replaced for this reason, however the cure is to disassemble the shock, clean it and either make a new spacer out of nylon or leave it out. We used to collect "failed" Konis from shops and get the special shock oil out of them. Or you could send them back to Koni and they would "rebuild" them for you. I regard them like any other Porsche part: just fix them when they need it. None of my rebuilds ever has. I set them a turn above the softest setting and leave them there. My '59 GT Carrera had early style competition Konis on it when I got it and I bet that they were factory installed.

SCCA racing is another story. Konis were the thing to have until the early 70's when the racing got more intense. Konis are 90/10 shocks which means that most of the damping is on the rebound. It was found that this type of shock could suck the car down over a series of rapid bumps. For a while, Carrerra brand 50/50 shocks were the hot setup.
Harlan

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Vic Skirmants
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#19 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Erik,
You can adjust the rear shocks by removing the top nut and then compressing. I have even done this with the car on the ground.

Erik Thomas
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#20 Post by Erik Thomas »

I had the car on the trailer, and I could undo the lower mount without taking off the wheel and tire. I guess with a jack, and the wheel off, the top bolt method would have been easier. But it was shady under there.

Anthony Hall Berry
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#21 Post by Anthony Hall Berry »

Hello all,

My car is back from Van's, in Leland, Michigan, where the Hagerty Insurance family have all of their Porshces taken care of, and the tires and shocks are on. JP, who did the decambering on this coupe about six years ago, reports that the ride height is absolutely the same as it ever was, no change after swapping the KYB's out for the Boges. So there is that bit to support all the "no difference" folks.

The car rides really great with the softer shocks, and I love the Sprint Classics, by Vredestein.

Happy Motoring,

Tony Berry

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Martin Benade
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#22 Post by Martin Benade »

What are the chances that they actually took measurements? I bet it's not precisely the same. Physics is funny like that.
Cleveland Ohio
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Craig Richter
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Re: ...and, time for new shocks.

#23 Post by Craig Richter »

Tony,
Glad you are enjoying your new shocks. We knew you would.
Not to sound too demanding, but did Van's really measure, or just eye-ball? New KYBs are hard to hold half-compressed, which would suggest a raise in ride height, however little, and affect rear camber. This is tied to their hard ride on 356s. Which is why exact measurements, before and after, would have been interesting...
 

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