Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

[bass_straitener]

I got a chance to see the Shockworks this afternoon with Owen.

I must say I was really impressed.

We drove over a variety of roads around here with bumps and grates. As well twisty single lane streets and finally a sweeping freeway on ramp at high speed.

Over the lumps and bumps the car felt absolutely planted and no jiggle or crashing was experienced. The coilovers felt very nicely damped. On acceleration there was no noticeable nose lift or squatting felt and under braking as well it didn't seem to dip significantly.

At speed as well I was really impressed at how it sat on the he freeway without jiggling or carrying on.

The build quality seems to be up there as well with nice thick end plates.

Overall, I can see why BBB was raving about them. I'm a real sceptic about a lot of this stuff and wondered myself what percentage of Owen's comments were marketing and what was reality and now having been in the car with Shockworks installed I must say I agree with what's been said so far.

I'm comparing it to my current ride and the Racecomps I had in the lib.

[owen]

Thanks for the awesome review Bruce. Glad you liked it. This isn't the finished product either, car is going back to Shockworks tomorrow. They say it needs roughly 4 more revisions.

[owen]

Here's a new onboard cam of a mate's S14 with Shockworks coilovers. Those transition speeds....
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=69 ... =2&theater

[bigBADbenny]

Nice one, Bruce!
It's great to have an opinion from someone who has very high standards but with no personal interest or commitment, beyond a natural scepticism and curiosity

[blacktop™]

Nice one, Bruce!
It's great to have an opinion from someone who has very high standards but with no personal interest or commitment, beyond a natural scepticism and curiosity

Agreed.

[shav]

Thanks for the honest review Bruce. Good feedback to help some of us who are just as sceptical and aren't sure whether or not to take the plunge in this area.

[jaydece]

This morning I went to visit Owen at Revzone to test drive his car with the shockworks setup. 1stly many thanks to Owen for allowing me to drive his car and trusting me to drive it alone.

On a quick note in regards to your new engine and latest tune I have to say it is very smooth and power delivery is good through the rev range....especially once you hit 4500rpm where there is no traction in the wet and the car feels like RWD.....those tires do not help and do jack shit....but I have a feeling thats how you like it....

So whats my experience and verdict??? Here is the summary below:

Whether conditions this morning
Wet roads
Drizzle at times
Traffic was light

Road conditions I drove the car on
Around the area of Ringwood
Street/Suburban area(s)
Hwy roads
Reflectors on the road
Speed bumps
Pot Holes
Rail way line crossing

Speed conditions
from very slow to very illegal......

Going to be upfront? I'm not a suspension expert, mechanic or have much experience when it comes to suspension work. I'm purely basing this as someone who drives a similar car with the stock suspension and has been in other cars and driven other cars with all sort(s) of setups...

So? Compared to my car...

POSITIVES
1. Car doesn't sag / bum sag when accelerating hard or coming on / off boost rapidly.....you do get the slight rocking but not as bad as mine..
2. Car feels planted and you feel confident to drive it ( spirited / driving it hard )
3. Slow and high speeds the shocks are doing its job taking the un even road, speed humps and road reflectors...etc etc..
4. Drove over a deep pot hole near revzone...and yeah you feel and hear it but its not spine shattering....
5. Shocks absorbs the road well generally - the highlight for me was when I went over the railway line...in my car my spine detaches and comes back together + the continous hard thud sounds as you cross over it
6. Car feels nimble and tighter Vs say my car where it feels loose and rocks around ( This may/may not be also contributed to the bracing he has on the car )
7. Not a bumpy ride, no air hissing noises, no thuddering sounds
8. Driving it normal and cruising around I have to say it was pleasant and not bad at all ( I have comments below which expand on this )
9. Quality product in terms of finsh and thickness of materials used
10. As the setup warms up and lossens up as you drive longer the better it feels ( doesnt get worse )

MY FEEDBACK ( and this is my opinion I gave to Owen )
1. Car does feel very slightly harsher and firmer on the road compared to mine kinda abvious why.....also? this is probably cause Owen is running lower profile tires than me...
2. If the shocks were JUST A TAD more softer I think its a double win for me....and Owen has explained that they are going to test and revise the shocks even further to accomodate this without sacrifing its potential when needed especially when taking hard turns, going around bends....so stay tuned!

Lastly....I wish Owen, shockworks crew and brand to continue to keep up the hard good work and hopefully further expand on what is a great product in its mid developing stages...

For now? its getting my tick of approvals...Looking forward to experiencing the final product and potentially having it on my car someday...

Cheers...N Thanks Again Owen

[brainy]

It's nice to see some honest reviews highlighting all aspects of the product now that it's at a tangible stage in the product life cycle.

What settings were these tested on Justin, Bruce and Owen? Are they at their softest setting? their firmest or halfway?

What height adjustments are looking to be available with the revisions nearing completion? How high can they go? how low can they go?

With the SPECB monster still using a H brace and some other bits and pieces, how much of a real impact would these have to the testing of the product? Would they make the ride firmer or more harsh? Or would they only really alter the cornering of the car and help it stay planted?

Has anyone tested this product on it's hardest and softest setting? I presume the softest setting is used for everything except for track/qtr miles?

Brian

[owen]

All testing is done with the shocks at full soft, however I have the rears set to 4 from soft because they still fall away slightly at high speeds (Bruce experienced this first hand when I let the rear come loose, may have left a stain) which will be ironed out in the upcoming valve revisions.

The H and 4 point rear subframe brace I have won't make any difference to how the shocks perform, they are there to improve chassis rigidity.

In terms of height adjustment, they go as high as stock, but physically won't allow you to drop it as low as a BC or K Sport purely due to the fact we have a lot more shock travel and "slammed" isn't cool, and actually very detrimental to handling properties.

[shav]

All testing is done with the shocks at full soft, however I have the rears set to 4 from soft because they still fall away slightly at high speeds (Bruce experienced this first hand when I let the rear come loose, may have left a stain) which will be ironed out in the upcoming valve revisions.

The H and 4 point rear subframe brace I have won't make any difference to how the shocks perform, they are there to improve chassis rigidity.

In terms of height adjustment, they go as high as stock, but physically won't allow you to drop it as low as a BC or K Sport purely due to the fact we have a lot more shock travel and "slammed" isn't cool, and actually very detrimental to handling properties.

For old codgers like me, this is music to my ears. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of low cars. But for my needs its just not practical. A balance of height and handling is a very fine line. Looks like you have it very close Owen

[owen]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated

[jakey]

Speed conditions
from very slow to very illegal......

Wouldn't have it any other way

[Manaz]

For old codgers like me, this is music to my ears. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of low cars. But for my needs its just not practical. A balance of height and handling is a very fine line. Looks like you have it very close Owen

+1. Much lower than stock will cause issues with a few places I regularly drive, so that's not the reason I want these. And yes, messing too much with suspension geometry by slamming a car just fucks with its roadhandling anyway.

I do want the ability to fine tune though, and to have a properly sorted ride. And it sounds like the Shockworx coilovers are on the money here.

[owen]

Went straight to Shockworks after work last night because it was sunny all day. Intention was to do some high speed testing. Unfortunately it started pissing down 5 mins before I got there so we drank beers instead.

[Manaz]

Went straight to Shockworks after work last night because it was sunny all day. Intention was to do some high speed testing. Unfortunately it started pissing down 5 mins before I got there so we drank beers instead.

Testing or beer, you were always going to win