Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby Manaz » Tue Feb 10, 2015 12:30 pm

legacydan wrote:wish i lived closer so i could get a set of these. shipping and tax would kill me. It would be cheaper to get a set of Ohlins


Surface shipping (sea freight) shouldn't be that expensive. Talk to Owen about how the package is labelled (and the value put on it) - there's been cases where people undervalue things or ship them as "commercial sample" to "minimise tax".

The Aussie dollar is pretty weak at present too, which would help your purchase price (it was up over USD$1 not that long ago, but is down to around USD$0.80 at present, or EUR€0.68
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby Bezzza » Tue Feb 17, 2015 1:09 pm

So i decided to prep my coilovers for install by removing the springs and bumpstop last night so i could follow the MCA tutorial.
For the life of me i could not remove the top 19mm nut below the damper adjuster to do so! It was on their INSANELY tight!

Is there a trick to this or something i should be doing? Should i be holding another part of the shock from moving whilst undoing the nut?
I had made sure the spring wasn't pre-loaded prior also.

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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby DownUnder » Tue Feb 17, 2015 9:25 pm

I used a rattle gun, basically the easiest way to do it. Make sure you remove the knob before you remove the nut.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby bigBADbenny » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:19 pm

I'm not sure why you'd go through that process when Shockworks already did exactly that for your shocks in development.
The shocks are supplied ready to bolt on with the ideal ride height, droop travel, preload and top nut torque...

By undoing the top nut you are inviting issues when it's time to reassemble the shock.
The top bearing is the last thing you want to be messing with on a brand new pair of shocks.

You are possibly going to damage to the damper assembly by just hitting the nut with a rattle gun allowing the shaft to spin in the damper body. I'd ask Shockworks for the exact reassembly specs and procedure.

I'm not even sure why you need to remove the spring via the top hat anyway.
Just remove the lower mount and spring seat (assuming the whole damper body is threaded).

But I'll reiterate: the correct geometry and setup is as supplied by Shockworks.

Install the shocks as supplied. Resist the urge to lower the car further. Get the car aligned and corner weighted. Start the damping on full soft and slowly work your way up to reach your preferred handling requirement.
Last edited by bigBADbenny on Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby Bezzza » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:45 pm

Thanks for the info Ben.

I was under the impression that they did not come setup from Shockworks and that the tutorial linked to would need to be followed.
This makes my job of installing that much easier for Thursday :good:
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby bigBADbenny » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:55 pm

I think that was more showing why it took months to get the product dialled.
That and plenty of Owens seat time :)
Shockworks also used an advanced hub rig in the development process iirc.

After a few months I'm still amazed at the performance and I'm still on +2f/+4r :)
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby Bezzza » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:58 pm

I'm glad I don't have too, I've read it 100+ times I reckon and I still don't 100% understand it all haha!

Bring on the twistys!!!
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby DownUnder » Wed Feb 18, 2015 2:32 am

owen wrote:
kikxz wrote:Would we need to set base position/bottom mounts and pre loads etc straight out of the box or would they be set at the recommended amounts with just height to adjust?


No, you'd need to get them set up by somebody who knows how, as everybody prefers different heights. Rocky, I can book you in to do this when you come to pick them up and fit them.


owen wrote:Please, please, please. I implore you to hand them to a suspension specialist near you to get them to install them following these instructions.

http://mcablog.com/?p=409


@Benny just incase you missed it, owen himself recommended installing using the MCA instructions. From the instructions you'll see that it's recommended to remove the bump-stops in order to figure out what the full shock travel is.

Another thing to note is that no, these shocks may not be set up for maximum performance in your car. For example when I tested the rear travel in my wagon I found that my specific wheel/tyre/camber setup allowed full travel of the suspension all the way to the factory bumpstop with absolutely 0 interference. If I had been running wider rubber (which I have considered) I might have had to lengthen the shock a bit provided I didn't go past max factory droop to stop the wheel scrubbing in the wheel well. The way it worked out I had to lengthen it a bit anyway to get it well matched to the front.

At the front I followed the MCA guide very specifically so my wheels avoided any interference at full bump lock to lock. The Shockworks factory setup does not factor in my specific wheel/tyre/camber setup so I may have run into issues if I left it how it was. As for torquing the top/bottom nuts I own a torque wrench and was satisfied with the level of torque used. If you don't own a torque wrench it's more risky but still very doable. If an impact gun damaged the dampers I'd be concerned with their ability to hold up to road bumps. Also AFAIK if a damper turns in a shock it should do any damage, infact I've seen a few companies use the damper turning in the shock as their steering pivot.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby bigBADbenny » Wed Feb 18, 2015 6:53 am

*One thing that did occur to me is that a 5mt preface is going to be XX Kg lighter at the front.

In that instance, I'd first contact Brett to establish:
Whether to adjust the spring pre-load adjuster or the lower mount in order to readjust to the correct/preferred ride height.
(Different shock manufactures recommend making the adjustment from either point, eg BC lower/MCA upper)

And/or:
Establishing whether revisiting the full travel measurement process was required.



No I did not miss anything* and was aware of the MCA guide when Shockworks were less than a twinkle in our eyes :)

The thing is Owen is referring specifically to customers who insist on deviating from Shockworks recommended setup because they seek cosmetic lowering at the expense of overall travel.

If that's the case go for it, but it's a backwards step.

Owen and I are running 18 x 8.5 +35 with caster offset front LCA bushes and 225/40 & 235/40 rubber respectively.
The shocks are set up to handle that offset which is close to the limit of what the stock guards plus rolling can take.
I haven't bottomed out the shocks yet.

You may need to adjust the rear height somewhat (I'll be going up a little to help with extra passenger and equipment in the back) and to help with rubbing I can't roll out or do not wish to fix with extra camber...

But I can't see the point of going through the laborious full travel measurement, when the shocks are supplied ready to go, it's been done for you.
It's the alignment & corner weight that's more important.

And some damper shafts shouldn't be spun with a rattle gun, so check with Brett for the right technique if you do have reason to undo the top nut.
Last edited by bigBADbenny on Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby DownUnder » Wed Feb 18, 2015 4:53 pm

Owen isn't just reffering to people looking to lower. Please re-read the quotes I posted. It all depends on your understanding on how a suspension system works. For example if you're loading the car up with gear and it send the rear lower you are reducing the amount of bump travel left in your damper. To rectify this the spring seat should be moved up to raise the damper slighty so there is a decent amount of bump travel left. Moving the bottom mount would just make your car higher with reduced bump travel and therefore shitty suspension performance. That is what MCA is trying to spread to the masses with their articles. They're not specific to MCA shocks, they're good guidelines in general for performance setup of aftermarket suspension. I'll call Brett when I have some spare time later this week but from what Owen said, these are not necessarily setup to tge correct heights from the factory.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby bigBADbenny » Wed Feb 18, 2015 9:46 pm

I agree it would be good to clarify those fine details :)
I'll also be contacting Brett about the correct way to raise the rear and what to do if eg prefl 5mt.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby Bezzza » Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:25 pm

Opened a can of worms I did! :lol:

If you could post up what Brett has to say that would be great in regards to setup and height adjustments.

I have measured the shocks and they are setup identical side to side. Also bottom mounts on the front are threaded on a fair way so I'm guess potentially they are pre-set by Shockworks.
Will wait though for a final confirmation before install.

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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby owen » Thu Feb 19, 2015 1:10 am

Sorry I have been absent lately. I am using a VPN to bypass China's firewall atm. I will be back next week.

Regarding height adjustment, no they don't come preset out of the box and we kept this in mind knowing everybody wants different heights. During testing my fronts would bottom out against the bump stops during heavy braking and corner. This issue arose due to the shorter rods we used to give people the option to lower if they really, really wanted to. I can confirm they do need adjustment because every single kit we fitted so far needed adjustment (even HardwareBob's car which is at stock height). The only car that didn't need adjustment was BBB's because Shockworks spent almost a week adjusting it for him.

The kits are assembled and valved here in Aus but not set to any specific height. So yes, my recommendation would be to let me do it if you're in Vic, or have a suspension specialist fit and set it up if you're interstate. Or if you have the knowledge, experience and confidence to do it yourself..by all means.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby bigBADbenny » Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:02 am

Thanks for clarifying that Owen.
I've got some striking out/redacting to do for my homework. :oops:

I'll be sure to take some measurements for any DIYers out there who want a head start on how Shockworks setup the shocks for my wagon. Plus get their recommendation for turns of spring preload and height adjustment procedure.

I called Brett today to clarify a few aspects of Shockworks setup and installation.

Firstly if you have any inquiries at all: please contact Brett directly to discuss them.

The spring preload is set as supplied. The lower mount height and thus the ride height is not.
A rattle gun is the recommended method to loosen and tighten the top mount: but don't go nuts with it, just a few pops is all that's required.
There is consequently no specific torque setting, just a few pops of a rattle gun.
Do not use a torque wrench on the top nut as the shaft will spin, and using a vise or vise grips to hold the shaft or damper slider is absolutely not the required method, doing that will damage the shock and void the warranty.
The setup job is basically best left to professionals or owners who have eg the required experience, a thorough understanding of the MCA guide, and the theory behind it, and access to a rattle gun.
If going through the MCA setup, it's much easier to strip the spring from the shock by removing the top hat. Brett mentioned this can be done without removing the lower lower mount from the hub, on some cars.
If adjusting e.g.: the rear ride height and assuming the shocks have been professionally setup, the rear ride height may be adjusted by loosening the lower mount lock ring and turning the shock body till the height is adjusted by the required amount of turns both sides.

I apologize for any confusion and offense I have caused in my egotistical fervor.
Next time I'll listen to my conscience which was suggesting I let someone else more informed comment.
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Re: Shockworks Coilovers & BBK

Postby rolltosave » Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:59 pm

You back yet Owen? I have sent a pm.
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