club.liberty.asn.au

Some early feedback on Shockworks coilovers fitted last month. I qualify these comments by saying that I was looking for better handling for road use so ride comfort was an important factor.

The ride is firmer than the OE ride but still reasonably compliant. The front end is quite good and the rear has been improved with some minor adjustment of the shocks (still experimenting) to get the rear more in sync with the front over low speed bumps. Above 80kph both ride and handling are amazing. Tracking is precise and the car is totally stable giving the driver heaps of confidence. My Michelin PS3 tyres are near the end of their life so are giving a harder ride than new so I am expecting further improvement to ride when I replace them.

I did wind the shocks adjustment up a bit to see what would happen. The car got quite bumpy on suburban roads but it was loving corners. Maybe enough to tempt me onto a track one day?

I have not lowered the car but adjusted the attitude from about 5mm tail down to 5mm front down (it looked horrible and got even worse with luggage or rear seat passengers). Height adjustment is not as simple as some other coilovers as the bottom attachment has to be disconnected from the suspension each time but it is otherwise a simple process. I replaced a number of bushes that were worn and fitted camber adjustment to the rear to reduce the excess rear camber. I had been using -1° front camber to get some feel into the front end and reduce the dead zone at straight ahead but will now come back a bit probably to -45'.

It took a couple of months to get the coilovers so Shockworks seem to be getting plenty of business. I have some knowledge of mechanical engineering but little practical experience of setting up car suspensions so was grateful for some informative chats with Brett at Shockworks.

Ken

Bottom attachment needs to be disconnected?

I was under the impression that height adjustment was a matter of undoing the lower lock ring and winding the damper body up or down as required.

Anyway good stuff!
Great shocks, can’t wait to get mine serviced (at 65k) and damper code to latest revision.

Ben

You are right. I had the shocks fitted but had a look at them out of the box and noted the bottom part was integral with the bottom suspension mounting. I checked with Shockworks and confirm that the main body (top part) will rotate once the lower lock ring (ride height adjustment) is released, although it may be stiff to turn. Enjoying the much improved control and precision.

Cheers
Ken

I just love how they “make” the car.

As in, makes complete, makes sense of, makes the car ready for all conditions, be it street, touring, gravel or track... Makes the chassis ready for next level mods or enjoy as is

I am totally in love with my 2007 3.0R wagon! But its due for a big overhaul regarding shocks and bushings and what not.

Have been looking around and just stumbled over the name shockworks.They seem pretty great.

I was trying to have a look at their website but cant seem to find any prices or retailers... May i ask the price for your setup? I do live in sweden, which is the home of Öhlins, have considered, but they are so frickin expensive...

The word about these seem almost too good to be true, and i might be willing to jump on in.

Are there any pictures of your install maybe?

They were originally benchmarked against BP/BL Ohlins and were improved in all areas.

They’re currently around aud$2200 not including shipping.

The damper codes and some other details have recently been revised so they should perform even better than some of the reviews you’ve read: more compliant in freeway use, better everywhere else.

Nice! I bet she handles like a dream! Looks really nice.

Sounds great! That is probaby a little cheaper than buying the Öhlins. So that makes it an easy choice! Thx

Well any good suspension system is seamless in use.
What I notice is the composure and recovery on bad roads.
Its confidence inspiring.

If you do buy Shockworks, be sure to discuss servicing requirements to see if the arrangements suit you.

Mine are due for a minor service at 65k klm, if I leave it too long, it might be a major service lol.
Apart from that they still work as supplied.