Shocking!

[nine-fiver]

Replaced the shock absorbers in the rear of the wagon this week. With a deep gutter and the girls growing up it has been bottoming out trying to get out of the driveway. Not any more. New Lip gas shockers have seen a transformaton of the car. It is much more sensitive to surface changes, turns in more accurately and rides very differently. Crisp would be a good word. The front end feels different too, which was unexpected. And it clears the gutter! A 2 hour job that was great value for money and it has taken years off the car.

[sgould]

How can shock absorbers change the ride height?

[nine-fiver]

I wondered that too. These have a fair bit of gas in them compared to the units that came off the car. The car is easily 20mm higher. I was really careful to replace all the bolts too, in exactly the same spots so the ride height did not change. Not what I expected but it is better for it.

[Audax]

I've seen shocks fail so that they pull themselves down and after installing new shocks on my 9-5 it sat about 2cm taller for a few hours and a couple of drives. Shocks do affect body height to a small degree.

[nine-fiver]

I'm sure it will settle in the next few weeks. The best thing is how much better the car turns in to a corner. Much flatter and more accurate.

[Audax]

Yeah, I replaced one shock on the back of my 9-5 in a hurry as it had blown, taking a corner in one direction was really fast, less so in the other direction where it was a bit "whoooooooaaaaaaaaaaa". I made sure the other side was done ASAP after.