944s2 rear shocks

[bumperblue]

Hi Guys,

I have a 90K miles '91 S2 all bog standard with all the front bushes and some rear replaced with powerflex. One of the the rear shocks has a small weep which I guess is only going to get worse so at this stage I just want to replace the rear dampers. I haven't noticed any deterioration in ride other than it squats a bit on hard acceleration (but, its always done that). What I want to do is keep the ride suitable for road use I don't plan on track days. So I Guess I am comfortable with a little harder but, supple, but not crashing hard. Oh and I don't particularly want to adjust the ride height as I think it looks mighty fine as it is.

I have done lots of reading on the forum and have confused myself really. I noted on one post an owner had purchased Original shocks and found they were over ten years old and had been stored. He was, I think convinced they were OK with a warranty but, I think with that knowledge I will avoid. On another thread were talking about KW's but they seemed to be for track and driving home after the track. The gaz and the spax not really sure and then there was Koni and bodge?

So has anybody got some experience of fitting pretty standard/slight upgrade rear dampers for an S2.

Thanks in advance.

Ian

 

[Eldavo]

I fitted adjustable Konis on my old car, the rears were around £150 each IIRC. Easy DIY job to change, 2 bolts once the car was on axle stands but I needed to jack up the hub to compress it enough for the shock mounting holes to line up.

The Konis are adjustable, you remove the bottom bolt and compress the damper until it catches on a cam lock and then twist it to the desired setting. When you release it it stays in that setting so you can then twist the body back to line up again. I set them them bang in the middle when I installed them and they seemed spot on so never touched them again!

The original ones that I removed hardly rebounded at all, the difference was remarkable.

 

[Monkeythree]

I have fitted Konis in place of the worn out originals on mine. Bilstein B6's would probably also fit your requirement for being uprated from standard but not too much. But the Bilsteins are not adjustable so if you don't like the feel, tough, you are stuck with it. Whereas with the Konis you can have a play about until you find a setting that you are happy with.

 

[ChasR]

IMO the Bilsteins are a superior damper to the Konis, with them offering superior damping performance to them, getting away from twin tube dampers 'locking up' upon hitting large bumps.

I think the KWs allow you to have your cake and eat it (comfortable and low speeds but also make a great chassis even better) but cheap they are not!

 

[chrisg]

Where did you boys buy the rear Koni's from then ?

Chris

 

[Waylander]

cheap solution KYB

 

[JaseGT4]

I'm pretty sure we had Boxster shocks fitted to one of our cars? At least you know they will be new. Not that expensive.

 

[bumperblue]

Think on balance I am going to get the konis as I will then be able to the koni inserts on the front when funds allow. I will let you all know how I get on.

Cheers

Ian

 

[MJL944]

Hi Ian,

I noted on one post an owner had purchased Original shocks and found they were over ten years old and had been stored. He was, I think convinced they were OK with a warranty but, I think with that knowledge I will avoid.

That was me (back in Nov last year). It was the age of the front struts that were the issue. The standard rears I was supplied with (by Leicester OPC) had a build date of 11/2009 so were 5 years old which I was OK with. They were £141.78 each (including discount and VAT) - Part No 95133303207.

I got my 1989 S2 back (with all new standard suspension front & rear and new standard front springs fitted and pretty much every bush renewed - using polybushes on the ARB's front & rear) the week before Xmas and was hoping to do an update on how new standard suspension feels on a 26 year old S2 with 198k miles on it, but unfortunately my freshly rebuilt gearbox started causing problems on my first proper drive so the car went back to the garage that did the work pretty much immediately and it remains there.

It's therefore too early for me to say how much better the car is to drive as I spent my solitary journey more worried about the gearbox but there was a huge improvement to the cornering behaviour although the car (a bit disappointingly) still felt a bit 'soft' - which is excellent for normal road use but won't be for anyone wishing to track or engage in frequent 'fast road' use! However, I can't really comment conclusively yet.

What I will say is that, like you, I entertained the thought of putting non-standard (Bilstein in my case) shocks on the rear with standard struts on the front as I wanted to keep the ride hight the same and not have to butcher my struts at the front to fit non-standard inserts.
When I ran this idea by Leicester OPC they immediately advised against it due to the 'differing damping rates' which would have upset the handling. It would be interesting to know if anyone does have a mix of standard and non-standard suspension to see what impact it does have.

Hope this helps,
Mark.

 

[ChasR]

ORIGINAL: MJL944

Hi Ian,

I noted on one post an owner had purchased Original shocks and found they were over ten years old and had been stored. He was, I think convinced they were OK with a warranty but, I think with that knowledge I will avoid.

That was me (back in Nov last year). It was the age of the front struts that were the issue. The standard rears I was supplied with (by Leicester OPC) had a build date of 11/2009 so were 5 years old which I was OK with. They were £141.78 each (including discount and VAT) - Part No 95133303207.

I got my 1989 S2 back (with all new standard suspension front & rear and new standard front springs fitted and pretty much every bush renewed - using polybushes on the ARB's front & rear) the week before Xmas and was hoping to do an update on how new standard suspension feels on a 26 year old S2 with 198k miles on it, but unfortunately my freshly rebuilt gearbox started causing problems on my first proper drive so the car went back to the garage that did the work pretty much immediately and it remains there.

It's therefore too early for me to say how much better the car is to drive as I spent my solitary journey more worried about the gearbox but there was a huge improvement to the cornering behaviour although the car (a bit disappointingly) still felt a bit 'soft' - which is excellent for normal road use but won't be for anyone wishing to track or engage in frequent 'fast road' use! However, I can't really comment conclusively yet.

What I will say is that, like you, I entertained the thought of putting non-standard (Bilstein in my case) shocks on the rear with standard struts on the front as I wanted to keep the ride hight the same and not have to butcher my struts at the front to fit non-standard inserts.
When I ran this idea by Leicester OPC they immediately advised against it due to the 'differing damping rates' which would have upset the handling. It would be interesting to know if anyone does have a mix of standard and non-standard suspension to see what impact it does have.

Hope this helps,
Mark.

People do mix the damper rates up, sometimes for the better or worse but it is generally not advised. I personally tend to go with a firmer damper up front with a softer rear end on a RWD car.

 

[bumperblue]

Thanks for the responses and info. Regarding the damper rates if I go with the Konis are these not adjustable so I can play with them and get a balance?

Ian

 

[jamieda]

ORIGINAL: bumperblue

Thanks for the responses and info. Regarding the damper rates if I go with the Konis are these not adjustable so I can play with them and get a balance?

Ian

Ive gone for a full set of GAZ they are being fitted at the moment (as well as gearbox rebuild) i hope to pick it up on saturday so will let you know how it handles. Hard spring rate on the front and a softer spring rate on the back as i'm keeping the torsion bar in.

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[Eldavo]

I'd look into some sort of wax protection for them, whilst great shocks Gaz don't have the greatest reputation for corrosion resistance.

 

[944 man]

There is a more durable finish available according to Kev Eacock.

 

[white944]

I would second that.

 

[jamieda]

Had the new shocks fitted, the car looks great now, (in my opinion of course). But more importantly the drive is fantastic but then i guess going from 20 year old suspension its going to be!!

The rear shocks were fitted with springs and keeping the torsion bar in place but the ride was deemed to be too bouncy so the springs came off the rear shocks.

I would recommend the GAZ shocks but then its not a great recommendation as i have no experience of the other shocks available! that said the car feels like a sports car now. Ive come from a 997 CS2 with switchable sports suspension so the 944 with stock suspension felt really soft to me. This new set up is awesome.

Had the gearbox rebuild as well and a short shift fitted (only944) really happy with the car now.

I will update again in a year, see if i have any corrosion issues on the shocks.

Still need to change that double exhaust tip........[:'(]

 

[bergan]

Where did you get your g/box rebuilt and would you recommend them as I have poor 1st and 2nd synchro.

 

[chrisg]

Bergan

Mark Fish motorsport in Harlow did my gearbox rebuild - he's excellent with gearboxes and even the local Lotus Dealership uses him to rebuild Elise gearboxes under warranty.......

Chris

 

[Waylander]

Harlow, blimey you must be close to me.