Super VXer
I wouldn’t get new shocks unless the ones that are on it are bad or you’re doing a lift. The stock shocks are better then most of the aftermarket replacements. If you’re trying to soften the ride you’ll lose some of the high speed off road grip that the VX is famous for.
Cars designed by spreadsheets make sense. Cars designed by engineers make history.
Super VXer
how about replacng the shocks... i found these on ebay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KYB-4...Q5fAccessories
and will buy them if thats what i need
Super VXer
Might be a good alternative if you need new shocks & want the same brand as stock BUT these are not external reservoir shocks like what's on the VX...unless I'm full of doo doo....but, that's what I see from their pic on the ebay ad.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]"If its fast and reliable, its not cheap;
if its fast and cheap, its not reliable;
if its cheap and reliable, its not fast."
If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
Super VXer
I'll trade you my bilstiens with 1,000 miles on them for your stock ones with ???,??? miles
Super VXer
Jolly Roger hit the nail on the head...Originally Posted by killinformula
Those you found on ebay are KYB, but not close to the same performance as OEM.
Bilstiens or Ranchos are the closest match in performance to OEM.
Super VXer
are those H1 and H2's a good deal then?Jolly Roger hit the nail on the head...
Those you found on ebay are KYB, but not close to the same performance as OEM.
Bilstiens or Ranchos are the closest match in performance to OEM.
Super VXer
how will i tel lif my shocks are bad? been 7 years since i have delt with anything other than my formulas shocks which are a dime a dozen
Super VXer
More then likely the shocks are fine. If the VX feels like a pogo stick when you hit a bump that’s a sign there bad, if it just breaks your spine then that’s normal. I’d put the money in to a nice custom exhaust system if it doesn’t have one already.
Super VXer
yea i feel the bumps haha so i guess i will keep my shocks the way they are... exhaust will have to wait till next summer
Super VXer
NOOOOOO!!!! Don't buy KYB Gas-A-Justs!!! Total junk - not nearly strong enough for the VX's springs. That's what I had on my VX when I bought it, and it was a perfect ride - for a rodeo rider! I replaced them within months.
The Bils you linked to are a solid deal - around $260 for a set of 4 is a very decent price, and cheaper than mechanics' parts suppliers. I would call them and see if they have the front shocks in the H1 spec - stiffer. (That' the setup I have.) If I were to do it again, I would see if they have the rears in H2 spec - I think my rear suspension hits sharp bumps too hard.
As noted, if you see a sign of a leak on the top of any of the shocks, they are bad. The Bounce Test (push each corner down hard and release - watch for spring-like bouncing action versus one rebound and a stop) seems straight-forward enough, but does it is very hard to detect a marginal shock by this procedure.
Keep this in mind - a vehicle rides on its springs, which bounce up and down. The shocks are supposed to allow the springs to compress, but counteract the spring's boing-boing-boing tendency. If the spring is acting springy, then the shock is not doing its job. Similarly, you can have a soft spring with too stiff a shock, or you can have a very strong spring (as in the VX) with too soft a shock. Getting the balance right is not so easy- just ask any Civic driver who put sport springs on his ricer but didn't replace the stock shocks.
Good luck!!
Last edited by VehiGAZ : 12/19/2008 at 05:49 AM
Super VXer
thank you! If the shocks are gone i will betting the bils... thanks a gain for a detailed explanation of what to look for, i will keep my eyes open for oil leaks when she is on lift and will get a friend to help me check for "bounce"
Super VXer
Hmmm. I remember when I bought my first car, a classic 1968 Mercury Cougar (yes, I still have it & is now restored to show quality). Back then, I was 17 and the first thing I wanted to do when I got it home was jack it up in the rear end and put huge meats on the rear axle. I remember my Dad saying: "Son-- the automobile manufacturer's spend millions & millions of dollars designing & perfecting an automobile; and now you're telling me, the first thing you want to do is change it???" Needless to say, I followed my Dad's advice and kept my Cougar 100% stock (and it was the right choice).
What I'm trying to say is that the OEM stock shocks on the VX are the very best there is for the VX, period. As such, only factory OEM Isuzu replacement shocks (with exact same part number) should be used at time of replacement. Any other brand or model of shock on the VX would be a downgrade in performance. Stick with the factory OEM shocks when replacement is needed. You'll be glad you did.
Super VXer
Point taken, Riff Raff, but $2k for OEM shocks?!?!? I might spend that kind of money for stock shocks on my 928, but that car is - like your Cougar - a "collector" car. The VX is the one and only daily driver for most of us, and needs to be kept running for a reasonable price. And because of Isuzu's abandonment of the US market, any running VX will sooner or later turn into a Franken-VX, half-filled with aftermarket and custom-fabricated parts.
Our man killinformula is not trying to improve on the VX's engineering - he may just have to replace some defective shocks, and the Bils offer pretty much the same ride as the OEM shocks for an eighth of the price . I know they are the same because I compared my Bilstein ride directly to a stock VX's ride, and it is so close that I'd bet not one of us would know if we were riding on Bilstiens unless we were told.
Otherwise, I 100% share your perspective that a lay owner is seldom going to out-engineer a team of professionals. I wish I were smart enough to have figured that one out just using common sense, but it took many, many modification projects on various cars I've owned over the years to learn the lesson - most of the time, you make an improvement in one area, but you pay for it with something that got worse because of your mod.
In the VX's case, the special remote-reservoir OEM shocks are not the only shock in the world that could possibly afford the VX good ride quality in everyday driving. There are lots of off-the-shelf shocks that could have worked. But let's face it - they went with the gimmicky shocks for marketing purposes - to give the VX some high-tech off-road cred.
The other thing to consider is that the fancy-pants OEM shocks are, well, built kind of crappy. It seems like a third of the people here have had one or more OEM shocks go bad well before 75k miles, and some in the first 20k miles. That's a pretty bad failure rate. I would question the wisdom of replacing a ridiculously expensive and prone-to-failure OEM shock with another, when you can get warrantied-for-life Bilsteins for a fraction of the price.
Super VXer
Perhaps another option instead of buying brand new off-the-shelf Isuzu OEM shocks since they're so expensive, is to buy "used" OEM. There has been an enormous amount of VX's wrecked already this Winter, and I constantly see people trying to part-out their VX due to them being totaled (just take a peek at the other threads). Consequently, there should be plenty of decent "used" OEM shocks available still in good shape for cheap money. Time to ponder.
Super VXer
Yeah, count me as one of the original owners that had to replace 2 front shocks at around 23k. My front-end was bouncing like a pogo-stick at every stop! The dealer replaced the fronts free of charge under warranty.
now, flash to the present...at almost 9 years old and nearly 86k miles my fronts still feel great but my rears (original) seem to take an extra bounce on rough roads.
I have to admit...I'm having trouble letting go of the OEM shocks. I've always liked the fact that the VX is the only production vehicle with external reservoir shocks. To remove them seems like a sin.
I'm a huge fan of how they never rusted (being a rust-belt native) as they are of aluminum construction if my memory is correct. I cringe at the fact I might have to go with aftermarket shocks that in a short period of time will most likely look like crapola.
I installed trailmaster shocks on my '79 Bronco with 6" lift and they rusted up after like one winter.
If I do go with aftermarket...I'm keeping my originals and going to look into getting them rebuilt or at the very least check into recharged (didn't know about this option!).
Last edited by Jolly Roger VX'er : 12/26/2008 at 01:02 AM
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