Which Shocks?

[justaddmud]

Surely when it comes to off road shocks there are only 3 words that come close

OLD

MAN

EMU

Its what i'd get if i could afford them

[Team Pink]

Surely when it comes to off road shocks there are only 3 words that come close

OLD

MAN

EMU

Its what i'd get if i could afford them

My 3 words
FOX

OR

KING

[Team Pink]

Nicer how, Scottie? I know as much about shocks as I do about Opera.

I know I want mine very long for good articulation, but I don't know what makes one shock "good" and another "not so good"...

A very simple question, answer not so simple.
My tongue in cheek reply was correct, Fox and King are the best (and top of the range Bilstiens), £200+ per corner for the basic shock.
So what is the difference between a Fox and a "white body shock
Fox
Rebuildable, every single part available
Build quality, S/S shafts with thick chrome plate, High temperature seals and oil
Tunable, the huge advantage. you can tailor the damping to suit your vehicle.
Separate reservoir so constant damping

White body
Emulsion shock, oil and nitrogen in the same tube, forms an emulsion as it is worked therefore damping rate can vary
Cooling compromised as they are often twin tube
Made to a price point therefore quality of shafts seals etc not the best.
Not rebuildable or tunable

How do they compare in the real world.

For most uses a good white body is perfect, shafts will get damaged, rusty etc and screw up the seals, need to be replaced every so often but cheap enough

Fox etc are more for competition, where they can be tuned to suit the vehicle and expected terrain.

I have raced on both, the Fox shocks are worth at least 10 seconds per mile!

[ianedwards]

lol

[Anton]

So what you're saying is that spendy shocks react more predictably, and can be adjusted where el-cheapos will change how they react based more on how hot they get, and you can get service parts for spendies where el-cheapos might need replacement?

[Team Pink]

So what you're saying is that spendy shocks react more predictably, and can be adjusted where el-cheapos will change how they react based more on how hot they get, and you can get service parts for spendies where el-cheapos might need replacement?

More or less plus you can adjust the expensive shocks to suit your vehicle, your driving style/preference and what you do with it.
The next stage on in shocks have bypass zones which bypass the main damping, this way they become position sensitive so that they react differently dependant on axle travel. Budget on £700 per corner as you will need a coilover as well per corner!

Tuning is an art with science thrown in for good measure. For normal use white bodies will be fine, the damping is set for the length of shock not the individual vehicle, therefore you have to choose a make that suits your vehicle as there is no adjustment.

Just to give you an idea of what a top shock costs, a Bilstein Black Hawk internal bypass would be about £2.5k each