produces both uprated and OEM dampers for the automotive market. These GR2 units are gas-pressurised, providing a certain degree of compression damping in conjunction with the standard oil. Designed to provide a fi rm ride, they are available in three different lengths to suit cars from standard to slammed and come in fi tments to suit both K&L and BJ cars. This choice of lengths meant that we could match the shock absorbers’ length to the ride height of our test car to ensure that we would be getting the maximum possible performance from the units. Build quality of the dampers, while not quite as high as the Spax units, is still excellent, with a neat silver-grey fi nish and a tight fi tting dust guard around the damper shaft. Out on track the dampers performed excellently, logging the fastest laps of the day and also producing the fastest corner entry and exit speeds. This performance was backed up by the feedback from the testers.
KYB GR2s £40 each
Available from VW Heritage, Machine 7, Cool Air etc.
YB is a huge damper and suspension manufacturer based in Japan that
LB: “The KYBs felt incredibly planted at all times. I had a lot of confi dence on turn in both in high- and low-speed corners and the car felt like you could really lean on it. Body roll was well checked, and once on the power out of a corner the rear of the car communicated what it was doing very clearly. Yes, the ride was a little fi rmer over the bumps, but not to a degree that it upset the handling.”
RM: “Defi nitely different – I thought fi rst of all it was really skittish over the bumps. It didn’t handle the bumps anywhere near as well as the Spax. Through the fast corners they felt great – you could brake later and carry a lot more speed into the corner. Over the kerbs they felt okay but at full chat I preferred the Spax along the straights. Flat-out on the straight the car did move around a lot.”
TEST RESULTS
PERFORMANCE: 5/5 HANDLING: 5/5 RIDE: 3/5 BUILD QUALITY: 4/5 VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
THE VERDICT These dampers really shone in our
testing. They provided an ideal balance between tight handling and acceptable ride quality. They provided very sharp turn-in, with the car feeling very stable in both high- and low-speed cornering, yet didn’t give an unduly harsh ride. Added to this, the reasonable price makes them feasible even if you are on a tight budget. The build quality is more than acceptable, with the wide range of lengths on offer meaning that they can be fi tted to vehicles of all heights. Overall these are the shocks for great ‘out of the box’ performance.
KYB dampers were a perfect fi t out of the box
22/25
hese are the most expensive shocks on test and are produced by UK suspension specialist Spax. Spax have many years of experience designing and developing dampers for both race and road use. These units feature an adjuster that allows one to vary the quantity of bump and rebound damping, meaning the user can fi ne-tune the handling of the car. For the purpose of our test we set the adjusters dead central. Other units are available with independent bump and rebound adjustment and even with independent adjustment for high- and low-speed damping. The overall build quality of the Spax units is excellent, with a high- gloss powdercoat fi nish and an easy to adjust damper dial featuring 32 adjustment points. Every damper is custom-made, so can be tailored to exactly match vehicle ride height. The units use krypton, an inert gas whose performance is not unduly affected by temperature build-up due to rapid suspension movement.
On track the Spax were almost a match for the KYB units, providing a similar level of ride quality, but
SPAX £80 each
Available from Machine 7, Cool Air
could not quite match the Japanese dampers on pace. It must be remembered though that the Spax have a wide range of adjustment and, given time to tune them, they may well have proved quicker.
LB: “The car felt very well settled on the straights and over the kerbs, the rear of the car feeling especially stable. Turn in was not as precise as with the KYB units, but this could probably be addressed by stiffening the fronts up a bit. Through the chicane the generally stiffer nature of the shock was evident, with the car dealing with the rapid direction changes well.”
RM: “These dealt with the bumps much better than the KYBs, with the car feeling very solid on the straights. In the corners they did not feel quite so positive, with the car turning in less precisely than on the KYBs. Over the kerbs and under power the car felt good but I didn’t feel I could lean on it as confi dently.”
TEST RESULTS
PERFORMANCE: 4/5 HANDLING: 4/5 RIDE: 3/5 BUILD QUALITY: 5/5 VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
THE VERDICT The Spax dampers were in a
different class to the others on test, especially in terms of build quality – as they should be for double the price. On the day they did not perform as well as the KYBs, feeling a little soft, however being adjustable this issue could probably have been addressed. If you have the time and patience to set them up properly they should be able to provide the perfect balance between handling and ride quality. The fact that they can be specced in any length you require also makes them suitable for all heights of car.
Adjustment of Spax dampers was simplicity itself 20/25
volksworld.com 7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16