suspension noob here... How do I know my shocks are blown? [Archive]

View Full Version : suspension noob here... How do I know my shocks are blown?

gqsean124

07-31-2005, 07:34 PM

I've been on TRD springs w/ stock shocks for about 4.5 years... still rides the same as when I first got em.... How do I know if my shocks have blown? Just a real crappy ride? Or is it to a higher degree.

Also, I'm switching to hotchkis springs soon. Don't have the money to buy some good shocks just yet, cuz I spent it on another mod! (LOL)... Would I be ok riding on stock shocks w/ Hotchkis springs (being lower) for about 6 months or so?

booyaolian

07-31-2005, 07:41 PM

y dont you just save up for another 6 months, buy new shocks, and install new springs/shocks at the same time?

stein

07-31-2005, 07:49 PM

Stock struts/shocks should be fine with hotchkis street springs. If you get the coilovers or competition springs your going to need koni or kyb's.

I've never blown a strut/shock myself but I believe your ride degrades to the point every bump feels 10x worse for the corner that is blown anyways. You also may find yourself hitting the bump stop more.

gqsean124

07-31-2005, 07:50 PM

^ because I am a mod whore... who has absolutely no patience at all...

Aren't we all?

LOL... Well I hate to have some springs sitting in my garage, and having to wait 6 months to put em on... y'know?

And also, I will be doing all the installs myself, with a buddy, so there would be no need to save up for "all-at-once-installation" .... Know what I mean?

But anyway... back on topic, I will ask again. How do I know when my shocks are blown?

Thor

07-31-2005, 08:21 PM

The thing is the struts or shocks usually doesn't go south in a day, that's why people don't notice. Having coilovers that went bad is hard to tell sometimes also.
From my own personal experience, the stock struts and springs loosten up too much after 1 year of driving a new car (20,000 miles). I'm sure your suspension is tired.
I don't know how many miles on the car, but past 50 or 60,000 miles you might want to invest in some new shocks/struts anyways especialy with the springs.

Every pothole in the road makes your car feel like a wet noodle, the car bounces a bit, and if you believe a Hyundai Excel can out handle your car then your suspension is shot. You should know.

Swing Fixer

08-01-2005, 07:08 AM

I ran Hotchkis street springs on stock shocks for about 2 years....my fiance did too. I changed to Koni Yellows before mine wore out. My fiance's wore out and we felt her ride getting really crappy on bumpy streets. Felt like no cusioning at all. Also could hear and feel her car bottoming out on her bump stops when she would hit really big bumps or pot holes

NRojas

08-01-2005, 05:57 PM

DopeCelicaGT

08-02-2005, 01:19 AM

I dunno it is hard to tell especially if you have coilovers as the ride is automatically worse as soon as you put them on. I mean I feel every bump in the road with my coilovers and low profiles on and I honestly could not tell you if the strut are bad or not because they haven't handled the best since I put them in and they are always noisy and bumpy as hell so its hard to tell. Now I musst admit that these are not as rough riding as some of my previous set-ups but they are pretty rough for everyday riders. Tires also make all the difference in teh world. As far as just a spring/strut set-up goes you will know when your struts are bad because when you go over a decent bump on the interstate your car will bounce up and down making your car feel like a boat in the sea riding the waves. That is how I was told to tell, but then again if you got a stiff spring then even when your struts are bad it will be hard to tell because the spring will effectively be acting somewhat as a dampener then so...I dunno really how you could tell with 100% accuracy.