Foam Cell or Gas Filled shockies

Whats better Waeco or Engle...much the same question with much the same answer.

All have good point and all have bad points.

You might want to add to the list mono tube or twin tube.

Any good brand shocker will do much the same and last just as long as each other.

If it was a competition vehicle it might be a different story.

Sorry I can't shed more light on the topic but it comes down to personal choice and nothing else.

Old Man Emu, Tough Dog, EFS, TJM, Rancho, all about the same.

Koni and Bilstien are in a class of there own.

I am not a big fan of adjustable shockers, how do you know what setting to use and how many times are you going to adjust them.

Again differant story if it was a competition vehicle.

A shocker should be valved to suit the spring and the spring should be designed for the corner weight of the vehicle and the whole suspension set up should be designed for the vehicle use.

I'm sure people will say this is the best or that is the best but at the end of the day they will all work as well as each other and last just as long.

Why do you want adjustable shockers?


Regards Richard

G'day Tukka,

I'm no expert but from what I can gather, a foam cell shock will be destroyed if overheated for an extended period in a loaded vehicle. An oil/gas shock will slowly lose damping ability the hotter it gets, and regain damping ability if it is allowed to cool. It would have to be treated pretty badly to be destroyed.

A twin tube shock has less oil volume than a mono-tube (of similar size) so will have less ability to absorb heat and not maintain damping ability for as long.

A properly set up spring/shock combo to suit the driving YOU are doing will work well in all conditions if used with some common sense (If you want to travel all day on corrugations at high speed in a loaded vehicle you may need a better set of shocks than if you did the odd gravel road drive).

I'm sure others will correct me as required,

Hope this helps,

Ross.

I had Ironman Springs and Foam Shocks om my 47 Troopie, and never had one fail in 8 years of Outback touring. They were the non-adjustable shocks.

This setup gave a very good ride when loaded up for a trip, but a bit firm when M/T. Trips done were, 12 months around the block. CSR, the Tip 3 times, High Country twice a year for 7 years. So all in all a good suspension package.

foam generally seem to be firmer than gas - gas is a better option for rough roads/corrugations I reckon.

OME are a reasonable all-rounder at a reasonable price, but if you want to really change your ride, you're going to have to change springs as well as shocks.

Bilsteins are the ultimate and a offer better ride/handling than even Konis which many people find to be a bit harsher.

Gorget about Ranchos unless using purely for long-travel firetrail work - they're not at all durable for touring work...