Pedders Shocks Are They Any Good?

[skins]

I have the Extreme XA coil overs on my 33 and I find that they ride really well. Not to stiff on the soft setting and they harden up really well. Cost me fitted $1600 but that was twelve months ago. I would recommend getting the full whiteline kit and underbody bracing when you do get the coilovers.

[99 rs4]

Andrew unfortunately you got sucked in to buying cheap quality shocks which I will mention most of the inner hardware comes from Taiwan, Pedders Australian...Not.

I've been in the suspension game for a few years now and where I work we set up many cars for road/track/rally/drift/drag/tarmac rally's you name it. We sell and recommend the following;

1.KYB's, they're good quality replacement shocks made in Japan for Japanese vehicles around $1000 for a set.

2. Koni, they're better quality performance sport shock designed for standard or lowering springs with external rebound adjustments, made in Germany, set you back $1200 for a set.(not incl labour & W/A)

3.Bilstein, Once again great quality shock only difference from the Koni's are that they are not externally adjustable & the valving is set better for comfort on harsh roads especially when lowering, again they are made in Germany & would set you back $1800 for a full set.

That being said I would personally go with the Koni's as they are not too expensive and if you were to lower your car they would certainly work well being firm but not overly harsh & of course they are rebuildable once you've clocked 200,000klms with them in the car!

Don't worry mate just remember for next time you need shocks, DONT GO TO PEDDERS!!

Oh and coil/overs are not necessary for a road car, if your tracking it totally different story, you would be far better off with Koni or Bilstein shocks and lowering springs then any cheap coil/over kit trust me.

Cheers.

Where are you guys based?? I have 99 stagea RWD do you guys have anything to suit it?? (want to lower by at least 60mm) C

Cheers

[fib]

^

last post was very insightful, thanks! (myfine skyline's post)

Edited March 26, 2011 by fib

[Ten Four]

Got pedders shocks on the au falcon.

Big improvement over stock, just perfect for a daily. No more boat but definitely not uncomfortable.

Much too soft to go in skylines though.

[Jonno34]

Noob question .. sorry!

My car is running standard stock suspension, but on my last service one or two of my shocks were leaking apparently and need to be replaced

I was planning on replacing everything with the BC Racing BR coilover set since thats gotten alot of good reviews on these forums and they go for a nice price, But i've seen a few posts highly recommending a bilstein shock/whiteline spring set up.

My car's N/A so definitely not going to go hardcore tracking, atm its only street driven but I want to get into some track days and stuff soon, but I'm not going all out or anything I just want the fun and experience of a track day .. so i thought the BC stuff would be alright

BC's go for about 1300 I think? I can probably stretch the budget a bit further (I can probably just hold out on the suspensions a bit longer and save up more to do it the best way the first time, they werent leaking too badly I think)

I've also read a thread and a few pages on how monotube shocks are alot better than twin tubes, looking at pictures of the BC's im pretty sure their twin tubes?

For a mainly street driven car, will this make a big difference? I love my car and want to do good mods to it, and also dont want to put some cheaper twin tubes in and then one day find that I feel the urge to upgrade to monotubes ...

So the main question is, for your average car with a few track days ... is it worth it for me to do a shock/spring combo like bilsteins/whiteline with a good monotube shock, or a coilover kit such as the BCs?

Also, another noobier question, if i was to get a coilover kit such as the BC's, if/when they do need to get replaced ... say the shock only is damaged or only the spring is damaged .. would you be able to change just that one component? or would you need to change the whole coilover?

Or am I ranting about something that makes no sense? If i am .. sorry! I'm getting really confused with all this

Lastly, is it possible to change your coilovers etc yourself?

I'm not really knowledgable or any good at doing stuff, but if its possible I'd love to be able to give it a go myself.

Thanks for any help guys, hope ive done enough research before asking my questions

Edited May 7, 2011 by Jonno34

[Myfine Skyline R34!]

Noob question .. sorry!

My car is running standard stock suspension, but on my last service one or two of my shocks were leaking apparently and need to be replaced

I was planning on replacing everything with the BC Racing BR coilover set since thats gotten alot of good reviews on these forums and they go for a nice price, But i've seen a few posts highly recommending a bilstein shock/whiteline spring set up.

My car's N/A so definitely not going to go hardcore tracking, atm its only street driven but I want to get into some track days and stuff soon, but I'm not going all out or anything I just want the fun and experience of a track day .. so i thought the BC stuff would be alright

BC's go for about 1300 I think? I can probably stretch the budget a bit further (I can probably just hold out on the suspensions a bit longer and save up more to do it the best way the first time, they werent leaking too badly I think)

I've also read a thread and a few pages on how monotube shocks are alot better than twin tubes, looking at pictures of the BC's im pretty sure their twin tubes?

For a mainly street driven car, will this make a big difference? I love my car and want to do good mods to it, and also dont want to put some cheaper twin tubes in and then one day find that I feel the urge to upgrade to monotubes ...

So the main question is, for your average car with a few track days ... is it worth it for me to do a shock/spring combo like bilsteins/whiteline with a good monotube shock, or a coilover kit such as the BCs?

Also, another noobier question, if i was to get a coilover kit such as the BC's, if/when they do need to get replaced ... say the shock only is damaged or only the spring is damaged .. would you be able to change just that one component? or would you need to change the whole coilover?

Or am I ranting about something that makes no sense? If i am .. sorry! I'm getting really confused with all this

Lastly, is it possible to change your coilovers etc yourself?

I'm not really knowledgable or any good at doing stuff, but if its possible I'd love to be able to give it a go myself.

Thanks for any help guys, hope ive done enough research before asking my questions

Alright, theres been some discussion (here and elsewhere) of why exactly a monotube is better than twin tube coilovers / shocks... First the facts.

Twin tube shocks.They have been around since the mid 20th century, a testament to the design. Utilise a a 2 chamber design, an inner tube where most of the work takes place, and an outer tube which acts as a fluid resevoir. In the outer tube a low pressure gas charge is used as a back stop and for extra dampening. Due to the design and the fact that all energy is converted into heat, means that as the fluid heats up it starts mixing with the nitrogen causing shock fade. Cheaper to produce. Smaller piston surface area. Produces a very linear dampening force across all piston velocities. Exterior tube provides for more protection from dent damage

Mono tube shocks. Utilises a single tube with dual pistons. the first piston is attached at the end of the piston rod. The second piston is a free floating piston that seperates the nitrogen charge from the main fluid resevoir. Design inherently reduces the chance of heated fluid mixing with the nitrgen charge reducing suseptability to shock fade. Larger piston surface area increasing initial dampening. Difficult and more expensive to design due to the longer tube requirement. During low speeds the dampening force is non linear causing commonly causing it to "bounce" less protection from dent damage as any damage to the tube effects the pistons path. Can provide for dampening rates that are near twice the rate of twin tube designs.

Now as for Comfort... well thats all in the eye of the beholder. While one person may not mind the low speed bounce so much(think grandpas old commodore(exagerating)) some may find the the linear performance of a twin tube is a must. For race applications where tremendous heat is generated, mono tube is a must. For those that just do the occasional spirited driving or the 3 to 6, 45 second runs at the autocross track you will probably never come close to reaching shock fade in a twin tube. Ultimately, its your money, buy as you see fit.

And I strongly suggest that you do not install a kit yourself if you don't have any experience in fitting, there is just too much that could go wrong for you.. The last thing you want is for your car to be sloping on one side due to the heights being uneven, the valving being floatie on one corner and hard as dog shit on another... The end result, take a turn a little faster than you normally would to try out your new hectic coilovers and find the car throw you off the road and in to the nearest pole..... Not cool... And not worth it.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Myfine Skyline R34!

[Jonno34]

cheers mate good info!

wont go trying to install them myself then

my car really doesnt need the very best set up available - its rarely tracked or anything (its n/a after all!) and i just want to improve the ride while replacing a set of shocks that are leaking anyway

my only hestitation with the BC's is that they arent set up to australian road conditions, whereas sydneykids set up is

im flat broke at the moment anyway so ill take things slow and hopefully make the right decision in the end!

[simpletool]

$1800 for a set of 4 Bilsteins? Should be half that.

[Myfine Skyline R34!]

$1800 for a set of 4 Bilsteins? Should be half that.

I agree, And it would be nice if they were but if you ring any dealer for Bilstein in Australia you will be very hard pressed to get a better price for a set.. Sure you can go and buy them from US with the

dollar being strong atm but good luck with warranty should anything go wrong, And always make sure that they are TUV approved. You have any accident without that liability approval and you're screwed!

[chiksluvit]

$1800 for a set of 4 Bilsteins? Should be half that.

I thought their RRP is $1200..

and kyb shocks- aren't they 150 or thereabouts per shock for the stock replacement ones? agx or something

Edited September 4, 2011 by chiksluvit

[chiksluvit]

double post

Edited September 4, 2011 by chiksluvit