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What Shock would you use?
- Thread starter pcanonge
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Exotexs
Jedi Knight
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never heird of Sachs, unless you mean Sachs Fifth Avenue, the famous clothing store in NY!! I think your mechanic meant SPAX, those are made in England, and they are my next shocks to try; I understand they are nice shocks and unfortunately expensive. It is true there's little to be found about SPAX in the internet, but they have a website.
I have tried Boge, Bilstein, Koni, KYB, Monroe, and Gabriel;
The Boge were a dissapointment, didn't last, they sagged in 6 months. (The Jaguar XJ-6 is a very heavy car at the front). The Bilsteins start out stiffer, sometimes 'harsh', then they start leaking, so my opinion is that they are over-priced and over-rated. The Konis are way too stiff for my taste, even in the 'softest' setting, never again. KYB is a "generic" type of shock, starts out stiff, wears out fast, same as a Monroe or Gabriel.
Skip the hype and get the Spax. Maybe your mechanic knows something I don't yet! There is no Rule about using same-brand shocks front and rear.
My '84 XJ-6 came with GIRLING shocks from the factory, which I saved as a souvenir. The GIRLINGS were decent shocks, not too harsh, not too soft, in fact my car still has the original GIRLINGS in the rear, they seem to last forever, maybe because there's 4 of them back there.
Having said all that, it comes down to what kind of ride you like: back-breaking stiffness or floating-in-a-cloud softness. The XJ-6 was not designed for a stiff ride, but for a luxury-performance ride, which means a little of both.
I have tried Boge, Bilstein, Koni, KYB, Monroe, and Gabriel;
The Boge were a dissapointment, didn't last, they sagged in 6 months. (The Jaguar XJ-6 is a very heavy car at the front). The Bilsteins start out stiffer, sometimes 'harsh', then they start leaking, so my opinion is that they are over-priced and over-rated. The Konis are way too stiff for my taste, even in the 'softest' setting, never again. KYB is a "generic" type of shock, starts out stiff, wears out fast, same as a Monroe or Gabriel.
Skip the hype and get the Spax. Maybe your mechanic knows something I don't yet! There is no Rule about using same-brand shocks front and rear.
My '84 XJ-6 came with GIRLING shocks from the factory, which I saved as a souvenir. The GIRLINGS were decent shocks, not too harsh, not too soft, in fact my car still has the original GIRLINGS in the rear, they seem to last forever, maybe because there's 4 of them back there.
Having said all that, it comes down to what kind of ride you like: back-breaking stiffness or floating-in-a-cloud softness. The XJ-6 was not designed for a stiff ride, but for a luxury-performance ride, which means a little of both.
OP
pcanonge
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Well I can tell you I have found the Sachs website in Russion. Sachs is a German Corporation that has been making shocks, struts and clutches. I kept poking around and found some info on the web. They have dealers here in the states just not well known. We'll have to see how they hold up. the model is Sachs Super Touring.
I notice a definate difference in the ride HARD! Not what I like in an xj6. However they are bought and paid for so I'm hoping they break in. A new set of tires will go a long way to improve the ride I imagine. The tires on it now are Goodyear Double Eagles from 1986. Far to old for more than a putt putt to the store and back.
I'm questioning everything the machanic did since he charged me hundreds of dollars for work he did not perform. Guess he was not expecting me to crawl under the car and inspect the quality of his work. Surprise!
P
I notice a definate difference in the ride HARD! Not what I like in an xj6. However they are bought and paid for so I'm hoping they break in. A new set of tires will go a long way to improve the ride I imagine. The tires on it now are Goodyear Double Eagles from 1986. Far to old for more than a putt putt to the store and back.
I'm questioning everything the machanic did since he charged me hundreds of dollars for work he did not perform. Guess he was not expecting me to crawl under the car and inspect the quality of his work. Surprise!
P
Exotexs
Jedi Knight
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new tires are hard, not soft, until they wear out a bit.
all replacement shocks start out stiff, then after a while they start acting like marshmallows. The good shocks start out softer and remain softer for at least 35k miles, and they don't leak either.
best thing is to get under the car with the mechanic and a note pad, writing notes as you go, letting him/her know you ain't no fool.
Maybe you should have bought the Sachs Touring shocks, instead of the harder Super Tourings.
all replacement shocks start out stiff, then after a while they start acting like marshmallows. The good shocks start out softer and remain softer for at least 35k miles, and they don't leak either.
best thing is to get under the car with the mechanic and a note pad, writing notes as you go, letting him/her know you ain't no fool.
Maybe you should have bought the Sachs Touring shocks, instead of the harder Super Tourings.
TXCoyote
Jedi Hopeful
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I can't speak specifically top an XJ6 but I use Koni's on my Alfa GTV, Gaz on my TVR and will go with the Koni's on my E Type. Stiffness will have as much to do with your springs bushings and tires as your shocks. Unfortunately you cannot do testing without spending money to try them all. That being said I like adjustable (preferably on the car) shocks as you can dial it in perfectly. If it is too stiff try softer springs. What profile tires do you have, if they are too low profile that can affect it as well.
OP
pcanonge
Member
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Hi,
I don't think I'll be going back to that mechanic anymore. I had to go over everything he did. I should have done it myself and saved a bunch of bucks. Glad i paid with a credit card. I will be disputing the bill.
Now onto the harsh ride. Of all the stupid, mindless and embarrassing things I could do is fill the tires with too much air. ( bad tire pressure gauge) now that the air pressure is correct I have an entirly differnt ride. Not surprising.
I'm considering a new set of Pirelli P300 touring.
Any thoughts?
p
I don't think I'll be going back to that mechanic anymore. I had to go over everything he did. I should have done it myself and saved a bunch of bucks. Glad i paid with a credit card. I will be disputing the bill.
Now onto the harsh ride. Of all the stupid, mindless and embarrassing things I could do is fill the tires with too much air. ( bad tire pressure gauge) now that the air pressure is correct I have an entirly differnt ride. Not surprising.
I'm considering a new set of Pirelli P300 touring.
Any thoughts?
p
jessebogan
Jedi Knight
Offline
The KYBs gotta go. Are they white or silver? The white ones are uh hard, the silvers are a little better.Kybs seem to be readily available, and they are cheap. In all the ways to define the word. Sachs ARE boge shocks. I like the touring boges just fine . Evidently the Boge/Sachs shocks are made in several places. The european ones are the way to go. Ask the vendor first, they should be able to look at one and tell you where they came from. As to "sagging" the shocks damp the spring motions only, and have nothing to do with ride height.