Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I have just got myself a new job which I start next week. It's for a company that manufactures a new brand of car and 4wd shock absorbers.

Having only played with race car suspension and tyres for the past 8 to 10 years, I'm a little out of the loop about general automotive suspension industry so I was wondering if anyone wouldn't mind answering a few questions, more of a mini survey really, to get some idea of what people know/think. Would help me out a great deal. Thanks.

What brands of shock have you heard of that are available in Australia?
Which brand is the best, in your opinion? (you can list best to worse if you know more than one brand)
Have you ever had to replace the shocks on your car/4wd? Why?
How long do you expect shocks to last? How long do you expect replacement shocks to last?
Do you think modern cars don't need shocks as much as older cars did?
Is the replacement of shocks more about safety/ roadworthiness or is it about ride/handling?
Would you rather buy replacement shocks from your normal mechanic or would you go to a specialist?
Is price the main buying criteria or is safety or longevity or performance?
How much do you expect to pay for a shock absorber? (doesn't matter if you have no idea...just guess)
Would you rather buy Australian made? what if it is more expensive? Would you buy shocks designed here but made in China

It's been a long while since i was in the Suspension Industry but here's my answers:

What brands of shock have you heard of that are available in Australia? Bilstein, Koni, Gabriel, Monroe, KYB
Which brand is the best, in your opinion? (you can list best to worse if you know more than one brand) Bilstein and Koni
Have you ever had to replace the shocks on your car/4wd? Why? Only the beef up the handling
How long do you expect shocks to last? How long do you expect replacement shocks to last? They used to reckon 2 years at 100%, then a gradual decline
Do you think modern cars don't need shocks as much as older cars did? I don't think modern improvements have made a difference to suspension parts' longevity
Is the replacement of shocks more about safety/ roadworthiness or is it about ride/handling? Both - The job of a shock is to control the spring and keep the tyres in contact with the road.
Would you rather buy replacement shocks from your normal mechanic or would you go to a specialist? For normal replacement - normal mechanic, for Performance work - definately a specialist as the shock needs to be in snyc with the rest of the suspension upgardes
Is price the main buying criteria or is safety or longevity or performance? Performance - both handling perfomance and/or safety performance
How much do you expect to pay for a shock absorber? (doesn't matter if you have no idea...just guess)
Would you rather buy Australian made? what if it is more expensive? Would you buy shocks designed here but made in China It's all a cost V performance equasion for me...

Hope that helps.

Pretty much what he said Brad
cept I had rear shocks on my BA wagon changed last year after the damping went . Had Pedders put in , but not real happy with the job .
Any further work on my car will be thru my new mechanic , and what he wants to put on , is what will go on .
Good Luck with the new job

Rancho's on my Jeep.
Adjustable from in the car & the only ones long enough to get the travel I wanted. Without spending to much cash.
Except it breaks the front drive shaft when it flexes.
I really need to fix that.....
If its not cash on the bike its on the 4x4

What brands of shock have you heard of that are available in Australia? Shock Jock?
Which brand is the best, in your opinion? (you can list best to worse if you know more than one brand) 2WS
Have you ever had to replace the shocks on your car/4wd? Why? Yep. Celica. The rear was like a boat.
How long do you expect shocks to last? How long do you expect replacement shocks to last? From before I buy it until after I sell the car/bike.
Do you think modern cars don't need shocks as much as older cars did? Huh?
Is the replacement of shocks more about safety/ roadworthiness or is it about ride/handling? Depends on why you're replacing them.
Would you rather buy replacement shocks from your normal mechanic or would you go to a specialist? Specialist.
Is price the main buying criteria or is safety or longevity or performance? Price and performance.
How much do you expect to pay for a shock absorber? (doesn't matter if you have no idea...just guess) Depends on quality ???? $50-$150 per shock.
Would you rather buy Australian made? what if it is more expensive? Would you buy shocks designed here but made in China Don't care. Quality and price.

What brands of shock have you heard of that are available in Australia? Pedders, Monroe, Bilstein, KYB, Drummond
Which brand is the best, in your opinion? (you can list best to worse if you know more than one brand) Depends on what you want them for, road, racing, rally
Have you ever had to replace the shocks on your car/4wd? Why? Replace front struts (i know, not the same as shocks, but still suspension) in my old 1990 Lancer. They had done about 350,000kms on one of the worst dirt roads in SE QLD. I'll NEVER NEVER buy Monroes again!!!
How long do you expect shocks to last? How long do you expect replacement shocks to last?If you don't flog the crap out of your suspension, it should be good for many many years.
Do you think modern cars don't need shocks as much as older cars did?Dunno. I haven't kept any of my new cars long enoug to find out
Is the replacement of shocks more about safety/ roadworthiness or is it about ride/handling?Both. If the ride/handling turns to shit coz your springy things have died, it effects the safety of the vehicle as well
Would you rather buy replacement shocks from your normal mechanic or would you go to a specialist? Having only owned new cars for the last 10 years, I would never buy suspension parts OEM. Cost prohibitive. If I was going to pay that much for the OEM part, I could put better quality performance parts in from a specialist.
Is price the main buying criteria or is safety or longevity or performance?Performance
How much do you expect to pay for a shock absorber? (doesn't matter if you have no idea...just guess)Who cares. If they're dead, it's probably time to buy a new car.
Would you rather buy Australian made? what if it is more expensive? Would you buy shocks designed here but made in China
Would prefer to buy australian, but everyone knows buying aussie is 1000% overpriced.