Shocks

[bigk44]

What kind of Maint. is there on gas shocks? How often do they need rebuilds? What is the best bang for the buck on a low budget?

[ev36rayburn]

we got some afco m2 shocks this year on the car we bought. they were little to no maint except when we bent a shaft or broke an end due to getting hit or something. Im the driver and not the shock guy but my crewman who did do the shocks said once he understood which way and how etc, it was a piece of cake. we are selling ours now due to chassis manufacturer change and will switch to his prefered brand, but they def made a dif in our program.

[dualdj1]

want to rebuild them at least once a year and change the oil on them and replace seals if needed. More if you race more nights, maybe 2-3x a year. Shocks have friction and build up heat, which breaks down the oil over time. The higher resistance you have, the more this will happen, so if you're running soft rebound/comp, probably don't need to rebuild as much.

[joedoozer]

want to rebuild them at least once a year and change the oil on them and replace seals if needed. More if you race more nights, maybe 2-3x a year. Shocks have friction and build up heat, which breaks down the oil over time. The higher resistance you have, the more this will happen, so if you're running soft rebound/comp, probably don't need to rebuild as much.

Is this the standard for all shocks or just monotube gas ones? We run between 12 to 18 times a year, depending on rainouts. Anywhere from 30 to 50 green flag laps a night. Would this be considered a yearly build?

[ev36rayburn]

thats about our yearly run amount too. maybe a few more nights. i think for that range of race nights, once a year would be sufficient.

[joedoozer]

I have never rebuilt a shock before, I have some old ones I can test on. Is this something that requires a shock dyno after its put back together? Or is it more or less and o-ring and oil change? Sorry about hijacking OP's thread. I hope some of these questions are useful.

[dualdj1]

I'm not an expert on shock maint by any means, so if someone here knows better please correct me. But I'd say that, at the very least, it wouldn't hurt to rebuild any shocks that ARE rebuildable, along those same lines. The oil can break down, same as any system, so it's always a good idea to change fluids and check components.

As far as user rebuildable, as long as you arent changing valving and just changing fluid/seals, you can probably do it yourself, and I'm sure there are videos online on how to do so. But for anything more advanced, or if you don't want to mess with it, I'd go to a shock builder. Most of the time they don't charge much to do rebuilds, and know what to look for as far as failing components, etc.

[LM14]

Rebuild your shocks around 20 nights. Keep a log of laps on the shocks just like you should be doing for your motor and gears.

Find yourself a good shock builder you can trust and work with them. If it hasn't been on a dyno, how can you know what you really have? There is a wide variance between manufacturers in valving stiffness and the shape of the curve when dynoed. if they come apart for service they should go back on a dyno to make sure everything is right. We do it mid season and in the winter, at a minimum.

I have a shock person that does what we want and what we need. It's a good relationship. If they want to sell you "X" number of shocks that will fix all your problems, run the other way. How could they know your driver, your tracks, your setups, etc. One size does not fit all. Find somebody that will work with you.

Sorry for the rant but shocks are an expensive subject, even the cheap ones, and there is a lot of really bad advice out there. For the original poster, send me a PM if you want a recommendation for a shock guy that will work with you, not just sell a package to you that he thinks you need.

SPark

[joedoozer]

This sounds like it's expensive. Generally speaking what would services like this cost? Just rough numbers. I am not trying to use the cost to argue against getting it done. Some teams are on very strict budgets, and knowing the numbers would help work this kind of thing in.

[dualdj1]

Everyone's different, but my shock guy usually does around $40-50 a shock, or has a "maint" agreement for the season for as much as you want to bring them in, which also includes valving changes, etc. So again it pays to build a relationship with a shock builder.

Now if you aren't tearing the thing completely down and are just changing the oil, then it shouldn't need to go on the dyno unless you are really concerned about it. But it's still a good idea as LM14 said to get them dyno'd when you rebuild, if nothing else just to make sure your valving is holding up.

[RACR_73s]

Everyone's different, but my shock guy usually does around $40-50 a shock, or has a "maint" agreement for the season for as much as you want to bring them in, which also includes valving changes, etc. So again it pays to build a relationship with a shock builder.

Now if you aren't tearing the thing completely down and are just changing the oil, then it shouldn't need to go on the dyno unless you are really concerned about it. But it's still a good idea as LM14 said to get them dyno'd when you rebuild, if nothing else just to make sure your valving is holding up.

Clear some of your pm's Jason. ~Thanks~