Shock Question

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:14 am

I`ve heard several times that a light shock works best on the front end of a buggy. What about the rear? If it makes a difference, it`s a swing axle.

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:52 am

I've never found the rear anywhere near as fussy as the front, maybe 'cause you've got bigger wheels and tires bouncing around. I've used stock oil shocks, adjustable Konis and even coil-overs, all worked well.

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:25 pm

I like the Konis. I have also been happy with the adjustable Rancho shocks. Some of the Konis you have to unbolt them and compress to adjust, the Ranchos have a knob you can turn. What you choose may depend on how much weight you have on the front end..Do you have a front fuel tank, battery, front brakes , etc. Another thing to consider is if it will see any airtime. Without a lardass passenger my sandbuggy almost always lands on the rear wheels first. The front shocks on that are a worn out set of Gabriels I think. They do fine in that application. I have never had the money to throw down for the Fox shocks, but they are pretty impressive on the long travel "sand cars".

GotManx · Post by **GotManx** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:52 pm

I've always been happy with Bilstein's on the rear. http://www.bilstein.com/mistore/product ... _id=100484

Reverb · Post by **Reverb** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:33 pm

Well...I have a pair of KYB`s that somebody gave me. They`re used, but he said they were still good. He replaced them with Bilstein's. I`m not building a hardcore off road machine, so perhaps they`ll be ok.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:09 pm

Fox shocks for me! You can rebuild / revalve them all you like. Once they are tuned in, the suspension works GREAT! Only took me four years, but that includes working on the front and rear torsions as well. To answer the question, yes, the front shocks MUST be setup very soft, but the rears are a lot more forgiving. I actually had to stiffen the rear shocks back up because they were originally set too soft - I had been compensating for the binding urethane spring plate bushings. I installed stock rubber bushings, and the suspension can actually move! When it's time to get serious, it will be Fox or King coil-overs, but I doubt I will ever get that serious. Certain friends of mine, well that's another story! Here's the Speedee Fabrication rendition of what my buggy should look like: