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But why? I've had the VariShocks pictured on my car for auto crossing but my event opportunities have almost vanished so I switched back to Bilsteins. What I think is that the Varishocks are hydraulic while the Bilsteins are gas shocks. I can't find hardly anything on the construction of either shock type so I don't really know. My guess is that the response of the compressed gas in the shock has a smoother transition since gas is compressible. and hydraulic fluid is incompressible.
Kind of academic for me at this point and I may put the Varishocks up for sale. But I would be interested if somebody could offer up a bit more than just anecdotal experience.
Gas shocks changed everything in how we thought about suspensions. We all knew it took stiffer springs and rock-hard shocks to provide good road handling under power.
Enter gas shocks.... Whoa? A smooth riding vehicle that handles well, too??? I'm not well versed on the dynamics of the 'hydraulic vs. gas' difference, but my butt can sure tell the difference.
But why? I've had the VariShocks pictured on my car for auto crossing but my event opportunities have almost vanished so I switched back to Bilsteins. What I think is that the Varishocks are hydraulic while the Bilsteins are gas shocks. I can't find hardly anything on the construction of either shock type so I don't really know. My guess is that the response of the compressed gas in the shock has a smoother transition since gas is compressible. and hydraulic fluid is incompressible.
Kind of academic for me at this point and I may put the Varishocks up for sale. But I would be interested if somebody could offer up a bit more than just anecdotal experience.
I have been a student of fluid dynamics for a number of years, mostly because of motorcycle suspensions and how they are affected. Without knowing what the internal valving is like in either of those shocks it makes it very difficult to say however you are absolutely correct in that liquids cannot be compressed but gasses can, and this definitely makes things a lot smoother in the suspension world.
I know that the Bilsteins are gas charged shocks, I cannot say for certain what the varishock is but considering that there is a tuning **** on it, I am going to go with hydraulic.
Without going into way too much detail, gas charged shocks will always have better ride characteristics and are a much better all around shock. Hydraulic can be absolutely fantastic under certain circumstances (mostly track/racing) but ride quality suffers. For a car driven on the road, even part time, gas shocks are the way to go.
Nowadays, hydraulic shock absorbers are rarely used in today’s automotive industry. From a technical point of view, this type of damper is a poor solution, because the oil contains approximately 10% air. Under load, the air and oil molecules separate (foaming/cavitation), resulting in a noticeable drop in the damping force – on longer journeys on country roads and motorways, a loss of up to 35% damping force can be measured. That means the wheels provide poorer road holding; only after a break does the damper regain its full force and the vehicle its original driving performance.
Gas pressure shock absorbers
With gas pressure shock absorbers, this loss of damping force does not occur. The use of nitrogen ensures that the shock absorber oil is permanently under pressure, thereby preventing foaming, even under load. As a result, the driving performance of a car fitted with gas pressure shock absorbers can be precisely defined and remains reliably stable, whatever the situation; this constitutes a substantial bonus in terms of safety. Gas pressure shock absorbers are available with either mono- or twin-tube technology. The proven twin-tube system represents top-class technology at an attractive price. The mono-tube system, on the other hand, is the technology of choice in motor sports and on standard sports cars. The comparatively larger effective area of the working piston ensures greater damping force and better handling. Optimum discharge of thermal energy into the atmosphere means consistent high performance can be achieved and the sturdy design provides maximum safety reserves in flexible fitting conditions, e.g. inverted technology.
I"m a big believer in Billy Stein shocks, as the ride quality really seriously improved, I hated shelling out the 300 some odd bux many years ago, but the recommendation was dead nutz on.....
and I forced to drive over some really **** roads here too......repaired by jerks, rumble strips and speed bumps all over the joint, beats hell outta the car.....much less my spine/neck.....
I've used Bilsteins on the last three project cars and I wouldn't use anything else. Having said that on a 67 Nova project with a aftermarket rear four link I spent the money for Afco double adjustable compression/rebound coil over shocks. Once I got them dialed in they were great. Looks like the Ride tech shocks pictured are single adjustable?
I've used Bilsteins on the last three project cars and I wouldn't use anything else. Having said that on a 67 Nova project with a aftermarket rear four link I spent the money for Afco double adjustable compression/rebound coil over shocks. Once I got them dialed in they were great. Looks like the Ride tech shocks pictured are single adjustable?
They're actually from 'Chris Alston's Chassis Works' (something like that anyway) and they are single adjustable. One more independent parameter would have confused me even more. I had them sorta dialed in,
I had to make some mods to get them to fit the car!
05-30-2019, 07:05 PM
Bilsteins are way more comfortable
