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Shock absorbers/ springs for best ride quality


JAL73

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  • 3 weeks later...

After blatting around Wales over the weekend I'm sure I need to replace my vintage Bilsteins on my SV with some Protechs.

I tried the number on the Procomp Motorsport website but it came back as number not valid, has anyone contacted them recently that would have an alternativer number for them?

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1 hour ago, Skipper555 said:

After blatting around Wales over the weekend I'm sure I need to replace my vintage Bilsteins on my SV with some Protechs.

I tried the number on the Procomp Motorsport website but it came back as number not valid, has anyone contacted them recently that would have an alternativer number for them?

Try Matt on 07825544254

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Let me know if you manage to have a conversation with Matt that is less than 30 minutes ........ perhaps its just me but he's generous with his time, get a cup of tea ready before calling him.

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Matt was very helpful, and as you say, very generous with his time. I did have a fresh cuppa on hand.

The upshot of the conversation though is that although he doesn't supply the Protechs anymore for various reasons he's more than happy to revalve them for a reasonable cost which all seemed fair to me.

His recommendation is either the Protechs, or if spending a bit more money Quantum shocks. Fit them and try them for a bit and if I feel they need adjusting get back in contact with Matt to have a conversation about how to revalve to suit my needs.

I've contacted Protech directly to see what I can get from them first.

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400 series 1-way adjustable dampers from Protech. I needed the top eye to be 25mm longer on the front dampers. Mount them with the piston rod facing upwards and the adjuster at the bottom. Then get springs from Matt at ProComp 👍

6 hours ago, Skipper555 said:

 

 

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I would also add, that you might benefit from longer eyes on the bottom of the rear shocks.  If you have an older DD tube with a middle mounting boss, the shoulder of the shock is very close to the point on the DD tube where the middle boss stands proud on full droop.

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Sounds like you had exactly the same conversation I had with Matt. I love the fact he doesn't do hard sell - try and see what you think. Many companies / people wouldn't be that generous with their time or easy going about selling a service.

Please keep me updated on what you buy. I'm interested in updating the shocks but currently having to target other things first. 

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1 hour ago, Miker7 said:

Where is your rear de-dion shock mounting (i'm making an assumption you've got de-dion) and how did that affect your rear shock?

Yep De Dion, lower mounting (under the tube). Protech asked for the fully entended measuements of the current dampers, so they based it on the measurements (380mm front, 470mm rear) with 35mm size top and bottom mounts. This tied up with their drawings they had for the Caterham too.

30 minutes ago, jody391 said:

How much were they if you don't mind me asking?

£752

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Miker7 said:

Where is your rear de-dion shock mounting (i'm making an assumption you've got de-dion) and how did that affect your rear shock?

If you have a DD tube with a through the tube optional mount, the mounting boss sits proud and comes very close to the shoulder of the shock.  Pics below.  Protech sent me new spacers to move the shock away from the tube, but if I was ordering again, I would ask for the longest bottom eye option that they have (have a look at the custom shock order form on their website to see the options for this component).  The top eyes you can change easily, the bottom eyes with the adjuster not unfortunately.

I've been running with tape over the tube to pick up any witness marks - there are none and so I'll leave mine as is, but I'll order longer ones when I need to replace...20240418_174606.thumb.JPG.17b1e080999707fd518511c235fd7fea.JPG20240418_174656.thumb.JPG.90cfbabb9a79778dd981471fa9a8791d.JPG

Edited by JP
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1 hour ago, JP said:

If you have a DD tube with a through the tube optional mount, the mounting boss sits proud and comes very close to the shoulder of the shock.  Pics below.  Protech sent me new spacers to move the shock away from the tube, but if I was ordering again, I would ask for the longest bottom eye option that they have (have a look at the custom shock order form on their website to see the options for this component).  The top eyes you can change easily, the bottom eyes with the adjuster not unfortunately.

I've been running with tape over the tube to pick up any witness marks - there are none and so I'll leave mine as is, but I'll order longer ones when I need to replace...20240418_174606.thumb.JPG.17b1e080999707fd518511c235fd7fea.JPG20240418_174656.thumb.JPG.90cfbabb9a79778dd981471fa9a8791d.JPG

I did mention this point to them during my discussions, and they said they'd sort me out with any changes I needed. I'll run this past them again with your very handy pictures just to be sure.

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They re-made spacers of differing thickness for me, but if you've opted for bushes rather than rose joints, you may not have that option.  You may end up with fewer engaged threads on the mounting bolt.

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  • 1 month later...

I've finally had time to fit my new Protech shocks, a few holidays and other things got in the way. The car definitely rides better now, and having the adjustment on the dampers is great. My next step is to head over to Northampton Motorsport to get the setup done.

Some things I found when fitting my shocks were the front were a bit of a fiddle to get the hole lined up due to the bushes being a bit tight in the top and bottom holes. I bought one of those endoscope cameras with a screen attached recently and it was a big help with that part of the job.

The rears were much easier to do, and the tip for the extended bottom eye fitting gave plenty of clearance. I did make a bit of a plonker of myself when I found the rears were a lot shorter than I'd specified, but then a quick call to Protech and they pointed out to give them a good pull and they should extend, as they did. They get compressed a bit to fit in the packaging and I never thought to pull them out longer 🤪

Very happy with the result.

Some pics to help show how they fitted to the car.

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20240619_161906.thumb.jpg.836811ccdf8ca9171b4ef9162ec21b53.jpg

20240619_161938.thumb.jpg.545c2f62d51fc969d7c0951e93a33abd.jpg

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The rear dedion clearance looks great. What's the clearance to the drive shaft like on full droop?

Please can you share what you specified (part numbers etc) and confirm you have Widetrack suspension?

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