View Full Version : Customer Discussion & Feedback Thread
shift_rook
30th January 2012, 09:10 AM
Feel free to post in here with any questions you have that are suspension/chassis related, also we thrive on customer feedback so if you've had any dealings with us, post in here
dove grey 64
25th February 2012, 08:29 PM
i was taken for a a drive in a s13 with shockworks suspension the other day and it was awesome, car had crappy tyres on stock rims but handled great. not a rough ride at all, stable and precise in steering and over bumps even on the hardest setting. felt as good or even better as a subaru with factory fitted bilsteins.
i'll be buying a set when funds come around for sure.
Gunner
12th April 2012, 07:43 AM
How'd Korea go Chris?
shift_rook
20th April 2012, 12:17 PM
Apologies for the late reply. Korea was great. Tuned about 10-15 cars while we were over there, we were absolutely flat out. Then for the last 2 weeks i was there i was in brake training, being taught all the things i need to fit their calipers and discs to our cars over here. Dad's currently back over there, doing further tuning on the genesis race car
FoldKing86
31st May 2012, 07:50 PM
Hi Chris
What other AE86 parts does shockworks have in the pipeline.
shift_rook
31st May 2012, 08:10 PM
At the moment we're flat out trying to expand our model range. However in a few months time we could possibly look into adjustable links. If anyone wants something specific that is now difficult to source or is discontinued, we can look into producing it if there's demand. Unfortunately our brake packages are too large to consider putting them on the AE86
dove grey 64
12th June 2012, 09:46 PM
loving my new shockworks setup, handling is amazing and build quality is better then any OEM setup i've seen before, was eyeing out bilsteins but considering that your shocks are better and cheaper it was a no brainer not to mention the after sale support and fine tuning to suit my driving needs.
i use my 86 as my daily driver and your setup is perfect, i'll keep recommending them to people and hopefully your company will get the exposure/recognition it deserves.
if anyone in melb want to see how the setup handles i'd be happy to show you.
once again thanks chris. great to see quality setups here in australia
geoff
Maciek
18th June 2012, 05:39 PM
Nooooooo... 6 to 8 weeks!!!!
*keels over into fetal position* haha
Ive got ra60 struts and spindles and was thinking about a few different options, so I might just come up and discuss them with you to see what you think?
Maciek
shift_rook
19th June 2012, 03:32 PM
Yeah man pop up whenever you like. We may have an option for you. Give me a call... Not my dad 0413962123
Sprinter Freak
27th June 2012, 10:11 PM
Am keen to hear peoples opinions comparing these against other coilovers they've tried.
lolwat
27th June 2012, 10:21 PM
Am keen to hear peoples opinions comparing these against other coilovers they've tried.
from what i have read on here and facebook comments, everyone that has been in or driven a car with shockworks setup, has either bought a set or rated them better then anything they have had
Sprinter Freak
28th June 2012, 11:27 AM
hmm that sounds pretty good. Only thing i'm wondering is how come these sets come with a 4kg/6kg spring rate instead of 6kg/8kg like other coilovers out there? is it because the shock is valved better?
shift_rook
28th June 2012, 12:08 PM
Now i have to be careful when explaining this because it's taken years of R&D to come up with our current theories and valving techniques. Though in short yes, having more damping force in one area and less in others allows for a lesser spring being needed. You want the body to move slightly in the compression stroke while keeping it very sucked in on the rebound side. Trying to explain it can be at times difficult :yeah:
johl
28th June 2012, 05:26 PM
good to see this is going so well man. any pics of the genesis?
Sprinter Freak
28th June 2012, 05:44 PM
Now i have to be careful when explaining this because it's taken years of R&D to come up with our current theories and valving techniques. Though in short yes, having more damping force in one area and less in others allows for a lesser spring being needed. You want the body to move slightly in the compression stroke while keeping it very sucked in on the rebound side. Trying to explain it can be at times difficult :yeah:
hmmm i think i get what you mean, cheers for the explanation.
shift_rook
29th June 2012, 09:06 AM
good to see this is going so well man. any pics of the genesis?
With me behind the wheel:yeah:
http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/522360.jpg
matt99
24th July 2012, 07:12 PM
Chris and I set the shockworks stuff up in my track car before round two of the VicDrift championship.
During practice the car had much more grip, to the point where my 250rwkw wasnt enough to turn the 195's properly in the 86. I then played with the adjusters (adjuster's that actually do something, what a godsend) and got the suspension to a point where I could probably turn a 265mm tyre with a standard 4K KE70, then I found a happy medium for drifting and the car was perfect.
The front is also notably much more responsive and the wheels actually stick to the road, unlike before where they simply bounced as they wished.
Very, VERY happy with my set up. Thanks Chris.
FoldKing86
24th July 2012, 07:50 PM
Chris and I set the shockworks stuff up in my track car before round two of the VicDrift championship.
During practice the car had much more grip, to the point where my 250rwkw wasnt enough to turn the 195's properly in the 86. I then played with the adjusters (adjuster's that actually do something, what a godsend) and got the suspension to a point where I could probably turn a 265mm tyre with a standard 4K KE70, then I found a happy medium for drifting and the car was perfect.
The front is also notably much more responsive and the wheels actually stick to the road, unlike before where they simply bounced as they wished.
Very, VERY happy with my set up. Thanks Chris.
Makes me even more Hungary for a set. Which i didn't have to sell the car, hopefully i can try a set before that happens.
shift_rook
26th July 2012, 10:19 AM
http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/522415.jpg
http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/522416.jpg
This is Matt, running S13 front end, R31 diff, SR20det engine. Very consistent driver, thanks for the support!
dove grey 64
3rd August 2012, 07:33 PM
Chris and I set the shockworks stuff up in my track car before round two of the VicDrift championship.
During practice the car had much more grip, to the point where my 250rwkw wasnt enough to turn the 195's properly in the 86. I then played with the adjusters (adjuster's that actually do something, what a godsend) and got the suspension to a point where I could probably turn a 265mm tyre with a standard 4K KE70, then I found a happy medium for drifting and the car was perfect.
The front is also notably much more responsive and the wheels actually stick to the road, unlike before where they simply bounced as they wished.
Very, VERY happy with my set up. Thanks Chris.
spoke to another guy on here (peter quoccy) who is also running SW coilovers on his track ae86, could spin out on full hard setting quite easily, dialed it back and couldn't believe how much grip the car had.
he was also really happy with the setup chris
matt99
3rd August 2012, 07:51 PM
Yeah, I thought I had a pretty good level of grip with my old set up, how wrong I was. Plus having the adjustability to make the thing skid like no tomorrow is ideal for drift beginners or those lacking a bit of power. Coming from a drift sense that is.
dove grey 64
7th August 2012, 08:10 PM
just got my car back from chris after some more tuning/refinement and the new valve code is amazing to say the least. its so responsive and gives so much driver feedback.
its hard to describe without being corny but it finally feels like the car should, an extension of yourself.up until now i've loved my 86 but never felt truly a part of it like i do when i drive classic minis, the new valve code lets me trust my car and read its feedback and has given me what i've always wanted from it.
also found out i had actually been daily driving with the setup on full hard for the last month or so :embarassed: keeping that in mind with pot holes etc i still thought it was quite good/bearable for daily driving because it absorbs bad road surfaces without loosing traction or becoming unstable, however my thoughts were that maybe using such a massive strut could be overkill for such a lightweight car. but now thats all sorted its incredible.
organise a showing day chris so we can take people for drives in cars with your setup as im shit at writing feedback, better to just show it off in person
shift_rook
8th August 2012, 09:21 AM
Thanks for the kinda words Geoff. I'll be organising a day for possibly the start of september involving a free BBQ and test drives. Will throw up some details when it's confirmed.
blake.
17th August 2012, 02:05 AM
What are the chances of just buying the rear damper for a ae86/ke70? And price if I can?
shift_rook
17th August 2012, 08:40 AM
PM'd
regginblack
20th August 2012, 10:36 AM
Chris and Brett hooked me up with the first set of these coilovers for an AE86. Due to my car having mechanical issues i only just recently started driving on them and they are ridiculously good. Thing handles like its on rails, perfect stiffness for how i like the car to be. Cant wait to get the thing to winton and see how much faster i can now link the esses hahahahah! In all seriousness guys at shockworks are amazing, can talk to them at any time about concerns or unrelated suspension setups and they're always there to help.
shift_rook
20th August 2012, 11:22 AM
Appreciate the post Kumar.
(OO)SKYLINE(OO)
18th September 2012, 04:59 PM
Chris did a great job installing my suspension setup for my AE71.
Also helped me find the parts I needed.
Knows and has a lot of knowledge and connections in the industry.
Big Thank You to Chris and Shock Works!
:thumbup:
shift_rook
18th September 2012, 05:25 PM
Thanks Jamie! :jdmsmile:
(OO)SKYLINE(OO)
19th September 2012, 03:00 PM
:DD
All good man!
wideslider
3rd December 2012, 10:24 PM
I have had numerous 86's with different suspension setups and nothing come near the Shockworks setup. They offer the best suspension setup for this chassis on the market.
Jimmee1990
5th December 2012, 10:52 PM
Even just on a "spirited" drive home from Chris' workshop, on full soft the setup is incredible. Absorbs big and small bumps so well and the grip is huge. Definately worth every cent.
FoldKing86
6th December 2012, 10:59 PM
Well got them in finally, thanks to a couple of mates for helping out.
Dead easy to assemble and install, once you have your base height the adjustments are easy.
I used 555mm total for the front and approx (i forget lol) 230mm total for the rear, might of been closer to 225mm
Wow is all i can say, full soft is just that soft, hardly fell any road bumps, turn them up to 3rd softest and you can feel the road but its smooth in action, full hard is probably alittle too much for street work but a smoother track i can only assume they will perform without flaw.
James hit the nail on the head with his comment.
Top effort gang, i am most impressed so far.
One flaw i have and its purely me nit picking, the rear shocks are difficult to reach for adjustments other then that so far so good.
shift_rook
7th December 2012, 08:52 AM
Steve we're currently working on a fix for this so the adjustment can be accessed from the boot. We'd offer the upgrade for free but being we have about 20 86 kits out already it'd cost us a fortune. For all 86 customers we'll be offering this upgrade as close to cost as possible. I'll let you know when it becomes available. For the mean time using a couple of washers to space it down does help quite a bit.
Vance
7th December 2012, 03:07 PM
make them for new 86's already
shift_rook
7th December 2012, 08:34 PM
Development is now finished, should have really updated the GT86 thread. They should hopefully be ocming with the next AE86 order :)
Vance
8th December 2012, 12:17 AM
what are spring rates looking like?
shift_rook
9th December 2012, 12:20 PM
5KG Front & Rear. We found any more in the front prompted understeer too early, even on the achilles 123's.
Vance
9th December 2012, 05:58 PM
ive been doing shitloads of research. with decent shocks i wouldnt wanna go anymore than 6kg front and rear. your spring rates are usually lower than other brands because your shocks are so good so i guess i can understand why theyre less again, which is a good thing for a daily.
idea on price?
shift_rook
10th December 2012, 09:37 AM
It'll be $1800 Including.
Vance
10th December 2012, 02:39 PM
have you got cambertops developed?
FoldKing86
10th December 2012, 08:51 PM
have you got cambertops developed?
Yes they have cambertops.
Just had a 2000kms trip and these are indeed awesome, so smooth as they go about their business.
Many more tweaks to find the sweet spot, although i feel i could have 2 or 3 settings for any occasion. So hard to choose.
shift_rook
11th December 2012, 08:48 AM
For GT86 Dan everything is finished as far as development goes. We're just waiting on manufacturing
Vance
11th December 2012, 10:19 PM
eta on getting my hands on some of these?
http://www.onrpgblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/take-my-money.jpg
dove grey 64
8th January 2013, 09:27 AM
27881
lappy
10th January 2013, 10:31 PM
Finally got my set in with stub axles, I was highly impressed with the build quality and whole package! I havent driven the car yet as the next drift event is in Feb. What settings do you guys use? Are they good straight out of the box? The car being used for drift, also which direction for which change? eg. clockwise for softer? The only thing I can fault is that there is no sort of 'instruction manual' to say this.
Sorry about all the idiotic questions, still pretty new to this
shift_rook
11th January 2013, 09:37 AM
SOrry Brenton this is something we do really need to work on. Clockwise makes them firmer, start at full soft and have a play, you can really change the balance of the car with the adjustment, i personally leave the front at full soft with a couple of clicks up in the rear to promote better turn in but it's all up to the person. Make sure when installing there is no spring preload, front and rear. with the rears due to th panhard the rear dampers are setup at slightly different lengths, install the rear setup and then wind the shocks out until the spring is just captive. This is so the damper can sit as deep into its stroke as possible. As far as heights go for a tasteful loweringstart the rear spring seat adjuster at half way with the front set at 570mm from the top of the mount to the bottom of the stub axle. We've found that to be the best starting point.
stahlz_ae86
22nd January 2013, 09:00 PM
I bought a kit for my KE70 panelvan late last year and got around to installing them a few weeks ago. The fronts are amazing, good turn in feel and soft enough for daily driving (what the car is used for). With the adjusters clockwise all the way up to full firm setting it takes out so much body roll it's rediculous, it's like adding a big swaybar at the turn of a dial. Brett and Chris chose what they called a "guess code" for the rear and it was so close to perfect it's not funny. Looking forward to getting it back from tuning soon to see if they could have possibly improved it further (I'm after comfort as it's a daily). Being a dirty leaf sprung small commercial vehicle it was never meant to be an amazing handling machine, but it now is.
hayashi
22nd January 2013, 10:39 PM
First off, I'd like to thank both Bret & Chris at Shockworks for developing such an awesome package, allowing me to visit their workshop, and answering all the questions I threw at them.
Sorry for this long overdue feedback/review, I should have put this up sooner.
Also a big thankyou to DoveGrey for introducing me to the shocks in the first place, riding shotgun in his ae86 (his car's so fresh & so clean clean).
I will attempt to breakdown the different aspects of the kit below.
Shock Design
I have never seen such a thick shock strut for an AE86 before. Made me think I purchased coilovers for another car. The thicker struts allow for a larger surface area piston inside compared to other kits on the market, which in turn allows it to handle alot more loads. The piston design is also unique, which allows the shock to move more naturally (other pistons are usually just a flat disc, while Shockworks use a different shape).
The inverted shocks at the front will also help with unsprung weight, keeping heat away from the oil (heat dissipation from brakes), and will resist lateral loads better.
Spring Rates
The spring rates are softer compared to other kits, with 6kg front / 4 kg rear. The softer rates handle irregularities in the road alot better, and stop your chassis 'crashing' against things like suprise potholes, unpainted speedhumps, etc. This means the suspension is doing the shock absorbtion instead of the 30+year old chassis. But don't be fooled, these rates are plenty stiff for laps at the track.
Handling
Mind blowing. How can you have comfort AND increased handling at the same time? I was running the GReddy Type S kit previously, which was an awesome piece of kit. However, if a corner surface was irregular, or there was a variation in height, you could feel the tyres skip, and the car getting twitchy. When this happened, it was hard for me to find the limit of adhesion because the feedback I was getting was irregular. It was really more at home on the track.
With Shockworks, you can take the corner in one fluid motion. I'd say the action is more 'mature' in a sense. The behaviour of the car is alot more predictive, because the feedback is constant allowing you to know exactly where you are in terms of tyre grip, over & understeer. Speaking of grip, there's too much of it! Seriously, where'd all this extra grip come from? It feels like I'm rotating the Earth with my wheels (which technically I am from a physics standpoint, but you get what I mean). Don't need a watts link to get that IRS feeling, just a set from Shockworks!
I don't think there's a better set of coilovers out there for both street & track use, especially for Australian roads.
shift_rook
23rd January 2013, 10:01 PM
Thanks so much mate, it really does make the job so much better to get such feedback. I truly appreciate it.
silverra23
12th June 2013, 04:53 PM
My turn to add to the shockworks love!
Brett and Chris were a pleasure to deal with when deciding to put shockworks gear in my RA23 celica.
Great service, that went well beyond the original plan, and well priced considering all that.
My car now handles and rides like I had always hoped it would. It's so good I have to re-learn what its limits are, but even just on the first test run it was clear that it is now the nimble handling streeter that I was hoping to have.
Thanks guys!
Adam
shift_rook
13th June 2013, 04:18 PM
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to play with the beautiful RA23 you have. Appreciate the feedback.
hardon
24th June 2013, 06:22 PM
The best investment i have made towards my ae86. Couldnt be happier with the suspension as it has improved the cars handling and the ride comfort on the softer settings. Very impressed with the damper settings as i have had other brands that did next to nothing. On the stiffer settings it feels like i am running a stiffer spring rate.
shift_rook
28th June 2013, 09:31 AM
Glad you're so happy, good to see it's not just the Local customers happy.
terryo
4th August 2013, 09:40 PM
does anyone have a set of these in a circuit race Sprinter and can offer some feedback. i'm particualrly interested in rear coil-overs. thanks
matt99
5th August 2013, 12:03 PM
I have done a few circuit days in mine Terry, however I usually only decided to go to them the night before so I change absolutely nothing from my usual drift set up. Its not ideal having the car set up that way obviously, yet its never misbehaved on track. Still has copious amounts of grip and gets power down while driving out of corners. Is there something more specific you wanted to know?
shift_rook
7th August 2013, 09:41 AM
http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/4/7/522753.jpg
We have spent some time at the track with these now with pretty awesome results. We however don't supply a coilover unit for them in the rear, unless of course you can make a turret mount for the top.
terryo
16th October 2013, 11:20 AM
no, i'm happy with your comments . thanks matt.
it turns out that shockworks dont have rear coil-overs and i seem to have mis-interpreted what they told me. i have sent them some pics of other brands of rear coil-overs and will see if they get interested
Jimmee1990
23rd October 2013, 08:41 AM
I've just gotten back from driving up to WTAC in my 86, even with no cushion in my fixed back Sparco and the shocks still set on 4 I was perfectly comfortable. No crashing or bouncing even on Sydney's shit roads.I couldn't think of a better option for a performance car that sees time on the street, very impressive.
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