adjustable shocks?

anyone using adjustable shocks (adjustable compress & extension)? ya know qa-1 or varishock. any other options? opinions? good? bad? worth it or not?

never heard of em but any adjustable shock should ride like a dream if u put them on the setting perfect for your setup

Edited: 2/10/2006 2:15:04 PM by loudciv

i would think it would ride like a dream, but i dont know if its worth shelling out 300-600 (depending on which model) for a pair of shocks.www.qa-1.netwww.varishock.com

DAMN, i didnt know they were that much. maybe someone with some actual experience will chime in and tell u if they are worth it

I think adjustable is the way to go no matter which brand. Out of all of the ones I've used, my personal favorites are Rancho rs9000's. They are 9 way adjustable, alot of universal lengths, many mount ends to choose from and under 100 each. I've tried some of the variable piston designs like monroe and edelbrock and haven't found one I like for airbags. I think it has something to do with bags not being linear like coils so the small, quick compression the bag goes through when it initally compresses makes the shock valve react causing a "chattery" ride in my opinion. The "Nitro" shocks have all been junk in my opinion (I've personally had Ground force, Belltech, Explorers and another China rebrand from a shop that will remain nameless) They just weren't designed to cycle switch happy and will blow out real quick, dribbling oil down its side (not bad for static drops). I have shockwaves in the rear now which come built around QA-1's but it's not running yet so I can't comment yet on ride but can say that an aluminum bodied shock won't rust, is rebuildable and revalvable (is that a word?). So in the long run I think they will be a good investment as long as they ride nice. If you do go QA-1 make sure you go with the street valving. They come with drag valving which is 30/70 and if I remember correctly each adjustment changes the rebound and compression by that percent. You want the soft compression and 12 position rebound adjustable. Rebound will be more useful than compression. But if you wan't to get real crazy you can get the double adjustable which has 24 positions for each that comes out to 576 combinations!

Oh yeah, on a roadster I ran Koni which are nice but you have to unbolt and compress it all the way to adjust it. Stick to an external adjustable.

andy, thanks for the help. ya no "drop shocks" for me, i know the leaky oil story.

i have standard monroes now (for a while) and 2 have blown. i was just gonna replace them, but i thought i would look into adjustable.

for rancho all i can find is vehicle specific applications. i can find a break down w/ compressed, extended lengths. any ideas?

http://www.gorancho.com/products/appguides/2005/2005_productshock_spec.pdf
Check out the RS9000x

I got the ones from AirRide..double adjustable shocks. 12 positions each for "bound" and "rebound"...super nice, i got my front end dailed in with the bags at 100 psi, got me where i only needed about an 1 inch of travel on the front of my truck for most normal driving, bug bumps or potholes it would still make the tires buzz...but most of all they are the shiznet!! although they are like 300 a peice...if you are going for ultimate ride they are the best...and you do not have to have a shockwave to get these, they sell them seperately if you call

here is the shockwave

here is rideheight vs. all down

no mucho travel...but not needed with these, and AirRide used to use QA-1s, but these are actual a different brand...starts with an A i think like Anderson...i would give em a call..ridetech.com

ohh and the ones from ridetech have interal bumpstops..dont know about any others