Shock Absorbers

G

Guy Engelsman

New Member
Shock absorbers, can anyone tell me if there are any sets that are common to other vehicles that fit the P6B?
Here in Australia (great country, lots of space, only the occasional poisonous creature) I get many pitying looks when I ask for shock absorbers for a Rover CAR, Not a RANGE Rover, or LAND Rover, or any other sort of 4WD. I know that KONI are the only company that has a listing for the P6B, but do any other companies parts fit? Surely there must be other British cars that share the same front shocks. I am able to have very expensive AVO shocks made (brilliant, but pricey), but I just want a set of standard shocks for everyday. :eek:
So if anyone can point me in the right direction I will be eternally grateful. I am almost embaressed to be asking.... :oops:

Cheers

GUY :|
 
G'day Guy,

I have seen Monroe shock absorbers listed on ebay from time to time for our Rovers. Genuine Woodheads pop up on occassions too. Sadly, Koni have to my knowledge stopped production of shocks suitable for the P6/P6B, and the local distributors can only supply if they receive a total of 50 orders. When this happens Koni will ship the quantity required until such time as the current stocks have disappeared. Orders less than 50 sets will not be shipped to Australia. :(

All the best,
Ron.
 
Yes, that's true for the UK and Europe too with Koni. In my humble opinion you might as well not bother fitting Munroe Blue's. Fresh air is a more effective damper! Munroe Red's are OK but very rarely seen. In any case all are old stock - nothing in current production for the front (with upside down action) to my knowledge, although there could be an equivalent for the rears?

Needless to say check the Ebay UK site rather than the Oz one for a better chance, albeit with shipping charges....

Chris
 
Guy, I've recently fitted some AVO adjustable shocks to my car and found them and their customer service to be very good. They were only about 15% more expensive than the sets of NOS shocks seen on Ebay so I thought they were good value. I can't imagine shipping to Australia would be more than £50 either.

One problem I did have was that the fronts were valved upside down so I had lots of damping as the wheel moved up but none on the rebound stroke resulting in no wheel movement when driving. They sorted it out quickly though.
 
hey i got a set of new ish front pair of front shocks that has only covered 2000 miles only just took them of for up rated ones please let me know if yr interested
gareth
 
I have decided to go for a set of the AVO classics. These are around $850 a set delivered which is LESS (first time for everything) than expected. The delivery part comes to 95 pounds! Still better than those rotten Munroe efforts, I found some rears "new" and I can squash them with my bare hands :wink: More than usless for damping the back end of a car!
I only have to wait 2 weeks for them to arrive, about the same amount of time until the new S gets here (dont ask)

Cheers

GUY :D
 
Hi all,
My Rover needs also new set of shock absorbers :x I saw adjustable AVO shocks on their website and i am a little bit curious about those..Does anyone have a experience?What springs do you recommend?I am interested "heavy duty"or similar.I have right now too soft suspension.

Rgds:Jukka
RR92 Westminster 4.6
-73 Rover P6 3500Si
 
Jukka,

I have some AVO Adjustables on my car and I recommend them. They haven't stopped the body roll as I still have standard springs and I haven't done many miles on them yet but I'm sure I can dial them in a bit better when I have time. Right now they're set fairly soft for comfort and the ride is similar to the factory settings.
 
hi i got a set of new ish front shocks for sale if any 1 is interested i am thinking about getting those AVO Adjustables on mine does it make the car sit a bit lower as well then standed as i am not sure about them please can you help me
gareth
 
Guy Engelsman said:
I have decided to go for a set of the AVO classics. These are around $850 a set delivered which is LESS (first time for everything) than expected. The delivery part comes to 95 pounds!
Click to expand...

Whew! That seems rich for a set of shockers. Pun intended. :wink:
 
testrider said:
Jukka,

I have some AVO Adjustables on my car and I recommend them. They haven't stopped the body roll as I still have standard springs and I haven't done many miles on them yet but I'm sure I can dial them in a bit better when I have time. Right now they're set fairly soft for comfort and the ride is similar to the factory settings.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at these too Paul..think you'll be happy with them?

£60.00 each for fronts and rears from Demon Tweeks

Did you go direct to AVO for yours?

Cheers,
 
well the only reason i ask that i had a set of front shock i bought for my v8 set of gsa 344 not been on there long and i found out they are for the power steering and my aint got that and i messier the hight from the floor to the wing and it was 28 inch's now i got another set of gsa 190 i think they r and now the hight is 26 inch has any 1 got the same size with out power steering hope some 1 can help me out

gareth
 
Hi Stan,

I got mine from http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/ as they were offering 10% off factory prices and the postage was cheaper too. They came next day straight from AVO UK though.

I would recommend testing the front ones before fitting though as mine had been valved in reverse meaning that the front wheel had too much compression damping and no rebound. As P6 front shocks work opposite too convention they should be easy to extend and difficult to compress when off the car. Can't fault AVO cutomer service though as they fixed them in matter of days was I realised what the problem was.
 
Stan - shock absorbers have no effect on body roll. But they do control the transition lurch from level into roll. If you want to control roll you need to increase roll stiffness. If you do this at one end only you upset the balance of the car - at the front you'll generate understeer, at the rear oversteer. Best way to increase roll stiffness is to fit / increase the size of an anti roll bar. Easy at the front on a P6, stiffened ones are available off the shelf. At the rear there is currently no anti roll bar, so making one up is a challenge. Therefore the next easiest solution is to stiffen up the rear springs, which has the same effect on the roll stiffness at the expense of poorer handling on anything other than smooth tarmac (which is why you should keep the original ride height and keep the springs as soft as possible if you want to go down a country road at speed. If you want your car to look cool then lower and stiffen away - but expect to get well and truly blown off on a back road!) Solution to the P6 handling is therefore better dampers and a stronger anti roll bar at the front with some stiffer standard ride height springs at the back.

Gareth - see my answer under your specific post on the subject.

Cheers

Chris
 
testrider said:
Hi Stan,

I got mine from http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk/ as they were offering 10% off factory prices and the postage was cheaper too. They came next day straight from AVO UK though.

I would recommend testing the front ones before fitting though as mine had been valved in reverse meaning that the front wheel had too much compression damping and no rebound. As P6 front shocks work opposite too convention they should be easy to extend and difficult to compress when off the car. Can't fault AVO cutomer service though as they fixed them in matter of days was I realised what the problem was.
Click to expand...

Many thanks Paul..those prices look good as they include the dreaded VAT. At the moment, the engine's priority but the old girl's rear end's next...a tad droopy and bouncy!

chrisyork said:
Solution to the P6 handling is therefore better dampers and a stronger anti roll bar at the front with some stiffer standard ride height springs at the back..
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris, rear springs and shocks are already on my (ever-expanding :shock: ) list.
 
Do you recommend heavy duty springs or standard and where you can buy those?

Rgds:Jukka

RR92 Westminster 4.6
-73 Rover P6 3500Si
 
Hello Jukka,

I fitted uprated progressive springs manufactured by K-MAC in 1991 and they transformed the car.. :D A friend and fellow P6B owner purchased a set last year, and we fitted the rears only a few weeks ago. He was very impressed, such an improvement.

http://www.k-mac.com.au/

Ron.
 
Progressive, or variable rate, rear springs are a very difficult topic. If you have the resources of a major manufacturers suspension design office they can be made to perform very effectively. There are significant problems getting them right though... The most important is that in effect your roll stiffness varies according to suspension compression. This includes compressions due to going over bumps as well as due to cornering roll. There is therefore a considerable risk of generating bump steer when used on ordinary roads. Also, if the variation in roll stiffness is substantial, the car will start in a gentle corner with understeer, and then as the rear stiffness ramps up in steeper corners, there will be a transition towards oversteer. If this effect is too marked (and you'll only know in advance if you can do the sums!) then the car will be a bit like an air cooled Porsche - apparently docile at first meeting with a vicious chuck you in the scenery sting in the tail when your trying!

So they are absolutely fine if you drive reasonably gently and are in the habit of putting big loads in the back occasionaly, but if you use the car's performance beware. You might get it right first time, and there again you might not!

Chris
 
Hello Chris,

Everything is a compromise, certainly when it comes to satisfying the needs of the broader market. I have certainly never experienced bump steer on normal roads, and for the type of driving which I do, the replacement springs were a vast improvement over the original ones.

I run Koni shocks on the front which were 40% uprated over standard, and these are then adjusted up to the maximum setting. Standard Koni on the rear, adjusted one half turn from maximum.

In my 20s when the car was running the standard springs, and my driving was much more exuberant, the handling to me was like a wet sponge...aweful. Diving under brakes and rolling something terrible around corners. Mind you I was young and silly, and driving this way was not how a P6 should be driven.

Now in my 40s I have far greater respect for myself and for the Rover, so I tend to drive in a way that reflects that. Mind you, with the 4.6 fitted, the difference compared to the 3.5 is like night and day, so when cruising on the freeway or climbing a long hill.....gee it can go quick.. :D

Ron.
 
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