Rear shock compression vs rebound question.

[benz-tech]

I just received a pair of mustang rear KYB AGX adj rear shocks. I have a question about the perceived ratio of compression to rebound. On all 8 settings these feel very soft to pretty soft on compression with a very slow rebound that gets even slower when adjusted. Since I feel the h&r sports are a bit too soft I'd rather have a bit more compression damping to help control squat. I'm testing this by hand since I can't return after install. Anyone pay attn to their rear shocks and make this comparison before installing them?

[efficient]

I would assume that they should be a bit stiffer since the e30 weighs less then a mustang. Which one do you have? Link?

[Das Delfin]

^ well you also have to consider the mustang has most of its weight weight in the front. So the weight in the back may be close to the same as the e30.

if you turn them up all the way they might just have a shorter lifespan. But if the shock they were designed to be used with is less stiff than your H&R sports I wouldn't worry about it.

[benz-tech]

I put them in. They are perfect for a daily at 3. 5 more to go if I want to
Tighten things up. Rebound and compression is pretty even in the car. No harshness at this lower setting. I'm running H&R sports all around with Koni SA's up front.

[jeffnhiscars]

Why didn't you go with the mustang konis to keep it "all in the family"

[benz-tech]

I picked the KYB AGX's for 2 reasons. First and foremost was the cost. At $168 shipped to my door, they beat the Konis by over a $100. The second is the ease of adjustability. Leaning under the car and turning a knob is a bit easier than removing, compressing and turning. I realize Konis have a lifetime warr and are likely better in many ways but my daily driver just doesn't need it right now.

[jeffnhiscars]

The mustang koni is top adjustable which is the only reason to consider it vs the standard recommendation. As for cost, seems to me I've seen the mustang versions for close to $200 for the pair.

[berlow94]

I forget where i saw it but i'm sure you can find it with some googling.

Someone put one of these shocks in a shock dyno and tested the comp/rebound ratio and how they individually changed throughout the range of adjustment. Its very very not linear... Most of the adjustment is actually effected in the first 1/2 turn and in the last 1/2 turn. Almost nothing changes in the middle.

[gearheadE30]

Been awhile since I've perused r3v, but I don't remember Mustang shocks being a big thing 5 years ago. At any rate, the mustang is a solid rear axle car, which means that the shocks are going to be damped to control a significantly larger amount of unsprung weight. Softer compression damping helps with ride quality, while stiffer rebound damping will help to control wheel hop. Depending on what you're doing with your car, I'd expect an increase in transitional understeer, and look out for the rear suspension packing down if you've got the rebound adjusted too stiffly.

Testing a shock 'by hand' really won't tell you anything unless you are looking at two identical shocks, by the way. There are too many variables between shocks and how they are designed, and shocks behave very differently under load than they do as an isolated system.

Note that even though the adjustment is technically only low-speed rebound, there will probably be some crosstalk to high speed as well as compression damping.

[redlightpete]

I picked the KYB AGX's for 2 reasons. First and foremost was the cost. At $168 shipped to my door, they beat the Konis by over a $100. The second is the ease of adjustability. Leaning under the car and turning a knob is a bit easier than removing, compressing and turning. I realize Konis have a lifetime warr and are likely better in many ways but my daily driver just doesn't need it right now.

You can adjust the e30 konis more easily if you remove the bump stop and the split plastic washer. Then you can just remove the bottom bolt, push the shock up, and rotate to adjust it. It's a lot easier than pulling out the trunk liner and removing the whole shock.

[benz-tech]

Ive been running these for about a month now. They are very well controlled for street driving when set at 4. I haven't noticed any packing up but I know what to look for when I turn them up. I might just adjust them to 8 and see how they feel. I'll report back after