Live Axle Rear Shock Absorbers

[Simon_A]

So the car failed it's MOT this week due to leaking shocks on the rear (both apparently). Being a live axle car, they seem to be tricky to get hold. Caterham are out of stock and i am waiting for a call back from Chris at Redline.

i have spoteed these https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/p/caterham-seri... - just wondering if anyone has any experience of them?

Bearing in mind how important they are to the drive, i dont want to rush into this even if that means it has to be off the road for a while whilst i get the right parts

Any thought?

Thanks

[Eugene7]

I would talk to Simon Rogers at Meteor Motorsport.
He knows more about Caterham suspension than most.

Steve

[Equus]

Obviously - at that price - they are very nuch a 'budget' damper.

Lots of other kit cars use them, but among the 'budget' damper (Spax, GAZ, Avo, Protech) Protech are generally regarded as the best, and the others pretty much on a par with each other.

Without wishing to damn them with feint praise, they're OK for what they are, but you get what you pay for.

[dhutch]

I've got Protech shocks on my Westfield, and they are if nothing else, absolutely miles ahead of the very tired spax shocks that came off at what might well have been 20yo if original. Supplied, with new springs, from ProComp in Birmingham who also balanced the shocks and corner weighted the car.

[BertBert]

Spax may be budget dampers, but they are way in the lead in the FF2000s this year on Benn Simms Reynard.

There's quite a few people who sell them and also Spax direct. Worth a try?

I have Spax on my LA Caterham, but I've not driven it enough to give a particular view on how good it is. It seemed fine for the few trips I did before taking it apart!

[Simon_A]

Sourced some replacement shock absorbers and springs from Redline which were fitted today.

Based on first impressions, i think it is fair to say that the previous ones were definitely passed their best! The car feels much more stable (didn't realise it wasn't tbh) and the drive is very different.

Fingers crossed for a dry weekend so that i can put them through a proper test...

[dhutch]

Sounds like a good result.

As so often the case, almost anything when new is being than almost anything when goosed!

[john7]

I’m a little late with this topic, however…….I had a leaking Bilstein on my live axle Caterham and had Bilsteins rebuild all four early this year.