Shockworks Coilovers - Monaro (or VXR8)
Discussion
Although this forum is a shell of what it once was, I thought I'd put some info on here in case anyone stumbles across it doing some Googling etc.
Bit of background, have had my Monaro VXR for 13+ years now. It's thoroughly modified but it doesn't go on track as it's too loud, so I've stuck to very much a road focused setup over the years. Everything was polybushed by Monkfish over the years, and I have replaced the factory armchairs with some Cobra seats that are significantly less padded and firmly grip you in place.
As such, ride quality, compliance, comfort are very important, because I've already sacrificed the remarkable amount of cushioning in the brilliant standard seats.
With guidance from Rog at Monkfish, I've historically stuck to Pedders springs and dampers as opposed to coilovers, purely because of the ride quality. Yes a Monaro on coilovers would walk away from me on a track, but on the fabled bumpy British B-road (/ inevitably crater filled A-road) I was not interested in wincing with shattered teeth over bumps in the name of "handling", and I found the firmer yet supple Pedders set-up enjoyable to drive with good body control and still a comfortable ride.
After a good 35,000 miles or so, the dampers were in need of a refresh, and I had heard a lot of very encouraging noises about an Australian father / son outfit called Shockworks. There are a few of their setups for the VXR8 over here, and the reviews are glowing of the ride quality. After a bit of searching, it turns out they do offer a kit for the VZ, it's just not immediately obvious! Their background is in the OEM sphere, where the car needs to handle but still actually ride properly, so they're not just about the stiffest springs and concrete dampers because stiff = racecar.
I contacted them, had a bit of a chat about intended use, strong bias towards comfort (I really didn't want to be crashing around on bouncy stiff coilovers) and sent over my ride heights so they could appropriately spec the dampers.
I needed to wait a bit for a set of longer rear springs (I run the rear relatively close to standard height as I like a bit of rake) so initially received this rather gorgeous array of goodies:
They are a quality feeling bit of kit, inverted monotube dampers, 12-way linear adjustment, and interetingly, no front rubber top mount, they clamp up directly into the strut tower.
This naturally introduces some 'road texture' but it hasn't been something I've felt is detrimental to the experience, although naturally my car is already such a long way from standard that I can't comment on how different or not an otherwise standard car may feel. That'd be something better to discuss with Shockworks
Installation was a breeze, everything bolts up perfectly as you would expect. Ride height adjustment is easy, which is fortunate because my first conservative punt was ideally set-up for green laning
The top mounts look very nice in the engine bay. The Pedders strut brace doesn't fit around them, I'm not 100% sure if a standard one will, it looks tight but is something I will get hold of and investigate in the future.
Ride height is largely as it was before, I've tinkered with it a couple of times to get it just right, and may still lift the back a couple of mm so it doesn't scrape my drive on the headers with a full tank / passenger.
Anyway, enough waffling on... How are they?
Well so far I've only covered about 200 miles, and to be honest haven't had many opportunities to explore the limits much, so my initial impressions are more around that critical ride quality etc.
In a word, they are exceptional.
I initially installed them on the softest setting because I was still skeptical of coilover comfort... It will sound like damning them with faint praise, but the first time I (very briefly) drove the car (it's been apart for some months, I've replaced a lot of bits, and was investigating an ABS fault) I didn't notice anything different at all. There was no new harshness, no vibrations, crashiness, nothing. It did not feel like a car on coilovers. It wasn't actually until after I parked it that I realised I hadn't noticed anything about the ride!
This was very pleasing.
For comparison, we also have a Subaru BRZ that is on MeisterR coilovers, a VE wagon on the H&R Coilovers (famed for being the most comfortable...!) and a VY Ute that's on some Pedders springs and very tired factory dampers
The Subaru is a light and nimble car. It feels beyond go-kart like, but over terrible road surfaces, motorway cats eyes, pot holes, sudden 'yumps' in the road, it feels stiff in a very unsophisticated way. Bad road surfaces can almost buzz through the car. The softest setting helps here, but you then lose some body control and gain a sort of squidgy intiial roll feeling.
The VE felt good before we got the Subaru, the H&Rs noticeably sharpened it up over the factory SS setup whilst not losing any comfort, but naturally after exposure to the BRZ it does feel quite boat like, it's a bit wallowy in intiail feel, but it is comfortable and refined which suits the car.
The Shockworks on the Monaro so far combine the best of both setups. The ride is better than the H&Rs, because it is just as supple, but with less roll, overall it feels tauter without being harsh. The same section of godawful road that has the BRZ dash vibrating does nothing to the Monaro, the same yump in the road on my commute that sends your head into the ceiling in the BRZ and feels like it's almost lifted the rear wheels off the ground, in the Monaro is a single controlled compression that settles back flat with no drama.
The industrial estate by my work is terrible, man hole covers, sunken tarmac sections across the road, I take an alternative route when driving the BRZ in because it feels bone jarring. Likewise with the VE because it'll thud awfully over some of the sudden drops where the roadsurface has a dropped trench across it.
In the Monaro, it's fine. There is no crash or thud over the drops, it deals with the surface without intruding into the cabin, and bear in mind I'm sat on a lot less cushion than the factory seats, so you can feel these things. It is markedly better than the Pedders spring / damper set-up was through the same section (although admittedly they were quite tired so not a fair comparison)
Motorway driving it is planted, controlled and feels very refined. You do hear the harsh thud of a catseye at the front more than before, but you don't feel it through your backside.
Needless to say, I'm very impressed.
I've dialled the dampers up 3 clicks (out of 12) and whilst it has taken out a touch of the initial softness feeling when turning, the ride doesn't feel worse. It's certainly good enough that I plan to increase it another 3 clicks and see how that goes.
The handling feels as neutral as before, again I've not had much chance to explore this, it feels very well controlled and very confidence inspiring. My frame of reference has been shfited a lot by the magic of the BRZ, so I will never be able to call the car nimble, but it is certainly at least the equal of the Pedders setup previously, I suspect actually far better once I've had time to push on a bit and move the car around more, and over a wider variety of roads.
I'd say with the Pedders set-up, there was initial roll, but once it settled it dug in well and I always enjoyed how it felt and responded. I'd say on its softest settings, the Shockworks are quite similar, there was less initial roll but still some there, and they then firm up quicker. With a few more clicks it just removes a little more of that intial softness, so you get to the firmer feel quicker. It's very hard to articulate!
I shall continue putting miles on and exploring how it feels, happy to answer questions and so on if anyone gets this far
Perhaps the easiest conclusion I can offer is based on this experience, I'll sell the H&R Coilovers from the wagon to replace with a Shockworks set-up, and will absolutely be fitting Shockworks to the Ute as well, and may go a little less comfort biased on the Ute just to see what can be achieved
Bit of background, have had my Monaro VXR for 13+ years now. It's thoroughly modified but it doesn't go on track as it's too loud, so I've stuck to very much a road focused setup over the years. Everything was polybushed by Monkfish over the years, and I have replaced the factory armchairs with some Cobra seats that are significantly less padded and firmly grip you in place.
As such, ride quality, compliance, comfort are very important, because I've already sacrificed the remarkable amount of cushioning in the brilliant standard seats.
With guidance from Rog at Monkfish, I've historically stuck to Pedders springs and dampers as opposed to coilovers, purely because of the ride quality. Yes a Monaro on coilovers would walk away from me on a track, but on the fabled bumpy British B-road (/ inevitably crater filled A-road) I was not interested in wincing with shattered teeth over bumps in the name of "handling", and I found the firmer yet supple Pedders set-up enjoyable to drive with good body control and still a comfortable ride.
After a good 35,000 miles or so, the dampers were in need of a refresh, and I had heard a lot of very encouraging noises about an Australian father / son outfit called Shockworks. There are a few of their setups for the VXR8 over here, and the reviews are glowing of the ride quality. After a bit of searching, it turns out they do offer a kit for the VZ, it's just not immediately obvious! Their background is in the OEM sphere, where the car needs to handle but still actually ride properly, so they're not just about the stiffest springs and concrete dampers because stiff = racecar.
I contacted them, had a bit of a chat about intended use, strong bias towards comfort (I really didn't want to be crashing around on bouncy stiff coilovers) and sent over my ride heights so they could appropriately spec the dampers.
I needed to wait a bit for a set of longer rear springs (I run the rear relatively close to standard height as I like a bit of rake) so initially received this rather gorgeous array of goodies:
They are a quality feeling bit of kit, inverted monotube dampers, 12-way linear adjustment, and interetingly, no front rubber top mount, they clamp up directly into the strut tower.
This naturally introduces some 'road texture' but it hasn't been something I've felt is detrimental to the experience, although naturally my car is already such a long way from standard that I can't comment on how different or not an otherwise standard car may feel. That'd be something better to discuss with Shockworks
Installation was a breeze, everything bolts up perfectly as you would expect. Ride height adjustment is easy, which is fortunate because my first conservative punt was ideally set-up for green laning
The top mounts look very nice in the engine bay. The Pedders strut brace doesn't fit around them, I'm not 100% sure if a standard one will, it looks tight but is something I will get hold of and investigate in the future.
Ride height is largely as it was before, I've tinkered with it a couple of times to get it just right, and may still lift the back a couple of mm so it doesn't scrape my drive on the headers with a full tank / passenger.
Anyway, enough waffling on... How are they?
Well so far I've only covered about 200 miles, and to be honest haven't had many opportunities to explore the limits much, so my initial impressions are more around that critical ride quality etc.
In a word, they are exceptional.
I initially installed them on the softest setting because I was still skeptical of coilover comfort... It will sound like damning them with faint praise, but the first time I (very briefly) drove the car (it's been apart for some months, I've replaced a lot of bits, and was investigating an ABS fault) I didn't notice anything different at all. There was no new harshness, no vibrations, crashiness, nothing. It did not feel like a car on coilovers. It wasn't actually until after I parked it that I realised I hadn't noticed anything about the ride!
This was very pleasing.
For comparison, we also have a Subaru BRZ that is on MeisterR coilovers, a VE wagon on the H&R Coilovers (famed for being the most comfortable...!) and a VY Ute that's on some Pedders springs and very tired factory dampers
The Subaru is a light and nimble car. It feels beyond go-kart like, but over terrible road surfaces, motorway cats eyes, pot holes, sudden 'yumps' in the road, it feels stiff in a very unsophisticated way. Bad road surfaces can almost buzz through the car. The softest setting helps here, but you then lose some body control and gain a sort of squidgy intiial roll feeling.
The VE felt good before we got the Subaru, the H&Rs noticeably sharpened it up over the factory SS setup whilst not losing any comfort, but naturally after exposure to the BRZ it does feel quite boat like, it's a bit wallowy in intiail feel, but it is comfortable and refined which suits the car.
The Shockworks on the Monaro so far combine the best of both setups. The ride is better than the H&Rs, because it is just as supple, but with less roll, overall it feels tauter without being harsh. The same section of godawful road that has the BRZ dash vibrating does nothing to the Monaro, the same yump in the road on my commute that sends your head into the ceiling in the BRZ and feels like it's almost lifted the rear wheels off the ground, in the Monaro is a single controlled compression that settles back flat with no drama.
The industrial estate by my work is terrible, man hole covers, sunken tarmac sections across the road, I take an alternative route when driving the BRZ in because it feels bone jarring. Likewise with the VE because it'll thud awfully over some of the sudden drops where the roadsurface has a dropped trench across it.
In the Monaro, it's fine. There is no crash or thud over the drops, it deals with the surface without intruding into the cabin, and bear in mind I'm sat on a lot less cushion than the factory seats, so you can feel these things. It is markedly better than the Pedders spring / damper set-up was through the same section (although admittedly they were quite tired so not a fair comparison)
Motorway driving it is planted, controlled and feels very refined. You do hear the harsh thud of a catseye at the front more than before, but you don't feel it through your backside.
Needless to say, I'm very impressed.
I've dialled the dampers up 3 clicks (out of 12) and whilst it has taken out a touch of the initial softness feeling when turning, the ride doesn't feel worse. It's certainly good enough that I plan to increase it another 3 clicks and see how that goes.
The handling feels as neutral as before, again I've not had much chance to explore this, it feels very well controlled and very confidence inspiring. My frame of reference has been shfited a lot by the magic of the BRZ, so I will never be able to call the car nimble, but it is certainly at least the equal of the Pedders setup previously, I suspect actually far better once I've had time to push on a bit and move the car around more, and over a wider variety of roads.
I'd say with the Pedders set-up, there was initial roll, but once it settled it dug in well and I always enjoyed how it felt and responded. I'd say on its softest settings, the Shockworks are quite similar, there was less initial roll but still some there, and they then firm up quicker. With a few more clicks it just removes a little more of that intial softness, so you get to the firmer feel quicker. It's very hard to articulate!
I shall continue putting miles on and exploring how it feels, happy to answer questions and so on if anyone gets this far
Perhaps the easiest conclusion I can offer is based on this experience, I'll sell the H&R Coilovers from the wagon to replace with a Shockworks set-up, and will absolutely be fitting Shockworks to the Ute as well, and may go a little less comfort biased on the Ute just to see what can be achieved
stevieturbo said:
What do appearances be like ? quality ? materials....and very important for some areas, do they look like they'd be well protected from corrosion ?
I haven't had a lot of exposure to a wide array of other coilovers to offer much worthwhile opinion to be honst. A friend who has a LOT more exposure commented that they looked / felt very good. Price wise they were under 2,500AUD. Delivery was AUD550 and then import duty inevitably (they didn't realise duty for us would be so bad so know to label things up better in future...!)
They feel very high quality, the finish / machining looks excellent, the locking rings etc. seem tough and durable, the rear adjustable spring seat seems very nicely machined, the damper bodies look / feel very nice.
The springs look / feel (as much as springs 'feel') better finished than the Pedders springs.
I've not had them on long enough to comment on longevity really, I've silicon sprayed the threads and will be keeping an eye on things, although I imagine it'll see less winter abuse than it used to. The dampers are fully rebuildable. They are actually manufactured by Neotech, so you can likely find some more info on their relative quality level.
Not that you asked but the Pedders spring / damper / drop link was 12kg, the Shockworks front coilover with drop link was 8kg.
stevieturbo said:
Quite a substantial weight saving, although that's a normal suspension setup vs a coilover comparison for weight ?
I would imagine it's pretty normal that an aftermarket coilover is lighter than an OEM strut, certainly Roger has said previously that the Pedders coilover kit was lighter than the strut alternative, but I don't have figures for those and don't know if anyone else is sad enough to weigh things before they go on I'd be interested in getting mine weighed again now. I had previously removed a reasonable amount of weight, spreadsheet estimated it at around 50 - 60kg. I got the car weighed at Monkfish with a full tank (minus the few litres it took to drive to Monkfish from the petrol station) and no driver and it was 1682 kg, so 5kg heavier than the 1677kg Vauxhall quote
I have some nice wheels coming (a very long way off waiting manufacture) that'll be under 9kg a corner, so potentially 7kg a corner saving, there's been quite a bit done to the car since that last weigh in hence wanting to re-calibrate. The exhaust felt a lot lighter than the switchable Wortec was, I've thrown out the AC, chopped out some metal bracketry from the engine bay, but also likely added some weight relocating the ABS and switching to an electric PS pump, replacing the PS cooler, adding an oil cooler etc.
I'm not trying to make a lightweight racecar as it'll always be a fat ol' lump and with a full interior, but just interesting to see if you can lose some weight here and there.
This is a very interesting thread. Please keep us updated with your new set up, it’s always better to read about real world findings as opposed to advertising hype. By the sounds of things this seems a better set up for a road car.
I have the Pedders low suspension kit on my CV8, and sometimes it does seem a bit too stiff for my taste. I was originally going to get a Pedders coilovers kit but changed my mind at the last minute, and with hindsight I’m glad I didn’t bother with coilovers.
The roads around here are freaking atrocious, I might as well be driving across some third world s**t tip….oh wait a minute !
Anyway Sturdy that was a good write up.
I have the Pedders low suspension kit on my CV8, and sometimes it does seem a bit too stiff for my taste. I was originally going to get a Pedders coilovers kit but changed my mind at the last minute, and with hindsight I’m glad I didn’t bother with coilovers.
The roads around here are freaking atrocious, I might as well be driving across some third world s**t tip….oh wait a minute !
Anyway Sturdy that was a good write up.
Had a 240 mile round trip yesterday, comprised of M1, M25, A23 and then some Sussex back roads and a very single track road.
Had a passenger, a boot full of tools (probably 50kg of weight) and started with a full tank of fuel.
On the way down left the dampers as they were, so 3 clicks up from softest, and for the drive back I put it back to the softest for a comparison.
The car still rides very well. The vast variety of road surfaces including the absolutely god awful torture of the M25 concrete ridged fuster cluck, the tarmac rash of worn out slip roads, the random huge expansion 'speed bumps' across our nation's fine motorway network were all a good test for the general refinement.
The actual ride quality is always excellent, on the softest setting you can feel the car is allowed to float a little more detached from the bigger dips / compressions, but then the body is controlled just as well after that initial bit of extra breathing room. Again, it's hard to articulate!
The ridges on those awful bits of the M25, you don't feel them through the seat (again, my seats are a LOT firmer than factory) but the noise of the impact at the front I would say is more intrusive than standard, and you can feel it under your left foot on the rest pedal next to the clutch. I've not had a standard car for many years but remember from trips down to Bournemouth etc that standard you'd be better isolated from that sort of thing.
A definite improvement over the Pedders is how it deals with harsh impacts, on the way back there were frankly speed bumps it looked like across the motorway which naturally you hit at 70mph. I winced before hitting them expecting the unmistakably harsh thud of a bumpstop but the Shockworks took them in their stride, they were really well absorbed, didn't impact the car much and with no harsh thud.
Having the option of the softer settings is nice for these sorts of long journeys, although subtle, it does offer a better isolated ride that across a 2 hour drive just makes the drive less taxing.
I'll likely try them 6 clicks firmer now, so another 3 higher than before to see what the stiffer end feels like.
The rears are adjustable from inside the boot easily, the fronts the adjuster is on the underside of the damper, it's easy enough to get a hand on by laying on the floor but naturally your hands will get a little dirty (they're recessed up inside a cylinder, not completely exposed) in the process.
Had a passenger, a boot full of tools (probably 50kg of weight) and started with a full tank of fuel.
On the way down left the dampers as they were, so 3 clicks up from softest, and for the drive back I put it back to the softest for a comparison.
The car still rides very well. The vast variety of road surfaces including the absolutely god awful torture of the M25 concrete ridged fuster cluck, the tarmac rash of worn out slip roads, the random huge expansion 'speed bumps' across our nation's fine motorway network were all a good test for the general refinement.
The actual ride quality is always excellent, on the softest setting you can feel the car is allowed to float a little more detached from the bigger dips / compressions, but then the body is controlled just as well after that initial bit of extra breathing room. Again, it's hard to articulate!
The ridges on those awful bits of the M25, you don't feel them through the seat (again, my seats are a LOT firmer than factory) but the noise of the impact at the front I would say is more intrusive than standard, and you can feel it under your left foot on the rest pedal next to the clutch. I've not had a standard car for many years but remember from trips down to Bournemouth etc that standard you'd be better isolated from that sort of thing.
A definite improvement over the Pedders is how it deals with harsh impacts, on the way back there were frankly speed bumps it looked like across the motorway which naturally you hit at 70mph. I winced before hitting them expecting the unmistakably harsh thud of a bumpstop but the Shockworks took them in their stride, they were really well absorbed, didn't impact the car much and with no harsh thud.
Having the option of the softer settings is nice for these sorts of long journeys, although subtle, it does offer a better isolated ride that across a 2 hour drive just makes the drive less taxing.
I'll likely try them 6 clicks firmer now, so another 3 higher than before to see what the stiffer end feels like.
The rears are adjustable from inside the boot easily, the fronts the adjuster is on the underside of the damper, it's easy enough to get a hand on by laying on the floor but naturally your hands will get a little dirty (they're recessed up inside a cylinder, not completely exposed) in the process.
mfp4073 said:
Sturdy,
I know I said to keep us all updated with your findings….but, you’ve now got me wanting to spend even more money on my car when I’m supposed to be saving for another house
Took it in to work today still on fully soft, partner says it's our most comfortable car I know I said to keep us all updated with your findings….but, you’ve now got me wanting to spend even more money on my car when I’m supposed to be saving for another house
You can't race a house, you can sleep in a car... fred bloggs said:
I went pedders on mine,purely because I got fed up of paying import tax on everything!!
The fronts are decent but the rear springs are too soft on track.
Always love the updates on this car.
How do you manage with emissions and the mot ? (Pm if you like)
Yeah import tax is a pain, to be fair they still worked out reasonable for the quality, certainly not feeling short changed or anything at this point. The fronts are decent but the rear springs are too soft on track.
Always love the updates on this car.
How do you manage with emissions and the mot ? (Pm if you like)
Shockworks were really good to deal with too, easiest to contact them via facebook messenger just as they don't sit at a desk to check e-mails often but always have their phone on them, obviously time difference comes in to play but they seem a very decent bunch. There's not much about them Holden wise online, but there's plenty of youtube comparisons and forum chat and so on if you look more at JDM vehicles. I am yet to find anyone say anything negative about their products which is always encouraging!
Interesting to hear about the rears on the Pedders. The Shockworks I believe are 5kg springs for what that's worth.
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