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[Klaxon]

Just been for quick run round local, the roads are appalling my 88 was bouncing from one hole to the next so an improvement in ride quality is called for.
I have parabolic springs (clean and lubricated) with standard shock absorbers, will fitting gas shox improve things?
what make is recommended?

[Wittsend]

Maybe, maybe not.

How old are the ones you have ?

The SWB models are prone to a bouncy pitching ride.

Do you run with it mainly unloaded ?

You need some weight for the parabolic springs to be at their best.
What's the ride like with 4 big Mates in the back ?
The ride will be a bit better with the spare on the bonnet and a winch (doesn't have to work) this dampens the front down.

Tyres can have an effect.
4 old (rigid) crisply tyres are not going to be as good as 4 new radials.

The other thing you can do is get to a pub meeting or event and have a ride in some other SWBs and compare rides and see what others have fitted in the way of shocks.

I wouldn't just go out and spend a lot of money on something that you may not need without some testing.


 

[Klaxon]

Hello Wittsend
the shox fitted are in good fettle, the tyres are radial.
I have had SWB L/rovers for over 40 years so I fairly clued up regards to their characteristics.
Its definitely the roads which have got worse (its famous for it around my patch) and its beyond my control, I am after some improvement in the ride quality, im getting old and my body is not as forgiving as it used to be.

[ChrisJC]

Maybe get some adjustable ones? That's what I did, and have adjusted them to get a ride that I am happy with.

Mine are from Gaz.

Chris.

[Davidss]

....
I have parabolic springs (clean and lubricated) with standard shock absorbers, ...

I am puzzled by the parabolic springs being lubricated; I thought one of the characteristics of parabolic springs were that adjacent leaves were not in close contact with each other, and therefore there was no 'need' for them to be lubricated to counter the interleaf friction stiffness present with traditional multileaf springs.

You mention 'standard shock absorbers'; do you mean standard for traditional multileaf or is there some other 'standard for parabolics'?
The assumption here is that because the parabolics lack the friction damping of the multileafs then the shock absorbers 'standard for parabolic' must be different to 'standard for multileaf'.

I appreciate I'm not answering the questions you asked, but I hope to highlight some inconsistencies, the explanations of which might light a way forward.

Regards.

[oilstain]

Just to add, are your bushes in good order?
and as said above shocks are also key, with my parbolics on my 88" I have cheap Shock Absorber, LWB 1 Ton Fronts fitted all round from paddocks which work well for me with my RM parabolics

[OilyRover]

when I fitted parabolic springs I found that my standard shocks wouldn't control the springs,it was bouncing a couple of times after each bump.
I fitted Monroe gas shocks and it made a big improvement.

[Craig T]

The standard spring pack has a lot of inbuilt damping by the friction of the leaves sliding against each other.
The standard telescopic dampers are very easy to compress but resist being extended again, these work fine with standard springs.

The Parabolic springs have (almost) zero damping as the leaves don't touch each other so you need good telescopic dampers and ones that resist on the compression as well as extension.

I would get some decent dampers specifically meant for parabolic springs and try them, you will notice a difference.

Craig.

[Klaxon]

Thank you for the replies.
The springs are old RM parabolics and greasing them where the leaves touch at the bush ends does make a difference.
My shocks are for the original leaf springs, so I shall invest in a set of the recommended type.
The adjustable GAZ shocks are beyond my budget, its probably cheaper to go and fill the pot holes!!!

[oilstain]

Just to mention, genuine RM spring eye bushes are hard to get in the UK but Polybush in Wrexham now make some that fit