Topic

I had the opportunity to carry out a shock absorbers comparative test between 4 VHS brand new and 4 Monroe after their swap.
Before entering in the tech details it's very impressive the improvement in term of handling and comfot.
The enclosed graphs compare the VHS with eth Monroe at low and high speed in a bump/rebound cycle.
Impressive is how strong is the rebound force provided by the Monroes, that is not good in terms of performance on bumps, the tyre looses contact with the road, as well the Monroe is more sensitive to the speed.
Monroe is a low pressure gas, while the Bil is high pressure.
It's easy to push by hand the piston inside a Monroe (very slow to return) while it's very very hard to it with the Bil.

Fantastic info!

interesting stuff but can someone interpret for a non-engineering type like me please?

Am i correct in thinking that the VHS shocks give the better ride in terms of both handling and comfort? Most of my driving is on single carriageway A and B roads so they tend to be twisting and not too even. Would the VHS be a good option?

Robin

You are correct better comfort with good handling, but pls note VHS Bilstein are suitable only for TFs.

Thanks for the clarification, especially with respect to the TF. I may have made an expensive mistake there

Cairn, you can get new shocks for the F though - i thought Bilsteins did fit but maybe they are Gaz shocks or something like that?

Thanks Whiz. I thought that Bilstein do shocks for the F. To be honest, it's not something I was planning on doing because I'm happy enough with both the ride and handling at the moment. Just need to do a bit of careful research if i do decide to change them.

Cheers
Robin

Shock for F are available from several well known brands, i.e. Bilstein you can visit their on line web huge catalogue and find the part number.