Food for Thought:  Mixing Suspension Dampers

"RightFootDown" (rightfootdown) 11/30/2015 at 12:22 • Filed to: None

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Shops, probably for liability reasons, will always advice against this because the components “aren’t designed to work together”. But in the real world, how much truth is there to it?

Has anyone here had success mixing brand shocks or struts? Say, running a set of Koni adjustable rear shocks with Bilstein Sport fronts?

Let’s hear your thoughts and experiences.

Future next gen S2000 owner > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:28

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I run Koni sports at all four corners with Bilstein quad shocks. Seat of the pants says all is good.

I’d be okay mixing higher end performance orientated shocks but I wouldn’t mix dd focused shocks and performance orientated shocks.

crowmolly > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:28

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Well, I think it depends.

If the suspension is “tuneable” and you have data that lets you set them up to match, sure.

Mixing off the shelf stuff? Yes it can be funky. I’ve had a few cars that were like that.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:28

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As long as damping rates are even vaguely similar, there are much, much bigger differences between the typical front and rear suspension on the same car than brand-derived characteristics of the shock.

HammerheadFistpunch > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:31

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Like many things, if you know what you are doing then you know what you are doing and can do whatever you want knowing that you are liable for the consequences, good/bad. Frankly, I don’t think brands matter as much as calibrating damping characteristics for your springs and load.

g_berserk > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:38

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deekster_caddy > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:41

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I don’t think it’s a problem to mix front and rear. But if you are replacing all 4 in maintenance mode, you should get them from the same line or you’ll have a non-normal ride. But if you are looking for something specific for performance, ie a stiffer front than rear, or even left and right, by all means mix and match away. But you better know exactly what you are asking for and have zero blame for the installer when things aren’t _quite_ right after.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:42

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In your example, the Konis happen to be infinitely adjustable: that is to say, there are no clicks to the adjuster knob, just a range between two limits.

BUT. And this is a big one. Like pretty much all shocks at that price range (and the vast majority of shocks until you get up to something really high-end), Konis are not compression adjustable. This graphic is right off their website:

And frankly, having completely different compression curves on the front and rear axle has at least got to be weird-feeling, if not detrimental to handling.

There’s no real way to know how similar the shocks’ response curves are going to be without a shock dyno. If you have different suspension setups front and rear (multilink rear and struts in the front, as an example), I doubt it would hurt anything too badly, but it’s likely to make the handling weird. Differing compression curves mean that your car is going to camber differently in the front and back in curves, which could very easily make things squirrelly.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 12:52

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Funny how you bring up Konis and Bilsteins... I have Koni adjustable struts (coilovers) up front and Bilstein Sport rears with Koni springs! LOL what a coincidence!

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > HammerheadFistpunch 11/30/2015 at 13:08

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Correct

AkursedX > HammerheadFistpunch 11/30/2015 at 13:52

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Yeah, I have seen serious track-guys who run different dampers front and rear. I’m sure these serious competitors who scrap for every 100/th of a second know what they’re doing.

HammerheadFistpunch > AkursedX 11/30/2015 at 13:54

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same with off road, I know a lot of guys that run different brands or types front/read depending on their loads and needs.

wiffleballtony > RightFootDown 11/30/2015 at 15:46

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I wouldn’t but I am not an expert and would likely be worse off.