GAZ Shocks (ND)

[Sundayjumper]

Anyone here using GAZ shocks ? I'm looking at options for the Porsche, I'd like a step up from OEM but not a £3k++ step up to Ohlins ! And I'm a little dubious of the cheap ebay coilovers. Plus I like the idea of supporting British manufacturing (part of the reason I went for a Safety Devices cage last year).

[GG.]

Wouldn't upgrading to Bilstein PSS9/10 or suchlike be the best compromise?

[integrale_evo]

Gaz stuff is pretty good, they're the control suspension for quite a few club race series' I think. But their higher end stuff isn't exactly cheap. Seems to be a match for things like kw price wise, and I don't know I could chose them over some kws

[Foz]

Experience with racing is that with suspension is you really get what you pay for, all depends what you are using the car for, would OEM be better if the stuff is just tired, and all depends on the bushes etc?

I personally have zero experience of Gaz, but know Ohlins and the likes of EXE-TC are very well regarded in Porsche circles, expensive though!

[integrale_evo]

Like everything there has to be a compromise somewhere, not everyone can justify a couple of grand more on a set of ohlins for a couple of tenths of a second per lap.

There's a lot of competition these days and some really good setups in the £900-£1500 range. Even companies like bc have started doing multi adjustable remote reservoir stuff.

[Foz]

Remote reservoirs are there for fanboy points IMO, its all about the quality of the valving, the external reservoir is there to give additional volume to help stop them fading due to overheating, which unless endurance racing is pretty much an irrelevance 99.9% of the time.

[Nefarious]

Don't know anything about Porkers, but Gaz Golds get a good rep in both TVR and Westfield circles as the budget option.

That said, I'd personally go for a high pressure gas-filled monotube damper (rather than a twin tube) if I was going to the bother of upgrading - Nitron/Quantum etc.

Might be worth keeping an eye on Racecarsdirect to see if any Cup bits (Ohlins??) come up for sale cheap

[Sundayjumper]

It's not an upgrade just for the sake of it, one of my rear dampers is leaking and it makes sense to replace as a set, and even the OEM-equivalent Bilsteins are over £1k for a set of four dampers. PSS9/10 are £2500 and the Ohlins DFV (which are made in the far-east, not Sweden) are about the same. I can't face that kind of spend when I'm only competing for fun.

Realistically it was only a toss-up between Bilstein B8 and GAZ, pending getting a price on the GAZ kit because nobody seems to list it, it's not even in GAZ's own online catalogue, and assuming/hoping nobody brought up any sudden horror stories.

I've ordered the GAZ kit. Cheaper than the Bilsteins, adjustable, and easily upgradable if I want different spring rates in the future. Unfortunately they're built to order and will take 3-4 weeks

[Sundayjumper]

Might be worth keeping an eye on Racecarsdirect to see if any Cup bits (Ohlins??) come up for sale cheap

I've got a feeling the Cup cars have a different setup - maybe the hubs - and they're not interchangeable.

[Marv]

I remember years ago a few people on the 968uk forum had Gaz dampers/springs fitted to their 968 and had some quality problems with them. Gaz weren't exactly helpful in sorting either.

Quite a few years ago now, so they might be better now.

Hope that helps.

Marv

[mik]

Just as well you added (ND) as I thought Gary Shocks had died. That would have been a sho... erm... surprise.

[scotta]

I remember years ago a few people on the 968uk forum had Gaz dampers/springs fitted to their 968 and had some quality problems with them. Gaz weren't exactly helpful in sorting either.

Quite a few years ago now, so they might be better now.

Hope that helps.

Marv

Tools n track boys just fitted GAZ Golds to their TVR. Similar stories of their aftersales and tech ineptness.

One optio i had with the bilsteins was to get bilstein to refurb them - what are you currently running? is that an option?

I have a friend who's just fitted Blisteins to his Porsche SC and raves about them.

Nef runs Nitrons on his TVR and ive got them on the Elise - zero complaints from me or him.

[scotta]

Just as well you added (ND) as I thought Gary Shocks had died. That would have been a sho... erm... surprise.

[ste]

Gaz used to be good, but we're talking 15 or so years ago. They served the club racing championships - stuff like 750 motorclub and offered a solid budget option of uprated dampers. They used heavy steel bodies and rubber bushes, but that's because they were built to a price. The tech inside them was what made them a useful option though. The tech guy, Dave Lyons left though and set up LEDA. The DA part of the name being DAve.

Gaz quickly went downhill from there and had a reputation of delivering poor stuff that I don't think they realy recovered from. I don't know if they've got new tech people since then but I did and still hear stories of quality being poor and their aftersales being awful. I'd avoid them.

As Harry says. loads of the Taiwanese stuff is now really quite good. I've used HSDs, BCs etc on some cars and the quality and the engineering you get for the price is astounding. You may need to amend spring rates after you've done some testing with them but springs are cheap. The likes of HSD and BC are surprisingly receptive to revalving too if you want more adjustment.

[ste]

I think the last set of GAZ I had were on my first MX5. They were OK, but the rear damper travel wasn't sufficient and the car would run out of travel under a large compression - think bottom of Paddock Hill bend. They were really a generic damper with the correct eyelets welded on to fit that specific chassis with no other real R&D.

My next MX5 I stuck BCs and then HSDs on - the 2nd ones in particular were night and day better. Proper length dampers, spherical bearings, height adjustment at the bodies not using the pre-load playtforms, special top-hat style top mounts that allowed the damper body to travel up into them to increase travel. Lightweight alloy bodies with durable hard anodising too. I had them on that car for 3 years and as far as I know they're still going strong lapping circuits. They were the same price pretty much as the Gaz had been and they were worlds better.

I've had 3 sets of Nitrons since on my Elises and whilst they were better than those HSDs you're well into the land of diminishing returns and eg the 46s I put on the K20 car were £2.5k dampers. I know Foz will tell me his £4k Penske or Ohlins or Protechs (can't remember what he has) are better than the Nitrons but for a budget option I think the Taiwanese stuff that always sits around £1k is hard to beat.

[GG.]

Don't you love it when all the real world experience and negative comments are provided... the day after SJ has said he's put the order in.

[Foz]

I've had 3 sets of Nitrons since on my Elises and whilst they were better than those HSDs you're well into the land of diminishing returns and eg the 46s I put on the K20 car were £2.5k dampers. I know Foz will tell me his £4k Penske or Ohlins or Protechs (can't remember what he has) are better than the Nitrons but for a budget option I think the Taiwanese stuff that always sits around £1k is hard to beat.

I had the early Nitron's on the yellow S1, then upgraded to Quantums (and they were better but then they were twice the price) I have Quantum's on the Red one, but as I said earlier, you get what you pay for

Back to Porsche Dampers, I am in a similar boat, as mine is past its best, 2002- 65k, Ohlins are what £3k, and EXE-TC about £5k, which considering the cost of the car am less inclined to pay, unless a decent used set come up..

[Sundayjumper]

The tech guy, Dave Lyons left though and set up LEDA. The DA part of the name being DAve.

t'other way round. He left LEDA and went to Gaz. LEDA had been around for donkey's years, they're not a new company at all.

[ste]

Ah of course, god I'm getting old.

...and I definitely knew that as I phoned LEDA and asked to speak to Dave when buying the dampers for my Stockhatch. I ended up speaking to him at Gaz. However I still bought LEDAs as he hadn't built any Gaz for a 205 yet and the LEDAs in stock were his work.

I've got alkyzimmers.

[Foz]

Just spent an hour looking at suspension and I see BC do 996 C4S/Turbo coilovers, for much cheapness!

Reviews are thin on the ground mind although as mentioned they seem well regarded in BMW circles!