[Mk2] [Turbo] Gaz dampers

[yokomomr4bx]

Hi guys, fairly sure this hasn't come up before, or maybe I've just missed it...

Struggling to settle on dampers at the moment. Running the H and R lowered springs which is a nice drop, not too aggressive. They're currently sat around the rebuildable (insert that is) shock bodies. While there are a few options out there, it's tough to find honest reviews of them!

I would be interested to know of peoples experience with KYB's excel G range?

I would also be very interested if anyone has had any experience with a damper from GAZ?

If anyone has firsthand experience with any other dampers I would love to know your thoughts.

I'm not especially interested in adjustability etc, I just want a shock that can cope fine with the spring rate and lowering.

Cheers.

[Bear87]

I had gaz dampers on my rev 3 mainly because there factory was a mile from my house but also got a great discount as I used to have a friend who worked there. Great ride quality for price and will probably be what I put on my rev2 once the blistens have finally had it.

[yokomomr4bx]

I had gaz dampers on my rev 3 mainly because there factory was a mile from my house but also got a great discount as I used to have a friend who worked there. Great ride quality for price and will probably be what I put on my rev2 once the blistens have finally had it.

Finally someone who has had them! How were they day to day? Easy to live with? Controlled? What springs did you use with them? What I'm really struggling with at the moment is control on long motorway runs where there seems to be a lot of general 'oscillation', as though the dampers never seem to quite get the body under control.

[Bear87]

Day to day running was great for me but then I do like a harder ride than most. However they were fully adjustable and after sales service was great for helping with setup. They never let me down and the adjusters never locked up.
Control was phenomenal I ran tein springs not sure which ones but they were middle of the range they lowered car 40mm at rear and 38mm at front.
I drove mine to the German autobahns it was a good few miles of diffrent roads and they seemed to deal with different surfaces very well although I would say on a harder set up it did want to skip a inch or two when I hit a good size divet in the road surface.
Never had an issue with body control at 150mph the car was planted. It gave me a lot of confidence for a car that I have spun out at 20 mph on most local roundabouts in standard set up.
I would say avoid Koni I sold mine after a month they ruined the car for me yet on my mx5 and mini were great. The truth is its each to there own there a great quality but didn't suit my style of driving
All in all for me it's perfect and I push my cars HARD on the track especially.
I can't really fault the standard blistens which I believe are rev 2 onwards (someone may correct me) but I find they get a little sloppy when hot.
Be intrested to hear what other guys have found with there setups.

[yokomomr4bx]

Day to day running was great for me but then I do like a harder ride than most. However they were fully adjustable and after sales service was great for helping with setup. They never let me down and the adjusters never locked up.
Control was phenomenal I ran tein springs not sure which ones but they were middle of the range they lowered car 40mm at rear and 38mm at front.
I drove mine to the German autobahns it was a good few miles of diffrent roads and they seemed to deal with different surfaces very well although I would say on a harder set up it did want to skip a inch or two when I hit a good size divet in the road surface.
Never had an issue with body control at 150mph the car was planted. It gave me a lot of confidence for a car that I have spun out at 20 mph on most local roundabouts in standard set up.
I would say avoid Koni I sold mine after a month they ruined the car for me yet on my mx5 and mini were great. The truth is its each to there own there a great quality but didn't suit my style of driving
All in all for me it's perfect and I push my cars HARD on the track especially.
I can't really fault the standard blistens which I believe are rev 2 onwards (someone may correct me) but I find they get a little sloppy when hot.
Be intrested to hear what other guys have found with there setups.

Thanks Bear87, thats just the kind of review I needed to hear. Really appreciate that! I assume you had them front and back on yours, they seem to word them only as fronts on the website, but I assume if i ring up and order I can request rears as well? Not there is any difference I don't think?

[Race Idiot]

Nothing wrong with koni, I just wouldn't pair them with tein springs which are linear and fairly stiff.

I ran a set paired with TRD Progessive springs on my old car when I was doing 20,000 miles a year and it was very comfortable and compliant even on horrible london roads.

Current car I had yellow billsteins with the same springs which wasn't that great. I've now got H&R coilovers which use billstein internals that are still fairly stiff but nowhere near as jarring as the old worn out yellows.

I never thought to try gaz for some reason, as i've run quite a few different sets of suspension over the years.

[pbmr2]

wow great topic, amazed to find someone else running the H&R springs. Most people seem to avoid them as the drop isn't enough.
How do you find the springs for stiffness?
They feel quite soft by hand.

Gone for the Koni adjustable inserts with the -20mm H&R springs. Looking to fit this weekend or maybe next week over the holiday break. They came as a matched kit so hoping for a nice spring rate Vs damper mix.

Will report back how they are once fitted.
Might be a bit of masked review though as also having new bushes, drop links, ball joints, track rods and top mounts.

[Race Idiot]

I don't have H&R springs I've got a set of their coilovers!

[pbmr2]

no, but the OP does have the H&R springs

[Race Idiot]

didn't notice

[pbmr2]

to be fair, I should have mentioned who the comment was aimed at.

[kirk]

I don't have H&R springs I've got a set of their coilovers!

Taking it slightly off topic. How do you rate them? I've been looking at these for a while now. I'm led to believe they ride firm but nicely?

[yokomomr4bx]

I tried the Tein s-tech springs initially but the drop was far too aggressive for me while I'm still running 17inch wheels. The H and R springs are still quite low, to me at any rate, but there is that crucial bit of gap to keep things sensible. As to how they ride? To me they are spot on. The front is particularly impressive actually, before I committed to buying a full set I had a pair of fronts hanging around (as you do) and tried them with the teins at the rear, no comparison for me.

I'm confident that with the correct damper the H and R springs will be exactly where I want the ride quality and stiffness to be, perhaps with the addition of a stiffer rear anti roll bar. At the moment they are sat over pretty tired KYB agx's, which I'm sure would be great if they weren't on their last legs.

I've always maintained that the front of the MR2 is pretty easy to control, it's the back that takes some thought, from a damping perspective.

[pbmr2]

I tried the Tein s-tech springs initially but the drop was far too aggressive for me while I'm still running 17inch wheels. The H and R springs are still quite low, to me at any rate, but there is that crucial bit of gap to keep things sensible. As to how they ride? To me they are spot on. The front is particularly impressive actually, before I committed to buying a full set I had a pair of fronts hanging around (as you do) and tried them with the teins at the rear, no comparison for me.

I'm confident that with the correct damper the H and R springs will be exactly where I want the ride quality and stiffness to be, perhaps with the addition of a stiffer rear anti roll bar. At the moment they are sat over pretty tired KYB agx's, which I'm sure would be great if they weren't on their last legs.

I've always maintained that the front of the MR2 is pretty easy to control, it's the back that takes some thought, from a damping perspective.

Thanks for the insight.
I have read that the Tein springs are very stiff for road use, hope these H&Rs don't rattle the car to bits. Sounds like they are soft enough though.

I'll report back how the Koni dampers are next week.