Location: Illinois
Posts: 2,440
My VIN: 11408
Club(s): (DMWC) (TXDMC) (DCUK) (DOI)
Supercharged 5.3L LS4 + Porsche 6spd
[email protected]
lsdelorean.com
I am not affiliated with Delorean Midwest in anyway.
I did some searching and AVO Shocks were apparently designed by Ron Avon, the same guy who designed Protech shocks, so say the guys and gals on the UK automotive forums.
Dana
1981 DeLorean DMC-12 (5 Speed, Gas Flap, Black Interior, Windshield Antenna, Dark Gray)
Restored as "mostly correct, but with flaws corrected". Pictures and comments of my restoration are in the albums section on my profile.
1985 Chevrolet Corvette, Z51, 4+3 manual
2006 Dodge Magnum R/T (D/D)
2010 Camaro SS (Transformers Edition)
Location: Smithers, BC, Canada
Posts: 39
My VIN: 4642 Former owner of 10787
Club(s): (DOI)
I put John's rear setup on my car. A few weeks after installation I hit a decent pot hole and the drivers side collar slipped down to the bottom of the shock, pretty scary. I talked to a mechanic friend of mine who works on a lot of aftermarket and high performance vehicles in his shop and he took one look at it and said he would never run anything like that.
Del Silveira
Lived the dream, sold the dream. Now living it again.
Well I checked the collars on the Hervey rear shocks and both are still in the same location. But the drivers side height is a half inch lower than the passenger side. I do remember tightening the collars when I first installed the shocks.
I am going to install NOS rear shocks and see if that corrects the problem. I never noticed any ride difference when I installed the rear easy riders anyway.
Dave M vin 03572
http://dm-eng.weebly.com/
When I redid my frame about 27 years ago, I installed Fred Lockett's (AKA DeLorean Pilot) lowering springs as that was the only option to cut-n-swap. I have no idea what springs he used. (So much for the better has changed in the last 27+ years !!!) I also installed NOS shocks at the time.
Now my rears have a lot (LOT) of camber and I suspect that the springs are compressing. It is like the frog in water approaching boiling, it just keeps creeping up until one day you look at it (the frog or the camber) and notice how bad it looks. Plus the driver side may be lower than the passenger side. So my input is that it may be your springs compressing and as someone pointed out, after the car is on the lift, the car rides a bit high for a while which could be the springs stretching back out.
As I recall, shocks are pretty neutral relative to support. That said, when you push shocks in by hand, don't they move back out on their own? But the outward force is minimal.
So I'm now in process of researching what to do.
- New springs & shocks all around (I've wanted to get the front about an inch lower)
- Reinstall the OEM rear springs in the rear keeping the OEM shocks
- Install the OEM fronts in the rear and keep the shocks
- New Springs & shocks for the rear
- Other?
I really hate the idea of redoing the fronts. The last time the spring compressor failed while I was holding/moving it under compression. That was exciting ... and didn't cause me any harm :-)
Nick
- No matter how many people believe in a dumb idea ... it is still a dumb idea!
- Some cars look fast. Some cars look faster than time!
- The question is not "where did the time go" but rather "where to go in time".
I've got NOS rear shocks waiting for the warmer weather to replace my easy riders. Yes the NOS shocks do extend them self but like you said, it's not much force.
Dave M vin 03572
http://dm-eng.weebly.com/
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 8,583
My VIN: 10757 1st place Concourse 1998
Shocks do not affect ride height. Shocks with springs on them (coil-overs) DO affect ride height. Not the shock itself but the spring around the shock. Usually with coil-over springs there is some kind of adjustment so you can change the ride height. A collar that just clamps in place is not considered "Good Practice" since it can (and often does) slip. There is a LOT of force on that spring and eventually a clamped collar will move. Good coil-overs will have threads on the outside of the shock and collars that screw on those threads. Better coil-overs will also have some external adjustment screws so you can modify the shock's control. The main function of the shock is to control the up-and-down movement of the suspension, not to lift it. It is finely tuned to the tire, the frame's resonance and stiffness, and the road surface. A properly tuned shock is akin to a tuning fork, it absorbs resonate frequencies and damps them out. You cannot throw any shock into a car and expect proper performance.
David Teitelbaum