Country driving - best shocks / springs?

[AlleyNiki]

Hi all out there in Fiat World,

As I'm doing my beast up, I would like to improve her handling - especially for dirt roads and you see a few of those in Australia. (Not exactly James Herriot country!) Humbug Scrub has some nasty corrugations  but it's a brilliant shortcut!

Anyhoo, I've seen a few different shocks out there: Koni, Spax and lowered springs for sale etc. Don't know what's best atm.

Can anyone give me some ideas on what the best improvement would be for this situation?

Cheers all, and I'll be looking out for a bull bar as well because of those damn kangaroos.

Alastair

[bis13]

if you hit a kangeroo my moneys on the roo coming out in better shape! if you want to stiffen the front up try putting rear dampers on the front.

[damon500]

Definitely recommend Konis in the rear- absolutely transformed my 500 and now "suitable for australian conditions"
Mine was particularly lethal when I bought it as some so called "Fiat Specialist" had put Front shocks in the rear- the swing axles would almost tip under the car when cornering and seriously dangerous.
I then fitted some brand new genuine Fiat 126 rear shocks in it and it was safer but not particularly inspiring.
Then I fitted Konis in the rear and have done 20,000km since fitting them- transformed the ride and handling- I would not even consider anything else!
Toperformance Koni in Melbourne had them on the shelf- worth every cent

[AlleyNiki]

if you hit a kangeroo my moneys on the roo coming out in better shape! if you want to stiffen the front up try putting rear dampers on the front.

Yes, there would be a fine imprint left in the car. My dad hit a roo in his 3cylinder Daihatsu Charade, he was only going about 20km/h and the damn animal jumped on his bonnet! They're such a nuisance. I think his radiator had to be pulled out of his fan after that one.

Definitely recommend Konis in the rear- absolutely transformed my 500 and now "suitable for australian conditions"
Mine was particularly lethal when I bought it as some so called "Fiat Specialist" had put Front shocks in the rear- the swing axles would almost tip under the car when cornering and seriously dangerous.
I then fitted some brand new genuine Fiat 126 rear shocks in it and it was safer but not particularly inspiring.

Correct me if I'm wrong but this sounds like what used to happen with the volkswagen beetles. I'm sure they had a handling quirk where the back would tip too far. Maybe this guy thought the Fiat was a beetle.

Then I fitted Konis in the rear and have done 20,000km since fitting them- transformed the ride and handling- I would not even consider anything else!
Toperformance Koni in Melbourne had them on the shelf- worth every cent

So do you need to put in different springs as well?

And do the konis smooth out the bumps nicely? At the moment I've got standard shocks and there's a *klunk* everytime I go over a bump from the rear. I think it might be the cheap arsed speakers someone installed in the cover just in front of the rear window.

[bis13]

the klunk you hear might be the gearbox hitting the bodywork as this tends to happen when the mounts are shot also if the engine mounting spring is old it tends to let the engine shake around and basculate from side to side and the exhaust can strike the rear panel, this may be the case if you are driving on uneven roads etc.

[damon500]

Nope, same springs- the advantage is that the konis are adjustable so you can set them to whatever rebound rate you like- if you change the springs you can adjust the shocks to suit the spring rate. You do need to pull them out to adjust them but this is pretty easy on a 500 or Niki anyway

[AlleyNiki]

the klunk you hear might be the gearbox hitting the bodywork as this tends to happen when the mounts are shot also if the engine mounting spring is old it tends to let the engine shake around and basculate from side to side and the exhaust can strike the rear panel, this may be the case if you are driving on uneven roads etc.

Blast! I just ordered some parts from 126fan and I forgot about the engine mounts. Good news though is that I did buy a new spring 1 year back. Sitting round in the cupboard somewhere!!

Nope, same springs- the advantage is that the konis are adjustable so you can set them to whatever rebound rate you like- if you change the springs you can adjust the shocks to suit the spring rate. You do need to pull them out to adjust them but this is pretty easy on a 500 or Niki anyway

Yeah, changing them sure is  a piece of cake! All I used was the standard jack.

Thanks guys