I put them on my gem this weekend and they seemed perfect until I drove out of the garage the front end compressed down and would not come back up. Well there goes trial and error. Time to figure out something else. My friend has scales so I am planning on headed to his house and find out the exact weight on all four corners.
I might have to go the expensive route and call one of the big boys to figure this out.
Do you still have the other shocks with the heavier spring that you weren’t able to mount due to the reservoirs? Can you swap the stronger springs to these shocks to see if they meet your needs?
No I returned them, that is a good thought though. I am actually thinking about purchasing the other shocks again and mounting them different and really drive them around and see what they are like
Jumping in late here but have any of the shocks you guys have been trying have a smaller diamater spring on them? I am going to try and mount a larger motor and it will not clear the shock spring by about 1/4", yes, I can move the mount point but if I could find a shock with just a little narrower spring I would be good. This is on a '08 e4.
I am new here but I have a 2001 GEM car with a positive camber issue. My factory shocks are in great condition. I have repressed and greased my bushings. I have corrected my toe in and still have bad camber. I do have wheel spacers with a front disc brake conversion.
I have been researching for a month trying to figure out how to correct this issue.
According to NEV accessories the replacement shocks they sell for the front of a 1999-2004 GEM are a bit stiffer than factory shocks at their lowest damped setting.
-The factory shocks have a approx 12mm coil, approx 75mm wide, with approx 6 1/2 active coils, 335mm eye to eye
@Tuc-gm1
Glad to see there are more people on here having the same trouble. The shocks I purchased were 320 with adjustable to go up to 330. I did adjust those from 320 up to 330 as it help the camber of my front wheels at standing height. I did take a level to the wheels to get the right height. So honestly the adjustable Eyes are great for the Camber. In the end the shocks were just to soft and the front end of my cart collapsed when taking it out of the garage.
Now did you take the Battery weight out of the front of your 2001, I went to Lithium Bolt Battery in the front of my 2002 taking around 100 pounds of of the front of my Cart. My shocks are now over stiff and you can feel every bump on the road. That is why I tried to go with a Smaller Spring shock, however I am willing to try anything. Please let us know what you find. 335mm with 12 standard wheels seems to be the correct riding height
All 3 company’s will work with you to sell or help you develop and tune any shock you like.
Fox said that they sell diffident weight springs and will exchange or trade them out with you for free as sling as you don’t scratch them. Example they would sell you a shock with the proper eye to eye. And sell you a few different weight springs and you would trade them back and forth with fox untill you were happy with the correct weight spring. Cost $500 for 2 shocks
@grantwest
Thanks so much, I was going to go that route as my next option. My friend who races cars has car scales , I am going to head to his house here soon as the weather brakes and get the Gem weighted so when I talk to Fox I have all the info they need to make a accurate approach from the get go. $500 is a lot for shocks but if it improves the ride I am willing to go that route.
The shocks I saw you bought on eBay had 7mm springs with 8.5 active coils. The ones I am ordering have 12mm springs with 6.5 active coils. (factory shocks are 12mm’s with also 6.5 active coils).
The there are no fill valves on these shocks, but a place where a tank fill valve can be fitted.
Wondering if you have tried shocks with thicker springs and a higher spring rate?
I have not. That project is on hold for a few weeks. Weather turned cold and hard to purchase and test right now. I am very interested in your findings. What is the link to the shocks you purchased
Here is what I received from QA1. The spring are purchased separately. The eye is custom based on your application. DD404 Proma Star Double Adjustable Poly 12 1/2 - 13 1/2 (Ride Height)
10 to 11.125 (Compressed Height) 15 (Full extended). Full 18 way Adjustable.
@Bitman those shock brands and the name “air shocks” are not what you think they are. They only have some compressed air inside them and they have no coil spring action. The “air” is enough inside the shock to give progressive dampening and nothing more.
The ‘air shocks’ considered for the GEMs use a large air bladder for suspension. ie to hold the vehicle up at the correct ride height and provide progressive dampening.
I finished up my lithium install about a month or so ago and think I finally have the last of the kinks worked out. Now I think I’m ready to joint the suspension challenge with you guys. My ride is crappy on my 2000 (as expected) but honestly, I think it’s equally as crappy before and after the conversion. My real concern is positive camber. Ideally, I’d be able to fix both at the same time … softer ride and neutral camber.
Where did folks leave off. Has anyone had luck with QA1? Do you have a contact there that’s good to work with?
Tait Bolton is the QA1 contact I was working with. I believe @Tyson_Davis has been in contact with him as well. I’ll message you his email address (rather not post it on a public forum to get picked up by spam bots).
I just put new wheels on and somehow going bigger and heavier with shorter and stiffer sidewalls improved the ride. I expected the opposite. My old tires must have been much worse than I realized. My only concern at this point is the positive camber. Before installing the new wheels I corrected the front toe so I’m hoping that will resolve most if not all of the tire wear issues I was having even with the positive camber. If that’s the case then I really just need new bushings for the factory shocks. I think for now I’m going to monitor the wear and then decide which way to go.
OK… thanks for the contact info. I’ll reach out and start a discussion with him. I’m in San Diego so maybe I can make some headway while the rest of the country is snowed in. I’ll post as I make progress!
Hey guys. With the cold weather I have not made any head way. This is my busy season with my ski business. I was planning on hitting the shocks and tires here in March.
@RS_E6 what wheels or tires did you get. That is on my list.