DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Asking on behalf of my mate for a non Porsche … anyone got experience of spax suspension ? They’re offering an adjustable set up for his car

I’ve always gathered they are the bottom end of the market

A friend who raced single seaters liked Spax a lot, especially because you could go to them and have them build/modify/service your existing Spax shocks to suit.

PS the bl**dy spell checker inserted Spanx instead of Spax

Plenty of rally cars, including mine, ran SPAX over the years, and never had an issue with them

I ran Spax on my rally/autocross Beetle for many years and never had a problem. They were much easier to adjust than Konis, just turn the slotted screw valve on the body.
Things have probably changed in the last 40+ years though!


JW

Both my mum and my stepdad are Spax loyalists, for the reasons stated above.

I have just purchased spax adjustable shocks, for the 356.

My reasoning was, if John Willhoit in America says they are good for 356s then who am I to say otherwise.
I got mine from Larkspeed in Leeds.

Yet to fit them as I'm waiting for my hand to heal from an operation.

Karl


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Which ones did you get and what is the cost? The place that did an alignment on my 356 for hill climbing mentioned some adjustable shocks that I could use to stiffen the car up for races. I guess this is what they were talking about.

https://spaxdirect.com/product/spax-adj ... or-1-unit/

??

Can they be put on without having to reset the alignment?

Im not happy with the body roll on my car when really pushed

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Neil, I got model numbers G320 and G319.
The cost of two of each, was
£460 delivered, from Larkspeed.com

Not sure about the alignment, but don't think so.
Have you checked your anti roll bar bushes.
After I replaced mine, my steering issue was gone.

Karl

neilbardsley wrote: ↑Mon Jan 27, 2025 12:30 pm Which ones did you get and what is the cost? The place that did an alignment on my 356 for hill climbing mentioned some adjustable shocks that I could use to stiffen the car up for races. I guess this is what they were talking about.

https://spaxdirect.com/product/spax-adj ... or-1-unit/

??

Can they be put on without having to reset the alignment?

Im not happy with the body roll on my car when really pushed

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Hi Neil,
The 356 has dampers (not struts) and so do not (intentionally!) take loads other than in the axis of the damper. Hence they can be swapped out without altering any alignment. Worth checking that the replacement dampers have same ‘open’ and ‘closed’ lengths as the original units otherwise you will have different wheel travel which could potentially cause issues.
Regarding your body roll, then level of damping has no effect on the amount/level of roll, only the rate of roll. Amount of roll is controlled by combination of wheel rate (spring) and roll stiffness (anti-roll bar). Wheel travel can play its part but I don’t recommend going there…
Ask me how I know… nearly 20 years of racing a Formula Vee with torsion beam front and swing axle rear suspension

In regards the thread topic then from many years of working in the field of motorsport suspension I would say ‘you gets what you pay for’. Personal experience would put Koni above Spax, and as for the adjusters then whilst the knobs may twiddle nicely you can never been quite sure what change they are making to the damper curve.

Ok I will measure my anti roll bars and check the bushes

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neilbardsley wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2025 9:26 am Ok I will measure my anti roll bars and check the bushes

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Not sure if I saw a post ages ago, but have you got a rear camber compensator fitted?

I think getting any adjustable damper set right is tricky, but for normal road driving I've found 1/2 way between soft and hard extremes about right.

I'm sure Neil fitted a camber compensater some time ago?

Strikes me to follow what the Vee racer man says!

Yes 356 racing Vic's rear camber adjuster fitted and adjusted by Alan Harding. I have to say Alan wasn't that impressed with it. Peter races cars prepared by Alan.

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neilbardsley wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2025 7:48 pm Yes 356 racing Vic's rear camber adjuster fitted and adjusted by Alan Harding. I have to say Alan wasn't that impressed with it. Peter races cars prepared by Alan.

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My Vee is all my own work Neil - Alan has been helpful with parts supply and advice over time, but all the chassis and suspension redesign, plus engine tune and maintenance has come from what my dear old Dad taught me, that and 20 rears working in the motor sport industry ;o)

E1AA866F-7CFB-4382-BF76-71B4703FACEB by Vee Racer, on Flickr
0E7959B9-0D26-4AB2-AC0B-33D1A196A4B6 by Vee Racer, on Flickr

Sry I meant to type

"Peter races against cars prepared by Alan"

What a difference missing a word out can make!

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