tburke

I too love my Shockworks brakes. Just squeeeeeezed them inside 18" rims.

Shockworks! Top choice. I have their GT brakes, saving up for dampers.

Same issue on my 67,000km engine - plastic bit on the chain tensioner broke away, cam cog skipped, gave me 20 degree advance. Not exactly Ford Tough! An early timing chain reco I suppose.

To answer the question. Yes. For me, doing lots of kms/year it'll be paid for in under 12 months, and I got a performance tune thrown in. TXR05

Would love to hear from Shockworks on this topic - regards race and road.

Ratter - you're an installer? There's an outside chance that you might know a bit more about it than me ;-) If you have a better method for determining approx engine kw from known rwkw, please let me know. 275rwkw is more than enough for a crap driver like me.

Bomber. Bite the bullet :-)

Hmm, don't think so. I'll check again with Smithys though. I have a Terri Turbo with good 2YO vapour LPG injection, and that introduces petrol at high load for sure. The Liquid LPG is system very high pressure, higher than petrol (and very cold) and so doesn't need petrol added in.

The operative word was "too".

"With great power comes.... great fuel economy?!" Just had Smithy's LPG install an Orbital Liquid LPG system on my 08 FG. Numbers in a second, but let me just say what a friendly and professional bunch they are. Hot rodders all. They love cars, and love giving them... more. This is a high quality kit, and a high-quality install. Very smooth, very neat. Very effective: - I now have 275rwkw, and 620nm torque. Proven, on the dyno. That's power to weight of 220w/kg. Not too many cars in that group. - I also have average 12.4L/10km on LPG, based on 5 tank-fulls to date. LPG is roughly half the cost of petrol, so that is equivalent to say 6L/100km petrol. Not many cars in that group either. That power equates to roughly 390kw at the flywheel. That's roughly 525HP in the old. Its a lot. Too much for my crappy Stiletto Blue Streak tyres (the new Teflon compound tyre that doesn't stick to anything.) The rears lose traction at anywhere up to 100kmh in the wet. I need Teflon on my seat cover too. Their kit for me included a ProcessWest cold-air intake, because the poor car kept running out of air at high rpm on the dyno. Now, it really sucks. It REALLY sucks :-) (Sensational kit from ProcessWest.) I do a lot of kms, business kms, so need the economy of LPG, and love the XR6T performance package, so this was a perfect solution for me. Yes, you are looking at $5K-ish, but..... wow!

Just a general comment on tyres - I've found that the tyres my car came with win points for cheapness.... not so much for traction. Stiletto Blue Streaks (235x40x18, for some reason.) I think they are a new Teflon compound - they don't stick to anything. The good news is that I don't think think they will last long. I'm keen to find the best replacements, tyres that actually grip the road wet or dry, and last a while. So far Michelin or Continental, the classic choice, seem the best. Especially the at the St George Tyre prices.

Its all about traction. Maximum acceleration, cornering, braking needs maximum traction. Too soft or too stiff = less traction. (Yes, we ARE still talking about suspension.) Tyres are part of the equation; just a little. I've found that the tyres my car came with win points for cheapness, not so much for traction. Stiletto Blue Streaks. I think they are a new Teflon compound - they don't stick to anything.

Love the Konis. And I'm practically one the family at Toperformance. I've had red or yellow ones on most of my 35 cars, going right back to a '69 Alfa Romeo Berlina 1750. However! Back-to-back on my Soarer which had Koni yellow gas/King springs, the car was much, much nicer in all ride and handling dimensions with Shockworks coilovers. Shockworks can also give you independent results showing a variety of cars that are lapping faster (and some the fastest in the world!) with their set up. On the road, on the track, these are better. Better value too. The Sachs standard dampers are actually OK, just a bit stiff-legged and numb - they treat big and small bumps the same. The front and rear ends seem disconnected too. I'm sure I'll get a more sophisticated ride and "alive" feeling car with their OEM replacements. I'll update when it happens. (Note the nice, short paragraphs Platinum DM)

I love big, fat paragraphs. Thanks for the welcome.

First timer post! Big longtime fan of Shockworks. Now that I have an XR6T I'm just waiting for the OE units to fall apart (won't take long...) then go with Shockworks OEM replacements. I'm booked in next week for the GT brake upgrade (as the standard ones are shot, already) but will have to wait for the right time (and $$$s!) to do the dampers. Thought you might like my FB Feedback on Shockworks Coilover upgrade on the '96 Soarer turbo I just sold: Collected my Soarer after a Shockworks ride and handling makeover. Off came the Koni/King Spring legs - which is generally regarded as a pretty good setup. First impression just driving down a gravel drive - the car was quieter. No rattles or thumps, no shake on the steering wheel. Turned the steering wheel, and immediately the wheels turned. No pause, immediate response. There used to be a window of a cm or two before the front wheels turned, so its much more responsive. A nice tight feeling. Drove slow and quiet over B-grade asphalt road. The car is... calm. I can feel the road talking quietly to me through the wheel, but its not shouting at me any more. I do left-rights, and the car responds immediately. It used to kind of flop from one direction to the other. Now, a twitch and the car twitches left or right. A big move to the left or right and it just goes there, no fuss, easy… calm. Its very flat, there's no roll from one turn to the next. Now I realise that little and big bumps are just quietly being looked after thanks -a bit like a hurdler getting over all the hurdles with his legs only, his body at the same height. Brett drops the phrase "It breathes over the bumps" - that's a perfect description. It copes with dips then bumps, just soaks them up, dealt with. The tyres are just glued to the road, but the body is insulated, enough. Suits the car, a Soarer is a grand-tourer, not an angry sprint demon like an AE86 or GTR. This is a ’96 model with all-factory single-turbo VVTI giving solid torque (about 300nm) and power (about 250kw, ATW 180kw), 5-speed manual and a Torsen LSD. A beautifully built, balanced car, effortless driving. We go through some corners at speed. No roll, no skittering, just traction, grip. Its comforting, not scary. It'll settle in a corner so you know its steering. Brakes, the nose just settles in to let you get weight onto the fronts, so that it actually brakes. Just enough. Same with acceleration, you just feel it squat enough to know the rears have traction. Balanced, calm, quiet. A nice drive. And it’s the same over harsh impacts, and the gravel roads I drive on each day – calm. We cranked it to full Hard from full Soft. The tourer transforms into a go-kart. Its suddenly very twitchy and urgent. Fun, but makes you feel like you’ve had too many coffees! It’d be great on a racetrack, but too edgy for general driving. Back to soft. Aah, this is a pleasure. Perfect… and it was pretty good before! The tuning and installation was done on time. Brett and Chris very interested in my feedback, and offered to tune as necessary. Nice. The price was great. Installed and tuned price was less than a top deal for Koni or Bilstein. I’ve had over 35 cars, and most have had Koni or another good brand of damper. These are the best, by far. The engineering (thanks NeoTech!) is a work of art, through and through. Shockworks design and tuning with NeoTech’s engineering means a brilliant ride/handling combination, with long-life, at a very good price. If you have a good Soarer, Supra or Chaser – do yourself a BIG favour...