Bad shock absorber - drive or not to drive..

[geras003]

Guys, I need an advice.. I took my S to a dealer today after this knocking sound coming from rear passenger's side drove me crazy for couple weeks. As I expected it turned out to be a bad shock absorber.. The worst thing is - according to the dealer this part is on national backorder, so no dealer have it in US. So I need to wait until it comes. I asked him if it is safe to drive with a bad shock absorber and he obviously said it is fine. I don't know how much I can trust him though.

Will it hurt other parts of suspension if I continue on driving until the part arrives? I'm not sure if I am even capable of doing it anyways because of the annoying sound.
Also, what could cause the shock absorber failure on brand new vehicle especially on S2000???? That makes me question the infamous reliability of the car. I bought it 8 months ago and have 23K miles on it...

Thanks a lot in advance!

Aleksey.

[Miles69]

23K in 8 months!. I drive mine every day and put half that on a year. Driving on the bad shock may not hurt the car, and I say may, but your handling has to way out of wack. Be carefull if you keep driving.:yikes:

[emg88]

I caution on the handling aspect of the car. Plenty of people drive on bad Shocks.

It may be time to upgrade to aftermarket shocks or the CR shocks.

I would check to see if the shock absorber is tight at the top on the mounting stud. (in the trunk)

Reliability? I haven't heard of too many problems like this. But that's just me.

[geras003]

Actually I didn't notice ANY difference in handling with bad shock absorber... Still can take turns as fast as before especially after putting my winter tires on. The sound is the only thing which drives me crazy.

23K in 8 months!. I drive mine every day and put half that on a year. Driving on the bad shock may not hurt the car, and I say may, but your handling has to way out of wack. Be carefull if you keep driving.:yikes:

[S2Kouichi]

There's various degrees of bad, but if a shock absorber fails then one of your rear tires will not follow the pavement at the same rate as the good side. I don't know what the condition of roads are in NJ, but around here there are bumps everywhere. I'd take things easy (especially being on winter tires).

[desmo4]

Time for Mugen NZ Dampers. You will love them

Jonathan

[geras003]

CR suspension sounds good, NZ is overpriced in my mind... For now I want to get it fixed under the warranty. I don't think i will be keeping the car after the warranty is up anyways...

Time for Mugen NZ Dampers. You will love them

Jonathan

[repiv]

he obviously said it is fine.

I think "fine" was not a good word to use in this case. Certainly, it is "OK" to drive it, but temper it with care not to push too far into the performance envelope. Shocks control the amount of up and down movement of the tires as the car goes over bumps and road irregularities. Worst case scenario would be that your shock is completely useless and give no absorbing influence to the suspension. In such a case, your tire will not be in contact with the road surface as much as it should be. Having witnessed a car with a "blown" shock, all that tire does is bounce on and off the road surface with every little bump.

[emg88]

I don't think i will be keeping the car after the warranty is up anyways...

Based on the amount of miles you drive, you'll get rid of the car by the summer! :sad:

[SondraS2k]

When my right front shock went, I had a hard time keeping the rear tires on the ground. It _constantly_ fishtailed to the left until I got it replaced. I mention all of that because if you're trying to do any spirited driving, you could find out the hard way that the car doesn't handle in the manner you expect anymore. In my case, it was fishtailing pulling out of parking lots, so it's not like I even had to do anything spirited to get surprised.

I'd forego replacing with more stock shocks and just upgrade to something better. I got the Ground Controls and love them.

[WestSideBilly]

When you say bad shock absorber, what do you mean? Did the seals leak and allow the oil out? Is the casing or mounting points damaged? Or did some of the internals loosen?

It's "fine" to drive a car with no shock absorbers (kinda fun actually) but obviously handling is very bad and bordering on unsafe. You won't damage the rest of the car as long as the shock is structurally sound.

[geras003]

Thank you guys for replies! I think i not gonna be driving it much until it's replaced.. But apparentely since I can still drive it hard my absorber is not that bad - I took the guy who owns Speed 6 and claimed to outperform S in turns for a ride a week ago. After couple entrance ramps he said he not even gonna try it.. I think my shock absorber is not that bad then! Thanks again!

[desmo4]

CR suspension sounds good, NZ is overpriced in my mind... For now I want to get it fixed under the warranty. I don't think i will be keeping the car after the warranty is up anyways...

You may think Mugen is over priced but on the bump on the Gathering of the Garden State where you wrecked you car and many others rear tires left the ground. My car rolled straight through the corner without any trauma. NZ Dampers and Swift Sway Bars are worth every dime I paid for them.

Jonathan

[geras003]

Hmmm...:think: I don't remember wrecking my car... At least yet!:rolleyes: If you are talking about turn on the Gould Rd my tires never left the ground in that turn either... May be my rear was sliding a little bit. :D I'm not saying that NZ is not good it is just more money i'm ready to invest for suspension. If I do smth it most likely gonna be CR suspension.

P.S. Wish me luck - I'm driving to Boston tomorrow in my S!:)

You may think Mugen is over priced but on the bump on the Gathering of the Garden State where you wrecked you car and many others rear tires left the ground. My car rolled straight through the corner without any trauma. NZ Dampers and Swift Sway Bars are worth every dime I paid for them.

Jonathan

[desmo4]

I definitely wish you luck since there is snow up there. And the S won't be too much fun in the snow.

Jonathan