I have cut down springs and the front dampers are fine and hardened up but the back dampers have lost the oil I presume due to the back end bounces a lot, so does anyone know if you can get uprated dampers on the back?

Google is your friend

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/product_info.mhtml?product=2574109

They're expensive, are the 4x4 stiffer or softer, I know they have a bigger stroke than the standard 2wd

Flappjak said:

so does anyone know if you can get CHEAP uprated dampers on the back?

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Fixed that for Ya

There is no economical justification to produce stiffer shocks cheaper then stock , as the quanties are probably 0.001% of the stock item.

4x4 ones have shorter stroke as overal length.

(mm) Max extend Max Compessed Stroke

2wd 420 253 168
4wd 340 195 145

4x4 rear shocks are the shortest,the longest {plus 6cm comparing to 4x4 shocks} are rears from panda with omega axle 1986-2003. 4x2 panda from 80-86 has "middle long" shocks, they are 2cm longer than 4x4 and 4cm shorter then 4x2 post 86. 4x4 rears are a bit stiffer than 4x2 80-86 ,because bigger unsprung mass of the axle comparing to the lighter 4x2 80-86 susp.

I have lifted rear of my 4x4 by 20mm,and I am using now 80-86 4x2 shocks, 2cm longer than 4x4.

So basically it's either go stock or get the 4x4 ones but which would be better for cut down springs

Or is it the fact that my fronts stiff and doesn't bounce or that my back does bounce which would be the problem, both on chopped springs

f.y.i
https://www.fiatforum.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=33456

I was going to ask if they would be best option to go for

What's the distance between mounting points with the currently fitted moded coil spring? If its between 230- 250 mm them still should do the work.

I don't know the measurements but I do know I have 4x4 dampers on now the only problem with them I presume is that they've lost all the oil in them so that's why they're bouncy

BEst way is to remove them and physically check they operation.

That's what I did earlier and when compressed they didn't move back up they just stayed compressed

It does not indicate that the oil/air had leaked out, is there still a lot of resistence in them? When you trying to pull and compress them by hand - do they freely go fully in and out? IIdeally new ones will extend themselfs to full out position but it can take some time, ambient temperature will have impact on the time. Basically the oil/air inside cylinder is transfered from one chamber to another - worn piston rings/seals makes them going to soft etc.

Well I've just checked the damper and it's easy to press down but hard to pull back up

IIdeally new ones will extend themselfs to full out position but it can take some time

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...only oil/gas shocks. Oil shocks without pressuized gas/ gas cussion do not extend themselves.

Well I've just checked the damper and it's easy to press down but hard to pull back up

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generaly it is how oil shock absorber works, there are some types of "two way" shocks like gabriel red rider, bilstein b6 or delphi duo control, but stock panda ones are "one way" much harder to extend than to compress, that is normal for basic design oil absorber.{ so called "gas" shocks are much harder to compress than oil type of the same type}

If there is some oil missing you can feel the reduction of drag while extending the shock near its max extended positon, the less oil inside the earlier it starts to loose its properties{ while extending}

So what should I do to help the ride then would it help if I made the front a softer ride

Flappjak said:

So what should I do to help the ride then would it help if I made the front a softer ride

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Stop trying to make it stiffer! When the new springs come fit them without chopping any coils off. Making the suspension ultra stiff is great for reducing body roll so the car changes direction quickly and predictably when you are using it on a track with lovely smooth tarmac. On a normal lumpy bumpy road you'll just finish up ruining it, so if you are trying to do it for looks and 'stance' alone you just have have to accept the ride is going to be appalling, especially on a light car like a Panda where the ride as standard is not the greatest.

Meantime, try running the tyre pressures a couple of psi lower.

Yeah I think it's time to just leave the coils alone since I've had no luck with them so hopefully the springs should come Monday and the car should be on the road next week with any luck