Germany: shock absorber (damper) testing - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

DavidS · 29th April 2005, 11:59

German board members, when you take the M5 to Dekra (or similair establishments) for compulsory road safety checkup they run a vibration test of the shock absorbers (stossdämpfern). They usually print the test results. On my car when it had around 60000 kms it was about 80-86% shock absorber damping on all wheels.

As a comparison, would you like to post your mileage and damper test results here, please?

David

ard · 29th April 2005, 18:18

This gets at a topic I've often wondered about: how can one determine, quantitatively, when shocks/struts are worn out or getting worn... sure, bounce on the fender, look for oil, but when does a shock start to loose it's damping ability as compared to new?

On the above test, is it 80-86% of new...or is it 80-86% of the government set value for all schocks?

A

DavidS · 29th April 2005, 22:43

I haven´t got a clue really, but would guess the figure means 86% harmonic damping per cycle of suspension "bounce".

The apparatus they use is a vibrating plate that shakes the wheel vertically, and then stops shaking.

David