VIKING PERFORMANCE coilovers???

[benno505]

anyone used these, what are they like? the company who did my custom front end dont use qa1's anymore they use this brand, and they have decided to send me new shocks as the qa1's blew out on me. but i have never heard of these guys

Ben

[csouth]

Some sponsors here carry and endorse this brand. From my understanding Chris King is a former QA1 exec that started Vi-King with his wife and another partner a couple year ago. I have no experience with either, but you wonder why an exec would leave a well known company to start his own in the same market? He must feel he can do better.

[1966longroof]

I have them on all 4 corners, No complaints.

[benno505]

thanks guys, there on there way

[Typhoon1015]

I run them. Great set of shocks for the money. I did see your other thread on the QA1's. Have you taken measurements to make sure the correct legnth/stroke shocks are being used? Make sure they are not bottoming out or maxing out before the bump stops on the suspension? I would hate to see you replace shocks only to have the same issue as before(due to wrong shocks for the application).

[benno505]

I run them. Great set of shocks for the money. I did see your other thread on the QA1's. Have you taken measurements to make sure the correct legnth/stroke shocks are being used? Make sure they are not bottoming out or maxing out before the bump stops on the suspension? I would hate to see you replace shocks only to have the same issue as before(due to wrong shocks for the application).

thanks, we foudn out the springs were too soft and bottomed out, sending stiffer springs, yeh checked measurements should be all good

[Schwartz Performance]

Some sponsors here carry and endorse this brand. From my understanding Chris King is a former QA1 exec that started Vi-King with his wife and another partner a couple year ago. I have no experience with either, but you wonder why an exec would leave a well known company to start his own in the same market? He must feel he can do better.

Chris's wife Christina is the daughter of the recently former CEO of QA1 and had worked there for I don't know how long. Chris never worked for QA1.
We've used their shocks on several occasions and were a dealer. Haven't heard any complaints, ad they're good people to deal with. While their shocks look like QA1's they aren't manufactured by the same company. There are several threads I've seen on reviews for these so use the search tool for even more feedback.

-Dale

[BMR Sales]

Chris & Christine are Great People and they bring their expertise to their Viking Products. I have been selling Vikings exclusively unless someone requests and has to have QA1's. I have not had any failures and zero complaints.

Viking only has Double Adjustable Shocks which have 19 Settings each for Compression & Rebound for a Total of 361 different combinations. Even though they only make Double Adjustables, they come in at around the Price of QA1's Single Adjustables. Viking Springs are Made in the USA vs QA1 OffShore Springs

T.C.

[Classic Nova & Performance]

We've been dealing with them for a while, selling & installing their products. Been good to deal with, and no problems to this point. I prefer them to QA1's, but that's just my opinion.

[benno505]

thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

[marolf101x]

The ViKing shock appears to be a pretty good twin tube for the money.
It is true, the owners of ViKing used to be employed by QA1.

As I've lived and breathed shocks for years now (I grew up in dirt cars running mainly Ohlins shocks) I feel it's my duty to educate everyone as much as I can about the differences in shock design.
A shock absorber is pretty simple. . .it converts kinetic energy into another form of energy (typically thermal energy, or heat).
Inside the shock a piston with shims of various sizes and thicknesses is forced through oil. The oil pushes on the shims and creates resistance (force). When the force is greater than the shims can handle the shims bend and allows the oil to push past them. Given the same piston design, varying the number of shims, shim diameter, and shim thickness changes how much force it takes to "open" the shim stack. This is how a shock is "tuned".

When the shock is compressed the shock shaft goes into the shock. As there is oil in the shock, and oil cannot be compressed, you need to displace the volume of the shock shaft. If you didn't the shock would literally explode as the oil has to go somewhere. This can be accomplished a few ways. . .details below.

When talking about a performance application a shock absorber is simply a timing device. . .it's main purpose is to slow down the movement of the suspension.
I always tell people to think of it this way. . .think of a long sweeping turn. You have a turn in point, an apex, and an exit point.
Before the turn you step hard on the brake pedal and the nose dives. You let up on the brakes (or hold slightly if trail braking) and turn the steering wheel to start the turn. At this point the front tires are doing most of the work. Tires with more weight on them will do more "work" than those with less weight on them and hold the car on it's intended path. As you get through the corner and approach the apex the car needs to be back to "neutral" as you will begin to apply throttle in anticipation of exiting the corner. When you start to pick up the gas you want the weight to transfer to the rear tires as you need "forward bite". As you exit the corner you are full on the gas, the steering wheel is straight, and the rear tires are doing most of the work.
It is the job of the shock absorber to get this "timing" correct. . .meaning the attitude of the vehicle.

If your shock is under-damped in rebound the front will raise too early mid corner, removing grip from the front tires and placing it on the rear tires, which results in a "push" or understeer condition.

If your shock is under-damped in compression the front could bottom out and upset the car before you even get to the turn (these are just very basic examples. . .a lot more is going on that needs to be assessed.)


Now on to shock design.
A twin tube has two tubes. . .an inside tube where the piston travels through the oil, and an outer tube, which is used as the oil reservoir.
As the shock is compressed the oil that is not forced through the shim stack at the piston is pushed down the inner tube, makes a 180-degree turn, and is forced into the outer tube. Typically a twin tube shock has a "base valve". A valve at the bottom of the shock through which the oil must pass before it goes into the outer reservoir tube. This is why you typically see the compression adjuster on a twin tube shock on the body near the lower mount.
When you twist the adjuster it's limiting the flow of oil from the inner tube to the outer tube, thereby creating more compression force in the shock.
The downside is that moving the oil in this manner creates a lot of heat, and the inner tube is pretty small, so the piston and shim stack have to be small as well.


A monotube shock has only one tube that contains both the oil and an inert gas. There is a dividing piston that separates the oil and gas (nitrogen) and moves up and down as the shaft moves in and out. (remember, you must displace the shaft volume. So as the shaft is pushed into the shock the dividing piston is pushed down).
As the monotube is only one tube, the piston and shim stack can be much larger. This allows the compression shim stack to handle the compression forces (opposed to the base valve of the twin tube).
In the same realm the rebound stack can be much more effective as it's simply larger than that of a twin tube.
The other main advantage of a monotube is that the oil does not "move". . .the piston and shims are pushed through the oil column. Since the oil does not have to make a 180-degree turn it does not get as hot.

Here's a good pic of the piston of a monotube and a twin tube. As you can see, the monotube piston is much larger than the twin tube:


This is a VERY basic description of both twin tube and mono tube design. I encourage everyone to research both and make an educated decision on shock choice.
If you have questions please post here (or start a new thread) and I'll jump in.

[csouth]

Chris's wife Christina is the daughter of the recently former CEO of QA1 and had worked there for I don't know how long. Chris never worked for QA1.

Sorry, I misspoke. I was under the impression that they were both former QA1 employees....