[LittleJohn]

Considerring changing the factory steering damper on my Gu 06,
and looking at both the oil/foam filled ones aswell ast the tuffdog Return to centre ones.
( still dont have a price on old man emu ones yet)

Looking for some feedback,
Ie, will it improve my ride... i dont have any issues with ride atm, but will it be better??

And does the return to centre will it harden my steering considerring its spring loaded?

still way off this upgrade, but worth settin goals early.

ps. i currently have oldman emu nitro suspention and airbags, so you can tell me etc
if it will do anything for me.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Frosty1970]

Don't spend big bucks on all the ****y dampeners, unless you have some serious suspension mods. A good firm dampener will be fine for up to a 4 inch lift and 33's. If you want to run 35's, a RTC dampener will work well.

I had a $90 dampener then replaced it with a Toughdog adjustable. Shoulda kept the old few a few more years!!

Most dampeners are pretty much cactus after 80-100K km's. (depending on conditions of coarse) Quality aftermarket will always be better than factory.

 

[LittleJohn]

Yeah i was thinkin those rtc were a little overkill.
My price range will be upto bout the hunjy $100 mark.
good to hear the aftermarket ones available will be an improvement somewhat,
over the oem,.

 

[LycraMooseKnuckle]

will make next to no difference if you have no issues already.

 

[GUTourer]

Another thing in the negative column for RTC's is they place extra strain on your GU's Steering pump and seals. After owning one I would recommend a good quality big bore steering damper. Will it improve thr ride?? Not at all that is not their intended purpose.

 

[LittleJohn]

Yom and GUTourer, I understand that it may not improve my ride at all , now that ive done more research, especially if i dont have any issues now,
but when we had my GU up on the hoist,
I noticed detail on the suspention shocks/coils/bushes,airbags, but none to the damper.
The Gu is deffinately not stock height, and i notice around driving , majority who lift their trucks, dont miss the damper in the equation.just puzzled me , and hence the questions started!
That's all.

 

[LycraMooseKnuckle]

thats because for most i think it is a matter of people selling them something they don't need.

a healthy steering setup will not require a dampener at all.

 

[patrol1978]

Hey mate,
I went through the wobble dramas with my GU, and one of the things I tried was the steering dampner. It didnt fix my wobble (caster bushes did) but what I got was much better response from my steering when I am in the sand or gravel. Not that I do this a lot but when you get sideways around corners the steering response is better aswell

 

[GeeCee]

Steering dampers are really only of use on uneven terrain to help prevent the wheels from turning the steering wheel.
They, by there nature, slow down response or feedback from the wheels.

If you don't have any issues with your steering / alignment that the damper is helping to hide, while on the road,take the damper off - I doubt you will notice any difference.

 

[chunks]

thats because for most i think it is a matter of people selling them something they don't need.

a healthy steering setup will not require a dampener at all.

Nonsense. Take your damper off and go for a drive - you will get a lot of kick back/feedback through the steering wheel. They don't fit one from factory just for the fun of it. RTC, well that's another story and is definitely a ****.

 

[Mrowka]

Steering dampers are really only of use on uneven terrain to help prevent the wheels from turning the steering wheel.
They, by there nature, slow down response or feedback from the wheels.

If you don't have any issues with your steering / alignment that the damper is helping to hide, while on the road,take the damper off - I doubt you will notice any difference.

?? I thought the steering damper was there to tame harmonic vibrations that cause wheel shimmy at certain speeds.

 

[GeeCee]

?? I thought the steering damper was there to tame harmonic vibrations that cause wheel shimmy at certain speeds.

If you're getting vibrations or wheel shimmy, you have problems that you are incorrectly using the damper to help hide.
Get your wheels balanced, have your castor checked to see if it is within spec. Then start working through all the front end bushes and linkages.

 

[sudso]

I had the factory one for years running 6" and 35's. It was totally rooted too, it did nothing and might as well not have been on there. Had some bump steer shimmy when hitting bumps. I replaced it with a std Dobinsons damper and it controls the bump steer very well without any shimmy.

 

[Mrowka]

If you're getting vibrations or wheel shimmy, you have problems that you are incorrectly using the damper to help hide.
Get your wheels balanced, have your castor checked to see if it is within spec. Then start working through all the front end bushes and linkages.

No noticable vibrations or shimmy, but my understanding is that every car has them at certain speeds/harmonic nodes. Hence the damper.

 

[slowzuki]

No noticable vibrations or shimmy, but my understanding is that every car has them at certain speeds/harmonic nodes. Hence the damper.

GeeCee is on the money. They are there solely to disallow the front wheels to turn the steering wheel in uneven terrain. I am running 35s and get no vibration whatsoever because everything is set up properly and there is no wear and nothing out of adjustment. RTC dampers load up the pump too much and are only needed on trucks with 37s up. Even then wouldn't fit it until it was proven it was needed. The amount of non-standard suspension stuff that is sold to try to fix shagged original componentry is unbelievable.

 

[Devilyano]

GeeCee is on the money. They are there solely to disallow the front wheels to turn the steering wheel in uneven terrain. I am running 35s and get no vibration whatsoever because everything is set up properly and there is no wear and nothing out of adjustment. RTC dampers load up the pump too much and are only needed on trucks with 37s up. Even then wouldn't fit it until it was proven it was needed. The amount of non-standard suspension stuff that is sold to try to fix shagged original componentry is unbelievable.

Than is not entirely accurate. A steering damper is simply a shock absorber on your steering system. It is there to absorb shocks and vibrations applied to the steering system in both on road and off road driving. It will not stop the front wheels from turning the steering wheel in rough terrain. If your steering system is set up correctly (IE camber and caster) the steering should automatically return to center without the aid of a (RTC) steering damper.

 

[CSAGQ]

I get a lot of vibration in my steering wheel
It does pull to the left but it's always done that and think a wheel alignment is the way to go.
However does the vibration come from worn bushes wheel misaligned or poor steering dampening?

Cheers

 

[Mrowka]

OK, I live and learn. I have never been a fan of RTC dampers, though.