[ck13488]

before you all get fired up i have searched

ive only had my 85 sierra for a few weeks now but its evident the steering damper is useless. its to be expected as im pretty certain its the stocker that came on it 25 years ago.

ive looked around but havent seen much info on what type to get, most stuff is about vibration/steering setup/alignemnt etc. also had a look through a mates stack of 4wd mags but nothing in them apart from ads.

so whats the difference between

• a $70 ebay no-name
• branded damper. eg iron man ~$120
• heavy duty eg. rancho $175
• return to centre. eg. tough dog RTC ~$165

car is used for road(50%), sand(30%), bush(20%) driving

and if it makes a difference it runs 215/75/15 Mud Terrains

[MR1JZ]

I found that on my bundera going from the flogged out rancho one that was on it to a brand new dobinsons one it almost totally eliminated all of the steering wobble the car had and the steering was much nicer on and off road

I would like to hear peoples opinions on the RTC ones though...I think the one on my zook is flogged out and requires replacement

[lump_a_charcoal]

RTC for me was crap.

A stock one will be fine for a stock car, but if you use larger tyres I would go for an iron man or something.


BTW I am not fussed with Ranchos.

[BlueSuzy]

I had a Tough Dog one. $99. Its really just a shock. Possibly valved different for sideways movements.

RTC was $150 when i was looking at them. (2yr ago)

Now i run Powersteering with no damper.



Useless suzuki info: Coilys don't have dampers. Not even mounts..

[squirezook]

I purchased a ebay one when I put 29" tyres on and a 50 mm spring lift on a 91 swb wt It had the rattles bad!!
Ebay one worked a treat no more rattles and shakes. That was a couple of years ago and now have the rattles back which I think is now due to worn bits.

[lump_a_charcoal]

For the record I have been without a steering dampener for over 2 years, not an issue if your steering geometry is good.

[BlueSuzy]

Rockclimbing any 4x4 'with' a damper throws the steering wheel out of your hand if you hit a rock on one side.

Powersteering does not!

[ninjadaniel]

i dont use a steering damper as my steering is spot on.

RTC on my jimny with power steer was good for centering the wheel on the motorway but made no difference other than that.

Normal damper often makes steering in sierra a bit heavier, i would avoid the RTC on sierra as it gives preference in a certain turning direction- Shock that is used in normal dampers has its static position set at half-way, RTC shocks want to push the rod out, spring is supposed to stop this but fails

[PJ.zook]

Im using an Ironman dampner on mine, its actually from a 40 series.