Abstract: A motor-vehicle shock absorber has a tube at least partially filled with damping liquid and extending, a piston rod axially shiftable inside the damper tube, and a piston connected to the piston rod and subdividing the damper tube into a piston rod-side working chamber and an opposite working chamber. An on-off control valve is axially movable inside the piston between a closed and an open position. A first soft-characteristic damping valve inside the piston through which the damping liquid may flow in both flow directions is connectable to a flow path of the damping liquid from one into the other working chamber through the control valve. A second hard-characteristic damping valve through which the damping liquid may flow in both flow directions is also provided in the piston.

Abstract: The invention relates to a shock absorber for a wheel suspension of a motor vehicle, comprising a) a damper tube (1) at least partially filled with a damping liquid, b) a piston rod (2) arranged so as to reciprocate in the damper tube (1), c) an element guided in the damper tube (1), which element divides the interior of the damper tube (1) into a piston rod-side working chamber (3) and a working chamber (4) remote from the piston rod, d) a housing (5) connected to the piston rod (2), e) a control valve (6) arranged in the housing (5) and movable back and forth between a closed and an open position. The piston rod-side working chamber (3) and the working chamber (4) remote from the piston rod are hydraulically interconnected via the housing (5) and a first damping valve (7) with soft damping characteristics through which the damping fluid can flow in both flow directions is provided in the housing (5).