Abstract: A shock absorber of the type having a hydraulic cylinder and piston is disclosed. The hydraulic cylinder is filled with an elevated viscosity fluid having slight compressibility which exhibits pseudo-plastic flow. The piston has an associated thermal expansion means associated therewith, which defines an annular space between the peripheral surface of the thermal expansion means and the cylinder wall. The annular space acts as a peripheral valve to impart resistance to piston travel through the fluid. The thermal expansion means is selected to have a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than that of the cylinder, whereby extremes of ambient or internally generated temperatures cause the thermal expansion means to adjust the peripheral valving, thus compensating for temperature-induced fluid viscosity changes to produce consistent dampening.