I searched but nobody seems to try much outside of Bilstein. I've seen a couple auctions on Ebay for Tokico and KYB stuff. I'm wondering what you guys use and if anyone has any unbiased preference?
thanks

 

its a matter of money.

Koni is the best, period. the yellows are going to be the best possible performer you can get if you are going for handling. some complain that the ride is harsh though.

bilstiens are a good one, but aperatly you are not fond of them.

tokico illumina's are pretty good. the HP's i won't waste my money on.

KYB, again, people say they like them. i wouldn't waste my money.

shocks/struts are among the most importa peices to making a car perform well, spend you money there. its where you are going to see the gains.

 

Dewey,
Thanks for the reply. I have nothing against Bilstein, I was just wondering if there is a better alternative. I had Bilsteins on my 02 and they were fine. My curiousity was whether the high priced other ones were any good. I appreciate your info!

 

actually i like my kyb gr-2 struts, they aren't as stiff as a high priced strut, but they are much better than stock and are about 96 bucks a pair

 

I have KYB struts and shocks, they ride ok, and handle good too, but even if you can get them dirt cheap like i can, dont waste the time or money. Especially if you are trying to hook up any amount of power.

The old saying "you get what you pay for" really stands true with shocks and struts.

save your money for bilstiens or Koni's.

Unless you are going with KYB adjustables, they are just stock replacements IMO, or just a little better.

 

How does the KYB AGX adjustable shocks/struts compare to the konis and bilsteins?

 

I dont know first hand, i have never ridden in a car with KYB agx adjustables.

I would think that they would be better then the KYB gr-2 struts, but i am not not sure.

I have road in thirdgens, both with eibach pro-kits, one had KYB gr-2 (my car) and my buddies with bilsteins, his car rides and drives so much better in my opinion.

 

I did have Koni yellows-too hard,not much adjustment.
Just changed to Tokico Illuminas and the ride quality has improved dramatically.5 way adjustment too.I love 'em!!

PM

 

They probably cost you a lot, though, right? Like 450 for all 4? What did you pay and where?

 

$575 from Spohn
plus $195 for shipping to the UK
plus 10% import duty
plus 17.5% VAT(british local tax)
PM

 

holy crap

 

Bilstien is one of the best

 

Powermite:- I worked out that must be around 622pounds all in... and perhaps then the dreaded fees for 'presenting' things to customs! Another example of how you sometimes have to change the dollar sign for a pound sign then add on some more! I'm glad to hear you like the new Tokico Illuminas. A question:- Although the ride has improved, has the handling suffered at all?

I'm currently interested in getting the Koni yellows to replace my Monroe Formula GP's.

What Dewey316 said about "[koni] yellows are going to be the best possible performer you can get if you are going for handling" has been reiterated to me by several companies who sell several different brands of struts/shocks.

 

tokico's are supposed to be real nice. in the new chevy HP, they threw on 4 tokico's and the complete edlebrock suspension (arms, phr etc.) and the handling was = to an 03 svt cobra... thats what it said atleast.

 

Dr,
The Tokicos are much better for street use.Im not saying that the Konis would not be better when driven on the limit but how many of us can even do that,certainly not on the street!
The beauty of the Toks is that you can soften them up for a long journey and then firm them up when you get there.It takes seconds to adjust all four.
The Konis are supposedly adjustable but I could not tell much of a difference between "hard" and "soft".
I much prefer the toks.
Ive also got Poly bushes,SFRs,LCRs,lowered springs(edelbrock).Overall the handling is so much better than standard
Although they do work out expensive to import to the UK,when you deal with a company like Spohn it still makes buying a great experience.Anyway with the dollar as it is against the pound,i'm going to be spending serious money on the engine very soon
PM

 

How hard was it in comparison to adjust the Koni's you had?

What are SFR's? A typo of SFC's perhaps?

I agree regarding the dollar/pound exchange rate! Many bargains are to be had.

 

Well the Konis had a **** to turn on the top but they did not have actual settings.What you had to do was wind the ***** right down and then let them off equally counting the number of turns and mage them the same.
With the Toks you have to use a small screwdriver and there is an arrow which you line up with the numbers 1-5.Even the rears are simple as you just have to pull the carpet back a bit to adjust.
My SFC are south side engineering,weld in types.All my other suspension parts are edelbrock or hotchkiss(which i think are the same anyway)
PM

 

DrG

Just noticed you are in the UK.
If you want to try the Konis,I still have the fronts with only about 6000 miles on them.
The only real reason i changed them over was that I had a knocking noise which i thought were the struts.Turned out to be a loose transmission cross member!!!!!!!!!!
Im not far from Cardiff,where are you??

PM

 

just a little more info on this....

I run the Tokico Illuminas on my Camaro, they are a good shock/strut, and adjustment on them is very easy. but they do have their downside. the adjustment on them, adjusts both compression and rebound. on the soft settings, there is not enough rebound to control the springs. on the firm settings, there is too much compresion to allow the spring to work properly. in some of the middle settings you can get a descent setup. on the streets for comfort i run #2 front #3 rear. when i auto-x, i run #3 front #4 rear, or #3 front #5 rear, depending on track conditions and how much rear bit i have, with #5 rear, if i get quite a bit of oversteer, and it is really too much compresion dampening, but if the front isn't biting well, or rear is getting quite a bit of traction, that seems to help it. softening the front even more, helps front bite a little also. i've ran it at #2 front, #5 rear before, and it is a ride, the front grabs, and you pray the back end stays planted.

on my audi, i have Bilsteins (gotta leave it German ) they are a very comfortable stock/strut, and they do perform pretty good. for someone who is just looking to upgrade bilsteins are a good choice, they keep the ride comfy, but can peform well when pushed.

Koni's are by far the way to go for pure performance, if i had, had the money at the time, i would have gone koni on the camaro. the people who really race their cars, and who are very successfully racers run koni (Karl Hunter, Chickenman35, AGood2.8, ect) the success that those guys have had on konis, speaks volumes as to the abilitly of those shocks to perform well in road racing, hill clims, auto-x, ect. i wish i could tell you what the ride is like on the koni's. i myself prefer the fell of a firm shock, it doesn't really make the ride harsh, it allows the springs to perform as they should. then the spring rates used will set the comfort level.

 

PM, it is me Gordon with the 89 GTA. I'll send you a PM.

Thanks for all the info Dewey316, very helpful!