Both the front, and back shocks n' struts are bad on my 89' GTA. While I'd love to go with a nice aftermarket setup to replace them I haven't got the cash to do it. I'm looking for some stuff thats comparable to the shocks and struts that came with the WS6 setup.

I've looked up some parts on the Autozone website, but I just don't trust them to be as good as the originals, even though the originals could have been better. They are the "Gas Ryder" shocks and the name just doesn't inspire any confidence in the product.

I do mostly highway driving. Looking to spend around $300 or so, obviously that puts many of the nice shocks and struts out of range, so something close to WS6 stock is what I'm looking for.

 

If you're budgeting for $300, spend $400 and get Bilsteins.

Ed

 

Problem, I can't afford it. I also have to do the ball joints as they sound pretty bad. The car sat so long the suspension seems to have died.

I have too much to fix, can't afford to drop $400 on bilstiens. Stock is where I have to go right now.

 

Rear ball joints???!!

 

Um....rear ball joints are bad? Well, after you change them you should also check your muffler bearings for wear, while you are at it make sure your turn signal fluid is level.

 

Sorry, I'm tired. I've been saying stupid stuff all day long. Calling people by the wrong names, etc....

Yeah, I realized I just said I needed to replace the rear ball joints...I don't know where I came up with that. Anyone ever get into that train of thought where you are so tired you say, or write things that you KNOW are not right, but you just don't bother to correct yourself? If you've ever been there, be sure to wave hi to me if you come by again.

Considering I called my car a Camaro today I'd take anything I write with a grain of salt right now. I"m not happy about the engine swap. Supposedly they needed $550 in new parts for the swap! Water pump, just about every sensor, and I STILL have a **** load of electrical problems to sort out with the car.

I really wish I hadn't have bought this particular bird. I wish I'd have been a bit more patient, but I wasn't and now I'm stuck with a crap load of...well....crap. Of course, after I replace everything it won't be crap anymore. But my wallet is running on empty and I can't really afford anything.

College doesn't help when your Math profesor asigns you almost 300 multi-step math problems. They may not be hard, but it takes too damn many steps to solve them. I spent almost 4 hours on math alone!

BACK on topic anyways. Lets widen the price range to $300 to $400. Suggestions on brands would be nice, I've seen the economy shocks and yeah, I can put something together for under $200, but I don't want to slide back in handling, I'd rather have stuff that handles comparable to the stock WS6 stuff, or better.

Priced out some KYB AGX shocks/struts at about $419, still way more than I'd like to spend. Ed suggested the Bilsteins(sp?) for around $400. Anyone have experience with a few different brands. Horror stories, fairy tales and the like? I trust the Autozone shocks about as far as I can kick my T/A.

 

Then go with KYBs from Tire Rack...run you about $175 for all.

Ed

 

Ed, how are they compared to the ws6 stock stuff? I don't want to degrade handling because I'm trying to save money. If I have to ride with nasty shocks/struts for the next two weeks then I may do that to afford some better stuff.

 

I love the ride I have now. I went from worn out factory Bilsteins and Iroc springs to Eibachs and the KYBs and I am really happy with the ride. Nice and firm but not too harsh. Search the threads on "KYB" and you'll get rave reviews. Sure there's better out there, and I will upgrade back to Bilsteins some day, but KYB is about the best bang for the buck out there. Go with GR-2 struts and Gas A Just rear shocks.

Ed

 

I got kyb's and hotchkis and it is rough do you know if eibach is a better ride.

 

Well, I ordered KYB GR-2' struts, and KYB Gas Adjust shocks for the rear. It seems to be a popular combo, and most people recomend KYB. I can't wait till they arrive so I can install them and get a front end alignment. It REALLY needs one.

 

That's the exact combo (GR2/Gas-A-Adjust) I installed last year, and I have to say I am very happty with the results. Car rides really nice and handles amazing. Like mentioned earlier I am sure their are better shocks out there, but these are quite impressive for the money! You can then put the money you saved into frame connectors and other suspension upgrades!

 

Or in my case, you can put the money towards repairing the OTHER problems. ^_^

 

Woohoo! I finally got the struts and shocks in. Took my uncle and I about 4 hours because some of my bolts were siezed. Specially the bolts in the strut tower. *** that took a long time to get it off. Torching them didn't work, so we just cut them off using a cutting wheel. We also inspected the ball joints while the front was apart. They are still good, so I thank my lucky stars that I don't have to replace them. Brake pads are great, but the rotors are shot.

KYB GR-2 struts up front
KYB Gas-A-just shocks in rear.

While the car was on the lift I got the rare opportunity to REALLY look at the underbody of my car. MY *** ITS CLEAN!! Holy crap! No rust anywhere to be found. We sprayed it with some Por 15 on the underbody after cleaning a few places as preventative maintinence. Its so clean, but if I don't take care it won't stay that way.

The ride is an incredible improvement over a blown suspension. ^_^ Its snowing here today so I wasn't able to really wake it up and see how it responds. It'll pretty much go into storage until I get that stupid replacement for the front GTA rim. The one I bought was bent at the rim. Can't align the front end till that stupid rim is on. :*( Now if this guy would get back to me with some pics. I don't really want to drive this car till the tilt column is fixed and the car aligned.

Now its time to do the "Loose Tilt Column fix" cause I got it bad!

 

Hey FruityOne I dont know how much pricing you actually did but i just ordered the exact same shocks and struts and they were actually cheaper than stock replacements.

 

I got them from Tirerack.com for about $43/ea on the GR-2 struts, and $29/ea. for the rear Gas-a-just shocks.

This is the cheapest I found them, and I've very happy with them so far. But I only have a blown suspension to compare them against.

 

I got my KYB GR-2 fronts and Gas-a-just rears for $143 at shox.com.