vorgath

Seems these are some of the cheapest shocks/struts I can get ... now... what kind of ride do the Monroe Sensa-Tracs give ? Is it a family car smooth ride.. or a slightly more crisp performance ride ? What about the Gabriels ?


I need something that will help keeping the car nice and tight ... not just smoooooooooooth and soooooft.. I'd like to be able to take the turns on the road a lil'bit better than now

but money's tight



(no new springs ... took a look at the roads today.. way too many bumps and **** out here in Diego lol .. plus I liek to keep the bit more musclecar look)

phess11

Go with the Monroe Sensa-Tracs. I like mine. Not bone jaring, but firm. Plus, from Sears you will get a lifetime warranty.

vorgath

Thanks

I'll check Sears, because I'm not sure if the parts stores here give the warranty

'Shifter

iTrader: (2)

I've sold them both, and the Monroe Sensa-Tracs are a better
product. If you want to make the trip to Tucson, I'll sell them to
you at jobber, and they automatically have a lifetime warranty
through Monroe, which is good at any Monroe dealer across the
country. Some parts stores may give you a hard time about
warrantying something they did not sell you, but a call to Monroe
for an authorization number is all it takes (plus your original
reciept, of course). Keep your eyes open for the buy three, get
one free special or the rebates-they are a decent deal, and the
rebates actually come back pretty fast. Beware the vendors that
just raise the prices on the 3, so they fourth one isn't so free.....
The telephone is your friend here. I'll tell you what I can sell them
to you for, so you can compare.....23.36ea for the shocks, 46.94ea
for the struts. I have these very struts/shocks on my car and they
are just fine for a mild performer/daily driver.

Forshock 85TA

I dont know if a drive to Tucson would be worth it. Of course, it is a nice relaxing (albiet uneventfull) drive...

Driving down the 10 from the stateline to about phoenix would probably make you think the shocks/struts are fine

If you can do the job yourself you could also look at KYB.
They are about the same price.

Good luck

'Shifter

iTrader: (2)

Yep, the KYB's are about equivalent, except for the coast-to-coast
warranty, but the ride is equal. If anyone here would like the deal
on 3rd gen stuff, come on into or call me at Merles Auto Supply
in Tucson, (520)546-4000 and ask for me (Marc), I'll treat you
right and I speak Chevrolet. Before anyone slaps me for
shamelessly promoting my employer-I'm not on commission, nor do
I own any percentage in the biz, I just enjoying helping Chevy
people. Most of my job is selling Fjord and Chiseler parts, since
they are what puts food on my families table.

Red|ine

he fixes ford cause he has to, and fixes chevy cause he wants to.

vorgath

So in that case.. since we're talking a very reasonable price range here ... for ride but also for taking corners better .. Monroe .. or KYB ? .. or Gabriel ?


BTW thanks for the input so far, guys


(right now looking at ordering some new bushings .. possible a front end kit.. NEED more cornering power lol)

Winger4800

what about sensatracs in the front and reflex in the rear?? how would that handle?

Nate86

I personally would not mix and match shocks or struts. I can't give you any real world evidence why I don't think it would be a good idea to do this, but I am (hopefully) logically assuming that most shocks/struts manufacturers build their parts to work best with each other and throwing in two different brands of shocks or struts could upset that balance. I could just be paranoid, though.

Either way, from what I have read, Gabriels tend to be the worst set of shocks and struts money can buy for these cars. Constant reading of the subject has lead me to the following conclusion:

Best

Koni Yellows - Shocks built with the priority of performance above all else. Possibly a little stiff for daily driving, but adjustable. Pretty much the best handling shocks that don't have to be custom made. Also quite expensive.

Koni Reds - Shocks built which offer a compromise between performance handling and ride comfort. Not nearly as good as the Yellows, but cost slightly less. Possibly equivalent to the Bilstein line.

Bilstein HDs - Street performance shocks. For those who don't want to spend a fortune on a full-blown race suspension, but want something quite a bit better than the stock equipment. Considerably cheaper than the Konis as well, but still expensive.

KYBs - Budget performance shocks. I've heard good and bad about these shocks; People can't seem to make up their mind about these. I would personally stay away from them because if all you want is working (as in not broken) shocks, there's no point in paying the extra cash for just the KYB name. Conversely, if you want great handling, there are definately better choices out there.

Monroe Sensa-Tracs - Probably the best shocks you can pick up at a local auto store like AutoZone or O'Rileys. Pretty cheap and provides a decent ride, although they are obviously going to be outperformed by the more expensive shocks.

Gabriels - The bottom of the list. These are the cheapest shocks available for our cars, and most likely the worst performing. I've read they still use technology that's dated back from the 60s and 70s, but I have no proof of this. Should be considered only for replacing broken or worn out shocks.

Worst

Looking over the list, I kind of feel bad now since I decided to cheap out and go with Gabriel Ultras.

Difflock

Excuse the thread hijack, but has anyone got an opinion on Sachs shocks? I recently had to get new shocks, and my local parts supplier over here sold me some Sachs gas shocks (direct replacement). Mind you they work great, considering that the crusty things on the back of my car were totally screwed

BTW the shocks were £35 Sterling each.

Mark.

frogmanjohn

sachs are poop. i work at express tire goodyear and deal directly with the wherehouses.

Hey man if you want to put sensatracs on your 3rd gen, i will sell you some brand new ones. I am upgrading to bilsteins and am going to warranty out my sensatracs and get brand new ones to sell. If you want them let me know.

john

vernw

iTrader: (2)

John - you have mail...

Inwo

You read anything about Tokico nonadjustable shocks and struts? I bought a relatively cheap set for my car to replace the stock crap but I haven't really found much about them except some kid in an Integra who had trouble with them wearing out.

Nate86

Inwo, I definately thought about including them in the list, but I don't have much to work with. I did a quick search of the boards, and they appear to have both a budget line (HPs) and a performance series (Illuminas) line. The Illuminas are 5-way adjustable, so I guess you got the other set.

After a reading some of the various posts on the board, it's been the general concensus that they are good for performance-oriented daily drivers; That is, they handle fairly well compared to some of the less expensive shocks, but also provide a fairly decent ride. Obviously, the adjustables are more suited for those that need the adjustability between the two.

As far as all out handling goes, I'd probably guess that they still don't live up to the performance of the Koni sports and possibly even the Bilsteins. I've read more than a few posts regarding how the shocks are too "soft" for competitive Auto-X, even on the hardest setting.

Personally, I think Tokico caters more to the import crowd for suspension peices than our cars. That's not to say that their suspension peices aren't good, but I hear more people with imports talk about Tokicos than I've ever heard on these boards.

If I had to put them on the list with the limited knowledge that I have on them, I'd probably put the adjustable Tokicos right under the Bilsteins, and the non-adjustables under those.

From what I've researched on this board and various books and websites dedicated to suspension topics, it seems like shocks and struts are one of the few parts that can be explained with the formula: more $$ = better peformance. Try doing that with engine parts (SLP headers is a good example).

Hope that helps.

Nate86

I'd also like to point out myself (before anyone else calls me out on it, heh) that no amount of research can make up for personal experience with the products themselves, and I unfortunately do not have experience with ANY of the aforementioned shocks other than the Gabriels and Monroes.

There are countless other people on the board who DO actually have experience with a variety of these shocks, some of whom include (not limited to) Dean, CrazyHawaiian, kandied91z, RB, 83 Crossfire TA, and a few others that I can't remember at the moment. Try doing a search of these people's screen names and you'll surely find plenty of information on any of these products.

Thanks.

frogmanjohn

unless your car is strictly a daily grandma driver, i mean slow slow slow, don't use gabriels, bottom of the barrel 10 dollar shocks. Sensatracs are a step above them, but i blew all 4 of my monroe sensatracs in about 6 months. next i am thinking bilsteins.

john

Inwo

Your assessment sounds about right. I just wanted some relatively cheap shocks and springs just to drive on this summer until I spend the big bucks on some much better shocks and springs over the winter.