So I'm about to start the refresh on the 91 I picked up a month ago. The car didn't come with a complete set of springs and I would like to use the springtech 1.75" springs I've had laying around. I have a set of new KYB GR2s and gas adj. shocks/struts that came with my other car. I'm on a budget and the car didn't come with usable rear springs. Anybody know if you can drop the car this much with the KYBs without blowing them out. I'd rather go stock height but I'd like to get the car together and running and worry about that later.

 

umm i have GR2s ont he front of my car for about a yr. and gas a justs in the rear... i too was on a tight budget. i had sportlines on my car at the time when i replaced the springs/shocks together. car ran really good with them both on. and didn thave any probs. i just sold the springs and im going with cut moog 5664/5665s. the struts seem to be ok thus far. they are better than the monroe sensatracs etc.

i'll prob be goin with KYB AGXs in the front tho, dnt think the GR2s are gona last long with the cut moogs

 

Ya I would rather have tokico Iluma but I don't have the extra cash to spend right now. I have the struts/shocks and no other use for them so as long as they last for a few months I'm going to replace them this summer. I just want to make sure I can get some milage out of them the car isn't going to be my daily driver.

 

When I bought my car is had Intrax--2" drop in front and the GR2s. Bottomed out all the time....even on interstate highways. Got some Eibachs (Pro) and love it.

 

Nothing will last/perform like KONIs (well, other than more expensive shocks) if you have the money to spend.

 

I'm very aware of that fact I have a set for my project car, but I don't have the money to spend on koni's for this particular project. I thought I made that clear in the initial post. There is plenty of information on the great results you get with koni struts/shocks on the board lets try and keep this thread on topic. thanks

 

You only made one mention of budget and no other knowledge of other shocks. I was just trying to provide a different point of view.

I've seen several people lower their cars on KYBs and report good results. However, I'd say they'd wear out within a definite period of time, probably depending on driving habits and road condition. Using my old Monroes as a benchmark, I'd venture a guess of a year or two before they don't dampen much at all.

 

huh?
a year and they are junk?
unless you are driving over potholes and speed bumps all day at 50 mph, i think you will easily get more than 5 years on AGX shocks.
i have Gas-a-just shocks on another car of mine and they are doing great after 4 years.
the springs are pretty soft, but still, 1 year is
if you are only getting one year from your shocks, then you need a refund

 

I said it was all a guess of one to two years (based on my experience with Monroes which lasted an impressive six to eight months on the ProKit with some semi-aggressive driving) before the don't dampen much at all. Loosing dampening slowly over time will is something you probably won't notice much. Like the old story of putting the frog in the water in the pot and slowly turning up the heat... he'll boil alive.

 

hope no frogs were hurt while reading this thread.

red dragon.... u think the KYB AGX will work for 5 yrs with a lowered ride? how far do u think the AGXs would take as far a drop and still last?

sumone posted that the KYB AGXs are preffered from a good amount of autoXers, that they are used and praised. but then again i hear the KYB AGXs on level five dampning is like the illuminas on level 3.

i had the GR2s on mine with sportlines for about a yr and it was a daily driver and they are still good(gas-a-justs are def still stiffer). my gas a justs are still good too. how long would the KYB AGX last on a lower ride height of 1.5" and a spring rate of about 850-875 front?

 

Nope, I did that last week

 

i mean as long as you dont have 850lb plus springs, i would think that most midrange shocks would be fine.
lower doesnt matter as much as higher spring rate.
you can always get the strut mounts that give the strut an inch higher mounting point if you are worried about their travel on a lowered car.

im not speaking from experience with AGX shocks, but from KYB in general.
from what i have heard, they are darn good midrange-upper midrange shocks.
if you dont want to shell out 250+ each for front struts, then KYB is for you.
if you want the ultimate adjustable shock and want it stiff as rocks, then dur, dont get cheap shocks...
pretty simple IMO.

i guess some of your definitions of a shocks lifespan and my definition of lifespan are different.
sure it looses some damping, but not enough to notice for at least 3-4 years or more.
you also have to remember that in many cases, what is on the car now is over 20 years old, so even the cheapest walmart shocks will be an improvement.

 

The lowered ride height gets the shock out the designed operating range which is bad on them as well from what I've read. There's no adjustment for that on the rear, although you can fudge it with taller strut mounts up front. I agree almost anything is better than the old stock stuff.

 

couldnt there be a fabbed 90 degree reinforced bracket for the rear shock? that could be interesting to see someone fab up. same concept as the increased height of the strut tower bearing caps?

still tho im shocked my GR2s still work after a year with sportlines. thinking KYB shouldnt be overlooked. when i get the money i will prob go with KYB AGXs since i cant throw 500 at koni yellows, even 350-400 for tokcio illuminas are too much i think

 

I've been bouncing the idea of something to increase rear shock travel for a while. Probably don't want to do it on the axle, because of the amount of ground clearance you'd loose. I don't want to do it to my car because if I muff up...well, it's my DD.
I think you should consider an upgrade in shocks. You'll probably be impressed what better dampening will do. I read in one thread that the sloppier build of lesser shocks that KONIs will allow up to a 1/4 inch of un-dampened suspension travel. When you consider that most lowered 3rd gens have between 1.5 and 2 inches of travel, that's a good deal of slop.

 

I had GR2's on my v6 with cut springs up front for well over a year, no problems. I had a set on the rears with lowered springs(not cut) and they went out very fast.

When I parted that car out, I exchanged the rears under warranty, and installed the fronts on my v8. I have had this car just shy of 2 years with no problems.

They do ride very stiff as I also put some on my GTP.

 

i wonder if you could make some kind of cantilever system so that one inch of suspension travel was 1.5 or 2 inches of shock travel.
this would artificially increase the damping and negate any slop in the shocks travel.
just a thought.

as for loosing ground clearance if you put the device on the axle, i wouldnt worry about it.
considering that the axle is located between the wheels, you have around 10 inches of space down there to work with and not have to worry.
the only case you would need to worry about would be a situation like if you were off-roading... not something you generally do in thirdgens anyway

 

You may be able, but I would think it would be alot of headache, time, and need certain expertise in order for it ro function properly. You'd probably have to relocate the shock mount on the rear, and I have no idea how'd you'd do it in front, what with the strut (well, strut angle due to tower movement) being a major component in the allignment. I'd much rather just buy KONIs lol.

I don't know if this is quiet 10" (ignore rusted exhaust):





But, you might could work something out that would be at the same level as the LCARBs and gain an inch or two. Might throw something together on one of my spare rear ends (that sounds wrong).

 

I was talking about from the axle tube to the ground. I forgot about the thirdgen rear suspension design there.


By cantilever I was saying if you were to have a lever arm going from the body to the top of theaxle tube, then mount the shock on thetip of the "see-saw" and connect it to the body, you would end up with a 2:1 motion ratio if the lever was equal lengths on both sides. It's not practical but maybe on a four link or something.

 

the rear suspension would bottom out wayyy before that LCARBS would even touch the ground. there is enough room to make a 1-1.5" bracket and weld it to the stock shock mount on the tube. just locate the hole lower so when the shock has the load on it from the rear that the shock body is actually lower at ride height. this would keep it more in its sweet zone right? or no? lol

only prob i see would be when jacking up the rear the shock would be holding the rear up compared to the stock location.

 

I know it would bottom out before it hit the ground, but what about irregularities in the road? Such as a pot hole or a opossum lol? I know this irregularity would hit the LCARBs as well, so I'd say anything lower than the LCARBs wouldn't be wise.

We need someone with more expertise such as Dean for a technical anylisis. (I can't spell and I'm lazy)

 

I would think just lowering the mounting points an inch or two would be fine for street use anyway. I really can't see there being a problem bottoming out or hitting any oppossoms LOL. Pot holes maybe, but it would have to be one deep pothole. You could loose a small child in a pothole like that

 

so whos gona grow the ***** to do it lol.

 

someone pony up the money and ill fabricate a mount and try it on my IROC

 

lol not me. id rather just try it for myself lol. cant be that hard to weld up something with 1/8" steel. same idea as a 1" billet spacer for the front strut bearing caps