Does anyone use the KYB AGX adjustable shocks?
Are they bad/good?
I want the yellow koni or bilsteins, but they feel a bit expensive.

I was thinking of using the AGX and the stiffer moog springs to keep the original ride height, because of our bad roads.

 

I have 'em. No issues.

 

Koni's blow them out of the water, however if you are on a budget the AGX shocks are a good buy. I have the GR2's which were the cheapest of the bunch years ago and while harsh, they do work well, certainly better than the monroe or whatever you get at a Sears autocenter, autozoo, or the like..

 

what type of racing are you doing?

 

http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/index.php?showtopic=5255

 

No Racing at all. Just rolling on the roads.

 

I actually like the AGX's for a budget damper. Keeping in mind they're not Koni's nor do they pretend to be.

Awhile back I requested damping curve info from them and was pleasantly surprised they gave a quick response. That doesn't happen often from larger companies so kudos to KYB.

Here's what they said:

Good afternoon Ramey, the front par number 741034 is 275/KG on rebound and 120/KG on compression at .3 meters per second, the part number for the rear 743019 is 95/KG on rebound and 30/KG on compression also at .3 meters per second.

The AGX products have the following approximate damping force values.
When adjusted, both rebound and compression damping forces change.

Setting#: Relative Value
1 - Same as Factory 100
2 - Same as our GR2 products (10~15% firmer than Factory) 115
3 - 50% firmer than #2 172
4 - 30% firmer than #3 223

For an eight position adjustable product, the damping force values are approx.
The following:

With #2 being Factory at a relative value of 100,

#1 = 95 (5% softer than Factory #5 = 143.5 (43.5% firmer than Factory)
#2 = 100 (Factory damping force) #6 = 172 (72% firmer than Factory)
#3 = 107.5 (7.5% firmer than Factory) #7 = 197.5 (97.5 firmer than Factory)
#4 = 115 (15% firmer than Factory)(GR-2) #8 = 223 (123 % firmer than Factory)


good luck with your project

ramey

 

that explains with the GR-2's feel stiffer than factory shocks if they are about 15% stiffer.

 

For what's essentially an OE replacement damper that sounds about right. I'd heard the same thing generally about most aftermarket replacement shocks being about that much stiffer long before I knew the internet even existed.

It's pretty hard to beat Koni yellows as a choice for a car that sees street miles. Even the apparently discontinued reds were always a solid choice.


Ramey - 0.3 m/s is actually a pretty high damper velocity. Did they give you any information at closer to 0.05 to 0.08 m/s (about 2 - 3 ips), down where body motions live?


Norm

 

Hey Norm.

No, the reply I posted is what they gave me. I was pretty impressed they answered in general.

Since more of these types of questions are coming up I'll contact them and see if they're willing to disclose the full curves. I'm a data guy and love to have the real numbers to help me make decisions. Unless I'm wingin' it of course. Sometimes I do that...

ramey

 

I thank you guys so much for these good answers, especially umisales. Thanks for sharing that data.