Good replacement shocks- please reply!!!

Hey everybody,

I have a 94 z28 m6 and was wanting some input on replacing my stock shocks. The qa1 are out of my budget. Anybody use the edelbrock ias shocks? bilstein? or new kyb adjustables for the f body? Drive on street mostly, but would like to autocross in near future and i have a stock suspension.

Thanks for the advice.
:)

I'd spring for the Koni double adjustables. I started autocrossing last year and had just installed some KYB's. They're fine for the street but are too mushy when pushed to the max. Whatever you do get good shocks. Some adjustable KYB's would do but if you have the money go with the Koni's. Also you can still autocross in stock class with the double adjustable Koni's. You'll have a blast autocrossing. Very challenging and rewarding. Your driving skills will escalate too.

I would go for Bilsteins over any KYB, JMO though of course.

Originally posted by Dr.Mudge
I would go for Bilsteins over any KYB, JMO though of course.

Ditto

Originally posted by Dr.Mudge
I would go for Bilsteins over any KYB, JMO though of course.

Make that another vote. Pretty hard to go wrong with Bilstein's.

Having driven several cars with Bilstiens, I still perfer my KYB AGX adjustables. I think a lot of it has to do with what spring rate you have and your driving style, and like Warner said the DA Konis are top of the line. I well some day replace my AGX's with the DA Koni.

has anyone purchased the original (take offs ) from slp?
they are supposed to be like new and have a great price.
Has anyone done this?

Yes, I bought the SLP takeoffs for my 1998 Z28 in August. The car had about 50,000 miles on it and the shocks needed replacing. Since I can't afford decent shocks and am saving up, this was the logical choice for me.

There was a significant improvement in the car with these takeoffs. They are not great shocks by design, but they are better than the 50,000 milers...

SLP claims that alot of them have only 20 miles or so on them, if that. So they should be "like new" if the seals aren't dry.

Another reason I suggested the Koni Double adjustables is because that is part of a package that can make a winning car in F stock. If you get into autocross seriously you won't need to buy new shocks.

Koni DA's are nice, but not necessary. The bump adjustment makes changes to the mid and high piston speed bump. Not something that is useful on an autox car where we are primarily dealing with low piston speeds.

Bilstein's are very good shocks, but in the HD form are not valved for quick transition or able to damp heavy springs. This is why we revalve them.

The KYB AGX's are okay, but not great at anything. The lack damping on the lower settings. They are harsh on the upper settings, and again not capable of damping really heavy springs.

I sell all of those, and others too. I only use Bilstein or Koni on most cars, and only those two on autocross cars. My personal car is a 2001 Z28 that I run in FS. I won last year's ProSolo Series Championship in it. I run Koni SA's on the front, and Bilstein's in the rear (personal choice, I feel they are better on the rear than the Koni's for autox).

If you want DA's, that's fine. They are a lot of extra money for adjustments that generally cause more trouble than help though. We do use them, but mostly on cars that can benefit from adjustable high-piston speeds like open road race cars or tracked cars. Autox just doesn't live in that area of the shock's ability.

Checking over at GMpartsdirect I used the Koni part number

22140240

it says 352 but you must buy 2 so the total would be (including shipping) around 845 bucks for 2 shocks??????

$352 per shock is a bit high for front DA's, at least I don't sell them for that much.

As for needing DA's to build a competitive autox car..... Nope. I have SA's on my 2001 ('02 SCCA ProSolo F-Stock series Champion, and finished 2nd in FS @ Nationals--I wasn't driving a friend was, I was in ESP).

Again if you want DA's that's cool. But it's complete overkill for 99% of the cases. I "only" run and usually recommend SA's, which are over $100 a shock less and have a warranty too! There are instances for DA's, but autoxing isn't one of them.....

Before you go for SLP replacements spend the extra $ for some Bilstein's, just put in a set c/w stock springs; these are great shocks.

01 FS Z28,

My main purpose for getting shocks is open track events that a friend runs here in cali. First I have to get a roll bar. But are you reccomending that a car for these purposes get the adjustable? I was thinking of getting the Bilsteins. Please let me know what you think. Oh and what is the prices you sell each shock for? Basically I like a harder riding car it will be on the street 2-3 days a week and I will be going to these events probaly once a month. At tracks like Buttonwillow, Streets of willow springs and the willow springs big track.

Ed

Originally posted by eds96ragtop
01 FS Z28,

My main purpose for getting shocks is open track events that a friend runs here in cali. First I have to get a roll bar. But are you reccomending that a car for these purposes get the adjustable? I was thinking of getting the Bilsteins. Please let me know what you think. Oh and what is the prices you sell each shock for? Basically I like a harder riding car it will be on the street 2-3 days a week and I will be going to these events probaly once a month. At tracks like Buttonwillow, Streets of willow springs and the willow springs big track.



If you like a firm car, then Bilstein HD's aren't what you are going to want..... They are much better at controlling the suspension than the stock shocks, but aren't very firm in the front. This is why we do a lot of revalving... But, you have to be careful, a stiff car (which also includes springs, bars and bushings) doesn't necessarily handle well. I like my cars firm, but with good suspension movement to allow the bumps to be absorbed.... then you have really well damped shocks to stop the extra movement and give that locked down feeling.... Let's not forget that convertibles aren't quite as stiff as they could be, and a "harder ride" is very hard on the body structure as well and will tend to loosen it up.

It's hard to go wrong with the Koni's, as you can do pretty much whatever you like with them. DA's are beyond most folks understanding, so I'd recommend SA's (unless you really want DA's).... The adjustable shock allows you to tailor your ride, and response to your tastes. Also you can run a wide variety of springs with them as well. Bilstein HD's are valved for, and best suited to a stock spring. Stiffer springs want more damping (again, another reason we revalve a lot of them). Be aware that if you'd like revalves ($480/set vs. $735/set for Koni's) we need to have a plan including what springs you might want to run. The shocks are valved to each case. I don't have a "one size fits all" attitude.....

How much are the konis SA?

SAs are usually about half the price of DAs, I imagine they are around $700 right now, Sam's website would tell you though, www.stranoparts.com

If your not going to get fancy, you could just go with Bilsteins now and pull them off the car for revalving if and when you go with new springs. If you go with the Konis though you will be ready for nearly anything, thats why I got the DAs, I wanted to be able to change my springs if I wanted to down the line.

22140240

What about this part number??? Will it come with 2 shocks?? are theese DAs or SAs?

THanks