AThumbTack

something else?

I need some help with desciding what setup I should have. Im not into the track scene all that much but I want a setup thats going to give me great road handling with little to no roll.

I originally was looking into the QA1 but seems like its not the route I should be taking. I read a lot of complaints that they arent good for daily use and that is what I need.

Suggestions? And no Koni please... they are a little higher in price then QA1 and dont want to go that high.

2000GTP

In terms of adjustable shocks/struts, you don't have alot of options besides Koni, QA1, and Competition Engineering, with the latter two being more suitable for track duty only.

AThumbTack

Well what do you think I should do? Are the QA1's that bad for daily use? And what about Bilsteins... are they any good? Sorry for so many questions but its in the shop getting new rear on and want to upgrade shocks while its there, I just dont want to be disappointed when all is said and done.

2000GTP

The Bitsteins are a very good shock for handling and street manners. With my QA1s, even though they are adjustable and they are on the softest settings, they are still very choppy on the road.

gt_biker13

Bitsteins are good if your car is not lowered, but konis are the only good choice if your car is lowered.

AThumbTack

When you say choppy do you mean a rough ride? Cause I wouldnt expect a Cadallic ride from a performance/sport shock.

2000GTP

Yes, they make for a rough ride. I don't expect a Cadillac ride from them, and frankly it doesn't bother me considering the limited behind the wheel time I have with that car, but for others, the feeling of being bounced around constantly is not very appealing on a street car.

AThumbTack

Hmmmm, not sure which route to take to be honest. The car is pretty stiff right now with the present setup. Maybe I might be ok with them... I mean how much worse could it be? LOL... I hate having to make descisions like this!! hehe

AThumbTack

Ok if I get any more PO'ed right now my head is gonna pop off...

I got a call earlier from the shop and he suggested me go with the KYB AGX's and I recall reading quite a bit about how good a shock they were so he gave me some prices and I told him to go for it.

Well I was in a rush when he called so I didnt have time to do a price comparison online but now Im hot to trot since I been looking around online.

Shop quote for fronts only (not including install) $350

SummitRacing quote for ALL 4 (including overnight shipping) $416.75

TireRack quote for all 4 (Including 2 day shipping) $386.19

WTF??? Am I stupid here or am I being plugged in the bunghole by this shop?

And now I dont know what I can do since I told him to do it and he said he would have my new rear and probably the rear shocks put on by tonight and when I called of course their closed till the morning...

What if any options do you think I have and or what would you guys do under these circumstances?

Now he got me wondering how much he is ripping me off for the rear and for sure there is no getting out of that cause its probably already bolted on.... @#%@%#%~$#%!%$!$

2000GTP

The KYB AGXs don't have a repuation of being one of the better shocks on the market, and at that price, I would say you are overpaying.

realstreetracer

shops need to make money so you pay list price for all parts.

AThumbTack

Your kidding me right? First off a fairly large reputable shop should be dealing direct with companies like SummitRacing, Jegs etc. which these companies are already a middleman that makes a profit from selling other manufactures products. I think its a disgrace that such a shop would deal with a 2nd middleman who then jacks up the already high price. Regardless of that its robbery as far as I am concerned to take a product that cost $90 a piece and then turn around a sell it for almost $180... yea companies have to make money to survive but looking at a near 100% profit and their not even the manfacture of that product is ludacris.

Anway I called the guy on it and told him the rates I got from online this morning and went down to the shop and here he tells me that after he called his supplier, he was told it was a typographical error and the new quote would reflect that... still came out a bit higher then what I found at SummitRacing but considering having to reorder and wait another day the minimal extra cost was worth it.

Now check this out... I called another shop yesterday and asked him how much for the same 4 AGX's and install and he called me a few hours ago and gave me a quote of $1400!!! LMAO... again his rates for the shocks/struts were also double the price...

So my feeling is this, either this is a typical thing with shops and that my current shop only lowered the price because I was smart enough to do a little research and he was caught on it.... or even a better feeling may be that this "other" shop may be dealing with the same jerkoff 2nd middleman and that, that middleman is the thief.

irocbsa

All the more reason to do your own work, even if it is a huge pain the ***.

Flyin_Z28

I currently run QA1's up front and I found that they are great for daily driver use. The ride is firm but absorbs the impacts of the bumps really well.

I have 300lb springs and have the shocks set around 7.

AThumbTack

Well to many replies about the QA1's not being the best for street so I went with the KYB AGX 8 way adjustable and am very happy with the feel... and they only on setting 4. Gonna get a few days feel with this setting and then try bumping them up to 7 this weekend to see what that is like.

As for the shop, it seems there really was typographical error with the order but anyway... car is done and on the road and runnign smooth as silk, though I have a strange feeling Im gonna be looking at a tranny within a year or so.