help with shocks/struts

[fivespeedsteed]

so recently (after having full length subframes installed) my car has started to ride like a dump truck. its getting worse too. you can feel every bump in the road. everyone is telling me its shocks and struts. can this be it? i know i can replace just the struts and shocks and not the coils, but can i do it in my own driveway? do i need any odd tools?

i was looking at them on maximummotorsports and latemodelrestoration and the cheapest set is in the 300 dollar range. but mark at performance told me that they were crap. so i was looking at KYB AGX, and tokico illumina shocks and struts, no quadshock. these are the least expensive. bilsteins and koni's are in the 500-600 dollar range. thats no easy task considering im in highschool.

what would you recommend?

 

[HISSIN50]

Search in here. The cheaper KYB's are hard to beat for the cash, though HP's are great IMHO (if you have a little more money).

The HP's were at the top of my budget so I can't comment on the upper echelon stuff.

Good luck.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

so the kyb's agx's are good? they are 450. i dont need the package that comes with the quad shock correct?

 

[86bluecobra]

I have kyb's on my stang. nice ride. If i was wanting to improve over what i have i would be looking at strange engineering's adjustable struts and shocks. That way you can tune the suspension for strip and track use. that being said if you have lowering coils in then your ride is going to be on the stiffer side. If you don't and you want to improve it a little the get progressive rat coils because these have a little more give in them then non progressive ones.

 

[Tstang90]

for the $ you cant beat the blue tokico set up...I have a car that had KYB and it road like a dump truck.. I asked around and know 2 others that put em in and took em right out. So Im thinking thre not a quality piece. i like the idea of an adjustable piece if your multi tasking the car. I actaully had compliments on how smooth the ride was with the blue tokicos in my old vert.
Good Luck.

 

[superhuaman]

kyb gr2 rear shocks are $25 each
kyb gr2 front struts are $65 each

that is the LEAST you should put on your car

 

[HISSIN50]

so the kyb's agx's are good? they are 450. i dont need the package that comes with the quad shock correct?

Those are not the cheapo KYB's I was referring to (those you mentioned cost more than my HP's, and I really like the HP's). FWIW, I believe that Tstang is referring to HP's (they are blue) - if so, that's two endorsements you've gotten for 'em. They are a nice piece. If you cannot swing those, the cheapo KYB's will work better than the stuff from the parts store that costs the same amount of cash (my original point when mentioning them in the first place).

Good luck.

 

[Tstang90]

thats what i meant thanks for clarifying the part #. I think you can score a complete set for like $325ish shipped over on the corral. theres a thread in there suspension classified section.

From my experience I woldnt put the cheapo KYB 's in my car even for free. Maybe with stock springs there good but no way with a lowering spring. I ran those blue tokicos for 6 years and they rode mint till the day it drove away.

 

[superhuaman]

i dont think the original poster has lowering springs?

 

[fivespeedsteed]

no i dont have lowering springs. probably gonna hold off on that for a while.

i know the agx's are the higher end kyb's, im not talking about the cheapo kyb's.

what are hp's? are they the blue tokico's? mark at performance told me he put the cheapo tokico's on one ofhis cars and it rode like dump, i was also looking at the nicer tokico's, are these the HP's you are talking about? i just want something that rides really nice and can support lowering springs in the future. i dont mind spending 400 500 ish dollars on a set.

 

[RedDaemon]

subscribing..im going to be buying shocks and struts within a month and i am considering AGX's as a possibility at this point in time

 

[HaynStang]

If you're gonna keep the car for a long time you might as well save up for something nice. I love my Bilsteins.

For something cheaper I would go with Tokico HP's. I hear the KYB's ride really stiff. The HP's are usually a good compromise between decent ride and good handling.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

what are the hp's, the cheaper tokico's? how much are they?

 

[superhuaman]

yes kyb gr2's are quite stiff, i was surprised at first, but i like them. gr2 + poly bushings = no wheel hop with no quads or sway bar now i just need good tires

 

[fivespeedsteed]

my dad mentioned that he may pay for a set of shocks and struts from sears. would this be a bad idea? what would they put on my car, monroe stuff? could i get some eibach's and have these shocks still handle them? or should i just keep savin for my kyb agx's?

 

[90blacknight]

Running the Tokico blues here, as smooth as a cadillac, you simply can't beat them for the price. My brother is running the Tokico illuminas (adjustable) and he loves how mine handle the bumps.

 

[caduck]

HP Blues cant beat the price.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOKI...1QQihZ006QQcategoryZ33590QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[fivespeedsteed]

thank you caduck for that link. so i think ive decided that im gonna go with those hp's on ebay for 260. thanks for the help guys.