Street Duty: KYB adj., Tokico adj., or Bilsteins?

KYB adj., Tokico adj., or Bilstein?

  • Total voters
    9
jaymac

jaymac

New Member
Feb 18, 2004
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Northern Mass
#1
I'm looking into suspension options for a street duty 88 McLaren. So far it definately includes 2" springs and 18" Y2K cobras. The question now is which spring would be best suited to counter-act the harsh characteristics of the 18's and 2" springs, the KYB adj., Koni/Tokico adj. or Bilsteins? I know coilovers would work great, but that kind of investment would be overkill for me at this stage of the game.Not looking for quickest lap times, just least jarring ride of the three...
Thanks for all input...
jeremy
 
#4
I suspect you'll get a lot of subjective personal preference on a request of this type. All of the shocks you've listed are quality units. I have a preference for Bilsteins; however, given the uncertainty about spring rates and unsprung weight (those 18's are gonna be HEAVY), perhaps having some degree of adjustability would be a good thing.
 
#5
Michael is right. Everyone has their own preference.
Personally I have had a set of Koni reds and I couldn't stand them at all.
I now have a set of bilsteins from Maximum Motorsports and they are absolutely awesome. But thats my opinion.
I also use MM coilovers too, and before I was using D&D coilovers with the koni reds.(they absolutely sucked)<------also my opinion.
I would have to say if you like to adjust things, then Koni yellow's or Tokico's are what you want. If you just want to get in and drive, then Bilstein's are what you want.
 
#7
I went through the same sort of experimentation over the years with different cars - Toyota, Audi, VW, Porsche, Explorer - and different shocks - Tokico, KYB, Koni and Bilstein. I wouldn't say that I hugely disliked any of them. I just consistently preferred the balance of handling, suspension contrl and ride quality that the Bilstein's brought to the party. I can tell you this - it was quite surprising (especially to other drivers) how quickly an Explorer with big aftermarket sway bars, Bilstein's and a good set of tires can be hustled through the mountains.
 
#8
Micheal, that's a good point about the unsprung weight of the wheels, didn't even think about that... however on the subject of liking to be able to just get in and drive, that's more my style! Are there different levels of Bilsteins or just go by years?
 
#10
www.bilstein.com
http://www.bilstein.com/html/applications/bts/index.htm
http://www.bilstein.com/cgi/cars.cgi

On wheel/tire size, there's no doubt that the larger diameters look great. But they are heavy, and increasing unsprung weight usually works against handling. It must be balanced against brake rotor size. If you're road racing, larger rotors are gonna be needed - and larger wheels needed to fit them. I've seen a number of tests on different cars (autocross times) with 15/16/17/18 wheels and the same compound tires, and the quickest times come from the 15's and 16's; but because of the speeds involved and the duration of a 'lap', the brakes don't get worked nearly as hard in autocross as in road racing. Note that it takes more energy to stop and accelerate with heavier wheels and tires too. You won't hear people talk about that very often - if traction is equal, the vehicle will accelerate more quickly with lighter wheels and tires than with heavier wheels and tires. So - do what you want; but understand the implications. See the links - I believe Bilstein makes a shock and a combo shock/spring for your car. The chassis in yours isn't the stiffest in the world, so anything you can do to help reduce unibody flexibility will help those new suspension pieces do their job. (braces, subframe connectors, roll cage, etc.)


From Bilstein's marketing material; their warranty is worth noting. "Of all your suspension components, nothing works harder than your shock absorbers, making it critical you pick the right ones for your vehicle. Bilstein Gas Pressure Shock Absorbers are the least expensive, fastest way to dramatically improve the ride, handling and control of your vehicle. Plus, with Bilstein's lifetime warranty, you may never have to purchase shock absorbers again." I've got them all the way around on the Volvo, and they'll go on my wife's BMW when her oem units are gone; had them on my Explorer as well. It's a good shock especially for - bolt-them-on-notice-the-difference.
 
#11
Thanks for all the info and the links, Michael, vey much appreciated!! The car is def. not going to be roa-raced or aurocrossed, just driven around town. I did take the energy dain of heavier/larger wheels and tires into consideration, and am stepping up to 4.10's to hopefully provide a little help in that dept.
The McLaren already came heavily sub-framed from the factory, but I'm looking into bigger sway-bars and Energy Susp. components as well...
Now since I'm going w/ a 2 inch drop, should I do the SP series or the HD??
 
#12
You need to call the Bilstein tech line and talk to experts about what you want to do. If you're going with with shorter/stiffer springs, you'll need to be careful about what shock you get. It'll need to be have less travel to match the spring - put a stock shock in a 2" lower set up and you'll bottom it and destroy the shock. It'll also need to have different damping rates because the shorter spring will have higher spring rates. Call them and talk to them - see what they recommend. If it were me - I wouldn't mix and match. Energy Suspension probably has a matched recommendation; Bilstein I believe has a matching spring/coil over set up. What I wouldn't do is get the stock Bilstein replacement and put it with the significantly lower aftermarket springs. You're right, the 4.10's will help. The prices you quote sound incredibly high to me.
 
#16
AutoZone is the company that quoted me the 209.99 per front, 89 per rear... The tech sounded pretty confident, he said the bump stop in the shock wouldn't bottom out, that they use that shock for all their lowered applications, and that the SP series (which they don't even make for that car) is for a far more agressive spring rate than the 2" drop.... I guess we'll have to see...
And on the same token, I had the 2" springs on my 89 w/ the stock 14 yr. old shocks and they never blew.... luck of the draw, maybe :shrug:
 
#17
Shows you how much I know about pricing. How can you tell when a stock 14 year old shock blows? :) I'd say all stock 14 year old shocks blow. :) Too much time on my hands.....

The price just surprises me - for my car they're $81 apiece for the front; $60 apiece for the rear; for my Explorer they were $49 a corner (no struts).
 
#18
Hey Michael- you finally got an avitar! :nice: like it. Very FJORD.

Anyway, my Bills were about $600 for the set from MM, who I would recommend you call since they carry them so fanatically. Bistien techs will tell you that MM knows as much about their shocks as they do, and more than they do when it comes to Mustangs specifically. I would talk to them about your springs too, and have them set you up with what you need based on your goals and the factors Mr.Yount pointed out: the wheel rate needs for you specific application. the correct package of Bills and H&R's will really blow your mind, but choosing the right ones isn't a job for the in-experienced. I love my Bils! They do have an amazing internal bumpstop, and a fantastic warantee that I can personnally vouch for from experience- they stand behind their products for life.
 
#20
Try Shox.com and give them a call. Ask for Chris. He sold me a set for my '85 GT and even delivered them to me in Carlsbad. The whole set was 460.00. I don't know what it would run for your application, but he can probably work you a better deal than most.
 
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