Ok I purchased some KYB AGX rear shocks for my 89 GTA.. when i purchased these.. i read all positive things about these.. now seems like almost everyone says there junk.. i have not yet purchased the front struts,, and i'm looking for recommendations here.. i'v done lots of searches.. and i understand that the Koni yellows are the top notch.. My car will be mainly street driven.. with occasional drag race.. and auto-X.. i picked the KYBs for that reason.. I think i might can still get a refund on the KYBs.. they are mounted already but i havent driven the car at all.. anywho heres the current mods on the rest of the suspenion..

1. spohn torque arm and crossmember
2. UMI performance adjustable spherical rod ended LCAs
3. UMI performance adjustable spherical rod ended panhard bar
4. hotchkis lowering springs
5. 8 point custom built roll cage (similer to the 3rd gen firehawks)
6. custom subframe connectors

 

IMO,
Well if you can get your full refund then I would personally go with a higher end strut. I run Koni yellow's on all 4 corners (the car sees track time, and I intend to run the car in track events this season..If I finish it up in time )
You mention that the car will see more street use than other applications, so perhaps going all the way to yellow Koni's is overkill, but for a bit less a set of Bilsteins struts may be a good choice or even Koni reds - again depends if you want adjustablity. I am assuming that cost and budget are not a prime consideration....
-Andrew

 

Anyone elses opinion?

 

There is no other opinion on dampers, Konis work-anything else is dead weight.

 

Just out of curiosity what didnt you like about them? Did it just ride hella shatty or something? Just wondering, about to buy some shocks and struts.
I had heard theyre not too bad for the strip but to go a different direction if you like to auto-x

 

I havent even drove the car yet.. I purchased them quiet some time ago.. mounted them.. and have been doinig other other upgrades... i'll have the car drivable again very soon (right after i install the front hotchis springs, and front bushings) i still have the boxes.. and i'm pretty positive that i can get a full refund.. i might just go ahead and try them first since thre already mounted..
I have not yet purchased front struts.. any who i'm out 4 now

 

I'm useing the KYB AXG's in the rear and love them.. I still have worn stock front struts though and will probbly keep em' for weight transfer.

I had the AGX's in the rear for almost 2 years now.

 

If your going all out on mods like these, I'd say don't skimp out on dampners. I have Koni Yellows and my car is street only. Although I have been thinking about auto Xing just for fun and to learn how to drive better

 

I have AGX's on all four corners and have absolutely no problems with them. Much stiffer than the Monroes and handling was improved.

My car never sees track time, sorta a weekend cruiser I guess.

Anyways, they work great for me and I'm sure they will for you as well

Price does not always dictate quality

 

Actually when it comes to dampers, the rule is usually buy the most expensive shocks you can afford. I have never seen an exception to this rule.

 

I have but I guess we will just have to agree to disagree

Anywho, to the original poster, mine work great with not one complaint.

 

every kyb i've had hasn't been promising for me either. i've also had gabriel, monroe, edelbrock, koni yellow/red and even their gold's. bilstein hd's and bilstein sports.

my 91 show car has qa1 front struts and i'm still running bilstein hd's in the rear with air bags. my rs driver har has bilstein hd's. you have to match the strut/shock with your spring rate or any of these will be bad news. some people swear by koni's and some swear by bilsteins. most of the cheaper shocks you can pick up at your local parts store are just that and don't offer what the nicer pieces do.

adjustability is great for the true auto-x racer but 99% of those who own adjustable setups find their setting which is pretty close to the recommended and leave them alone hense killing the point of paying for adjustment. point being go ahead and do your research. pick up what you can afford and run with it.

gm used bilsteins which is why i got into them myself. the hd's work great with the eibach pro-kit spring rating and i have yet been able to match that combination on any of my other thirdgens but that's my opinion. others run the same thing with the yellows and swear by them. until you have had them all you'll never really know and honestly that's an expensive venture that i wouldn't recommend.

 

ive had sportlines for a few months now, and i have been looking for shocks and struts, wat is the shock/strut combo for these springs, i dont want to spend my life savings on Koni or Blisten tho... i was thinking KYB but i havent heard to many good things about there adjustables and also never changing the setting bc who does that on a daily driver. the cheaper the better lol bc im a college student and all my money goes into my car. Gr2's match my color scheme lol but they dont recomend them for over 1.5" drop and my sportlines drop the front 1.6" and 1.3 rear and i also want better handling and something that will last, so Gr2's at all for corners, or Gr2's up front and gas-a-just in the rear, or i was also thinking about Tokico HP blue's at all 4 corners...the diff in price will be Gr2's total of 140-180 and the tokicos being 290 total.
the car is a modded 87 formula 350 TPI, all poly bushings, nitto555's on SLP's, etcetc

 

If you are going to do it and want good results, get KONIs. Yellows if you can afford them, Reds if not. The Reds are still better than just about everything out there. And Bilstein HDs are better than the KYBs.
I adjust mine all the time...but then again, I am always messing with something. I'm not saying that the other shocks won't help, but KONIs are expensive for a reason.

 

I've been running with Tokico Illumina adjustables for some time now and they work well. Once I got the ride where I wanted it I just left them there. As far as the AGXs are concerned my brother has a full set on his '94 Formula and he likes them so I guess it's just a matter of taste. Personally I think the Konis and Bilsteins are overrated.

 

Coming from someone who's never had a set or auto-x'ed competitivly? I'll agree that if you are gonna drive on the streets only and don't want the "best", you won't need them. But, I know a couple of ppl who have went with "lesser" brands (including Tokicos) and now wish they had slipped the extra cash out.

 

I've had Konis and didn't like them and you don't have to auto-x to know what you like. And as for what is the "best" doesn't mean what is the "most expensive". BTW, what's the price for a set of Konis these days? When I swapped mine out for the Tokicos they were within 5$ of each other so does that mean the Tokicos are really the "best" since they cost 5 bucks more?

 

I never said that they were the best because they were the most expensive. When you go to a board like Frrax, or look at the shock dyno (I can't remember the technical term for it), the KONIs are the most prefered/best (they just dampen better) shock...unless you want to go spending huge mega bucks.

I know you don't have to auto-x to know what you like, but why do you think that the majority of people who do auto-x competitivly use KONIs?

As for the price, my combined cost for all four corners was about $710. I paid $255 ($119.95 per) shipped from Spohn on the rears. I later found the fronts at hotpart.com for $226.80 per side, which is $23.15 less than Spohn per side.

If someone gots them all 4 through hotpart.com, they would pay $663.60 +shipping, which was free for me when I ordered mine and their camber/caster plates.

What kind of Tokicos did you get? Because a set of Illuminas comes to a total of $539.98....that's not withing $5.

 

Koni prices have gone up in the time since I got the Tokicos. I bought mine in 1999 from a local shop and the Illumina adjustables were $572 for a set and the Koni yellows were $567 for the set and I was getting a discount on both since I was long time friends with the shop owner. He even let me keep the Konis until I was sure about the Tokicos which was a plus as I spent the better part of a week comparing them both on the car and the Illuminas felt better to me. Don't want to start a war over this, you just made it sound that unless I auto-x I can't have an opinion about a product based on first hand experience. For competition they appear to do the job for most, after trying them I just didn't like them.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound that way. I was just stating that my bias for them being better was the fact that most ppl who do compete prefer the KONIs. I guess I could have found a more diplomatic way to state that.
What didn't you like about them?

 

The biggest problem I had with them was in the adjustability. No matter what I did with the adjustments they either wound up too stiff or too soft. The Tokicos have the 5 set adjustment points and they just hit the sweet spot with me.

 

I know what you mean. I had a little bit of a time getting mine adjusted the way I wanted. They either caused too much over or understeer. I finally ended up with the rears on 1 (0-3, larger # being stiffer) and the fronts swept around 50% stiff. I've driven like that for a while, and it seems to work well. Little rough on streets that are in need of paving, though.

 

So basically you don't know how to set up suspension systems, don't really understand how suspension works, have never been on a race track or set a chassis up for competition but are going to pass judgment and condemn a product that EVERY other competitor or professional chassis builder agrees is one of the best for every application.

Koni can valve their product for everything from daily beater to full blown competition car. They are one of very few shock builders that understands what they are doing and can tune the product specifically to your chassis. Tokico, Edlebrock, Monroe, Gabriel and all the other "Kragens" type brands are geared for OE type replacement and do a decent job of keeping the tires planted but not accurately damping and complimenting the overall package.

I thought this was a tech forum, implying if you brought something to the table you had the experience and knowledge to back it up?

 

Oh hell here we go again. First, I never EVER claimed to have competition experience (I even stated that in a previous post which you must not have read)and I NEVER condemned Koni. With my personal EXPERIENCE(I did bring mine to the table) in comparing both the Koni yellows to the Tokico Illuminas( that means I've actually used both components which means I have a right to judge) I chose the Tokicos over the Konis due to the simple fact that they felt better for street use to me than the Konis and that after nearly a week with each of them I chose the Tokicos as they were best for my application. As a competition component they've earned their reputation many times over, I've never said any different. My opinion of them being overrated was in regards to their use on the street but what does it matter? If you like them then fine, if 91_5.7_TPI likes them then that's fine too. I tried both brands out on the same car with the same suspension components and settings in the same real world conditions and made my choice and stand by it. Last time I checked we were still allowed to have an opinion here in America.

 

I wasn't getting onto it about the fact you prefer the Tokicos to the KONIs for street use..that's personal opinion. I was unaware that you have experience with both. I thought your statement of them being overrated was about the shock in general and without trying them. Since you have used both and have a preference, although I may disagree with it, you are completely right about having an opinion about two products you have tried.

 

Thanks, at least one person here understands what I'm saying. My last post wasn't directed at you though you were mentioned, it just burns me up that just because I don't have vast competition and experience that my real world knowledge shouldn't count for something. As a former airframe structure specialist in the U.S. Army and as an FAA certified Aircraft Mechanic with Airframe and Powerplant ratings I'd like to think I know a little bit about how things work and believe me, an automotive suspension system is nothing compared to a flight control system on an Apache.

 

This coming from someone with 7 posts? He tried both, has been using the Tokicos for a long time and likes them.

What are your credentials?

 

PM sent, this is not the forum for this.

Post counts as a means of judging credentials is rediculous, I'm sure there are lots of 15 year olds here with lots of posts

 

In the Army we called this going on the defensive.

 

Ok, according to your PM you have alot of experience. That doesn't give you license to be arrogant. Post count is indicative of how much time you have put in here and credibility. What are you doing here, anyways?

This guy used both shocks and picked the one he likes. I don't like "A" bodies, so does that make me have poor judgement and don;t know what I like or wht is good because the authority (i.e., You) don't think it is the best?

If you are going to start crap on one site to get people to follow you to another site (that is somewhat unrelated), I label you as a troll.

Please.....

 

I like the Tokico's as well. I have them on my TTA and the front handles really well on the street. They are not SUPER stiff even on the stiffest setting, but any stiffer would be too harsh for the street. I have Bilstein yellows on the rear which seem to match up with the front pretty well.

Put the Tokico's on the softest settting and it feels like slightly worn out OEM shocks.

I also put the Gabriel heavy duty on all 4 corners on my 2.8L firebird and it handled VERY well, all things considered. They were MUCH stiffer than any KYB I've ever had. A good choice if you will be street only and on a budget.

 

good grief

 

I don't care if you're Parnelli Jones, blasting people like that won't add anything to your opinion or our respect for it. The question that started this thread is, for the most part, asking for subjective opinion since we all run different combinations and do different kinds of driving.
It's solicited opinions, unwad your panties...

 

Hey everybody, look at this guy. He can bring back threads that have long died off to bring attention to himself.

I didn't blast anybody who didn't open their trap first. I simply defended my statements.

 

what are u a troll? who set u up as lordy of all suspension

u said

"There is no other opinion on dampers, Konis work-anything else is dead weight."

u are trying to pick a fight u are playin with people and u know it

 

You didn't defend anything, you reaffrimed your position by pointing out "every professional team uses them" and "they can valve shocks for anything". Hardly a technical explaination or even an opinion based on personal experience from what you posted.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 85rocker

what are u a troll? who set u up as lordy of all suspension

I am not "lordy of all suspension" but have a hell of a lot more experience than most on this board, just offering a bit of advice based on my years of knowledge based on actual engineering/practical background.

Koni/Penske/SCP/AFCO are about the only shock builders out there who actually know what they are doing and build dampers to do their designed function, not just cushion the spring oscillations. Classic example of the "bumper bounce test". Koni happen to be the only dampers listed that are practical financially.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MurcoRS

You didn't defend anything, you reaffrimed your position by pointing out "every professional team uses them" and "they can valve shocks for anything". Hardly a technical explaination or even an opinion based on personal experience from what you posted.

OK, I pointed out that advice he was receiving (repeatedly) was not being given by experience. Having used a component one time, not tuned to the rest of the combo and driven by a driver with real driving experience is hardly a valuable piece of information. I was offering some sound advice, it didn’t seem like this thread was going full “tech” and going over the posters head would likely result in him simply becoming frustrated and going with the over-the-counter Autozone junk which is what I was trying to avoid. Unlike you on the other hand who jumps in 10 days later, offers zero to do with the thread other than post on the "attitude" of someone they do not know.

 

Geez i just asked a question.. wasnting expecting an online ramble!.. anywho i see that konis would probably be the best if.. i took a VOTE on here.. i still have those KYB AGX rears.. and there already mounted so i'm going to try them out.. i havent bought front ones yet so i'll probably try getting the konis.. or i may go with something else.. not sure yet.. i still hafta install my front springs so i have time.. not in a rush.. thanks for the help.. and the laugh

 

You forgot Bilstein. I've seen them on some pretty high dollar roundy round cars. They wouldnt use them if they were crap.

Usually, you get what you pay for but thats not always 100%. My dad always ran Gabriel on his 1 ton van, no issues except lifespan. He went with some KYB's last time, they suck. They were supposed to be heavy duty and its like they arent even on there. Thing bounces around like its springs only. Zero damping capability. I have KYB's on my stang, they've been on there since 1991 and work fine with the 750lb/in coils on a 2500# car so... go figure.

 

sometimes the chat gets off topic

You will find that your rear KYB AGX work just fine no problem. Put a few miles on them and you will wonder what all the fuss is about?

No the AGX aren't gold plated konis but who cares?

I run AGX front and back with sportlines and poly everything, tubular everything. I never looked back, never been sorry I bought them, never complained about the quality in fact the car has been ALOT OF FUN since I installed the KYB AGX.

 

AGX's up front and love them.

 

I had KYB's on my 85 345 horse 5spd firebird and loved them. That car handled better than my 96 Formula. Now I have a 89 RS and will put them on this as well. Koni's are nice but I think not needed if you are buildiing a street car.

 

Not needed, but hella fun

 

 

Like the Caveman on the Geico commercial....WHAT???

As spring rate goes up the need for proper shock damping goes UP not down.

 

Since this thread is still going, onebadta, give us an update - did you get any money back from your original purchase? have you decided what type of dampers to go with....
-Andrew